PS - A 2023 Study

*PS added to this PS* 😂

Being that I am no better, and the low pelvic pain is actually worse (plus I had a weird weakness today, almost flu-like, and 2 people said I looked pale/pasty), I was looking around for more studies. 

(I'm seeing a new doctor tomorrow, I'm sure it's nothing, this just isn't going away despite my best efforts.)

So here's one from 2023,  proving estrogen spikes cause changes in the smooth muscle tissue in the bowel - and as we know, I am super sensitive to estrogen.

I knew I had read more than one study for my work!

As I said below, they don't understand this process yet, but it's a proven fact that hormone levels DO influence bowel motility.

Also, as I stated below, I usually have the opposite problem.  The only other time in my life I've been constipated is with fibroid flares,  which are caused by hormone imbalance, specifically estrogen.  And the low pelvic pain feels exactly like fibroids? 

Who knows, maybe there really are two separate issues going on and it's a coincidence, but I do know that low pelvic pain started about two days after my hot flashes and night sweats reappeared, and  the constipation only came about a week later - and what's with the new flu-like feeling?

I did feel like this once before during this fibroid flares, but we passed it off to Sjogren's, which can flare if you stub your toe. 😂

(Okay, not really, but considering Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disorder, any illness or inflammation can set it off, too.)

Good Lord, I've been so healthy my whole life, but you get to a certain age, stuff starts catching up to you, I guess.

I just casually sent that link to my old provider, who said empatically that hormones have nothing to do with bowel issues, like "Oh, by the way, I just found this  ..."  

Hehehe.

____________________________

PS - I forgot to mention in the post below that when I originally called my old OB/GYN, I simply asked if I could go back on the hormones, because whether or not it was fibroids, they helped with all of the other symptoms. 

The moment I mentioned the word "fibroid" among my symptoms, my old office would NOT see me for just a med visit without an ultrasound first.

(In America, with private insurance, an ultrasound is at least $250 out of your pocket, if you haven't met your $1,500 deductible yet, which I haven't.)

So I suspect part of the dismissiveness is what is most profitable for them 😔

Thus, I have added this to the post below.

HOWEVER, to end on a good note, my PCP wrote yesterday,  apparently surprised that no labs were drawn at all, for hormone levels or to rule out other issues.

So she told me after seeing the OB/GYN today, if I wasn't better, to schedule with her next week for lab tests.

Despite the lack of up-to-date care here in Kentucky, I have to say, my PCP is all kinds of awesome.  

Not the best bedside manner in the world, but a good doctor.  (I don't really care about bedside manner, as long as they know their sh*t, right?)

She can be a bit abrupt and it can be jarring, but for some reason, it mostly makes me laugh.  

So for example, she's my husband's doc, too,  and at his last appointment, she happened to look down at my husband's fungal-infected toes from so much farm stuff, which he didn't mention (but I've been bugging him about), and said "Okay, what's going on here?  THAT's nasty, let's do something about THAT." 😂

Or with me, I have a chronically elevated white blood cell count and platelet count with no other symptoms that waxes and wanes, and she talked about referring me to her husband (who is a hematologist), and said:

"Well, I've been following this for a couple of years, now, and though I COULD refer you to my husband, who's a hematologist -  since there's no other symptoms, and you've had this off and on for at least 3 years and aren't dead yet - he'd probably be like "Okay. What am I supposed to do with THAT?" 😂 

"However, I did find several studies that linked chronic, waxing-and-waning elevation in white blood cells and platelets to smoking, so ya know -  STOP IT?!? You're not a teenager anymore! Do you need help?  Lots of support out there." 

😂😂😂

If it were anyone else, I'd think it was rude, but I get her and the way she thinks.  Even with the abruptness, she's never that way about symptoms you present. And she actually does listen to you, even if you think she didn't.  

If she doesn't know, she says that, and she researches before she speaks on it again - and she's always been right!

That prompted me to remember that I also had a B12 deficiency when the hormonal imbalance developed, but I stopped taking vitamin B12 when my labs started coming back normal and was asymptomatic with hormones.

That is unfortunately another consequence of menopause, loss of vitamin B and D.

Lack of Vitamin B most definitely causes bowel issues as the first stage, that has most definitely been proven.  

(Vitamin B deficiency causes mucosal dryness, including skin, as well as anxiety and nerve issues, and even anemia, if left untreated.)

So I started taking vitamin B again yesterday, and you wouldn't believe the different already (vitamin B works very fast, it can correct issues within hours to days)! 😊

I'm about 50% better already.  Not saying that's the only factor here, but definitely a piece of it. 

Again, they should've thought of that, given my history, not me -especially at that price!

Honestly, I really do feel that I've had an estrogen spike causing these issues, and had they just listened to the actual symptoms and followed protocol, I wouldn't have had to wait so long and spent as much money! 

At present, I've spent close to $600 on something that should've cost no more than $100, if they'd just listened to the actual symptoms and done what they were supposed to do