I got my bloodwork results back awhile ago, and I’ve looked it up online, but I’m having a hard time understanding those websites. Everything I research seems to lead to something amuck with my adrenal gland. Can somebody look at my results and explain to me in simple terms what this stuff means?

The endo put me on metformin ER 1000mg right away, but when the results of my tests came back a few weeks later, he said that my DHEAS were high and put me on .25mg of Dexamethasone.

My symptoms are obesity (huge belly), hirsuitism, hair loss on scalp, heavy painful periods, acne, all that good stuff. One thing that seems to throw the doctors for a loop is that my periods are like clockwork. They’re horrible, heavy, clotty and painful, but they show up each month almost on the dot.

I also suspect something like CAH or LOCAH runs in my family. My grandmother had several babies die shortly after birth in the 50’s, and my great-grandmother also had several babies die at the turn of the century - it was always assumed that medical care just wasn’t that good back then, but now I suspect otherwise... Early mestruation runs in my family. I got my period right after I turned 10, which was really early in the 70’s. I’ve always felt like a freak of nature. The men in the family go bald in their twenties. I’m also quite short, shorter than both my parents. I have a cousin who is also only 5’ despite her parents being 6’0 and 5’11.

Anyways, after a week on the dex, I started to feel much less anxious. It’s been almost a miracle. I’ve been sleeping better too. My periods haven’t been as crampy and heavy either. I haven’t had any huge cystic acne either. Haven’t been able to tell with the hair growth yet. No weight loss, in fact, I’ve probably put a little on, but honestly I haven’t been putting much effort into it right now.

Anyways, I’ve got a follow-up with the endo next month and want to be prepared with questions to ask, such as will I need further testing? Is dex something I’ll be on forever? That sort of thing.

Here’s the labs: (I think the * means high or something)

DHEAS Lvl 272*H
TSH 4.10
FSH 3.8
LH 3.0*
Prolactin Lvl 9.6
Estradiol Lvl 84*
% Free testosterone 0.8
Testost total 35

Thanks so much - I’m so thankful for message boards like this - I’ve suffered nearly my whole life with these baffling symptoms that nobody in my family would take seriously. What a relief to find others!