Hormone mayhem!

My hormone journey, how my hormones may have been playing a part in my digestive issues, testing, treatment and more...

My hormone journey started when I hit puberty. From about 12 years old my skin became excessively oily and I developed severe cystic acne. At 14 my periods commenced and they were heavy, painful, irregular and impacting on the life of a usually active teenager who would now sit curled up on the couch once a month, waiting out the 7 day long bleed. Due to my periods being irregular and the acne I was still experiencing (though to a much lesser degree at this point after being stabalised through treatment with Roacutane - not a path I would necessarily take these days), I had a hormone test which got me a referral to a Gynecologist. He assessed my blood test results and diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), advised me it may be difficult to have children and that I should go on a specific type of contraceptive pill prescribed to woman with high androgen levels, to regulate my periods and acne. At this point in my up bringing I had no insight to question the knowledge of the Western medical system, so I began my 15 year relationship (we did have a few breaks in that time, but never for long as the acne would return and I'd go running straight back into 'Diane' or 'Estelle's' arms again) with artificial hormones telling my body how to operate.

GP

March 2015, at 30 years of age, I decided I no longer wanted artificial hormones in my body, so I ceased taking the pill and was high with curiosity as to what changes were going to happen in my body as a result. After 5 months of waiting, I saw my GP in August for a hormone assessment as I was concerned they were never going to return. Hormones are assessed by what is appropriate for each phase of the menstrual cycle, and mine didn't neatly fit into any phase. It was suggested that I could wait longer as it does take some woman some time before their period returns. I had to wait a long 15 months before I got my first period in March 2016, but finally I had some idea when my cycle may be that I could have my hormones tested again to see if my results were aligning with the guesstimated phase. Another test and another lot of out of whack results. This time being half in the Follicular stage and half in a menopausal state. The GP said she didn't have in-depth knowledge of hormonal issues and that I'd need to see a specialist if I wanted to look into what was going on for me. I left it and decided to see if I became regular, giving my body more time. Come September of that year, my gut issues began and my hormone issues fell to the way side, with no mention from my GP that these two concerns could be operating hand in hand.

Gynecologist

Nearing the end of 2017, I started looking into my hormones again, had another blood test and got a referral to a specialist to discuss the problem in more depth. I was again uninspired by my interactions with the Australia medical system as although the Gynecologist couldn't access my most recent blood test results, from my period reports, he suggested I have a hormone imbalance that was fixable by going on the contraceptive pill, or by taking progesterone for 10 days a month (or at least once every 3 months) to induce a period. I could also have a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD - a T-shaped plastic frame that's inserted into the uterus, where it releases a type of the hormone progestin) that would provide long-term birth control and 'artificial' hormonal balance so that I didn't need to regularly take the pill. And if I wasn't intending on having children and needing alternative ways of getting pregnant as it likely wouldn't happen naturally in my current hormonal state, then that was the that, I was sent on my way.

Naturopath

And then I come to Anne. The first person who looked at my hormone test results and was aghast. Who felt this imbalance was a priority to rectify, who made the connection that hormones play a role in digestion and that they could be contributing to my current GIT complaints. Anne referred me to undergo the Dutch Complete testing, an in-depth hormone test through the analysis of urine over a 12 hour period. I completed this and the results (full report available here) were enlightening. I was clearly in a menopausal state, with low estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Anne assessed my results and prescribed bio-identical hormones with the aim to get my body self regulating so my hormones could get into a routine and in the long run, function on their own, so I wasn't living the rest of my days relying on medications. Anne prescribed me the use of hormone creams, progesterone and estrogen, morning and night, and 10mg of DHEA daily. DHEA is not available without going through the medical system in Australia, so I had to find a GP willing to prescribe this to me. After trying a couple who refused, I found a most wonderful GP who instantly upon meeting I appointed to a place in my healing team (whether he knows it or not, though he is pretty intuitive so I'd say he does). I commenced the creams which I ordered from America and the DHEA which I had to get from a compounding pharmacy, in April 2020. I will continue to provide updates here as they happen but so far no noticeable changes have occurred in the first 2 weeks.