Hormones and Lyme Symptoms - Ladies input

Hello ladies. I know for myself, my lyme symptoms are worse due to my change in hormones. Now, I wish more was being done with this connection, but I know for myself after keeping track for sometime that hormones play a major role in how I am feeling. After giving birth 11 months ago I breastfeed for 3 months and therefore didn't have a period. Well, I also felt great. I thought no more lyme. When I stopped and my cycle returned, so did a lot of my symptoms. Now, the week before I start I feel great, like my regular self. Then the week following I crash. Migraines, tired. It is comes on cue almost to the day every month.

Now, my question is this, have any of you had your hormones tested? If so, did you do anything to regulate them. I am really wanting to go get my levels tested and take that approach to feeling well. I am not on treatment for lyme because I am not even sure at this point that I still have it. I do think a lot of my not feeling well it hormone related. I am 33 and just had a baby and all is working well, but given how good I felt with no cycle and now with the flux in hormones during the month, I am headed down that route and wonder who else has gone down this road and what the outcomes were.

Any input would be helpful. Thank you.

When your hormones are out of wack it can wreck havoc on your life. You can get blood work done to check your levels. I was "lucky" to go through menopause right before my tick bite so I was already feeling miserable for years and kind of used to it. Bio-identical hormones did wonders to help me and I still use them. They have changed many women's lives.
Even though peri-menopause can begin up to ten years before menopause you are too young for that but your hormones might be off. It can take a long time for your hormone levels to readjust after having a baby. Progesterone is the "relaxing" hormone. It calms you and helps you to sleep better. Your body has a high level of progesterone during the last trimester of pregnancy and then drops off after birth, which can cause insomnia. I had a condition called thyroiditis which can occur about 3 months after birth. You have hyperthyroid symptoms like insomnia, heart palpatations, nervousness etc. Your thyroid is often affected by lyme and this will affect all your hormones. Migraines are connected to the fluctuation in estrogen - usually when it drops below a certain level.
Oprah recently had a show on bio-identical hormone replacement therapy which is not the same as conventional replacement - does not carry the same risk for cancer. It is worth checking into as the quality of your life can be miserable when you have a hormone imbalance. I wish that I had know this when I was younger. I went through decades of insomnia and migraine.

Thanks ladies. I strongly feel their is a connection so it can't hurt to get my hormones tested. It is like no lyme exists during that week prior and then boom, feel like crap again the week of so something is making me feel better hormone wise. I hope I can figure it out.

Hi everyone.  I have always recommended that anyone with Lyme disease, both male and female, have hormone and thyroid testing done.  Lyme can definitely affect hormone levels.

For thyroid testing, I recommend asking to have the Free T3, Free T4 (besides the T3 and T4) and thyroid antibodies tested in addition to the normal panel.  They are not usually done but are necessary for a comprehensive view.  Even if results are in the normal range, they may not be optimal.  It is important to learn as much as you can.  There are some great books and websites for thyroid disorders.  Many doctors treat solely on what someone's TSH is, but the Free T levels are very important.  It can be difficult to find a doctor who looks at all ranges and not only the TSH.

For hormone testing, from what I understand saliva testing is more reliable than blood testing.  My doctor used ZRT Lab http://www.zrtlab.com/  and I recommend them.  They can test cortisol (adrenal function), progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, and DHEA.  Of course many doctors do not believe this testing is reliable, but I do.  To find one in your area, I suggest calling a compounding pharmacy to see if they can recommend someone who does saliva testing.  Compounding pharmacies are the pharmacies that make the natural hormones when someone is deficient.

Some symptoms of hormone deficiencies can mimic Lyme symptoms, so I think it is very important to have this testing done.  It has been very beneficial for me to find out which deficiencies I had.

I have a flare of symptoms every 28 days which coincides with the full moon - exactly - and when there is an eclipse or special celestial event, watch out! Perhaps your cycle is not really so much about your hormones -

My LLMD told me symptoms do get worse the week before our period, due to the additional stress on our body. I was pulsing abx 10 days before...but I stopped to soon and relapsed.

Back to fighting again.

I had the saliva testing done that Ticker is referring to from ZRT. Everything was out of whack, especially my cortisol. My adrenal glands had nearly shut down. In addition to this, my cholesterol was high, my tryglicerides were high, and my blood pressure was high.
It has ALL returned to normal levels. It is absolutely amazing what LD can do to your system.

Alfers, please read my post about saliva testing.

Jeminij, many doctors follow outdated TSH ranges.  Also, thyroid results can be normal but may not be optimal for you.  If thyroid antibodies are present, it indicates Hashimoto's Thyroiditis which is a form of hypothyroidism.  Some people who have Hashimoto's have other results in the normal range but treatment is still warranted.  It is important to have the thyroid antibodies, Free T3, and Free T4 tested.  I recommend getting copies of your results.  If you need help interpreting them, let me know.

It is so interesting. I am ovulating now and feeling my symptoms worse and know that when it passes I will feel better. I am not close to menop. only 33. Could be from having a baby, but hopefully I can figure this one out. It could just be lyme and I know my LD has said that it does go hand in hand with hormones, but that the research doesn't say why so that is what I want to figure out for myself.

The pill did not work for me either. Prior to lyme I was on it for years and just fine and as soon as I got lyme, I had to get off the pill as it caused more problems for me.

I always felt I had two "herxes" regular die off and my period, both were horrible. many years later my hormone test said I was devoid of any estrogen, . Its good u girls are checking your hormones I was ignorant that high levels of antibiotic decrease estrogen and I guess the disease can also mess with it, I went on the pill to put the hormones in and I felt better.. totally