Medical shtuff

Speaking of zoloft, I'm looking into St. John's wort as a possible alternative. Now that I'm not on birth control, my options are a little wider, and I think zoloft might be contributing to my massive weight gain. That, and laziness... But my last blood test results showed my liver is stressed, so there's another reason not to be on meds if at all possible. I also found a site selling Amoryn, which is supposed to be SJW plus other good stuff, and I might try that.

The most frightening thing I've read about SJW so far is that it gives off free radicals which can damage proteins in your eye, contributing to cataracts?? Yikes. That and photosensitivity, but since I'm already fair-skinned, that won't be much of an adjustment.

I'm also looking for a new doctor, since I feel like my latest NP hasn't done a whole lot to help me and isn't very sympathetic. She has a sort of "Okay, next!" attitude, and I really need someone with more knowledge who can help me see if all these puzzle pieces I have going fit together in any sort of sensible picture.

So far, I've got the following list:

• Borderline anemia (blood test a few years ago)
• Extremely low vitamin D (blood test more recently)
• Physical symptoms indicating pre-menopause? (recent subjective assessment — since stopping BC pills)
• Normal hormone levels (recent blood test)
• Normal blood sugar levels
• Reactive hypoglycemia symptoms that go away after eating
• Regular, monthly PMDD symptoms
• Body dysmorphic disorder, possibly some slight OCD tendencies
• Steady weight gain — 50 lbs since June 2008

In fact, I've struggled with weight all my life, but I do have muscle, and I do have a very defined, curvaceous figure. One site I found determined that I'm an endo-mesomorph. Endomorphs have lots of loose tissue, and mesomorphs have muscle.

My hip-to-waist ratio is .66, I believe. Of course, that's 35" waist and 52" hips... Yikes. I do miss all my fun clothes.

Well, that's what the treadmill is supposed to help with, right? Exercise is also supposed to help with PMDD.

My latest NP had me try metformin at a very low dose to see if I had PCOS; I lost 5 lbs immediately without trying, and have since gained that back plus 6 lbs. Oh well, so much for that. I stopped it after my refills were up because it wasn't doing anything besides upsetting my digestive system and stressing my liver even more. Who needs that?

But I do wish I could find someone with more medical knowledge who could help me determine if there's something larger than the PMDD/zoloft/hypoglycemia-that-isn't-hypoglycemia going on. Here's hoping...