Posted by JLx on October 13, 2005, at 10:23:47
In reply to Endo Tests?, posted by nolagirl on October 12, 2005, at 19:14:14
> Hi Guys,
> I have the opportunity to go to an endocrinologist. I am a Katrina evacuee and the state that I am staying in temporarily has provided me with medicaid for 2 months. Since I haven't had health insurance for many years now, I would like to have endo tests run. I have been diagnosed over the years as depressive, add and bi-polar but have not really benifitted from the various meds ( prozac, effexor, welbutrin, strattera, depakote, lamictal etc...). For the past few years I have been primarily anhedonic. No drive, ambition, libido, focus, pleasurable interests and the pdocs say " this all sounds like depression " and keep prescribing ad's that don't work. Can anyone suggest what tests might be good to have run. I would like to use this medicaid time wisely. I am female, 45, normal weight. Any info would be greatly appreciated. I would never have even thought about going to an endo if it wasn't for the wealth of info I have found on this site. I had thrown in the towel and just thought it was me that meds didn't work.
> Thanks,
> NolagirlHi Nolagirl,
My sympathies for being displaced from your life by the storm. Will you have a home to return to?
Depending on your physician and the vagaries of Medicaid, it might come down to what you can talk your doctor into ordering for you.
The first thing that comes to mind is thyroid. This is usually a good "rule out" test in depression. Also blood sugar. I doubt you'll have much trouble getting these tests done. Your doc will probably also be willing to order regular blood tests that would indicate anemia or other obvious abnormality.
I haven't had insurance myself for years, but on my wish list to an endocrinologist, would also be cortisol and anything else they can measure that will indicate problems with the adrenal system. Then also, DHEA, Vitamin D, and female hormones.
Have you had any perimenopause symptoms?
I havne't read this book, but find this questionnaire to be helpful. I tried progesterone supplementation based on all the stuff on the Web and a book I read, only to find it made me feel worse. I hadn't seen this questionnaire before that experiment, or I would have known I wasn't that progesterone deficient. For my type, I'm also advised to take boron, which confirms my experience as well, so I think it's pretty accurate.
http://www.yourmenopausetype.com/questionaire/mtq.html
Interestingly in my progesterone experiment, I had a very short time on it, less than half a day, when I felt a surge of energy. Someone on these boards suggested that may have been cortisol related . I was surprised because I had assumed that I more probably have too much cortisol all the time. I read "The Cortisol Connection" for instance, and found that what I had thought was pretty cool about middle age -- waking up early and not needing so much sleep -- is actually a bad sign of too much cortisol all the time due to chronic stress and aging. So, for myself I'm confused and would love to get that tested.
I started taking an herbal women's formula in perimenopause that included DHEA. I found then that this helped my mood considerably -- the DHEA, that is. When I accidentally tried the same brand but without DHEA, I didn't notice a boost.
Since then I have been taking magnesium, which is also related to DHEA function, and take DHEA less as it seems to help less, as I feel better anyway with magnesium.
If you aren't already, and regardless of your endo tests, you may want to supplement with magnesium. It helped me enormously. I haven't been tested again, but per my symptoms, I have straightened out my thyroid myself with magnesium, tyrosine, and probably selenium too.
You might want to read up on anything you suspect in yourself and make sure that you specifically mention your related symptoms.
JL
poster:JLx
thread:566171
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050924/msgs/566440.html