I think I need some adjustments of HRT (& attitude)

I have been exhausted for a couple of weeks. I sleep well but feel tired when I get up and then all day. My brain is foggy, keep mis-placing those nouns. I am feeling crabby and frustrated at work :evil: My one ankle and foot hurt and are little puffy and general stiffness. My reflux is bad too (has nothing to do with all this extra weight ) I have had a scratchy throat and swollen glands for two weeks but I am not sick so I haven't went to the Dr. I know it is not hormone related, just adds to blah.

The worst is the brain fog. I actually did make an appointment to see my NP next Monday. Maybe it is the weather? Maybe everyone at work REALLY is irritating? I am going to get one of the hystersister journals and start keeping tabs of my symptoms because I tend to ignore and dismiss things until they get really out of hand. Does anyone have words of wisdom? In the meantime, I hope that I can bite my tongue and quit rolling my eyes Thanks for listening.

Sheri,
I'm so sorry to hear that the and has returned. I think keeping a journal is a good idea. Stress and life in general can send our hormones whacky If you're not feeling well maybe that has something do with it. Are you having any other symptoms? Like hot flashes?

I still have my good days and bad days hormonally speaking, but overall the last few months have been pretty good. I've resisted the urge to tweak at the first sign of trouble and I think I've finally found some stability to my balance. (I'm saying that very very quietly )

So sorry Sherik that you are having some problems. I agree that keeping a journal is a great idea. It will really help your doctor pinpoint symptoms.

When you go next week - ask your doctor to check your thyroid. Fatigue is a classic symtom of low thyroid. And getting your thyroid levels straight will also help with the joint pains in your ankle and the brain fog. Here are some articles on thyroid. Good luck to you.
http://www.hormonejungle.com/thyroid.php
http://www.hormonejungle.com/janie.php

Hi Sheri,
I hope that your NP helps you find your way out of the jungle. The thyroid is a good thing to check. Even if it was checked before. Ya never know!
take care
Becky in OHIO

Hey Sheri,
Definitely get that thyroid checked out.
The lab that does my saliva testing sends a questionaire with the forms, with a million symptoms to be rated 0-3. When the report comes back there are comments at the end. Here is what my last one says: "...Listed symptoms (cold hands and feet, fatigue- particularly in the evening, foggy thinking, depression, ringing in ears strongly suggest thyroid deficiency. Hormonal imbalances such as estrogen dominance (normal or high estrogen and low progesterone), low androgens (testosterone and dheas) or adrenal dysfunction (high or low cortisol) can lead to a functional thyroid resistance at the tissue/cellular level (blood thyroid levels may be normal, but the thyroid is unable to function at the cellular level due to the above hormonal imbalances)."
There are other thyroid symptoms on the list but these were mine. And there are other types of hormone imbalances; the ones here definitely aren't mine!
So maybe do your basal temp for a few mornings before you go for your appt. That is the old low-tech way of dx'ing thyroid trouble.
Getting that crazy thyroid some help has made a world of difference to me.

Susan

Su,
What lab did your saliva testing? That is great that they ask those questions too. Sorry to butt in here on Sheri's thread but I was wondering if you have something that details the treatment you are recieving? I am curious how you are doing? If getting my estrogen and progesterone right does not do the trick then I am going to invesitage the thyroid(wilsons)

Becky

Thanks you all, I think I will talk to her about thyroid. I had the usual blood test last year by GP and it was normal. Today was a little better but instead of being crabby I was being a smarty pants. I guess that is better. I just want my brain back, I get paid to think and make decisions, I am getting a promotion so the pressure is on . I wonder if stress is contributing to any of this??? I still feel much better than before I started on my bio-identicals. Plus, I sleep good and I have no hot flashes.

Thank you Sherik - I could have written your post - don't know whether I'm relieved to hear I'm not alone (particularaly with being irritated by everyone I work with), or even more depressed to see that you all have been post surgical linger than I but are having the same problems.

Yesterday was a really bad day - I finally had my first appointment with the endocrinologist who informed me that although I have al the symptoms of hypothyroidism, my thyroid tests came back slightly high (ok so why am I fat then? ) However, I do have a large nodule on my thyroid - which explains the huge lump that suddenly appeard on my throat a month ago - so now I wait for the auth to get the scan and ultrasound on that.

In the meantime, I'm still faint, dizzy, exhausted, crabby, brain-dead, achy, have no interest in sex , burning, itchy eyes, and, oh yeah FAT! I also seem to have developed dyselxia over the past 2 months and have gotten lost twice in the grocery store. Howcome removal of the female organs seems to affect the brain - I though it was the guys who had their brains in their... oh never mind.

Well at least I don't have cramps and periods anymore right?

Seriously though - anyone got any suggestions? I'm missing way too much work and the doctors all treat me as if I'm crazy.

P.S.- What are "bio-identicals"?

Bio-identical means the hormone is identical chemically as the hormones produced by our body. Some call them "natural" but that is somewhat of a misnomer.

Some commonly prescribed hormones are not identical. Premarin, for example, comes from the estrogen in the urine of pregnant mares. It has some differences in its structural components than bio-identical estrogen. Those differences can cause some problems in many women.

Hope that helps.