Gynecologist or endocrinologist?

[dodgercpkl]

Dodgercpkl, what did your endo tell you about sleep? I've read that sleep patterns and habits can affect our cycles and even interfere with ovulation. I sympathize with you over the spurs. I had a horrible bout of plantar fasciitis this year, but with no spurs, thankfully.

She asked me about my sleep habits and whether I was feeling tired during the day after a full night of sleep. When I said that I wasn't sleeping all that well and was often tired later in the day, she sent me to a sleep center to have a sleep study done. Let me tell you that I HATED that test! lol But it did prove out the possibility that I could have sleep apnea, and in fact that I have quite a severe case of it. According to both my endo and the sleep center, if you aren't getting at least a good 6-7 hours of restful sleep a night then your body is going to run out of fuel at some point.

Basically I am burning the candle at both ends. I was lucky to be born with a strong body, but because of my PCOS and then eventual insulin resistance, I developed sleep apnea (higher percentage of possibility of sleep apnea for ladies with PCOS). Sleep apnea means that my air passages are getting blocked as I'm sleeping and I stop breathing. When I stop breathing my body has to go into overdrive to wake me up so that I start breathing again, which in turn means that it doesn't get the rest and recuperation that it's supposed to when I sleep. My tests shows that my breathing was stopping 30+ times each hour.

Ultimately for me and others like me, that means less energy during the day, less motivation to exercise, less likelihood to lose weight. So the better the sleep I get, the happier my body is, the more self healing it will do at night, the better my chances of losing weight. So they have me on a CPAP machine, and since I have actually gotten off my tush and started exercising (slowly - baby steps), I think it's working! I do feel like I wake up with more energy as well which is really nice. Since starting with my new OB, I've lost 38 pounds and a LOT of that has to do with the change in diet and now exercising.

And yeah... the bone spurs suck. I'm looking forward to getting the arch supports that the podiatrist is making me. lol Is that weird?

Oh and HEY! We are cycle buddies!! Today is CD1 for me as well!

 

[AnnaLaura]

Dodgercpkl, what did your endo tell you about sleep? I've read that sleep patterns and habits can affect our cycles and even interfere with ovulation. I sympathize with you over the spurs. I had a horrible bout of plantar fasciitis this year, but with no spurs, thankfully.

She asked me about my sleep habits and whether I was feeling tired during the day after a full night of sleep. When I said that I wasn't sleeping all that well and was often tired later in the day, she sent me to a sleep center to have a sleep study done. Let me tell you that I HATED that test! lol But it did prove out the possibility that I could have sleep apnea, and in fact that I have quite a severe case of it. According to both my endo and the sleep center, if you aren't getting at least a good 6-7 hours of restful sleep a night then your body is going to run out of fuel at some point.

Basically I am burning the candle at both ends. I was lucky to be born with a strong body, but because of my PCOS and then eventual insulin resistance, I developed sleep apnea (higher percentage of possibility of sleep apnea for ladies with PCOS). Sleep apnea means that my air passages are getting blocked as I'm sleeping and I stop breathing. When I stop breathing my body has to go into overdrive to wake me up so that I start breathing again, which in turn means that it doesn't get the rest and recuperation that it's supposed to when I sleep. My tests shows that my breathing was stopping 30+ times each hour.

Ultimately for me and others like me, that means less energy during the day, less motivation to exercise, less likelihood to lose weight. So the better the sleep I get, the happier my body is, the more self healing it will do at night, the better my chances of losing weight. So they have me on a CPAP machine, and since I have actually gotten off my tush and started exercising (slowly - baby steps), I think it's working! I do feel like I wake up with more energy as well which is really nice. Since starting with my new OB, I've lost 38 pounds and a LOT of that has to do with the change in diet and now exercising.

And yeah... the bone spurs suck. I'm looking forward to getting the arch supports that the podiatrist is making me. lol Is that weird?

Oh and HEY! We are cycle buddies!! Today is CD1 for me as well!

That is very interesting about the sleep apnea. 30+ times an hour?? It's a wonder you got any sleep at all. No one has ever suggested that to me, but my aunt has it and uses a CPAP machine. She doesn't have PCOS, but I understand what you are saying, that PCOS increases the chance of having sleep apnea.

I know about burning the candle at both ends. We have had a pretty horrible 3 years, what with the "economic crisis" which has really impacted my husband's business and also family deaths and illnesses, which are extra difficult when you are as far away from home as I am.

That is absolutely fabulous about the weight loss!! I wanted to lose 40 pounds before TTC and I've only lost 22. And that's since February!!! I do exercise about 4-5 times a week, 30 minutes at a time, with a DVD. Maybe this isn't enough?

NO it's not weird about wanting the arch supports!! This is very painful!! What I did for the plantar fasciitis was get 3 pairs of shoes: a pair of Birkenstocks, a pair of Berkemann clogs, and a pair of Crocs. I wear the Birkenstocks or the Crocs at home all day and always wear the Berkemanns when walking around town. My foot pain has almost disappeared unless I spend too much time walking in some other shoes. It's taken about 6 months to get to this point, where I am not aware of my foot all day (if that makes sense). It doesn't hurt in the morning any more at all. But I don't know what to tell you about the spurs because I don't have them.

for CD1! But this morning I'm back to just spotting. We'll see what happens over the course of today. Now I'm confused over whether I should go in for the CD 3 tests tomorrow or not.

 

[peacebaby]

Hi AnnaLaura

Yes, i've been reading about the link between flouride and low thyroid function. There is also the link to adrenal failure, which rarely gets picked up in the blood tests. Here in the UK there is a battle between an advocacy group of patients and a few thyroid specialists against the national health service to get better tests in place and improved treatment protocols.

It is really good that you're so pro-active with your health! Sorry about the troubles you've had over the past 3 years, it must be challenging to be in Greece. I hope for you that the exercise, nutrition etc will help reduce the effects of stress and that things get better generally. It is sad for the people of Greece but I also think the traditional emphasis on strong family networks and support is proving to be a positive aspect for so many.

Your symptoms do sound like classic thyroid symptoms, i wonder if it's a case of the blood tests not picking it up (sub-clinical)? Mine is only slightly out of whack (2.5 but it really needs to be between 1.0 -2.0) but the symptoms are abundant so I'm going to try some herbs this cycle.

Good luck with the tests, hopefully the results will give you something to work with. Prayers for you..

 

[dodgercpkl]

That is very interesting about the sleep apnea. 30+ times an hour?? It's a wonder you got any sleep at all. No one has ever suggested that to me, but my aunt has it and uses a CPAP machine. She doesn't have PCOS, but I understand what you are saying, that PCOS increases the chance of having sleep apnea.

I know right? I knew I woke myself up at times with a snore or a snort, but I had NO clue that it was that many times an hour let alone what it would be in a whole night!

Yeah I never really thought about how much sleep could affect me, but my endocrinologist wanted to cover my whole body so that all those little things that had been bugging me were fixed. It's all about whole body health with them, which has been amazing and very enlightening.

I know about burning the candle at both ends. We have had a pretty horrible 3 years, what with the "economic crisis" which has really impacted my husband's business and also family deaths and illnesses, which are extra difficult when you are as far away from home as I am.

Awww... sorry to hear about the troubles you've had with your husbands business. Are things starting to straighten out now? My condolences on the family losses and illnesses.

It really does get tough when you add everything you are dealing with all together doesn't it? I mean normally these things wouldn't be easy, but they also aren't that difficult to muddle through given time to heal and all, but when it's one thing after another? Well it just goes to show how strong you really are!

My husband and I have been really fortunate. It's not been easy for us - he's from the Netherlands and I'm a US citizen, and we chose to live here in the US, so we had to go through immigration (and still are - we'll finish up getting his 10 year permanent greencard next year). The relationship has been a drain on our finances from the start, what with the traveling back and forth to see each other, immigration costs, immigration lawyer costs, etc.

But through it all we've had amazing support from both of our families! I thank God everyday for that. We live with my folks and don't pay rent, so we are able to save up money for the big things like a house, baby, car, etc. My parents help out with sharing a car with us to make it easier for both of us with work. I don't know... there so much that I have to be fortunate about!

That is absolutely fabulous about the weight loss!! I wanted to lose 40 pounds before TTC and I've only lost 22. And that's since February!!! I do exercise about 4-5 times a week, 30 minutes at a time, with a DVD. Maybe this isn't enough?

Hey weight loss isn't easy! Have you changed your diet at all or are you just exercising or...? I lost most of my weight by changing my diet. I've cut out most of my processed sugar intake, processed carbs (things like white bread, potatoes, white rice etc), and cut down my portions in general. I only recently started a fitness program with the WII, and I think it's helping me to continue my weight loss, but I'm not up to doing 30+ min workouts yet and I'm only hitting about 4 days a week so far. Weight loss is so different for everyone too!

NO it's not weird about wanting the arch supports!! This is very painful!! What I did for the plantar fasciitis was get 3 pairs of shoes: a pair of Birkenstocks, a pair of Berkemann clogs, and a pair of Crocs. I wear the Birkenstocks or the Crocs at home all day and always wear the Berkemanns when walking around town. My foot pain has almost disappeared unless I spend too much time walking in some other shoes. It's taken about 6 months to get to this point, where I am not aware of my foot all day (if that makes sense). It doesn't hurt in the morning any more at all. But I don't know what to tell you about the spurs because I don't have them.

Oh I'm so glad to hear that your pain is almost gone! I've been fairly lucky with mine that it doesn't hurt all the time, just mostly when I first stand up after sleeping or sitting for a while and after a long day of working on my feet. I might have to get into the habit of wearing shoes at home. I usually get home and kick off my shoes and let my toes spread. lol

for CD1! But this morning I'm back to just spotting. We'll see what happens over the course of today. Now I'm confused over whether I should go in for the CD 3 tests tomorrow or not.

HAH! The witch is always a bit fickle isn't she? I'm counting yesterday as flow, but it was fairly light, so we'll see what today brings. I'm trying to figure out when I should be doing my pelvic exam because they said I should do it right after my heavy flow days.... as if I know when that will be!

 

[AnnaLaura]

Hi AnnaLaura

Yes, i've been reading about the link between flouride and low thyroid function. There is also the link to adrenal failure, which rarely gets picked up in the blood tests. Here in the UK there is a battle between an advocacy group of patients and a few thyroid specialists against the national health service to get better tests in place and improved treatment protocols.

It is really good that you're so pro-active with your health! Sorry about the troubles you've had over the past 3 years, it must be challenging to be in Greece. I hope for you that the exercise, nutrition etc will help reduce the effects of stress and that things get better generally. It is sad for the people of Greece but I also think the traditional emphasis on strong family networks and support is proving to be a positive aspect for so many.

Your symptoms do sound like classic thyroid symptoms, i wonder if it's a case of the blood tests not picking it up (sub-clinical)? Mine is only slightly out of whack (2.5 but it really needs to be between 1.0 -2.0) but the symptoms are abundant so I'm going to try some herbs this cycle.

Good luck with the tests, hopefully the results will give you something to work with. Prayers for you..

I think the fight for different criteria in diagnosing thyroid function is everywhere now. Glad to see it's "official" in the UK.

The people of Greece are strong people, although the traditional family ties have withered somewhat over the last couple of decades or so. As a foreigner I am of two minds over the whole thing. On one hand, I think they are being victimized; on the other hand, the culture has supported a lot of greedy behavior which has created a weak position when trying to negotiate.

What herbs are you trying?

 

[AnnaLaura]

Dodgercpkl,

Thank you for your encouragement! We are like you, I'm American and my husband is not. But we met in the U.S. at school and didn't have to do the traveling thing. We got married and then showed up at the INS office. We had a pretty perfunctory interview and that was it. But we made one mistake (and don't know what the rules are for the Netherlands): we were supposed to report our marriage to the Greek consulate within six months to automatically have it recognized by the Greek government, and we didn't because we missed that info for a long time. So we had to get married again. This was easier bureaucratically than dragging up all the old papers and trying to translate them, submit them, etc. etc.

About the weight loss, I've been on low-carbohydrate for several years. I lost 45 pounds at first and slowly gained back 30 over the last 3 years. I really had to go strict and get most of my carbs from leafy vegetables to get this 22 off this year. I haven't lost anything in the last 2 months since this hormonal problem or whatever it is started.

I always went barefoot too, but no more. It's good you are doing something about it now. I was like that, just hurting in the morning and after walking a lot. Then it got to where it hurt all the time.

Let me know how it goes with your exam. I called the new doctor and he said not to bother to go in, to wait until I KNOW it's day 3. That might mean next month. Since I've been barely spotting almost since I wrote that post about it being CD1, I guess I won't go in. I just feel there must be something else someone could do to stop this. I feel like I'm in some kind of vicious cycle (pardon the pun). I also don't know whether I should merge my charts back together, as FF split them on Wednesday when I reported "light".