His and Her Health

Hi , My Dr told me to stop taking my low dose birth control pills because I was feeling nauseas and my breasts were tender. I had been on and off the pill for a few years without a problem. While I was still on the pill he ran hormone tests and said I was very low in testosterone but FSH was normal so he gave me androgel. A week after that he tested my FSH and testosterone and said I was post menopause( super hish FSH level) AND my testosterone level was super high so he stopped the androgel. I told him I got a period monthly but he said tests dont lie. He put me on .05 vivelle patch and progesterone 200mg daily. A week later he tested my estrogen and testosterone and said I was way too low in testosterone,way too low in estrogen and raised me to .1 vivelle patch , dropped the progesterone down to 100 mg a day and put me back on androgel again. He tested my prolactin level and it was sky high, he scheduled an MRI for a possible tumor on my pituitary. I am waiting for the results. I am VERY confused. I just got my period and am wondering if all this testing was premature after just stopping my birth control pills? Shouldnt I have waited a while to let my hormones "settle down"? I am 52. My symptoms are NAUSEA, very moody, foggy brained, breast tenderness,hot flashes, feeling like I am losing my mind, headaches, BLURRED vision and double vision every day, no sex drive,sudden weight gain, excess course hair on face, tummy and upper neck, , very oily skin,facial acne,hair on head and eyebrows falling out, bad joint and back pain, sleeping problems,sinus congestion, anxiety, extreme irritability, depression. In other words... I feel awful. Any thoughts?

OK, heres an update. I got my MRI brain results back today and its not good. My pituitary is twice the normal size with what looks like massive tumors. I will be seeing a neurosurgeon and endocrinologist asap. I guess that explains all my crazy hormones.

Good luck to you Cathyaz. Check in with us any time with updates or for support.

Cathy,
I was very interested in hearing your story. Thanks for the update. I'm sorry to hear about your MRI results. Please keep us posted on your treatments and progress.
Stay positive! We are here for you!

Before you posted your MRI results, I passed your message along to our medical experts. Here is their response:

A. It sounds like you need less hormones and not more, and a little time off from hormones to get back to your baseline. Wait until you get your MRI results. There may be a reason for your high prolactin level and that may also be a cause of some of your other symptoms such as blurred vision and headache. Pituitary tumors are very common and most are benign. They often can be treated with medications though some require other treatments as well. In the meantime, don't worry so much about hormone levels or taking hormones. Just see how you feel in a few weeks and find out what the results of your MRI show.

Machelle M. Seibel, MD

Cathy,
Something else you might be interested in hearing from one of our experts when I told him about your results:

I'm not surprised given her symptoms. That is why I suggested wait and see. But the good news is that most of these pituitary tumors are benign as I mentioned and while she is going to see a neurosurgeon they might not elect to operate. If they do, the incision is often through the nose and not a hole in the skull and the results are often quite good. But again, it depends on the exact location, the diagnosis (what type of pituitary tumor) and the choice of medications if used. It may be necessary to take certain hormones after the surgery if she has it because the actual surgery can affect nearby hormone production.
The good thing is now she knows what is going on and can get to the resolution of her problem.

Thank you all for your responses , kind words of encouragement and information! I will keep you updated. Right now I am working on finding a great Doctor here in Phoenix to help me.