Possible bleeding issue?

[Kimmi1565]

Ok, so my symptoms have been going on since I was 17 or so.  For reference, I am now 23 and overall in pretty good health, aside from an IgA deficiency and fairly frequent pneumonia that comes with it (7 times in my life, never a cold or anything beforehand).

It all started with these little red dots on my upper arms.  My doctor believed they were petechiae.  They do not blanch.  Being young and stupid, I thought they were pigment until I realized I could scratch them off.  The petechiae started when I was 17 but was purely isolated to my upper arms.  Over the past 2 months they have spread down my arms, across my chest, onto my stomach and on my thighs.

Also at 17, I started to have sleeping problems.  I am able to fall asleep in almost any situation.  I've fallen asleep while driving, standing, taking a test... It's bad.  I'm always tired, sometimes it gets a little better, but nothing spectacular.

When I was 20 I started to notice male pattern hair appear on my face, back, and chest.  It has now grown in fairly thick.

At the end of March this year, I had my period like normal, but I then continued to bleed (it would vary between a light and moderate flow) until 2 days ago.  Also the past 6 months I have noticed that after some veinipunctures I will bleed quite a bit, sometimes soaking the entire piece of guaze before it stops.  I never had this problem before.

I have had some blood work done, and I have been referred to a ob/gyn, but more than anything I am hoping that someone can give me something that I should be looking out for.

My lab results are as follows (some I don't have numbers for)
TSH was ok, 1.57
S-DHEA was in normal range
CBC red, white and hemoglobin were all a little high (despite constant bleeding)
Pap smear was normal
Total testosterone was .5 which they said was in the normal range
and I am not pregnant.

I had a ct scan done about 2 and a half years ago and everything looked ok except I had a cyst on my ovary.

Any help or advice would be very appriciated

[Kimmi1565]

I don't know if this makes a difference, but I have also had an IUD since 2005.

Also, could PCOS cause petechiae?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Excess hair in females is usually due to excess of male hormones called androgens and this is called hirsutism. Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of hirsutism. Since you have this you must consult a gynecologist to follow this up. Adrenal gland problems like adrenal tumors, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Addison’s disease or Cushing’s syndrome also result in excess hair but may have been ruled out in your case as you have a normal DHEA.
There are various approaches to treat a polycystic ovary. First of all insulin resistance has to be checked and corrected by a dose of metformin. Then regular check ups have to be scheduled and you put on low dose birth control pills to regularize the cycles first. Once this is corrected, regular ultrasounds will be done to assess the status of the ovum and accordingly drugs prescribed. At times laproscopy is done and cysts punctured. Diet and weight control are also important part of therapy and you need to be under a good nutrition expert.
Hope this helps. It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Do consult your doctor. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[thyroidian]

Hi.
Have you been checked for PCOS, which is polycystic ovary syndrome.
If you havent i would strongly advice you to get tested for this,
Also a full hormonal panel done at the same time.

On reading your post, my first thought was PCOS.
Hope this helps, if you need anymore help just give me a shout.
Nicola

[Kimmi1565]

Anyone?

[Kimmi1565]

I also might add that I've lost about 15 pounds in the past month and a half.  I haven't started exercising or changed my diet.  I don't know if it's related though.