Let’s Talk Hormones

Hormones, Oxytocin and Beyond

After the first round of night sweats and hot flashes, I decided it was maybe time to get my hormones tested. I have never had that done before and now in hindsight, I wish I would have gotten a baseline in my early forties before anything really started to shift. It would have given me a better idea of why I was feeling the way I was feeling. Why was it so hard to maintain my weight even though I was running what felt like a million miles a month. Yes I was drinking more, I mean hello two years of Covid, living in New York. There was a short period when there felt like there was nothing else to do but celebrate surviving another day in a global pandemic. But I eat pretty well and after doing a Whole 30 a few years back I knew there were no hidden sugars sabotaging my efforts. I love a good salad and there is no ice cream in the freezer. My weight training had tapered off but that didn’t seem like enough of a reason for me to not be able to take off the 5-10 pounds I’ve been lamenting for the last 7 years. There had to be something else going on that sheer determination was not addressing. Once the night sweats started and the midlife/menopausal education commenced I decided to see what was actually happening before a made any drastic health choices. 

Thanks to the magic of Instagram Ads, I discovered a new Wellness Clinic centered on aging that had just launched in New York. Modern Age was started by Melissa Eamer who according to their snazzy new website “is a technology leader with decades of experience building consumer brands.” After serving as the COO for Glossier, she started Modern Age “with the mission to help people live longer, healthier lives after losing her mom too soon.” I want to live a longer, healthier life so I am absolutely their target market. Give me all the tools Modern Age! I was able to get an appointment for the next week and devoured as much as I could in the meantime, from the two books on hormones I had picked up.

The following week, armed with a whole new understanding of what kinds of questions I should even be asking, I walked through the doors of Modern Age and into a welcoming tranquil sanctuary from the chaos of 5th Avenue. Its soaring ceilings created a space for breath and the muted decor tones and punches of florals around the space elicited an immediate calming in my being. The receptionist was warm and friendly as she checked me in and showed me to the photo booth where I would capture some baseline photos as well as a quartet of personality shots I could share on social media. Ummmm hair in a ponytail and still a little sweaty from my workout, those photos will never see the light of day. 

I was taken into a treatment room and a clinician did a bone density test while I waited to speak to the doctor. After all the marathon pounding and strength training, I was proud that I got an exceptional reading on that. I’ve always been a striver and gave myself a little pat on the back. Gotta keep those bones healthy, especially after your hormones start to dip and osteoporosis becomes a concern. This girl does not want any broken hips in my future. I was taken into a consultation suite with comfortable chairs for my appointment and the doctor joined me. I felt like I was in a therapy session as I shared my why for being there. Unpredictable periods I thought were caused by my bout with Covid at first, night sweats I thought were caused by radiators and radiating husbands at first, and lack of libido I thought was caused by life at first. But when you put those all together you think maybe something else might be going on. She listened thoughtfully and took copious notes offering thoughtful perspectives and potential coping strategies. 

The first thing she suggested was hormone testing to see exactly where my hormones were. I was absolutely in agreement as I had seen on their website that it was a service they offered. There were a few levels she wanted to check so off I went to have all the blood drained from my body. I’m a drama queen when it comes to needles and blood draws. Old PTSD from Typhoid Fever shots before my family moved to Panama when I was 4 and the needle looked gargantuan compared to my spindly little upper arm they wanted to plunge it into. I still have to look away while they draw blood even if the initial prick doesn’t hurt as I expect it to. The NP did a fantastic job and with four vials of blood lighter I was headed back out into the City feeling empowered and excited, if a little lightheaded, knowing I was taking control of my midlife and wasn’t going to have to settle for sucking it up and dealing with it. I want to thrive through midlife and perimenopause and not just get through it. I had to wait a few days for the results to come back so in the meantime I continued to read up on alternative therapies for all things menopausal. Supplements, dietary changes, alcohol use, exercise, yoga, meditation, and anything and everything that we should all have probably been learning about long before midlife. I wholeheartedly believe in being an active participant in our health journey, not just relying on a doctor to tell us what to do. 

I received a copy of my results but had to wait a few more days to discuss the results with my doctor. I know just enough about physiology to be dangerous and armed with Dr. Google, I’m even worse. Not surprisingly, my testosterone levels were in the toilet but what I noticed was that my ProLactin was high. Not astronomical but highlighted so I googled what that meant as it was an unfamiliar term. Apparently, high prolactin can be a symptom of a tumor on your pituitary gland. Cue the meltdown and the obscenely early text messaging to my sister who is a nurse to assuage my fears that I was not going to die of pituitary cancer. After she requested I send her the actual results she assured me that even if there was a tumor they are typically benign and treatable, we determined I was probably not dying before I could discuss my labs with my doctor. Cue the realization that you’re sometimes ridiculous and move on with your day. 

My doctor had suspected the low testosterone even during our chat and it was confirmed with numbers. She gave me a few options to help correct that directly but before we went down that road she wanted to discuss some of the other findings. She also pointed out that my levels for DHEA, which is a precursor to estrogen and testosterone that is produced in the adrenal glands, were also showing at a very low level. That was surprising in that before I started researching perimenopause I didn’t really know anything about DHEA or its significance in my testosterone. I loved that she suggested we try supplementing that first as there are fewer side effects. My estrogen was still in a reasonably healthy range so that was a relief. Maybe the night sweats were just the abnormally warm bedroom and the hot husband. At least for now. 

Other considerations were my cortisol which was normal and my Vitamin D which has also been extremely low since I had it tested in the early fall of the previous year. I had been on a supplement through the winter and had also been making a spring ritual of walking in the Park, getting a healthy dose of early morning sunlight. I’m very invested in both Western and Eastern medicinal practices for a well-rounded approach to health. I don’t believe in taking a prescription for every little ailment. In fact, I avoid prescription medication as much as I can. I think we can do a lot to heal our bodies by first finding out what’s going on and why. Since my thyroid numbers were all sound, I know there is no underlying issue with my thyroid that needs to be addressed. But also since my Vitamin D had only bumped up a little and was still not in the normal range, the doctor also recommended adding a Vitamin D supplement to my regimen and to retest in 3 months. 

I really want to encourage you to get your hormones tested. Not just your estrogen because I don’t think that tells the complete story. In women especially hormones affect almost all of the functions of our bodies. While estrogen has always been portrayed as the queen bee, she needs the rest of her court to have a fully functioning kingdom. Just make sure there are no jokers hanging around.