Western Medicine appears to send the following messages:
‘It’s what to expect at your age.’
Or
‘Period symptoms are the luck of the draw.’
Or
‘We have antidepressants or OCPs for that!’
Menstrual Problems and hormonal imbalance outcomes
PCOS; Endometriosis; Fibroids: Adenomyosis; Hormonal imbalance; Hormonal Based Cancers:
What could it be? What tests?
How do I know to insist on asking for further investigation? For starters, change doctors unless your doctor specialises in female repro or is female, listens, hears, and is empathetic.
Plot your periods for three months along with symptoms, medications, past repro and other health history, familial traits, etc.
For all these conditions the individual symptoms vary from person to person; the symptoms also can be indicative of these or other conditions. Finding a practitioner who can identify the differential diagnoses, exclude related disorders, and isolate the likely is key.
Specific to the more common features of PCOS, Hirsutism (male pattern hair growth) may also be a sign of Adrenal hyperplasia, Cushing’s syndrome, Acromegaly, and various Adrenal and Ovarian dysfunction disorders. Amenorrhoea itself is also symptomatic of several health conditions which warrant
Primary Annual/Investigative tests
Full Hormone Profile (day 21 if possible)
Full Iron studies
Palpation of the abdomen and internal examination combined.
If PCOS is suspected or family history
Pathology: – FAI: Testosterone and free testosterone: DHEAs: Cortisol; SHBG: Fasting Insulin
If PCOS or Endo is suspected or family history:
Ultrasound
The important thing to remember is that it is your health and your outcomes that are at play.
It is your life and quality of life …. Ask and expect!