What's been going on??? Why the break again?? PART III

What the hell is going on with my body?!

In the last several months my body has been having some symptoms that have my specialists and myself worried.
I have been enduring chronic dehydration, worsening night sweats and hot flushes, changes with my bowels, and hormonal changes… 
I first really took notice of my dehydration back in April this year.
I knew I had been feeling dehydrated for a while before and I had mentioned it to both my GP and my Neuro Dr. P, I thought it was just a few times I hadn’t drunk enough that day, or that the level of toxicity release during physical therapy sessions were causing it so I increased my fluid intake and took the occasional electrolyte drink/ ice-e-pole.

But then in April I started to get twitching (mainly in the left eye area), tingling and numbness on the face. My Neuro’s first response was to take me off Diamox, and dramatically reduce my Topomax dose and to get bloods done and urine done- potassium, phosphate, renal and kidney function.
These all came back relatively normal- it did show that I was dehydrated and I stayed off Diamox and on low dose Topomax for 3 months… it did nothing for the symptoms so he put me back on the high dosages.
 I talked to my naturopath about the symptoms and she got me taking a higher dose of Magnesium and Fish Oil. But it still hasn’t made much difference to the symptoms.
My dehydration has stayed put the whole time, and has gotten worse.
My BP is lowish; I have high levels of inflammation throughout my whole body causing cramping (and increasing toxicity); I am constantly thirsty no matter how much I drink; and the ‘moist’ (hehe not the nicest word- but sums it all up) areas of my body (that should stay that way) are drier; my LDL (bad cholesterol) is up; my reflux/ heart burn is worse; I have constipation (though lately it comes and goes due to hormonal changes we think?!); and I am constantly tired and have less energy.
AND my headaches are worse- but that could also be my IIH… or both the IIH and the dehydration we have no way to find out unless we do the ICP monitoring- but we can’t do that until my dehydration, night sweats and hot flushes settle…

I have been getting night sweats and hot flushes for quite a few years now, this comes as part and parcel of having seriously F*$@ UP hormones due to Endometriosis, PCOS, and as a result of having been on at least 12 different HRT in the last 8 years (including a HRT that put me through synthetic menopause).
But in the last 3-4 months my night sweats have gotten to the stage where they are nightly and are waking and/or keeping me up.
And I am waking up in a pool of my sweat every morning- causing me to wash my sheets everyday- it’s a pain in the arse to say the least!!

My hot flushes aren’t just happening at night but during the day, causing me to feel like my body is an asteroid entering earth atmosphere (i.e. on fire) and I have to take all my clothes off, sit under the fan on the highest setting, drink lots of water, get ice packs (or if I had a bath tub sit in an ice bath), and get a bucket ready in case I need to heave!!

 

I have been having some pretty radical hormonal changes in the past two months!!
It is a big statement to say but I know it has been happening because of:

1. I am in-tune with my body and take note of everything that happens and changes.
and 2. These hormonal changes would be hard to miss- some of them really freaking hurt!!!
It started with my spotting between induced menses cycles (I am/ was on Provera to induce a period- a 10 day course once every 2 months); then viscous discharge between periods- indicating that I may be ovulating again finally!; then PMS symptoms in the forms of horrendous pain swelling and tenderness in my breasts, mood changes, abdominal bloating, fluid retention, acne, digestive upsets- including constipation and diarrhoea, drop in self-esteem and confidence, feelings of loneliness, food cravings, increased appetite, irritability-including angry outbursts, mood swings and crying, sleep changes-including, and insomnia or excessive sleepiness.
Then last fortnight mixed in with all of these symptoms I got my first natural period!!! 

A first for me in at least 5 years.

I have spoken with my GP about these issues numerous times- I personally think that there is an interaction occurring between my brain drugs (mainly Diamox as it is a diuretic) and my hormones.
Whereas my GP first thought was maybe all of my symptoms were indicative of just basic hormonal changes and possibly diabetes.
Because I have PCOS I am insulin resistant and she thought that maybe I had developed diabetes…
I knew I wasn’t because I have done everything within my power to stop that from occurring, but I was happy to do the blood tests to rule it out- and I was right I wasn’t!!
So then she thought that it was all hormonal and suggested I see my endocrinologist again.

I saw him last fortnight and I had a lengthy chat with me about all of my symptoms, not just hormonal. He personally thinks that it is more likely to be medication based side effects- especially the dehydration (he thinks that is Diamox), but that there are a lot of other medications that I am on that could be causing the worsening night sweats and hot flushes.
He is very happy that I have had my first natural period, and he thinks that all of the PMS symptoms are explained by that, but that we need to keep an eye on my hormones now. As rising oestrogen levels can be bad for my PCOS and Endo.
I am to stop taking Provera to induce a period if I have a cycle naturally, but if I don’t get a period within two months then I should induce one!
He has ordered full spectrum blood tests (in other words a hell of a lot) to try and figure out what is going on with the night sweats, hot flushes and dehydration.
And has asked me to take my temperature each time I have a hot flush or wake up during the night with excessive sweating… as this is a basic method to help him determine whether it is bacterial/ viral or hormonal/ drug based: if I have a raised body temp then it means there is something else going on indicative of a bacterial or viral infection. Whereas is my temp is normal but I just ‘feel’ hot then it is more likely to be hormonal or medications!! 

In the mean time I have been trying to Treat my Dehydration Naturally…