TLDR: Gained 80 pounds in 3 months and had menstrual issues. Went to 8 doctors in 2 years and they all said it was normal. Went to Mexico after giving up and found enlarged ovarian cysts, high proclatin, prolactinoma, and cyst on thyroid. Finally on hormone treatments and losing weight! Down 12 pounds in 2 weeks.
Exactly two years ago, I gained about 80 pounds over the course of 3 months. I honestly did not even notice it because I wasn't eating much and I was sleeping about 14 hours a day. Given this routine, I was not expecting to gain weight either so when I looked at myself at the end of that summer I was in shock at how I looked. Due to other complications (female) I went to about 8 doctors since then and everyone kept saying I was fine and that there was nothing wrong with me.
My last doctor put me on a lot of different diet regiments (low cal, low carb, less meat, more veggies/fruits, etc) and I was tracking everything I was eating. She followed me for about 4 months and despite rarely eating over 1200 (and never over 1500) I only managed to lose 5 pounds in those 4 months. At this point I was 5'2" and 250lbs. But she didn't think anything of it and I kept getting the feeling that something was wrong. I had never been this big, ever and given that I was eating much less than my TDEE then I should have been losing weight, even if its 1 pound a week.
Limited TMI (related to female issues)
A few months ago I got my period, which is fine. Well 1 month turned into 2 turned into 3 and I decided to visit my OBGYN and they did a pap smear and said it was normal. I did raise concerns because I have had ovarian cysts removed before and cervical cancer runs in the family. But he said as long as I was not using more than 1 pad/tampon every hour that it was "normal". I decided to go to another doctor.. and he said the same thing, that its normal.
I knew it was NOT normal and I decided to visit a doctor in Mexico, primarily because they are cheaper and in my experience they have always found things that American doctors can't seem to find. She reassured me that its not normal to bleed everyday for 5 months and had my blood work done. She did a hormone panel, thyroid test, and regular health screen (cholesterol, glucose, live and kidney check, etc).
A week later I go in for the results and it turns out that I have extremely high levels of prolactin hormone, which was causing the excessive bleeding and they also found that I had prolactinoma (non-cancerous tumor in the pituitary gland) and a cyst on my thyroid that was causing the weight disfunction. And as I had suspected, I have enlarged ovarian cysts again that might require surgery if they dont decrease in size with the hormones. She recommended me to the endocrinologist who put on various hormone therapy treatments. I have been on the hormones for 2 weeks and have so far dropped 12 pounds!
Words are not enough to describe how happy and thankful I am that these doctors were able to find what was going wrong. I still cannot believe that 8 doctors were never able to find out what was wrong and dismissed everything as "normal". I'm so glad that I will finally be able to recognize myself and that I can go back to being the person that I used to be. Being extremely overweight/obese is frustrating, but being so without being able to lose weight despite different diets and exercise regimes is even worse. Being told by doctors that everything is normal is just the cherry on this terrible chapter of my life.
If you feel that something is NOT normal, seek until you find an answer! If that means having to go to another country to get an answer, then so be it.. just make sure you find a good doctor that can address your needs. No one knows your body more than you, so listen to it and never give up! I am grateful to have found this doctor (my stepsister also has hormone issues and sees her). This is the 3rd time in 10 years that American doctors dismiss my concerns as normal and it ends up being something that can easily be treated. The first time they ignored a kidney infection, then protein in the urine which led to severe kidney damage, and now this.
Edit: misspelled word
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