Hungry so so hungry

[Lovepotatoes437]

Hello I am 15 years old and have recently developed some symptoms. For the past two months I have had irregular periods and every week after my period I am overwhelmed with hunger. I constantly feel the need to eat bc my stomach feels as if it’s caving in,this sensation is in my upper abdomen in between my ribs. I am taking Zantac as doctor said but didn’t seem to help. I have never felt so ravenous in my whole life, I had some blood work done to check thyroid(runs in the family). I am not sure what I should be worried about but the hunger finally went away today then I became very bloated (difficult to eat)... I am tired of feeling this way every time after my period and am worried. Any suggestions???

[shaws Administrator]

I would ask your doctor to test TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, and Free T3 and thyroid antibodies. If he wont you can get a private test through one of our labs. Ask your parents first.

I shall give you a list of clinical symptoms and I doubt your doctor will have done a Full Thyroid Function Test and if your parents can afford a private test, I will give you details. A private test is by post and involves taking plenty of fluids a few days before so that blood draw will be easier. It is a pin-prick blood test on finger-tips. Blood draw has to be at the earliest time possible.

A Full Thyroid Function Test and blood draw should be at the earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water) which is:-

TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and thyroid antibodies.

Antibodies are important as they distinguish between being hypothyroid or having an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease called Hashimoto's but treatment is the same.

The problem in the UK is that doctors have been told not to diagnose us until the TSH reaches 10 but in other countries we're diagnosed if it goes above 3 with symptoms.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Post your results with the ranges onto a new post for comments.

GP should test B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate. Deficiencies in these (the first two are pro-hormones) can also cause clinical symptoms.

[FancyPants54]

Shaws is absolutely right with her suggestions. I'd like to add something different to the mix. Ask to have your sex hormones tested. You might have an imbalance. Progesterone in particular can make a woman very hungry and other sex hormone imbalances can make a woman bloated and nauseous. It is really important though, to have the hormones tested at the right time in your cycle and because I'm post menopause, I can't remember when that is. So when you ask your doctor for the test, check with him/her which days of your cycle you should take the test. If they say it doesn't matter then they are clueless and you will need to look it up yourself and make sure you comply.

[Lovepotatoes437 in reply to FancyPants54]

Hi thank you so much for your replies!!! I got my thyroid results back today and was told my thyroid was perfect but that I did have an infection and to keep taking my medicine.I am actually quite happy with how I’m feeling today but also confused. I am now on my period again and every time I eat I feel so bloated and it’s uncomfortable. It seems like my period comes then the next week I feel bad then my period comes back again. I also have had thrush this week... I am confused with how I can feel so different in a day. The horomones do you think would be a good idea to get tested definitely??? I am only 15 I’m also going to the obgyn in a few weeks do you think they can help with this??? Also wondering if my condition could have anything to do with candidta overgrowth... am I just freaking out?!

[FancyPants54 in reply to Lovepotatoes437]

If you are going to see an obgyn then should be able to test your hormones. You definitely sound like you have an imbalance to me. You should not be getting periods more than once a month and that slump in the way you feel is exactly how we feel in menopause when our hormones are spiking and falling all over the place. I have experienced exactly as you are doing, the feeling good one day and terrible the next.

I have recently switched to a new, stronger HRT and I am experiencing a lot of bloating and discomfort after eating. I know, because of the way I take the hormones, that this is likely to be the progesterone rather than the oestrogen. For me, it should settle in a few months. But at your age you need an expert to look into it with you and an obgyn is the expert you need.

[Lovepotatoes437 in reply to FancyPants54]

Thanks so much for replying!!! Today had been pretty good day but I still feel weird with my upper abdomen in between my ribs especially when I’m hungry lol! Still bloating but thrush is starting to clear out. These irregularities in periods have occurred since July 4 having one then feeling bad the next week then having my period again and so on... but the main thing that bothers me is the feeling in my upper abdomen it’s like a faint hunger but even after I eat I don’t ever feel exactly full