My cousin has endo and it took nearly 5 years of intermmitent ER visits and finally a surgery to diagnose.
All the doctors brushed her off bc scans and tests were normal. To be fair, this is in China, where gynecology is well… less advanced.
How high was it?
Creatine and BUN are really inaccurate markers for kidney health unless ridiculously elevated. If you’re under 1.8mg/dl for creatinine, it should be fine. Kidney injury isn’t likely to be causing your symptoms unless it’s SUPER severe. Are you experiencing any swelling or flank pain?
Those are the symptoms my nephrologist told me to watch for.
It’s a good thought, but I add an electrolyte tab to my water most days and liberally salt my food. Plus nothing else seemed off on my metabolic panel.
Thanks Anna, my creatinine was 1.33 and my BUN 30. I haven’t experienced any of the symptoms you described. So yeah, hoping it’s just dehydration.
This is normal for people eating high protein diets and resistance training regularly and or are dehydrated.
I personally wouldn’t get too worried unless there’s a steady upward trend.
I feel dumb, but I think this is another negative reaction to iron supplements that is manifesting a bit differently from last year but once again stumps medical professionals and me (temporarily). Pretty clear based on the patterns I am observing. Testing this theory over the next few days. I’m still using the same supplements I did last year to reliably and effectively increase my ferritin, but it seems like my body becomes overwhelmed if I don’t ease into it.
More ranting:
I don’t want to live the rest of my adult life like this, depending on supplements to make sure I don’t dig myself into a hole that I can barely escape. I always had bad periods in high school and was borderline anemic before I went on my running foray a while ago that admittedly made things worse but in hindsight no longer seems like the primary culprit. Frustrating that I may have to think about asking for a partial hysterectomy to stop bleeding because hormonal birth control and IUDs don’t appeal to me. Plus it would put an end to the endometriosis (if I actually have it). I have an appointment later this month with a gynecologist and will ask for a temporary solution until I come back from my trip. I think iron supplementation will be okay after a short break too.
Think my theory is correct because I feel totally normal today. It felt great to lift again, though I felt unsurprisingly out of shape on the bike. New plan assigns me 90-minute threshold workouts Anyway, they’re hard enough as it is, and I know I am getting better even if I don’t complete every session.
Girl, you are going through it! I’m so sorry that all this weirdness is happening. If you would like any diet/supplement help or if you just need or want to talk, I am always here. Sending you a big hug.
Super congrats on meeting your sister! On the flip side, you’ve been through some serious health storms lately. I’m hoping you and your medical team figure it out and you come through with durable knowledge about how to manage your health.
The thought of always managing your health with supplements can feel like a burden or chain holding you back. I’ve been there. On the flip side, we all have to manage our health to various degrees. Yours is a greater degree than some, but you’re smart and determined, and I think from the little I’ve learned about you that you’ll figure out how to love a full, meaningful life, and the supplements will be an asterisk to your day, not the main plot.
Plenty more info on this and potential treatment options coming through nowadays. Certainly appears to run in my family.
Not sure on health care options available to you, but have you consulted a variety of Doctors, sometimes it’s about finding the ‘right one’ who’s more in the know?
Sending hugs and hope you can find the underlying issue asap!
Thanks everyone for the support. It was really crazy for a week or so, but I’ve been okay since Monday or so. After taking a few days off from supplementing iron, I’ve jumped back in without any issues. It’s like what happened to me last year: taking a little bit more iron and more consistently initially makes my body freak out, and no medical professional understands why, but then I take a break and everything is okay. Go figure.
Fortunately, I’m not in super dire straits. I know that supplementation works for me at least, and I have enough time to get my levels back up a bit, which didn’t dip too low lately. It’s more the realization that my body seems to resort to borderline anemia unless I take 100-200 mg iron per day. In any case, I’m taking a break from running again in case that exacerbated things more than I think. I can’t do much for now but will consider what options I have over the summer.
Thanks so much! I always appreciate you chiming in.
Thank you. It’s both amazing and terrifying.
That’s very sweet of you! I’m definitely glad I’m a very healthy person with just this one issue that seems to have always existed but really hit me hard over the past 1.5 years or so. Supplementation isn’t the worst thing in the world, but when some side effects are involved at unpredictable times, it’s a bit annoying to say the least.
I had an ultrasound in February that yielded nothing, so it can be presumed that I have endo, but who knows. It’s odd because I can pinpoint the iron issue, but this showed up out of the blue just some months ago. I have an appointment on Monday where I will discuss these things and hopefully get more insights. Thanks!
Went to the doctor yesterday, and unfortunately I almost certainly have endo. I don’t know how I could have developed it (or at least become symptomatic), but it’s depressing to say the least. I’m fortunate that this isn’t a daily annoyance for me (yet), only for a couple days twice per month. I’m in a difficult spot because I don’t have much time until I leave for my trip, and I’ve just accepted that I’ll have to deal with it. Assuming it doesn’t get any worse, I’ll have the worst of it at the very beginning and and probably be good until I come home.
The doctor didn’t tell me anything I don’t already know, prescribed me a low dose of hormonal BC to take if I decide. Also offered an IUD of course. Surgery is out of the question at the moment because it would take about a month to recover. Besides not being keen on the idea of hormonal BC, I don’t really want to roll the dice and end up really suffering by adapting to hormonal BC or an IUD before the trip. Clearly I’m not much of a risk-taker.
Besides that, I was prescribed tranexamic acid for my bleeding even though we both agreed I don’t have very heavy periods. I will at least try this and keep up my supplementation regime; I’m less worried about this for the time being.
In the meantime, even though I know there’s no way to cure endo, I’ve been reading a lot and am going to try various supplements given that this is a result of hormonal imbalance, most likely estrogen dominance. May seem kind of woo-woo but can’t hurt to try, as a few of them have shown promise in studies. My diet is already very clean, which makes this frustrating, but I’m going to ramp up my fish intake and caloric deficit as well. Finally, I’m going to switch to a different lifting program with greater frequency and/or volume to see if that helps (i.e., produce more testosterone to help balance things). Ultimately trying natural remedies to see if I find any relief until I can worry about this more in a couple months.
That sounds horrible!!!
Anyway, they’re hard enough as it is, and I know I am getting better even if I don’t complete every session.
Also going to walk the dog later.
In any case, I’m taking a break from running again in case that exacerbated things more than I think. I can’t do much for now but will consider what options I have over the summer.
Ok. That is a great arrangement. I borrow my neighbors dog sometimes. He barks a certain way when he wants me to come out and play.
