 Q: |
After my second child and my tubal ligation at 31yrs, I was
put on Provera. It seemed to make my PMS worse, and my periods
got more and more irregular. I would bleed heavily for two
days, then it would taper off and I’d spot for about
a week. During that week I felt really bad! The worst was
the fogginess and dizziness in my head—like a film over
my eyes. I also experienced anxiety, fatigue, dry and brittle
hair, and increased hair loss, dry skin, mood swings, depression
and headaches. So I stopped the Provera.
I went to every doc, had every test done, and they said I
was fine. Finally my endrocrinologist put me back on Provera,
and lo and behold, I got better, but I still suffered from
the bad PMS. I felt this drug was no good for me. So I stopped
it again, and started natural micronized progesterone capsules.
What do you think? |
| A: |
I am not surprised by your story. Unfortunately,
I have seen dozens of women patients who have been put through
the same hell as you.
When doctors say you are fine, they mean that the labs can't
find anything. That is because doctors, in general, don't
know the difference between average (normal) and healthy (right
for you). To say that you are fine because your labs fit you
into a range that covers 95% of the population is as ignorant
as if your doctor said you were healthy because your weight
was between 75 and 260 pounds. Those are "normal"
weights, but may not be healthy for you.
Find a doc who knows thyroid and hormones. You really sound
like you are having problems with both.
I suggest you get a copy of Dr. Elizabeth Vliet's "Screaming
to Be Heard: Hormonal Connections Women Suspect...And Doctors
Ignore." She discusses the thyroid and the bad menses,
and she talks about why most women have problems after a tubal
ligation: it decreases blood flow to the ovaries, and the
estrogen levels drop prematurely. This makes bad PMS worse.
You have described the classic symptoms of hypothyroidism:
irregular periods, brain fog, dizziness, anxiety, fatigue,
dry brittle hair, increased hair loss, dry skin, mood swings,
depression and headaches. In his book, "Solved: the Riddle
of Illness", Stephen Langer, MD tells how you can check
your own thyroid for free with just a basal temperature.
In 1888 the first paper was written on the link between PFH
(Periods from Hell, as one of my patients called the ones
that are crampy, clotty, irregular, with bleeding for more
than 10 ten days a month). Unfortunately, docs today don't
seem to recognize this because the labs miss most of the common
causes of thyroid trouble in women. This includes Autoimmune
Thyroiditis which some say is 25 times more common in women
than in men. The most common story is that things got especially
bad following the second pregnancy. Gaining weight, feeling
sluggish, tired, depressed, and cold. Some women go through
a time of overactive thyroid initially while the gland breaks
down and leaks hormones.
The slightest thyroid imbalance can really wreak havoc with
periods, pregnancy, and fertility. All that most docs look
at is the TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which doesn't
detect the real problem. Provera can sometimes help, but the
real cause is usually in the metabolism, not the lining of
your uterus. For those who might choose Provera over progesterone,
it is important to remember that our bodies were designed
to operate with natural hormones produced by the body. For
those who might choose Provera over progesterone, it is important
to remember that the natural hormones are "bio-identical,"
the ones that are naturally in people and with which their
bodies were designed to operate.
When doctors says you are fine, they mean that the labs can't
find anything. That is because doctors, in general, don't
know the difference between average (normal) and healthy (right
for you). To say that you are fine because your labs fit you
into a range that covers 95% of the population is as as if
your doctor said you were healthy because your weight was
between 75 and 260 pounds. Those are "normal" weights,
but may not be healthy for you.
Check out a few thyroid support groups, where you will hear
your story repeated countless times. The minor variation is
that instead of getting thyroid help, most women get a hysterectomy
done for the heavy periods. I have taken care of many women
with exactly the same experiences. You have my prayers that
you get what you need to get well.
Don Michael, MD
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