[Marlene]

Hi Laura,

Here are the heavy hitters I can think of that they can check for you. I’m sure the prednisone is having an impact on your endocrine system, especially the adrendal glands. They are so critical to the proper functioning of the thyroid and ovaries.

DHEA Sulfate: Determine female infertility, amenorrhea or hirsutism; Aid in the evaluation of excess androgen/adrenocortical disease. (this may be off because of the steroids you are on)

Estradiol: Helps assess hypothalmic and pituitary functions, menopausal status and sexual maturity. You need to know what phase of your menstrual cycle you in when you have the blood drawn.

FSH and LH ( Follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone): helps to determine if you are in menopause and helps in the evaluation of suspected gonad failure.

Pregnenolone: Determine ovarian failure and adrenal issues. Again, may be off due to steroids.

Progesterone: Evaluate ovarian function

Testosterone total and free: Too low can cause hot flashes in women also.

TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone): High levels indicate hypothyroidism which can cause hot flashes also. The medical community is split on normal reference ranges. There are still labs and doctors using the older reference ranges. More current doctors use the newer ranges and consider anything above 3 should raise a red flag that you could be hypo-thyroid and you need to further explore this. Especially if you have some hypo symptoms.

T3 and T4 levels: Helps to evaluate thyroid function.

Low sex hormones can affect the thyroid. Sometimes, by fixing the first, the second self-corrects. And it can take a while to get the right balance. Start low and go slow. You don’t want to flood your body with a high dose at first. I would highly suggest that if you need some hormone replacement, go with bio-identical topical hormones. You don’t need the added stress on the liver from oral ones. You can get a bio-identical Estradiol patch from the regular pharmacy. You would need a compounding pharmacy for the topical bio-identical progesterone, testosterone and DHEA. But I’m jumping the gun here.