Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Early Menopause?

dionnek

By dionnek
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

dionnek Enthusiast
dionnek
Posted

Can anyone tell me what their symptoms of early menopause are? For the past 5 years or so, I've had extreme night sweats, no period (except for one while on clomid so that I could get pregnant - got pregnant right after that one period and then no more even after having the child almost 2 years ago), muscle cramps, depression/mood swings, hot flashes (now I'm cold all the time though since going gluten-free 3 weeks ago), and many other problems that I think are due more to the celiac than anything else. However, the night sweats really get to me - been on several different estrogen/progestin pills and one (Loestrin) helped for a few months but then they came back. Oh yeah, and my ob said I have low estrogen levels (called it amenorhea I think). I keep telling him that I am going through menopause (I'm 33 - this all started when I was about 27) but he (and my endocrynologist) don't believe me. Anyone else experience this? Just wondering if I should try black cohosh or the evening primrose oil - anyone tried these and are they safe for celiacs?

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


CarlaB Enthusiast
CarlaB
Posted

Are you a skinny celiac? If so, it's probably ammenorhea. Estrogen is fat soluble. Ammenorhea is common in the very skinny (runners, for example) and the very obese.

dionnek Enthusiast
dionnek
Posted
  • Author

Are you a skinny celiac? If so, it's probably ammenorhea. Estrogen is fat soluble. Ammenorhea is common in the very skinny (runners, for example) and the very obese.

[/quot

I'm not really skinny, but I'm not overweight. I do (or used to) run a lot and exercise a lot, so that's why the dr's said I don't have a period.

eKatherine Apprentice
eKatherine
Posted

How about the symptoms of regular menopause for comparison? I had hot flashes for more than a year before I missed a period, and it was about 3 years after that before my periods stop. I'm still having occasional flashes, but only when I forget to take my vitamin E.

I have read that exercise-induced amennorhea is caused by too little fat in the diet. They were able to treat it by increasing the intake of egg yolks in extreme athletes in one study, I recall.

CarlaB Enthusiast
CarlaB
Posted

The docs are probably correct. Low body fat can cause ammenorhea. We've had some discussion on this board and it seems that celiac and night sweats might have a correlation. I know mine have almost gone away since being gluten-free. I have them occassionally, but I'm 43, so it might be perimenopause now.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the hormonal treatment. Ammenorhea is not dangerous, but watch for osteoporosis. You might try to raise your body fat enough for the periods to come back ... then again, you might not :P

2kids4me Contributor
2kids4me
Posted

HI, I have added some sites below for you to look at - they have symptoms of various satges in the "life of an ovary".

You can have hormonal imbalance without being in menopause.

I have had various symptoms for the last 7 years of perimenopause - I am 44

from: Open Original Shared Link

Premature menopause can be confirmed by blood tests to measure the levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The levels of these hormones will be higher if menopause has occurred.

Because premature menopause is often associated with other hormonal problems, women who have premature menopause should be screened for diabetes, thyroid disease, and similar diseases.

Open Original Shared Link

This is a good site explaining perimenopause, menopause and premature ovarian failure

Hope this helps

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted

Hey<

I did not click onto the sites, but I want to add my experience.

At 35, I started to have breast sensitivity, mood swings, flashes. Sorry to say to all those going throught peri-med, but this lasted about ten years. The periods stopped first, but the flashes lasted on and off for about ten years.

My mother died at an early age, so I don't know the family history. Yes, I was early. And very glad to have it over at 50.

Lisa (PS: my husband is clueless, and still blames my mood on PMS, needless to say, it's all about him :huh: ) ugg

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


dionnek Enthusiast
dionnek
Posted
  • Author

Thanks everyone for your help. Now that I put all this together, the body fat is probably my problem - I am not overly skinny (what most consider "normal" weight), however, the 2 times that I've had my body fat tested in the past 5 years it has been extremely low (probably due to my excessive exercise - stopped doing that though when I was trying to get pregnant). Also, I remember now that my ob did test my FSH/LH levels (I had to go in a few days after having the one period that I've had in the past 4 years), so I guess he does know something :)

Hopefully all this will go away once my intestines heal - I do have an endo that I go to every 3 months for my thyroid test, and go to my ob every 6 months (abnormal pap smears - checking for cancer) and my GI, who is my new dr. who immediately tested for celiac. I am VERY thankful for him. 4 endocrynologists couldn't figure it out!

eKatherine Apprentice
eKatherine
Posted

This is not something you want to wait and see on. I've read that the longer exercise-induced amennorhea lasts, the more likely it is to become permanent.

CarlaB Enthusiast
CarlaB
Posted

Hmm, permanent ... since I'm 43 and don't really want to go through another tough pregnancy ... maybe I need to exercise more! LOL :lol:

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. cristiana
      - cristiana replied to Colleen H's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      16

      Ibuprofen

      Ferritin levels. And see what your hemoglobin looks like too, that will tell you if you are anemic? You can have 'low normal' levels that will not be flagged by blood tests. I had 'low normal' levels, my lab reading was. c12, just over what was considered normal, but I had small benign lesion on my tongue, and sometimes a sore mouth, and a consultant maxillofacial...
    2. Mari
      - Mari replied to KathyR37's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      5

      New here

      Hi Katht - I sympathize with your struggles in following a gluten-free diet and lifestyle. I found out that I had Celiac Disease a few months before I turned 70. I just turned 89 and it has taken me almost 20 years to attain a fairly normal intestinal function. I also lost a lot of weight, down to 100 lb. down from about 140 lb. What Trents wrote you was...
    3. Colleen H
      - Colleen H replied to Colleen H's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      16

      Ibuprofen

      Yes thyroid was tested.. negative Iron ...I'm. Not sure ... Would that fall under red blood count? If so I was ok Thank you for the detailed response..☺️
    4. Colleen H
      - Colleen H posted a topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      0

      Methylprednisone treatment for inflammation?

      Hi all !! Did anyone ever get prescribed methylprednisone steroids for inflammation of stomach and intestines? Did it work ?? Thank you !!
    5. cristiana
      - cristiana replied to Colleen H's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      16

      Ibuprofen

      Hi Colleen Are you supplementing B12/having injections? I have learned recently that sometimes when you start addressing a B12 deficiency, it can temporarily make your symptoms worse. But it is important not to stop the treatment. Regarding your problems with anxiety, again that is another symptom of a B12 deficiency. I didn't know...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,879
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Peta Dunn
    Newest Member
    Peta Dunn
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • cristiana
      Ibuprofen

      By cristiana · Posted

      Ferritin levels.  And see what your hemoglobin looks like too, that will tell you if you are anemic?  You can have 'low normal' levels that will not be flagged by blood tests.  I had 'low normal' levels, my lab reading was. c12, just over what was considered normal, but I had small benign lesion on my tongue, and sometimes a sore mouth, and a consultant maxillofacial ordered an iron infusion for me as he felt my levels were too low and if he  raised them to 40, it would help.   Because you are not feeling 100% it might be worth looking at your levels, then discussing with your doctor if they are low normal.  But I stress, don't supplement iron without your levels being monitored, too much is dangerous.
    • Mari
      New here

      By Mari · Posted

      Hi Katht -  I sympathize with your struggles in following a gluten-free diet and lifestyle. I found out that I had Celiac Disease a few months before I turned 70. I just turned 89 and it has taken me almost 20 years to attain a fairly normal intestinal  function. I also lost a lot of weight, down to 100 lb. down from about 140 lb. What Trents wrote you was very true for me. I am still elimination foods from my diet. One person suggested you keep a food diary and that is a good idea but it is probably best just to do an elimination diet. There are several ne and maybe one for celiacs. I used one for a while and started with plain rice and zucchini and then added back other foods to see if I reacted or not. That helped a great deal but what I did not realise that it would only very small amounts of some foods to cause inflammation in my intestine. Within the last few years I have stopped eating any trace amounts of hot peppers, corn and soy(mostly in supplements) and nuts, (the corn in Tylenol was giving me stomach aches and the nuts were causing foot pains). Starting an elimination diet with white rice is better than brown rice that has some natural toxins. In addition it is very important to drink sufficient plain water. You can find out how much to drink for your height and weight online. I do have difficulty drinking 48 ounces of water but just recently have found an electrolyte supplement that helps me stay well hydrated, Adding the water and electrolytes may reduce muscle cramps and gag spams you wrote about. . Also buy some anti-gluten enzyme capsules to take with meals. I use GliadinX advertised here. These are a lot of things to do at one time as they reflect my 20 years of experience. I hope you do what you can manage to do over time. Good luck and take care.
    • Colleen H
      Ibuprofen

      By Colleen H · Posted

      Yes thyroid was tested.. negative  Iron ...I'm. Not sure ... Would that fall under red blood count?  If so I was ok  Thank you for the detailed response..☺️
    • Colleen H
      Methylprednisone treatment for inflammation?

      By Colleen H · Posted

      Hi all !! Did anyone ever get prescribed methylprednisone steroids for inflammation of stomach and intestines?  Did it work ??  Thank you !! 
    • cristiana
      Ibuprofen

      By cristiana · Posted

      Hi Colleen Are you supplementing B12/having injections? I have learned recently that sometimes when you start addressing a B12 deficiency, it can temporarily make your symptoms worse.  But it is important not to stop the treatment.  Regarding your problems with anxiety, again that is another symptom of a B12 deficiency.   I didn't know what anxiety was until it hit me like a train several months before gastrointestinal issues began, so I can certainly relate.   Two books which helped me hugely were At Last A Life by Paul David (there is a website you can look up) and The Depression Cure: The Six-Step Programme to Beat Depression Without Drugs by Dr Steve Llardi.  Although his book is aimed at people who have depression, following the principals he sets out was so helpful in lessening my anxiety.  Llardi suggests we need to focus on getting enough: - physical exercise - omega-3 fatty acids - natural sunlight exposure - restorative sleep - social connectedness - meaningful, engaging activity   ... and we should feel a lot better. That is not to stay you must stop taking medication for depression or anxiety if you have been prescribed it, but adopting the changes Dr Llardi sets out in the book should really help. Can I just ask two more questions:  1) you say that you are B12 deficient, did they test your iron levels too?  If not, you really ought to be checked for deficiency and, 2) did they check your thyroid function, as an overactive thyroid can be cause rapid heartbeat and a lot of coeliacs have thyroid issues? Cristiana        
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.