MamaTrain

That is an excellent idea Maggie! I will need to remember that cause I have people ask me alot about how to find a nature doc where they live! KC

Hi Green! One site that you might try is called RateMDs.com. When you see the homepage the top says something like "find a doctor" and then a section comes up that asks you to fill in names if you have one, city or state that you may be looking in and the field of expertise you're looking for. I beleive it's under homeopathy/naturpathy in the drop down menu of field selections! I have used this to check up on doctors I have never seen before and to find good ones. Hope that helps you out! KC

KC Can you share what kind of doctor discovered your hormone defiency(s)? I was told by one rather simple blood test I was in peri-menopause couple years ago .... Just ignored the news and kept living -- In January hot flashes (I guess?) began -- funny though - they can be so different - like one an hour ...... for a couple of days..... and then none. I live in a very cool temperature area in summer and I was actually starting to miss them because I was freezing and they would warm me up (I know how weird is that) Now and again I'd get big rushes of bounding heartbeats etc.......... Sometimes just facial flushing....... Heck I had a monthly cycle till then one the end of Novemeber last year....one March 1 this year - and none since. Now I just feel nauseated and dizzy and not sure about menopause because I know no one that's been through it to talk to. Kinda ignorant about it all -- I see my ob/gyn next week and I'll ask him what he thinks. I have never sweat in my life and now I sweat ALL the time - enough to have me buy breathable athletic apparel so the sweat doesn't show! This with the ANS stuff and hypermobiity syndrome makes life challenging lately...... Does menopause ever officially end symptom wise? I have no idea what my hormones are doing or which one's they check for this stuff... thanx for any helps Hi! I have a doctor who is a regular MD but also believes in and uses naturpathic medicine. She only uses saliva testing as she feels it is the best way to see what's really going on with the hormones. I think it's different for everyone but it's MY belief that if you have a ANS that is just a little "off" for whatever reasons (I think genetics myself) then every little thing that affects it is going to REALLY affect you. That's just how I think about it so please take it with a grain of salt. No pun intended for those of us who use alot of salt to ward off symptoms! LOL! Just an FYI too about seeing your gyno. I saw one and they were like no way you're in menopause you're not even 40. They did the blood test that tests FSH and it was "normal". My current doc said that is not the way to really see what the hormones are doing. All that test said was the relay system is working but not HOW MUCH I was making. Good luck and feel free to ask any other questions if need be! Best of the week to you! KC

TLD- I have this alot when I try to settle down to go to sleep. If I turn over on either side I get palps and then it settles down. It's annoying as all get out! KC

Hi Tara, I am currently undergoing treatment for severe hormone deficiency. Female hormones and adrenal gland hormones! We believe it's the root problem of my dysautonomia. Since taking them I have been feeling better. I would think if you put your body into a surgical menopause your body is going to react very badly to that. Somewhere on a older post of mine a lady said that Dr. Grubb himself said that menopause is a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system so anyone with autonomic problems is going to fare much worse. I would strongly suggest getting the replacement hormones as soon as possible...preferably the bio-identical ones. Good luck on your surgery and keep us posted! KC

That is really cool! Post when you get it and let us know how it seem to work! :-)

This is a very understandable fear! I have it also! If I have an episode I will just panic that it will not go away and I will be like that all over again for months and months. I have been doing very well so I am always thinking oh please God dont let it come back! Last episode I had was in the middle of the night and I finally just said you lived through it once and now you know so much more so IF it happens again you will survive. I was totally fine an hour later! LOL! Keep thinking positive thoughts and enjoy each day that "IT" doesnt rear it's ugly head! Hugs to you, KC

Elisa, Welcome to the boards! You are in very good company here with people who really know and understand. I can not say for certain that you have dysautonomia but I can say it sounds very suspicious. I too had a reaction to some medication (Ritalin child dosage) and it threw me into a state that I was sure was the front porch of the devils door! I am almost 1 1/2 years into my ordeal and have learned alot from this forum. I started seeing a very good doctor who also uses naturpathic methods (unheard of around here) to see if she could figure out what was wrong with me. She specializes in female hormones. My values came back in a what can only be described as beyond pathetic. I had almost no estrogen, progesterone or cortisol. She explained that when I took that Ritalin my body freaked out so bad because it could not handle it. My adrenals were so weakened that the stimulant threw it over the edge. I have been on bio-identical hormones and adrenal support for a few months now and I see alot of improvement but not "normal" as of yet! I would suggest looking into every aspect and dont let anyone tell you you're too young to have hormones problems....I am turning 40 in Aug. and I know it happened to me! Good luck and keep us posted. Feel free to message or ask questions. Stay cool as the heat tends to make alot of us go crazy! KC

FutureHope- It did say something about the use of MSM for IC so it's funny you said that! I started researching it because I read that MSM was used as part of natural treatment plan for acne. I thought how does it help acne and when I read that is allows more water to move through cells and more toxins to be released it made me think that maybe it would aid in the dehydration factor. Then I read further that it allows cortisol to work more effectively. Since I am having issues with very low cortisol it peaked my interest even further! KC

Just curious if anyone has tried MSM? I have been researching it and have found some interesting facts on it. Since I have some adrenal problems I think it would be good for me but not 100% sure. Check out this MSM-FAQ site I found..... http://falconblanco.com/health/msm/msmq&a.htm I'm going to continue my research but seem pleased with what I have read so far! Thanks for reading....have a great weekend! KC

I was told I could have something called hyperinsulemia when I had this super drop in blood sugar but not a diabetic. It's like your body makes a ton of insulin in response so your BS goes down real fast instead of slowly. Just throwing that out there! KC

I went through the super sleepy thing with the progesterone too! I quit taking it for a while cause I couldnt even function! But I started again and just fought my way through that and it got better. I hope your sleep study shows something that helps figure this all out! KC

I had this too but since starting bio-identicals it has really improved. I've only been on treatment for 3 months and I suspect that when I'm on the full amount of hormones (I'm taking it super slow) and it's been 6 months things will be super improved! I also am taking adrenal support. Hope that helps! KC

Hi Dani! Happy Birthday early! I went to Vegas last September for a friends wedding and the Beavers football game. It was 104 at the game and it was 8:00 at night! I would say the heat was very hard for me but I survived with alot of Powerade. I experimented before I left with having some drinks and seeing how I would do. My tolerance for alcohol has gotten better so I did ok but I only had like 2 drinks which actually made me feel quite buzzed since I had not been drinking in such a long time! Do what is going to make you feel the best ok. You have to come back and take care of your little girl and you dont want to come back and need 3 days just to get back to normal! Will you be flying? I have read that some folk have a hard time with plane rides. Hope you are able to go and enjoy yourself without compromising yourself any further! KC

I tried it a long time ago and it made me feel "weird" as did any time of medication of that sort! :-(

I find this helps too! I figured it was some sort of release that makes me feel better. I try not to overthink it I just do what works! LOL! KC

You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kctrain

Great idea! I have a MySpace account that I use sometimes. I am mostly on Facebook now and I try to get involved there too. Thanks for making the suggestion! KC

I hate to keep coming back to adrenal issues but I read that when you are under stress or emotional upset it pulls more from your already taxed reserves. I know that used to make me freak out too. Now it's not so bad and I can actually do stuff now where even a short walk would give me exhaustion! KC

Like I have said 100 times before being treated for my adrenal/female hormone issues has made a difference for me! We have got to know where we are at with our hormones as they effect us all so much! :-) KC

I was shocked to see my saliva cortisol results when I first had them done. My doctor who is a regular MD but uses naturpathic care said she feels it's the best way to test. Adrenal issues can be complex. I read the book Adrenal Fatigue and it was very helpful to me. Hope you get some answers and SOON!!! KC

Lieze- I did have the norepi and catecholmines tested when they thought I had a pheo tumor but they were pretty normal. The supplement for adrenals that I am taking is called Cytozyme AD. It has been helping along with getting some hormones back in my system. It is my belief that some of us women can go through hormone withdrawl and have very little or no real trouble because the adrenal glands also produce those hormones so that is why you can survive when your body decides to go into menopause. BUT if you are ANS troubled and then that happens I think it can really throw you off. Someone on the forum quoted Dr. Grubb as saying that menopause is in itself a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. If you look at my numbers it's easy to see why it was so horrible...it was beyond pathetic! I really hope this is the root cause of my dysautonomia and that I will soon be somewhat back to normal. I strongly suggest having your saliva hormone levels checked even if you are not at the age where you think you should! KC

Although it may not be contributing to your problem, when I had my saliva cortisol levels checked I found out I had very little to none through out the day. I am on adrenal support and other female hormones now and am seeing improvement every day!

When I first started out with this I would just make it worse by getting extra panicky! My chiropractor told me that once the body gets to a certain point heart rate wise that the brain will start to freak out cause obviously there is something going on and it isnt right! He suggested I do a self talk when it happened and it helped out ALOT! I still do it even when I just feel really "odd" as I refer to it. I just say this too shall pass...you've been thru it a 1000 times now. Hugs! KC