Someone help!!!

[Linlou32]

 
I've had these symptoms on and off since 2001, after I had my kids and was diagnosed with PSOS. The last year and a half I started gaining weight again with no change in diet. I started losing hair again, mood swings, irregular periods, horrible lack of energy, fatigue,  swollen face, hot flashes during my cycle, dry skin, memory loss, migraines, hoarse voice, constipation,bloating , and my Raynaud's  got 100% worse. My Dr said it was perimenopause and changed my birth control and prescribed spironolactone. I seen the office endocrinologist and he check for thyroid issues. Here are my results. 
FREE T4-1.2NG        NR .6-1.6NG 
THS 2.19MC           NR .3-5MC 
T3, TOTAL. 147NG     NR 80-220NG 
FREE TESTOS.1NG.     NR .3-1.9NG 
TOTAL TESTOS 25.8NG  NR 8-60NG 
INSULIN GH 172NG.    NR 73-244 
SHBG 244MM.          NR 18-146 
GH. 2.4NG.           NR 0-4.0 
LH. 8.9ML.           NR 0-85.0 
PROLACTIN 23.1NG.    NR 3-27 
ESTRADIOL 45PG.      NR 0-400 
FSH 10.3 MLU.        NR 1-108 
I was told they are normal, but I feel anything but normal. I am losing it. It's taking a toll on my marriage and my kids tell me I am not their old mom anymore. My performance at work is a joke because I remember nothing. I was told it's just aging. Can someone give me answers. I'm not myself and I feel like I'm not living. 

[Red_Star]

No worries barb. Yeah not a chance of that condition. :)

[Barb135]

Thanks Red... Found that one... I'm not really seeing that, in this case

[Red_Star]

"SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) is a "steroid" binding globulin which impairs male testosterone levels. SHBG increases naturally with age and coincides with the overall drop in testosterone levels after about age 43.

Basically to sum things up SHBG "binds" to testosterone making testosterone less active in the body. It's a bit like if your trying to walk and someone pulls you from behind stopping you from walking - SHBG does a similar thing to testosterone.

So the more SHBG you have circulating the less free testosterone you will have in your body.

There's a couple of proven ways to lower your SHBG significantly and those two things are Vitamin D and Stinging Nettle Root. The reason for Vitamin D's effects on increasing levels of testosterone may be down to it lowering SHBG in the body therefore making free and total testosterone more active." - 30 ways to increase Testosterone by Gareth Middleton

Barb it's Sheehan's syndrome.

[Barb135]

If you get the antibody tests, post the results...

I'm not familiar with Seeshan disease and can't find any reference to it when I google it.  What is it and how is it related to cortisol?  I don't see a cortisol result listed.  

[Linlou32]

They did prescribe Metformin, but I felt it didn't help. I am on birth control. My glucose was 98mg NR 70-99mg. I was wondering about Hashimoto. I also read about Seeshan disease since my cortisol total was 27mcg. Thank you, I will request those to be tested.

[Barb135]

Did they do anything to treat the PCOS in 2001?  Do you know what your blood glucose levels are?

Your SHBG is higher than it should be and your Free Testosterone is lower than it should be.  I hate to contradict your endo, but these are obviously not normal.  SHBG is high during pregnancy, so we have to rule that out...

Beyond that high SHBG is also caused by oral contraceptives.  High SHBG can cause low free testosterone, which is necessary for hormone balance (weight gain, the hot flashes, libido, energy, etc).  That could be a huge part of your problem.

Your thyroid hormones actually look okay.  TSH is good, but that's not a thyroid hormone; it's a pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid.  Your FT4 is good.  It's too bad your doctor ordered Total T3, instead of Free T3, which is the hormone actually used by individual cells in the body.

I might suggest that you ask the endo to test thyroid antibodies to determine if you have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune thyroid disease in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it. The disease is progressive and it's not the least uncommon for symptoms to appear long before labs for TSH and FT4 are out of range.  

The antibody tests you need are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin (TgAb).  You need them both, because some of us have one or the other; some have both.  Either/both can be the basis for a diagnosis of Hashimoto's, which is the most prevalent cause of hypothyroidism in the developed world.