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Carnivorekat
Posts: 370 Member
Recently had my blood works back - I had registered 4 months ago as borderline underactive thyroid so they wanted to do a full check up and also to check my hormone levels as I suffer with a lot of hair growth and they wanted to rule out PCOS and my thyroid is normal and my hormone levels are normal - they have found thyroid antibodies which means I am more susceptible to developing underactive thyroid issues but they are going to get me to do a blood test once a year to keep it under control.
Feeling very positive (although really hate having a hairy chin - not very femenine) but at least we have ruled out medical issues
Feeling very positive (although really hate having a hairy chin - not very femenine) but at least we have ruled out medical issues
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If you have thyroid antibodies, you already have a thyroid dysfunction. www.stopthethyroidmadness.com Depending on which type of antibodies, you may also have it as autoimmune... And as a sufferer of PCOS, hormones are one of the least indicative of an actual diagnosis. I hope that your doctors' interpretation of these results is accurate, but I hope you dig in some more to research. At the very least with suspicion of PCOS, I'd recommend fasting insulin testing.0
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kathrout1973 wrote: »Recently had my blood works back - I had registered 4 months ago as borderline underactive thyroid so they wanted to do a full check up and also to check my hormone levels as I suffer with a lot of hair growth and they wanted to rule out PCOS and my thyroid is normal and my hormone levels are normal - they have found thyroid antibodies which means I am more susceptible to developing underactive thyroid issues but they are going to get me to do a blood test once a year to keep it under control.
Feeling very positive (although really hate having a hairy chin - not very femenine) but at least we have ruled out medical issues
You probably have androgen receptors in your skin which is not a medical condition. You can get that hair permanently removed if you wish.
I agree with KnitOrMiss about your thyroid. Did they test T4, as well as TSH?
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@lithezebra What are the androgen receptors? I get prickly hairs on my chin that I pluck, but not enough for laser removal, etc. My endo had put me on a med for hormonal stuff, but it didn't help... Now I'm wondering...0
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »@lithezebra What are the androgen receptors? I get prickly hairs on my chin that I pluck, but not enough for laser removal, etc. My endo had put me on a med for hormonal stuff, but it didn't help... Now I'm wondering...
Everyone makes androgens, aka male hormones, and cells respond to them if they have the corresponding receptors to bind the hormone. So if you, as a woman, have androgen receptors associated with hair follicles, you will tend to grow some dark hairs in places like the face, even though your hormones can be perfectly normal. What med did your endo give you? Androgen antagonists like drospirenone (which is a synthetic progesterone) and spironolactone, often help, although I would want to try laser hair removal or electrolysis before taking a medication that might lower healthy levels of hormones.0 -
It was that spironolactone one, and he put me on it at the same time as metformin, and with the two I got MASSIVELY dehydrated, no matter how much water and sodium I took in, so I elected to stop taking it first, then the metformin, too eventually. At my last labs, my testosterone level was higher than 2014 or early 2015, the only other recorded tests I have back to 2009... 15-Apr-16 Result: 50 ng/dL Range: 14-76 ng/dL
Actually, most of my hormone stuff was higher this last time, so I dunno what to think. I don't know what healthy is. As for dark hairs, most of them aren't dark, just like 10%, but they are all pokey. Like stiff hairs. Well, not all of them, but all the ones I pluck, because they get pokey and irritating. However, I am 1/4 Polish, so I inherited ... well, great genes.
Years back (like 2006-2008), I was supplementing progresterone in a compounded cream, but my adrenals were completely depleted, and so my levels never improved. I'm a hormonal mess, TBH...
@lithezebra The rest of my hormones were "normal for someone in the 3rd week of their cycle," except I take continuous BCP to prevent periods, so I shouldn't have the normal upswings that other folks have. It bothered me quite a bit, but my insulin was crazy, too, which I know plays in, too...
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@KnitOrMiss , yes, spironolactone is a potassium sparing diuretic that works by inhibiting aldosterone, which is made by the adrenal cortex and structurally related to androgenic hormones - it can be dehydrating.
The first BCP I was on made me grow little dark hairs where I didn't want them. You might look at the progestin in your BCP to see if it is the cause of the hairs. I take drospirenone as my progesterone replacement, now, and it cleared up those dark hairs promptly. It's also why I've read so much about potassium sparing diuretics that suppress androgenic hormones.0 -
And that's what's crazy to me, @lithezebra - progesterone only pills or "light" pills SO did not work for me. I had horrible perpetual Vesuvius level PMS (you never knew when it would erupt), so obviously that stuff never helped. Once I got on the second stage dosage of another medication, I was finally able to "level out," but I've no idea what that is doing to everything esle...
I hate needing the BCP, but I'm not able to do a sterilization, etc., due to pelvic organ prolapse and known complications to bladder suspension surgery and the like...or I would probably in a damned heartbeat.0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »And that's what's crazy to me, @lithezebra - progesterone only pills or "light" pills SO did not work for me. I had horrible perpetual Vesuvius level PMS (you never knew when it would erupt), so obviously that stuff never helped. Once I got on the second stage dosage of another medication, I was finally able to "level out," but I've no idea what that is doing to everything esle...
I hate needing the BCP, but I'm not able to do a sterilization, etc., due to pelvic organ prolapse and known complications to bladder suspension surgery and the like...or I would probably in a damned heartbeat.
Everyone has their medications that don't work for them. I get crazy and depressed on estrogen alone, and my ability to hold a train of thought goes to hell. The wrong progestin makes me hairy and suicidal. Thankfully, there are many different progestins, so if the one you're taking is giving you side effects, you might be able to take another one.1 -
I am not totally sure what tests they did - next time I am in to see my Doctor I will ask them. I don't have any major problems with PCOS symptoms only vague ones and the fact that I get a lot of hair on my face (thick black hair) was one of the main reasons I wanted to get this checked - I am definitely going to look into other options and speak to my doctor to find out more about the tests they have done2
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lithezebra wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »And that's what's crazy to me, @lithezebra - progesterone only pills or "light" pills SO did not work for me. I had horrible perpetual Vesuvius level PMS (you never knew when it would erupt), so obviously that stuff never helped. Once I got on the second stage dosage of another medication, I was finally able to "level out," but I've no idea what that is doing to everything esle...
I hate needing the BCP, but I'm not able to do a sterilization, etc., due to pelvic organ prolapse and known complications to bladder suspension surgery and the like...or I would probably in a damned heartbeat.
Everyone has their medications that don't work for them. I get crazy and depressed on estrogen alone, and my ability to hold a train of thought goes to hell. The wrong progestin makes me hairy and suicidal. Thankfully, there are many different progestins, so if the one you're taking is giving you side effects, you might be able to take another one.
Hear hear! Mirena made me a nut! Most progestins make me edgy as heck. But the bio-identical stuff mellows me out. We're all individuals for sure!1 -
DIM is an estrogen balancer made from broccoli, it should help with the facial hair, and in my opinion the best thing you can do to help your thyroid is giving up gluten. But I'm just a crazy herbal person, so I always encourage independent research!!!1
