My hormones are fucked and no one cares.

[Blobster]

Since having my DC my hormones have been a mess. I breastfed and thought that was the issue, but after weaning about a month ago I’m worse than ever.

I’ve got insomnia, but I’m exhausted. I crave shit foods all the time. My face has aged a lot. My periods don’t hurt as badly any more (the only saving grace) but they last for ages and come quickly. I’m very dry downstairs and I have zero interest in sex. I’m grumpy a lot, get snappy. And when I’m alone I feel despondent and cry. My immune system is awful.

Ive been to the doctors loads. One female doctor gave me a blood test and said I was fine because results are fine - she checked estrogen and progesterone.

The last doctor I spoke to, male, said it was anxiety. But it doesn’t feel like anxiety. I feel stressed but I feel so sure it’s my hormones. I’ve tried ashgwanda (spelling?) and various seeds and sleeping pills and yoga and meditation and nothing works. I’m so sure it’s my hormones by the doctors just keep saying I’m fine.

What the hell do I do? I feel like I’m on the verge of a breakdown. I get time away from DC but I can’t rest, I can’t sleep. I’m frightened I’m going to have a breakdown or a heart attack but I don’t know how to feel better. I’m so sure it’s my hormones but the doctors just keep treating me like a nuisance.

You poor thing. You sound totally worn out with it all. How old are you?

I had the same symptoms, I paid privately to see a gynaecologist, turns out was very very very deficient in B12, vitamin D and Folate serum (I think it's like Folic acid related). Since seeking treatment 6 weeks ago I feel much better :). Had an ultrasound too but that was all clear, gynaecologist said it's quite common after having a baby for vitamin levels to be out of whack and that can have a knock on effect on hormones.

36 - I did wonder about early menopause but the doctors said no.

Possibly still high prolactin (the hormone needed in high levels to produce milk) which can couple with low testosterone. The symptoms of both include vaginal dryness and low libido, but the low testosterone in particular can be awful for moods and fatigue.

I thjnk you need a broader set of hormones looked at with bloodwork. Do you still produce breastmilk eg in the shower? A small amount is 100% normal for up to a couple of years after weaning but more might be a sign that things are struggling to settle.

Have your periods come back and have you done a pregnancy test recently?

Also: magnesium, B12, foliate, vitamin D.

I’ve been taking a multivitamin and trying to maintain a. Good diet (I follow the 30 a week rule?) but nothing seems to help. I went over my blood test results and my iron seemed low but still within range so I asked the doctor and he said I was being silly.

I could have written this word for word. All of the above and add migraines to the list.
I too am low on iron and folate, so taking supplements for those now. I dont know about b12 and vit d as they wouldnt test me for those.
Period starts a week early and i have days of spotting too. This made perimenopause cross my mind but like you bloods showed ok levels, although it was fsh they tested.
I’m 39 so GP not convinced.
I have another appointment next week but Im not sure what i’m even asking for now. I’m just in utter despair and cant carry on like this either

They checked prolactin and said it was fine? I haven’t produced anything for ages, I weaned because my milk suddenly dried up and my breasts seemed to deflate, around the same time I suddenly put on about half a stone around my middle (it was noticeable and makes me feel very low).

My periods have come back and they’re very heavy and very often. I’m not pregnant, I’m struggling to have sex because I’m so dry it’s painful so it’s barely happened. We’ve used a condom and it’s been barely anything because it really hurts. When I spoke to the doctor they just said use a vagina moisturiser, as though it’s all fine.

The gynae waitlist is two years long if I’m even on it.

I’m so sorry you feel this way - despair is a good word. I don’t feel like I’m living, I’m just existing and going through the motions. It’s like screaming into the void trying to get my GPs to even care. They just say ‘Ph you’re depressed or anxious’ but I’m not because I still want to do things etc, but I’m too shattered to do anything. It’s exhaustion like I’ve never experienced.

I really hope you get some answers and find a resolution, it’s so hard x

Sorry if I've missed it op but how long has it been since you weaned off the breastfeeding? The change in hormones after weaning can hit some women really hard. Do/ did you have abf support group you could ask for support and advice from?

You're right to push it with the gp.

Try the combined contraceptive pill - if it helps your symptoms at all, it may be early peri-menopause. I've had the same battle as you, it's awful.

There is no blood test that can test for peri-menopause, unless they tested your hormone levels in your early 20s and have something to compare them too. Levels can vary enormously between individuals, so your GP is uneducated if he/she thinks a single test can diagnose peri. Blood tests can only confirm whether a woman is post-menopausal, not peri.

If the pill helps at all, go back and ask for a trial of patches - you'll need to go on the ones that are cyclical on a month basis, where you still have a bleed each month, in order to protect your uterus (from increased risk of cancer) as you're so young.

Please keep going back until you get help - you do not just have to put up with this.

I'm sorry to hear that, it sounds very hard to deal with.

I would say it does sound hormonal, postnatal hypothyroidism is a "thing" and can effect a range of hormones. However the iron and vitamins / minerals mentioned could also play a big part.

I hope you find some answers soon

It’s only been about a month - maybe 6 weeks? It’s all a bit confusing because my milk just started drying up and it dwindled and then it was gone. I asked on a breastfeeding group on Facebook but no one really responded.

The GPs just seemed to have washed their hands with me. I mentioned it again last week because I’ve been really unwell again and they said it wasn’t my hormones and hormones can’t cause low immune system. I just feel so stuck.

36 is very young for perimenopause, but you still deserve and need your health looked at properly!

If you can afford private, fabulous, but assuming not, I’d write down all your symptoms, their duration and the impact they’re having on you and go back to your GP and be prepared to be <ahem> strident about getting them investigated.

Could you see a different GP? You’re not ‘silly’ for questioning your own blood test results and wanting to know whether your levels of iron etc are optimal rather than just ‘within range’.

I wondered about hormonal contraception as a way of balancing things, but I also wondered if this was because I’ve been on hormonal contraceptives for most of my life? I used to have agonising periods and was put on the pill from a young age and never came off some form of hormones until I wanted to get pregnant and then fell very quickly. Is it because my hormones are now sorting themselves out for the first time since I was 14? Do they just need lots of time?

The lack of care and support in this country for female health is insane. It’s cruel. I hope you’ve found some respite?

Keeping a diary might be a good idea, get a record. I’ve seen a couple as I don’t have an assigned one and I have felt the same with them all, it was the last one (male) who said I was ‘being a bit silly and was clearly suffering from anxiety’.

After I stopped feeding my eldest, my skin was awful, my hair greasy, my emotions wild.

I got pregnant after I stopped feeding pretty quickly and now am feeding #2, so not sure if and when it would have sorted itself out, but just to say that you need to give your body a chance to recover after stopping bf, nourish it with good food and vitamins.

I have no advice for you, but I am EXACTLY the same. I'm so exhausted but sleep is no longer a thing that happens for me. I'd considered it being in some way hormone related but my GP reckons no (I'm 30, so fair enough). It's been put down to stress and anxiety, but the only thing i'm fucking stressed about is not being able to sleep or function normally! 🙄

Exactly! It’s cyclical, the less sleep you get the more stressed you are and so on.
I hate how they just brush us away. And I’m frightened of how my health will deteriorate if this carries on.

I went over my blood test results and my iron seemed low
What were they, and what was the lab range?
Do you have results of the others too?

However, after going through menopause without HRT etc, I truly felt like I had dementia as my MH was that bad. Anxiety, brain fog, memory loss, forgetting even how to drive at times. Absolutely frightening. It took me seven years before it started settling and I now feel more how I used to be (still no medical help).

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/early-menopause/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause/symptoms/

Those links have the symptoms listed AND tell you to speak to your GP. Tell them to check the NHS website before being dismissive.

39.3 when the max limit is 275 is very low. You need to be 70 to grow healthy hair so 40 is nowhere near good enough. Get some iron and try and raise it yourself as most drs won't help. I use Better You mouth spray as I struggle with tablets and I usually start to feel a difference within a month. Not totally well but enough to see that it's helping. It won't get rid of all your symptoms but will certainly help!

That’s what I thought! I know it’s in range but it seems really low. One or two things were like 0.5 up from the lowest level.

I’ll sort out what I’m taking tomorrow and increase iron in my diet. At least if I do and nothing changes I can rule it out!

Thank you

Spa-tone supplements from Amazon are good too. The iron in them is more bio available that tablets and its gentler on the digestive system.

Sounds very much like my symptoms which I’m sure is perimenopause. I’m 42 and have had them all since 39/40 progressively getting worse. Docs aren’t interested. No help available until you are minimally 46 I’ve been told.