Primary ovarian failure?

[alexandra843]

Im 23 years old and last time i got my period was a year ago..
when i went to the gyno. he said everything seemed fine..
and like all other times i have ever expressed concern to any doctor they all said the same thing. "its normal for some women to not have their perios all the time"
Once i got to the 1 year mark they all finally began to act worried.
Now after 1 appointment(where we just talked and they took my temp)
my new doctor said she thinks i have primary ovarian failure.
few days later i went in for blood work...
never heard back from them...( they told me if i didnt hear back it meant that everything was okay.)
Now.. my gyno. appointment is in 5 days (more than a month after my last docs appointment.)
I have been really set on the fact that i DO have primary ovarian failure or premature menapause (whatever you want to call  it) but could there still be a chance that i dont have anything and am totally okay?

another question is.....

lately i have been feeling really funny...
i have hot flashes ALL the time,
my breast feel really heavy, swollen and tender,
all my joints and back  hurt,
i have lost ALL sexual drive...
and a few weeks ago i was getting queasy all the time(like when i would brush my teeth), sometimes throwing up during car rides
but then it just suddenly stoped, and thats when the breast tenderness started.
to make it worse i started getting cold sores.... (i have gotten them since i was a little girl but it usually happend when i was sick or stressed or in the sun for too long but now i havnt done any of that)...
what could all this mean?
is it just part of premature menapause or could it mean im pregnant, or even crazier could it all mean nothing at all?

[John H. Kim, M.D.]

You need to have a complete work up for "premature ovarian failure" (POF) or "primary ovarian insufficiency"  which is like premature menopause.  Another diagnosis can be "hypothalamic amenorrhea" which means that your ovaries are not menopausal but that the brain is not signally to ovaries to make you ovulate.  This often happens to young ladies who are under stress or lose too much weight. The best way to determine what is going on with you as a first step is have your gynecologist, if she feels comfortable, to check your FSH, LH, Estradiol, TSH, Prolactin and a quantitative beta HCG to make sure that you are not pregnant.  Further work up can be done by a gynecologist but usually I suggest seeing a specialist called a Reproductive Endocrinologist, if the numbers look like you have POF or even hypothalamic amenorrhea.  The work up for POF includes a complete history and physical exam, transvaginal ultrasound, chromosomal analysis including karyotyping and checking for the FMR1 permutation (fragile X mental retardation 1), anti-thyroid antibodies, anti-adrenal antibodies, checking for diabetes, and hypoparathyroidism.  
Sorry this is complicated but this is a great website that I hope will help if you are diagnosed with POF:  www.pofsupport.org

I am not saying that you have POF or hypothalamic amenorrhea but that you need to have the work up done.
I hope this helps.
I wish you wellness.