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I'm Just Beginning, but why do I have to carry my Dr?


(Portland, OR, USA)

It's interesting when you request a test for hormone levels, and your doctor fights you the entire way. She's young and fertile, healthy and beautiful and perhaps a little more judgemental than say another older doctor who has experienced some form of hormone displacement?

You're told you are not symptomatic for any hormone disfunction even though the symptoms are as vast as the lack of knowledge about hormone supplementation. You state that you have never had regular periods, for decades and suddenly you are getting them right on time, that you have PCOS, that you have an endocrine disease, that you have adrenal fatigue and that your last test showed you had high testosterone and low DHEA. But still resistance all the way.

You manage to garner one test for progesterone in a blood draw one day before you shed and it comes back 5.8 ng/mL. Isn't that low for a 43 y/o woman the day before her period? It's frustrating and I'm ready to change offices and doctors if I don't get more receptive care.

Comments for I'm Just Beginning, but why do I have to carry my Dr?

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Oct 10, 2011
 Carrying your Dr.
by: Lisa

Unfortunately most conventional doctors do not understand and/or do not take seriously women's hormonal problems. They are not taught that these conditions exist in medical school and doctors can live in this box forever and never come out. I think its ironic that Medicine is a "practice", and conventional doctors will try to have you believe its the "be all and end all" and "no room for thinking outside the box".

I have had a long journey finding a good doctor and I finally did, though I needed to spend money out of pocket, very few insurances will cover a good doctor. If I were you I would assume from your doctor's behavior that her attitude will not change. I would immediately begin looking elsewhere. Perhaps google wellness centers in your area. If there is a doctor you think will help give them a call, usually they will talk with you for free for 5-15 minutes to see if it would be a good fit. Also, read as much as you can, it helps immensely to go in knowledgeable.
Nov 30, 2011
 I'm Just Beginning, but why do I have to carry my Dr?
by: Wray

Hi there I would change doctors. Hormone problems can start in childhood, with children as young as five to ten giving birth. And what is PCOS if it's not an hormonal problem? Although this is caused by oxidative stress, hormones become very unbalanced. And surely she knows when to have the test done? It should always be done when progesterone levels peak, ie mid-luteal phase. This is always, in all women with a normal cycle, ±7 days after ovulation and before bleeding. A normal luteal phase lasts 12-14 days. Progesterone levels begin dropping sharply the few days before bleeding, so having the test done the day before is meaningless. Women begin anovulatory cycles round about age 35, no ovulation, no progesterone to balance the oestrogen. These cycles increase during Peri-menopause, until Menopause when the ovaries stop producing viable eggs. The adrenals are the most overworked and over looked organs in the body. These first produce progesterone before converting it to cortisol. So supplemental progesterone can help if they are stressed. Plus progesterone lessens the stress response, see here, here and here. If you want to take matters into your own hands, this is an excellent site on adrenal stress, see here
Please read through the page I've given you on PCOS, large amounts of antioxidants are required to reverse it, in particular vitamin D, please have a test done. For more info on testing etc see the Vitamin D Council, GrassrootsHealth, Birmingham Hospital and Vitamin D Links websites. Blood levels should be 70-100ng/ml or 175-250nmol/L and not the 30ng/ml or 75nmol/L most labs and doctors regard as adequate. And the minimum daily dose should be 5000iu's per day, although the latest research indicates it should be 10,000iu's per day, see here. Continued below. Take care Wray
Nov 30, 2011
 I'm Just Beginning, but why do I have to carry my Dr?
by: Wray

Hi there Progesterone is almost always low in PCOS, I recommend 100-200mg/day, more if symptoms are severe. But please read the page on Oestrogen Dominance before considering it. Progesterone also reduces testosterone, because it increases levels of SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin), see here. Fructose, sucrose and glucose reduce SHBG by 80, 50 and 40% respectively, see here. This causes testosterone to rise, please avoid all sugars, even those hidden in foods like grains, legumes and sweet starchy fruits and veggies. Avoid taking DHEA, see here, here, here and here. Take care Wray

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