The blood test results are in.
All perfectly normal except marginally low estrogen but normal FSH?? so I am not pre-menopausal.
Higher than needed iron and folate - pretty good for someone who hasn't eaten any animal food except eggs in almost 3 weeks.
Thyroid and cholesterol all healthy ranges.
So the illogical part of me is disappointed because it means I have no biological reason to have issues with food. It is all in my head ...
But the other part of me is very happy to be so completely healthy and normal and to have not done any damage from any of the following - weight loss and rapid gain, overeating, exercising, drinking Diet Coke, or becoming a vegetarian.
Today I had a planned treat. I had a piece of carrot cake for afternoon tea. It was extremely disappointing - not at all as delicious as I remember. And I felt sick afterwards. Lesson learnt - one less thing to crave. I got some dried fruit and seeds on the way home and semi indulged in an unscheduled snack. Much more satisfying than cake. I have truly changed more than I realised.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteLow estrogen with noraml FSH and low LH without primary physiological cause (E.g. hypopituitarism) is indicative of energy-calorie or nutrient malnutrition.
If the imbalance is severe enough to completely stop menstruation, this is called hypothalamic amenorrhea. Athletes who do not eat enough and are at a low body fat, people who lose lots of weight, or people with eating disorders get it often.
This does indicate a physical reason for your "issues with food" - if you have hormonal workup that implies hormone deficiencies related to energy malnutrition, the energy malnutrition will make you obsessed with food and eating. I've been there, spent a long time thinking it was all in my head, etc. Realized eventually it was caused by my restrictive eating and weight loss and it had nothing to do with being a "compulsive eater".
When we set physiologically unrealistic goals for "healthy" eating, and we fail to meet these extreme goals (because biologically they are NOT healthy) our extreme views of what is appropriate can cause us to view anything less as a sign that we are out of control compulsive eaters.
Real compulsive eaters aren't at extremely low body fat levels with low estrogen and low LH levels. People who are not allowing themselves to eat enough are, and it is normal to become food obsessive when we are malnourished. If any eating disorder exists it is likely to be EDNOS restrictive type.
Hey Katie, what were your numbers for your thyroid?
ReplyDeleteI was always told my thyroid was fine despite my goiter (if it was fine why would my thyroid enlarge?) all based on my low TSH. The thing is TSH is very unreliable and will only pick up the causes of hypothyroidism that raise TSH. Turns out both my T3 and T4 are low despite my low TSH so I am on a waiting list to see someone that specialises in this stuff.
But not only that, whether your TSH is normal is very debatable and sometimes depends on the lab that tests it as they don't all use the same ranges, if your TSH is over 2.0 there is more then likely a problem.
I am reading a really good book on it and have chucked some excerpts in a thyroid 101 thread, feel free to have a squizz if you suspect your thyroid might be having troubles.