I am going through my prior labs for a new RE and am so upset. I was 32 when my body stopped making estrogen. Am 40 now & didn't get care for 8 years. I have the labs (full month-long DUTCH tests where my estradiol is post-menopausal) in 2018, again in 2023.... I was complaining at age 32 & 33 of insomnia, anxiety, crying all the time, panic attacks, chronic joint pain, exhaustion, and more. I was NEVER asked to have a blood fertility panel drawn for FSH, LH, estradiol, etc etc because I wasn't trying for babies then. No OB or PCP or ND put me on HRT. I didn't know about RE's back then. I was told to get on antidepressants, which I refused.
When I was finally put on HRT at age 37 after demanding help, I was put on the LOWEST possible dose, 0.025mg/day patches. They did nothing. I was eventually put on a 0.75mg oral tablet at age 38. It helped a lot for a while.
I was told by a prior RE clinic that too-high of estrogen would make my ovaries "lazy" and they'd stop working so I needed to stop estrogen or keep it low.
I'm 40 now and FINALLY on 1mg estrogen cream daily. I don't know if its enough and might need 1.5 or higher. I met with a new RE this week who I really like who actually spent an hour with me going over all my medical history. Who assured me we need estradiol high enough to get our brains and reproductive systems into working & communicating properly.
It has BROKEN MY HEART to review what I've suffered through for so many years without being taken seriously. The effects on my bones, heart, brain, joints, mind, and fertility. Only now that we have been trying for babies. Its just so upsetting.
I am so worried now about my bone density health, and will ask for a DEXA scan. My cholesterol has increased rapidly and my deadbeat PCP told me to stop eating butter. I will ask for a lipid panel in a few months. I am so afraid of the long-term damage of this ~ of 8 YEARS of improper care and tanked estrogen levels throughout almost my whole 30s.
How do we manage the long-term effects of misdiagnosis? The grief of the impact to our fertility and our bodies? Are there counselors who specialize in this? Labs we should have drawn regularly?
Is the damage when its that long, that young, reversible for our brains, joints, cartilage, bones and bodies? What do women do to reverse this?
Looking for some hope, guidance, camaraderie, anything. To know am not alone in this. What has worked for you?