good news and bad news...

Jeannemrm · 09-18-2007, 04:00 PM

I'm not offically PCOS yet, but I have the hormonal profile and a lot of the symptoms including a major depressive state earlier this summer which I'm on Wellbutrin for, and it's helped, but I'm still tired, having hypoglycemic attacks, bad memory and other stuff. My NP told me my hormones were normal, but they are not...as the testosterone is too high for the SHBG.

Anyway, I went to my appointment with the psychiatrist about my depression today, as the NP (he thinks it's all psychological) wanted me to.....and the good news is, she took me seriously when I told her about the hormones being out of wack and that that could be part of the depression. The bad news is 1. she can't treat me for the physical side, and 2. the doctor in the clinic she suggested is booked up until December!

If I could see the other doctor, she could refer me to this place in town for people who are without insurance but too high for medicaid. I don't want to wait until December to get moving on this now that I see there is a problem, but I can't really afford to go to a specialist w/out insurance and I probably need referral anyway! ARG!

Any suggestions?

Jeanne

CarmenSandiego · 09-21-2007, 01:30 PM

Can you beg to be on a cancellation list?? With all my specialists, I ask to see if anyone ever cancels at any time (see how desperate I am!!), please call me!

I don't blame you for not wanting to wait so long.

Good luck!

Jeannemrm · 09-21-2007, 01:34 PM

I'm going to try that...first I'm going to give them a little time to handle the change of doctor request though. I'm afraid they may ask me why I don't want to see the NP ....because if I go on about him misinterpreting the tests, I may end up in a bit of a confrontation with them, and I hate confrontations. I keep going over it again and again about how I would tell them he goofed without making them write me off as a kook/hypochondriac.

Jeanne

ads2e · 11-14-2007, 12:02 AM

When you get a new doctor, I highly recommend having them test you for hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism causes symptoms that are very similar to depression, so when you have hypothyroidism and PCOS you become can somewhat dysfunctional. The problem is even greater if you have other hormonal issues involved.

FYI (my hypothyroidism experience) --> I have PCOS and major depression, but I was feeling worse than usual: absolutely exhausted, very somber mood, change in appetite, experiencing some confusion, etc. Basically, I had all of the symptoms of depression and they couldn't figure out what was wrong. They thought it might be just depression (a relative had recently died), then sleep apnea, then chronic fatigue syndrome, then a virus, and then a vitamin deficiency. In the first round of tests, we did not do a thyroid test because we had done one at my physical about a month before this started and it was normal.

Then, after 3 months of tests and dealing with this, my doctor said "let's start from scratch and pretend we haven't tested you for anything. What would we test you for?" So, then she did the thyroid test and we figured out I had hypothyroidism. I started taking a prescription and in about 3 weeks, I felt dramatically better. I still had the depression symptoms, but there was a marked difference than before. It was dramatically easier to deal with the depression and my other issues once my hypothyroidism was treated.

So anyway, the moral of the story is that you should get tested for hypothyroidism because it could be contributing to your problems and it can have a very quick onset.

Jeannemrm · 11-14-2007, 12:14 AM

they did actually test T4 and TSH....My TSH was at around 3.28 and my T4 was right in the normal range..but they didn't check T3 or absorption etc. Also, the levels for 'normal TSH' were changed in 2003 to under 3, and some are even saying 2.1 now....but the local lab here still uses 5.5 as the top range! and the clinic goes by those numbers.

I've been so run down lately..and I see my depression worsen when I'm run down....I had crafts markets the last two weekends and it just knocks for far too big a loop to be normal. When I first went in to talk to the DR...my thought was it was either Thyroid or Hormonal....but they have discounted both based on their interpretation of the numbers.....even though everything I've read tells me they are using out of date standards and not looking at relationships between things.

Jeanne

LessThanThree · 11-21-2007, 12:49 PM

I've heard of a lot of people having memory problems with Wellbutrin. Have you found that it works for you, otherwise? I've been on Lexapro for a couple of months now and I honestly can't say enough good things about it. I don't get the numb or forgetful feelings that other meds can give, and I still feel emotions. They just aren't as extreme as they were before. I'll still tear up at a good movie and get excited about something cute my BF does, but I don't completely fly off the handle and then break down sobbing about insignificant things anymore.

LandonsMommy · 11-21-2007, 03:22 PM

This may sound like a stretch, but when I was trying to get into the endocrinologist I currently see I did a couple of things:

1) I got a whole set of labs used to diagnose/rule-out hypothyroidism, which include some needed for PCOS as well (at the time I thought it was just thyroid). *If you need a list, let me know. You could ask the psychiatrist to order these tests so that you have recent baseline results before you see the specialist (make sure when the results are ready you know who to contact to get a copy for your records!)

2) Write a letter to the physician you have been referred to. I know this sounds silly, but I when I was trying to get in with the endo I see now he was booked 4 months in advance! I wrote him a letter and sent it to him describing my concerns and included my lab results. I explained my symptoms, past medical history, and current problems. After he received the letter I had an appointment within 3 weeks.

This may not work on every physician but I feel it helped my case. To show you are truly concerned about your health and wanting to be pro-active can speak volumes to health care providers.

Good luck!