Thread: Please post hcg/health issue questions here

I have tried a couple of times to do the diet using hhcg and I stay so hungry that all I do is obsess on food. I have had ileo-anal surgery and have an internal j-pouch. My food travels through my system so fast that I end up eating too much because I stay hungry all the time. And on top of that I have quite a few medications that I take. I think the one that is causing me most of my weight gaining is the 50 mg of Elavil that I take for IPS (irritable pouch syndrome) I cannot stop taking this because it not only helps the IPS but my depression, too. Is there any hope of me being able to do this diet? I have ordered the patch hoping it will keep a steady supply of hcg in my system. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated because I really do need to lose the weight. Thanks

Thanks for this thread, Barb! I have a question: would hcg show up on or affect the results of any tests (blood, urine, saliva) for sex hormones, e.g. estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, FSH, LH?

Connie

HMHolly,
yes, there are a few things you can try to see if you can tolerate the diet...but you have several issues going on and I'm not sure if you will be able to. First, I'm glad you are switching to the patch, and you might want to try injections. HHcg works wonderfully for some, but not for others. So when someone is having trouble and is using the homeopathic, our first suggestion is to switch to rx or the patch.

Next, the rapid transit of food you describe bothers me. Does your doctor have you on special nutrient supplements for this? We see this problem with some gastric bypass patients, and it can greatly decrease the absorption of nutrients from the food you eat. Since this is a low calorie diet to begin with, you might not get the full benefit of the calories, making you extra hungry, and possibly malnourished. Have you asked your doctor if certain foods or a medication can help to slow down the transit time some? If its just bulk that you need....ask if increasing your veggies would be ok with your condition. You will not hurt your weight loss by adding in more veggies, and you might feel more full and satisfied. Ask your doc though first to make sure the veggies won't be stressful to your gut.

Finally, the elavil. A side effect of almost all antidepressants is weight gain in some people. I have seen some folks switch types of antidepressants and do better with weight though. Elavil is a tricyclic, and might be what helps your irritable pouch best....again it's a subject for your doctor....but if he's ok with it, you might ask if he'd try you on a different type. Never stop elavil cold turkey, because you can experience full blown withdrawal symptoms.

I think if you could make it about 5 days, your body might get used to the lesser volume of food you are giving it. Those 5 days need to be filled with activity so you take your mind off food. And don't watch TV! OMG, the restaurant commercials drive me crazy when I'm on p2 .

Connie
Hcg generally doesn't show up in simple drug screenings like you get for employment, or drug testing....those are looking for specific drugs only, and hcg isn't one of them. But if you are having a comprehensive fertility panel done....your results might be skewed a bit....partly by the VLCD and the fat burning. We store estrogen in our fat cells and that gets released into the bloodstream while on hcg....it also will give you an elevated cholesterol number. So, I wouldnt do a comprehensive sex hormone panel until you are off hcg for about 4 weeks, just to be safe.

Thanks Barb. It's really tricky with those tests, especially sex hormones because they have to be done at a specific time between your cycle. So even if I could convince my dr to get the sex hormones checked for the hair loss problem (see other thread), I'd have to wait at least 2 months! I hope I still have hair left by then ...

Oh gee, about the estrogen release during hcg, wouldn't that cause or worsen an existing estrogen dominance and all its associated symptoms? Would it be a good idea to use progesterone cream just to be on the safe side? Or taking DIM/I3C?

Connie, in the US they often run the hormone panels anytime during your cycle, they just adjust the norms for what day you are in your cycle. Estrogen dominance is one of my causes....I think even men have too much exogenous estrogen in their bodies in the US....it's in so much of our food and water supply. I'm not trained in managing estrogen and progesterone levels, and balancing. I just started bioidentical hormones...I'm not menopausal yet, but getting there. They say I'm estrogen dominant...and are giving me progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and something else, lol. I'm hoping to optimize everything. My compounding pharm thinks I have some adrenal insufficiency too. He is also a huge advocate of metformin for hyperisulism, with normal blood glucose levels. He says if one hormone is off, everything suffers. And research shows that too much insulin may be one of the major causes of all other hormones being off.

Started on my patch and doing the second day of load. Hope this works. Thanks

Originally Posted by ILuvKats

Connie, in the US they often run the hormone panels anytime during your cycle, they just adjust the norms for what day you are in your cycle. Estrogen dominance is one of my causes....I think even men have too much exogenous estrogen in their bodies in the US....it's in so much of our food and water supply. I'm not trained in managing estrogen and progesterone levels, and balancing. I just started bioidentical hormones...I'm not menopausal yet, but getting there. They say I'm estrogen dominant...and are giving me progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and something else, lol. I'm hoping to optimize everything. My compounding pharm thinks I have some adrenal insufficiency too. He is also a huge advocate of metformin for hyperisulism, with normal blood glucose levels. He says if one hormone is off, everything suffers. And research shows that too much insulin may be one of the major causes of all other hormones being off.

um, let's see, they probably have you on pregnenolone as well? I wouldn't be surprised about estrogen dominance now becoming a major problem for men and women if you believe what you read how farmed animals get injected with hormones etc - this is all pretty frightening. I'm wondering whether I went up by 2 cup sizes because I've been eating mostly chicken as meat/protein source for the last 2 years ... everything's possible!

Overall, this hormonal balance thing is terrible if you don't have a knowledgeable practitioner who works with you. I was diagnosed with PCOS and had most symptoms of excess androgens over the years (acne, hair growth etc) but now it seems I'm displaying all the symptoms for estrogen imbalance, which is weird. I suppose at 47, there may be all kinds of weird hormonal stuff going on in your body in preparation for menopause but it's not something that is treated as a real medical condition in general practice. With doctors you get the impression they expect you to suck it up and get on with it ...

Your pharmacy might be right about the adrenal insufficiency; I've been reading tons of literature re hypothyroidism and there's repeatedly mention of the adrenals being adversely affected by any kinds of biological or external stress if another hormone is off-balance, just like your guy says. I liked this book 'Feeling fat, fuzzy or frazzled?' (amazon link) by Richard Shames and Karilee Shames, it talks about how imbalances of the thyroid, adrenal and sex hormones cause real havoc to your health. They also provide some info on their website, feelingfff.com

Lol, fat fuzzy and frazzled describes me alot of the time! Lol. I will check out this book, thanks!