[cistusincanus]

hey folks.
i posted awhile back but im still looking for answers on this.
i got some bad naturopathic guidance in an attempt to treat an infection and ended up with my body barely producing any hormones any more. (culprits among the herbs i was using may be chinese skullcap, neem, cats claw etc) at first it was low estrogen with breasts shrinking and no period for many months, but all of that was mild compared to the hair loss i'm experiencing now.
i've been taking saw palmetto for about a month and that was amazingly helpful initially but i took maca one day and had a horrible reaction to it and stopped all supplements for a few days. since restarting it sort of seems to have stopped working as well. i also suspect SP may have lowered my estrogen even lower, though i tried to take fennel and hops and red clover+topical tea tree at various points while i've been using it.
seeing as ALL my hormones are low, would the best bet for me to resolve this be to take DHEA + 5ar inhibitor (maybe ill try pygeum? should i try white peony?) ?
p.s. my endocrinologist isnt interested in helping me because she doesnt seem to believe herbs couldve caused this imbalance, probably thinks i am hiding an ED from her, doctors often do because im thin. I eat strict paleo w stuff like bone broth, coconut milk, and organ meats as staples,but i eat a lot.

prolactin 4.3 range 3.9-29.5 ug/L

estradiol <18 range:
prepubertal 0-130 pmol/L
early follicular: 90-715
luteal 147-950
post menopausal 0-145

progesterone 1.7 range:
follicular 0.1-5.0
luteal 3.5-67

T total 0.7 range: 0.3-1.7
SHBG 99.6 range 32.4-128.0
T Free cal 6 range 3-33
T Bio Cal 0.14 range 0.60-0.76

(i've tried to have drs run thyroid tests as well but nothing much has really turned up and they dont do the full panel. )

(my hormonal results shortly after my period stopped, before my hair loss started

Estradiol <18
T total 0.9
SHBG 162.2
T Free 5
T Bio 0.13 )

[Lotus]

Greetings,

We just grow breasts at BN, nobody can diagnose here , an observation?, sure, I'll give it a shot:

The blood androgen calculation I get are:

0.0114 ng/dL = 12.6 % (Free T)
0.000484 ng/dL = 0.539 % (BioT)

The SHBG of 166 nmol/L is high. I'd look into adrenal/pituitary deficiency, possibly ACTH deficiency (adrenocorticotropic hormone). Meaning you're not making enough hormones. Get on a detox plan, stop all the herbs, wait a full cycle and then evaluate how feel. DHEA could be helpful, the exact dosage?, I won't speculate. Personally, I'd insist on getting a thryroid panel and discussing the results with a qualified clinician.

[cistusincanus]

of course, but some people on here still know more about about hormones&herbs than doctors or naturopaths i've met with.

my SHBG at the time was v high due to overconsumption of flax, i think.

thanks for yr input!

[cistusincanus]

btw ! what does wait a full cycle mean ? wait a month? i dont know my cycle as i havent had my period in eight months. can i determine my cycles without it ?

[Lotus]

btw ! what does wait a full cycle mean ? wait a month? i dont know my cycle as i havent had my period in eight months. can i determine my cycles without it ?

It's possible your doc went to ED by the elevated SHGB test result. But, it could easily be a sign of hyperthyroidism too (e.g. weight loss). Are you bc pill, and not pregnant right?. (Just making sure).

Cycle, (menstrual cycle). Altering the negative feedback signal to the hypothalamus/pituitary using meds/supplements can cause irregular or missed (suppressed) menstrual cycles, and I mean even a slight variations. PM does this, and why i would suggest not to use it all cycle, and between 100 to 250 mg.

Have you researched secondary amenorrhea?, ovarian failure?, did the doctor address the irregular cycle?.

Have you looked into being gluten intolerant?, the symptoms line up. Which it takes an average of up to 8-10 years to diagnose.

[cistusincanus]

not on birth control, and definitely not pregnant.
doctor did not address irregular cycle at all actually. again, she clearly just thought it was due to anorexia or whatever.
i still blame the flax for the initial dip in my estrogen. have researched secondary ammenorhea, recommended treatment just seems to be EAT SO MUCH FOOD.
i dont think i'm gluten intolerant but i definitely have digestive issues. i mean, i tested negative for gluten intolerance but the result couldnt be accurate anyway as i havent eaten gluten in months anyway.

i'm mainly confused cause i read that if yr low estrogen and low progesterone, the problem can be solved by taking progesterone cream alongside an anti-androgen. but it also lowers estrogen, how much can it simultaneously raise it?

i tried that and it seemed to backfire, seemed like my hair loss sped back up again even though i was taking saw palmetto. maybe i need to take even more of it? ugh. unless that was like, a good shed. ugh. super confusing.

anyway my apologies for bringing my medical crisis to breast nexus its just scary not being able to find a doctor interested in helping out.

[EllaC]

According to a gut seminar a malfunctioning gut affects hormone Production negatively, so which came first the gut or the hormone prob?

Also thyroid could be behind hair loss? The fact Drs don't do complete testing and add to that what "they" consider normal ranges can still mean you have a thyroid disorder, their ranges are all effed up.

And agreed you.l be hard pressed to find any dr who will take you seriously, been there done that.

Maybe look at seeing a naturopath who works with vitamins and not harsh herbs. Or try get a "throflex" thyroid test done, they gave an instant results and up to 90+ percent accuracy rate.

Also is the paleo diet a new introduction? When I did a 360 with my diet thinking I was doing something good for my body I completely threw it out of balance.

Just a few things to maybe look into, I was recently told "heal the gut will heal the food sensitivities" in turn potentially heal the hormone prob if it was caused by impaired gut. I can say MY hormones probs started around the same time my periods started going irregular so maybe a link?....

[cistusincanus]

i'm sure my thyroid and my gut play a huge role but the fact is the hairloss itself didnt start until i did a month on neem, berberine and cats claw (antibacterial herbs) which nullified my progesterone . my mother has lost almost all her hair so i know androgenic alopecia runs in the family, but it never effected me until i started those herbs but unfortunately i didnt catch on immediately. at the moment i barely even notice the state of my gut because i am so traumatized by hair loss.
many, many people in the sibo forum i'm a member of have had great success being put on dhea by their doctors or naturopaths. many people with sibo have extremely low levels of sex hormones, seems to take about six months to bring them up using dhea cream. i just need to figure how to fit in replenishing my progesterone simultaneously.
naturopaths in my city are not knowledgeable at all, believe everything can only be resolved through raw veganism and are very dogmatic.
i have received weird results on thyroid tests, i just dont have a diagnosis. i'm going to keep trying to look into it. ill look into the thyroflex thing , never heard of it.

[cistusincanus]

yeah its strange how often i hear of people who become sicker AFTER 'cleaning up' their diet ! it's totally a real thing.
many people in my sibo forum didnt even develop it until adopting paleo. however, it was not that way for me. i started SCD (a paleoesque diet) after my symptoms developed.

i dont think super low carb, super high fat + protein is really all that good for us, but my body responds terribly to carbs at the moment, so what can i do ? i keep eating the way i feel controls my symptoms

[EllaC]

yeah its strange how often i hear of people who become sicker AFTER 'cleaning up' their diet ! it's totally a real thing.
many people in my sibo forum didnt even develop it until adopting paleo. however, it was not that way for me. i started SCD (a paleoesque diet) after my symptoms developed.

i dont think super low carb, super high fat + protein is really all that good for us, but my body responds terribly to carbs at the moment, so what can i do ? i keep eating the way i feel controls my symptoms

Now youl have me looking into the sibo forum and dhea.
But hey if you can recognise what foods agree with the you that's great, I'm still in that figuring out stage.. I was told through muscle testing I'm gluten and lactose intolerant. Eat those foods and feed inflammation but BUGGER ME it's a hard transition.
Re thyroid I'm using a roll on transdermal iodine supplelemnt. The say you roll on a small patch and monitor how long it takes to absorb. It should disapere after 24 hrs then ure good.
Mine can be anything from 3-10 hrs.. I do worry about overdosing on iodine but the manufacturers swore your body only absorbs what it needs.
I don't know how this ties in with what you may have and certInly not suggesting you try it but for me I think it proves I'm deficient and in all reality iodine in the every day diet I think is low

Anyway I hope you find the info you need.