Hi,
I have a new Endo and he suspects that I may have been misdiagnosed with PCOS 10 yrs ago(I'm on the fence with how I feel about this). He's sending me for a hormone panel and said that if anything is too off, I'll need a CT scan (I also have a bloated lower abdomen). Can adrenal problems cause someone not to have periods? All of this has left me confused....
If it helps:
- Dr. 10 yrs ago did a trans vag and blood work. Because I was so young at the time, I never really inquired as to what the numbers were (he's now retired and I was not able to get the orginal records, lovely, no?)
- Last ultrasound no cysts, last blood work (2 yrs ago) high testosterone (90 something) and high prolactin. LH/FSH fine.
- Only had a few periods ever (around age 15-16)
- Not IR
- Thin
- No excess hair
- Lower ab bloat/discomfort but normal ultrasound
That is interesting. Let me share my short story I was what I call normal until I was about 18 years old. Normal periods starting at 12, nothing out of the ordinary going on with me. Then I gained about 20 lbs and my mom suggested that my thyroid be tested. Turns out, I am hypothyroid. Started seeing an endo, got on synthroid, lost the weight. Then out of nowhere at 20ish my periods vanished and everything was different. Gained some weight but I guess before it got too out of hand I got on birth control with no additional testing. A couple of years later I got off birth control. Gained 25 lbs, never ever had a period the entire time I was off BC. My endo did all kinds of testing on me before he labeled me PCOS. He even did some creatine test where you have to collect urine samples, yuck! However I have always wondered if it is "just pcos." I am currently seeing an RE and do in fact have polycistic ovaries. But still, I cant help but think its something more! Or something else. I for sure have high testosterone and think I am IR. However, my sister has a pretty high testosterone but doesnt think she is IR. She is pretty thin too. Have you gotten your results back yet from the hormone panel? I am anxious to see what your diagnosis will be now. Let us know!
__________________ Kaley- TTC#1 8/09 M/C at 5.5 weeks 9/09 Dx MTHFR & APA 1/10 IVF Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7
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pcoshelp--
Adrenal problems can cause a lack of periods. There's a syndrome called Cushing's that affects the adrenal glands and one of its symptoms is a lack of periods. That's probably why your doctor wants to take a CT if your hormone levels come back abnormal. Cushing's can be caused by a tumor on the adrenal glands and might explain the bloated abdomen you were talking about. There are other women on this forum who have also been misdiagnosed with PCOS when they had Cushing's instead and there are also a few who have both PCOS and Cushings. Hoepfully this helps.
__________________ No PCOS diagnosis yet...
Feel free to ask me about hyperprolactinemia though, just had my prolactinoma removed through brain surgery. Happier and healthier already... To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
If you had Cushings, would you have en elevated level of prolactin? I was just going over some blood tests that I had several years ago. I thought that prolactin levels would indicate a tumor or something??
__________________ Kaley- TTC#1 8/09 M/C at 5.5 weeks 9/09 Dx MTHFR & APA 1/10 IVF Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7
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Any number of things can cause your to lose your menstrual cycle.
Regarding PCOS, here are some links regarding the diagnosis process. It will help you understand the types of things that should tested for and excluded before a doctor settles on a PCOS diagnosis.
If you had Cushings, would you have en elevated level of prolactin? I was just going over some blood tests that I had several years ago. I thought that prolactin levels would indicate a tumor or something??
It's possible to have Cushing's and an elevated level of prolactin. It's also possible to have elevated prolactin levels without Cushing's or PCOS for that matter. Elevated prolactin levels can indicate a tumor, but there are women who have PCOS and elevated prolactin levels and don't have any tumors. Prolactin levels by themselves don't really indicate much other than how much prolactin is in your blood.
However, based on your prolactin levels a doctor can suspect a tumor, which at that point they will usually order an MRI to determine if there is a tumor or not. If there is, they treat it based on how large it is and if there isn't they move on to other things that can cause elevated prolactin levels.
__________________ No PCOS diagnosis yet...
Feel free to ask me about hyperprolactinemia though, just had my prolactinoma removed through brain surgery. Happier and healthier already... To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Adrenal problem? 
I was what I call normal until I was about 18 years old. Normal periods starting at 12, nothing out of the ordinary going on with me. Then I gained about 20 lbs and my mom suggested that my thyroid be tested. Turns out, I am hypothyroid. Started seeing an endo, got on synthroid, lost the weight. Then out of nowhere at 20ish my periods vanished and everything was different. Gained some weight but I guess before it got too out of hand I got on birth control with no additional testing. A couple of years later I got off birth control. Gained 25 lbs, never ever had a period the entire time I was off BC. My endo did all kinds of testing on me before he labeled me PCOS. He even did some creatine test where you have to collect urine samples, yuck! However I have always wondered if it is "just pcos." I am currently seeing an RE and do in fact have polycistic ovaries. But still, I cant help but think its something more! Or something else. I for sure have high testosterone and think I am IR. However, my sister has a pretty high testosterone but doesnt think she is IR. She is pretty thin too. Have you gotten your results back yet from the hormone panel? I am anxious to see what your diagnosis will be now. Let us know!
