View Single Post
  #3   ^
Old Fri, Aug-01-03, 08:53
Cicely's Avatar
Cicely Cicely is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 133
 
Plan: Schwarzbein
Stats: 115/115/115
BF:
Progress:
Location: Texas
Default

Double ditto to Wanda's post. Blood tests are highly inaccurate for determining hormone levels. Saliva is much better. Especially for estrogen and progesterone. Have you looked into PCOS to see if you fit any of those symptoms? Even though the hair on your head is falling out, are you getting hair in strange places or become hairier on your arms, face, legs, or anywhere? The gain around the middle can also be estrogen dominance. Have you been before or are you now on Birth Control Pills? They can cause this, as can insulin resistance. Have you had your insulin levels checked? (Just a note: this is a test where using blood works fine). If you aren't having periods, your hormones are off (I don't care what your test results said). The blood tests that they do for female hormones often test for the wrong form. Free form vs protein bound. I'd try the saliva ones instead. One thing you can do, that won't cost you much (but can be annoying a little -- timewise), to give you an idea about the health of your cycles is to chart them. Using a thermometer taking your waking temperature, you can see if and when you ovulate. This also gives you another way to monitor how things are changing with what you do dietwise -- how your chart changes. I chart and it has helped me see how the SP is affecting my reproductive hormones. It's really been helpful to me. I learned to do it using Toni Weschler's book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. There is also a premenopause book that is pretty good called What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause by Dr. John Lee. He is a little overzealous about progesterone cream, but explains the role of the sex hormones, and what happens when they are out of balance, pretty well.

As for the cortisol test. I have read somewhere that 24hr urine tests may not necessarily be indicative of adrenal status. The reason being is that cortisol levels fluctuate up and down with stresses and whatever. Kinda like insulin. You can spike it and then it fall. The 24hr specimen would not catch this spike, only the average amount of cortisol released in a 24hr period, so it would miss it if it spikes and falls. The 4x per day saliva test would be better at this. I'm not sure if this is accurate info or not, but it makes some sense to me. If this is true, then your test may not have shown it even if your adrenal glands are working overtime in spurts.

Not sure if any of that helped. I hope you get if figured out. I know not knowing what is going on in there can really be frustrating.
Reply With Quote