Premenopausal symptoms, Hormones fine

I have had hot flashes during day and hotness at night, bleeding brown with periods for past two months, increased hair growth on neck, depression, irritability, and extreme fatigue.  I have consulted an endocrinologist who checked my hormone levels both before my period and on the 5th day of period.  They all came back normal.  My thyroid was only slightly enlarged with no nodules so no medication was prescribed.  I had a hot flash while at the endocrinologist office where he checked my blood sugar and it was normal.  I am hypoglycemic though because I have had attacks and a family history of it.  I am only 38 yrs old and cannot find any dr. to explain anything to me.  I am at my wits end and don't know where to turn.

[PerimenoWorried]

A lot of times, our bloodwork will show "normal levels" but, the symptoms are still there.  A lot of doctors won't look beyond the test results before they slam the book shut.  That doesn't mean that the symptoms can't be there on a subclinical level.  In other words, the levels may appear within what they consider normal ranges but, that doesn't mean that you cannot be feeling the effects of a slight drop or rise below or above what is normally "normal" for YOU.  

I once went into my docs office, armed with printed material from the net on hypoglycemia.  He did a blood test which told him "normal" and I was overweight so, he told me it was impossible and proceeded to TRY to send me off and on my way.  I finally convinced him to try testing me more thoroughly for hypoglycemia, through a 5 hour glucose tolerance test.  (You fast the night before, go in the morning, they draw a blood sample, give you this lovely glucose syrup to drink then, take blood every hour after that).  At the 3 hour mark, I had to lay down.  I was shaking so badly and foggy headed that they had to let me lay down in the lab in a back room.  At the 3 1/2 hour mark, they decided to stop the test and gave me a glass of juice to drink, telling me to go home and eat a good meal.  Within 5 minutes of having that juice, I began to feel normal again.  The following week, the doc shook his head in disbelief.  "You were right!" he said..."You ARE hypoglycemic.  I never would have believed it!"  Obviously, he didn't until I pushed.  LOL

Bottom line is, we know our bodies more often than not.  Now, what I'm going to say may raise your hair a bit but, the bottom line is, really, there is not much that they can do anyways with any of these problems.  Hypoglycemia is managed by small meals frequently throughout the day and always including protein as that keeps blood levels stable.  I also keep hard candies in my purse for emergency situations where it drops and I can't get to eat right at that point.  They are not to be leaned on...just in an emergency drop situation.  So, even were it to be diagnosed, that's all that can be done for that.

The hot flushes, etc., there's nothing that can really be done about that other than perhaps, some natural remedies as all of us deal with them differently.  And, don't forget, because you're perimenopausal, fluctuations do happen so while you may be having a rough go of things for a bit, it also changes/fluctuates so that's likely to ease up for a bit, then get problematic again.  Other than perhaps, birth control pills, there's really not much they are going to do about it anyways, especially when your levels are showing normal.  Sad to say but true.  We are all dealing with these aspects.

As for your thyroid, well, I am also dealing with that too.  Mine is a goiter, multinodular and one nodule is being watched carefully.  I've had 2 biopsies on it already and am scheduled for another in September.  Oh, what fun!  Still, no meds for it because my levels are within normal ranges.  *sigh*

So, what can you do?  Keep stress down as much as possible.  Rest when you can.  Eat healthfully.  Take vitamin supplements, especially B, C, D, E, calcium, magnesium.  Eat nuts if you're not allergic to any as they really help stabilize blood sugar levels.  If you can tolerate soy, try adding that into your diet as it raises estrogen levels in a natural way and may help the hot flushes.  Go to your healthfood store and ask about preparations that come all together.  Exercise regularily...even a short walk every day is extremely helpful.  Learn to laugh at things throughout your day because it helps release a lot of tension and stress can cause stress hormones to raise through the roof, throwing off other hormonal levels as well.  Everything goes hand in hand.  So, work towards your daily living habits and making them at least improved.