Guess my conditions... cause the GP has no clue.

[startstopengine]

I've just gone into a GP appt fully prepared with my 6 months worth of symptoms.

Her take.. come off HRT and I'll put you on non hormonal antidepressants instead, cut out fibre from your diet and follow a FOMAP plan?

She has ordered in some bloods but any guesses? She's told me I'm not diabetic as my bloods said I wasn't.

Below for the long list...

Thought some were peri menopause related?

Thirst (increases)
Waking at night
Hungry
Sweating smelling like vinegar
Weight gain over 12kg in 8 months
Gastric pain and bloating weekly
Top area of stomach goes really hard
Tired sleeping for 14+ hours
Tired in the afternoons
Blurry eyes for a whole day (eye test) glasses
Gum work having to be done at dentist
Intolerance to any alcoholic drinks
Headaches low level fuzzy
Dizziness occasionally
Hair thinning
Nails brittle

I’m on HRT patch and non cyclic progesterone that stopped a zillion other symptoms, hot flushes, night sweats, awful biweekly heavy bleeding. So HRT has been good to me.

These are all low level until recently they seem to come and go and flare up., but are becoming more obvious

Main issue that’s bothering me is weight gain, I’m tracking 1200 calories a day and I’m still gaining weight, 5k+ steps exercise 3-4 times a week, I literally couldn’t be any better!

Sounds fairly similar so I await your results, I suspect I am the same!

I also can't eat onions now, glass of wine makes me feel ill. I'm not in hrt though, I've refused the offer, also refused antidepressants as I'm not depressed, I'm just tired from poor sleep

The upper bloating & hardness, along with pain, could be gastritis but given some of the other symptoms I'd be inclined to rule out coeliac disease first.

The thinning hair, brittle nails, fatigue etc could all be down to coeliac disease. I'd want b vitamins specifically checked because, as another poster said, these can be affected by coeliac disease.

@startstopengine does omeprezole make any difference to gastric symptoms?

Also any burping, wind etc?

I would certainly be looking at a gastric cause for the symptoms before coming off HRT.

I would guess thyroid, it also goes hand in hand with anemia, so there could be a cross over of symptoms.
NHS will treat for subliminal hypothyroidism if your tsh is slightly raised and you have antibody markers for autoimmune thyroid diseases such as graves- over active or hashimoto- underactive. So it is worth getting your antibody markers checked too.

I forgot to mention, acid reflux and gastric problems such as gerd are also common with thyroid problems.

@KikiShaLeeBopDeBopBop yes the gastric drugs calm it down.

The gastric issues are fairly new and fairly intermittent, so every month maybe a huge bloat hardness and pain. And then during the month gurgles loud noises and some smaller bloating.

I agree with all pp but would like to also throw long covid into the mix to explain at least some of the symptoms esp sleeping 14+ hours a day, tired in the afternoon and eye problems. Can also cause gastro issues and vitamin deficiencies.

@startstopengine @Renamed
Lots of people have to have a low or moderate fibre diet. It's not the case that everyone benefits from high fibre.

The cereal companies have tried to suggest we do.

High-fiber foods can be good for your health. But adding too much fiber too quickly can promote intestinal gas, abdominal bloating and cramping.
People with IBS, crohn's, diverticulitis and some other digestive difficulties can be better on less fibre

The hard upper gut is probably why she suggested you try it

I have no plans to come off HRT it took me 3 try's to get the right balance that worked, stopped periods, stopped the 25+ a day hot flushes and heart palpitations etc I was a mess with anxiety and panic attacks.

So my low dose patches are staying and my progesterone with no breaks is staying.

I did consider coming off and weened off for a week and within days had cramps, sweats, feel like I was going to murder someone so promptly decided HRT is keeping me sane.

Thank you all so much, I'm going to keep these as notes, looks like vitamins, iron etc are all factors I hadn't considered.

I went straight to throyid and diabetes.

I think in my case the exercise thing is linked to my B6 as I understand exercise is the only way to get it out of your system. I notice the urge more when my other symptoms are flaring. The GP wonders if it could be linked to my coeliac as wonky liver enzymes are apparently more common in coeliacs and can cause a malfunction in B6 processing. My ALP is always very low on liver enzyme tests.

@letsgoooo ok I'll keep that in mind and monitor the amounts. I track on my fitness pal daily so maybe I need to get a better balance.

I add flaxseeds to smoothies and have wholemeal pasta when eating any pasta and I have grains and lentils with my lunches oh and veggies.

So maybe I can ease off a few elements?

My liver and kidney functions shows a normal in my annual NHS blood checks.

Elevated cholesterol, they want me to lower, ironically by eating more oats and fibre.

Everything else was good, but that test didn't do vitamins, thyroid etc .. hence me going back with my symptoms list.

Also suggesting Long Covid as it covers every one of your symptoms. The upper stomach pain, bloating, etc. could be LC-triggered mast cell issues (they are for me, anyway). While many people with LC lose weight, there are plenty who experience metabolic disruption that causes weight gain. Have a search on X and see if any of it sounds familiar?

@MindTheAbyss I was hospitalised with Covid in March 2020 and have had it about 5 times since, it flared up my endometriosis so I had surgery in 2020 during lockdowns.

I couldn't tolerate the vaccines so only had one that caused chest pains and I ended up back in a&e.

So long covid could be a factor but I have had periods of feeling normal exercising and having energy since those episodes and have been back on track since about late 2022, the HRT and other symptoms kicked off then just as I'd got over that lot 🤣

LC in my experience can be relapsing - remitting. So periods when things look better and then worse.
Often worsening periods are linked with getting ill again (whatever infection), higher stress or higher activity level

Ask for autoimmune bloods too

Possibly thyroid, vitamin d or anemia maybe.

Keep a symptom diary, op.
Make sure you include amount & quality of rest/sleep, what you eat and how much you exert yourself (ie, exercise, work)

Will be hugely helpful to both you & GP - help you both to see patterns & will also demonstrate how much your symptoms are impacting your life. Try & keep for 2 weeks+ and then hopefully your gp will take you seriously

Do you take your progesterone orally? I had awful stomach issues - pain, bloating, hardness of stomach so now take it vaginally and it’s resolved the gastric issues. It is also a sedative so will increase tiredness’s

Well with the best will in the world I think your GP has been good - they are getting tests and their thinking is logical.

Like most here I'm no doctor, but if someone said this to me, I'd attribute at least half of these symptoms are very likely down to you eating so little. So cross off hunger, thirst, tiredness, headache, dizziness, stomach pains etc as those are all things you get when you diet, which is what you're doing.

I'm not saying it's nothing, but I don't quite know what you expected - the GP will need to wait for the results etc.

Do your eyes sting when you cry? Or maybe feel uncomfortable going to the loo? (You don’t have to answer!)

I had some of these symptoms when my ferritin was dangerously low and it started affecting other things in my stomach.

Something about not being able to absorb iron so I’m clinically malnourished however tested negative for Coeliacs.

Nobody really knows what’s going on because I’m in the SW and waiting lists are 40+ weeks over. However I do need frequent iron infusions

Oh, that’s rough, @startstopengine. I’m sorry. As @DullFanFiction says, it can very much be relapsing and remitting. I’ve friends who’ve declared themselves recovered, only to slide back into a state after some other infection (Covid or otherwise). Good luck xx

I also thought hypothyroid.

If you are underactive, then you get free prescriptions (for any item) btw.

For a 5,2 female 1200 isn't really a diet as such, and I'm still putting weight on. My ideal calories are 1500 for maintenance.

Certainly sounds like histamine intolerance, (triggered by covid) especially considering the foods that trigger you.

Try a no/low histamine diet together with an anti-histamine- changed my life

For a 5,2 female 1200 isn't really a diet as such, and I'm still putting weight on. My ideal calories are 1500 for maintenance

Menopausal women are more likely to put weight on if they don't eat enough. You might need some advice from a nutritionist but it might be worth doing a free trial to something like the Owning your Menopause app to check out their nutrition advice.