Hi everyone!

Nice to be here again. It's been awhile. I will really try to be brief.

Have had numerous female problems my whole life. Many surgeries. Ended up with hysterectomy in Jan this year. They took all but the right ovary, saying it would make all the hormones I need. I am 41. Since I don't have a uterus, I don't ever know where I am in my cycle. Anyway, my hormones flipped out after the surgery... had night sweats, migraines, a few days of body aches all over like the flu. Those have all gone away. I now continue with SORE, swollen breasts, and I gained 15lbs although I cut my calories back and exercise like a fiend. The worse part is the weight and also, NOW, when I exercise, I have NO stamina! And I do it regularly. I feel like my muscles are screaming and cramping, and I feel like a truck ran over me. I also get lightheaded and worn out... like I have no fuel.

I have had the cardiac workup.. it's great. A surprise even tho I am overweight. I eat right, exercise and can't lose a damned pound. I had the thyroid workup... TWICE over the last 5mos. I even started a low dose thyroid just in case, but it made me hyper-thyroid.

I am convinced this is related to hormones. The weight loss resistance started after my daughter was born 5yrs ago. I also have lost my sex drive and am a Bee-atch.

about 3yrs ago, I was put on low dose birth control... I cannot take them, tho, they trigger migraines. Aside from the migraines, I felt terrific! I even started to lose a little weight. But had to stop them due to migraine. I also suffered severe PMS (mostly bloating, breast pain) before the hysterectomy. Now I feel like I have PMS 24/7.

I have now been to 3 gyno's including the one who did surgery on me. They all say I am fine since I am only 41 and have one ovary. I demanded a test from the last gyno. she said everything was perfectly normal, and I am not in menopause. DUh. I am waiting to pick up the results to have for my own copy to compare to one I took about 7yrs ago.

Again, sorry for the length. My main question is, does anyone notice an exercise intolerance or muscle fatigue that is related to female hormone imbalance? what about the 24/7 breast pain and swelling? What should I be looking to supplement, estrogen or progesterone for the muscle fatigue/breast swelling?

Thanks for any help!

EGM

Hi EGM,

Looking at your history I would say that there is no doubt that you are suffering from acute hormone instability. AKA - you are not going mad and dreaming up all your symptoms. It does appear that the ovary you have left is not keeping up with demands.
Trouble is, the solution to all this is far from simple. I note that you are prone to migraines which means that you operate on a very fine balance of hormones and your body will scream very loudly if the balance is not correct. I should know, I am a world and olympic hormonal migraine champion! If you were sensitive to the BCP which is a good way to stabilise hormones at your age, jumping onto the BHRT/HRT band wagon could be a very bumpy ride but that is a personal decision for you. Wise doctors have come to realise that you cannot just throw in a bit of oestrogen here and a spot of progesterone there and redress the imbalances correctly. The body is a massively complex machine whose needs change by the hour never mind the day.
I think that the surgeries have initiated partial menopausal symptoms and it might be a case of allowing your body to re-adjust with time. It would be easy to rush out and demand hormone replacement and confuse the hell out of your body. Regaining hormonal stability by normal means is a slooooow process. I am also beginning to realise that being a woman with female hormones is a complete pain.


Regards,


XIII