Endocrinology and birth control pills

So, what’s the deal with an endocrinology appointment? I'm assuming the first step is just getting sent off for a massive blood draw. But here's my dilemma: if you're on birth control, doesn't that basically mask your actual hormone levels? If the data is skewed, is there even any point in seeing a specialist at all? Honestly, after bouncing between my OB-GYN and my primary care doctor, my takeaway was basically: "Let's just wait until you actually want kids before we deal with this mess." Which, frankly, sounds completely nonsensical to me...😕

I don't know about you guys, but I am absolutely losing my mind over here today. Honestly, it’s just one thing after another! I feel like I can't even catch a break without some new complication popping up out of nowhere. It's exhausting. Anyway, I was thinking about what we were discussing earlier—you know, that whole mess with the medication adjustments? I've been staring at my pill organizer for twenty minutes just feeling overwhelmed. It’s like, can we please just have one week where everything stays level? Just one! But no, apparently the universe had other plans for me. Does anyone else feel like they're constantly fighting an uphill battle with their own body? Because I am currently stuck in the middle of a landslide. I'll vent more once I've actually had enough coffee to function, but seriously, stay strong out there. We're all just trying to keep our heads above water. kaže:
So, I’ve been chewing on this all day and I honestly need to vent because some things just don't add up. What does an actual appointment with an endocrinologist even look like? I’m assuming the standard drill is they just send you off for a massive blood panel right out of the gate, right? But here’s the kicker—what if you’re currently on birth control? If those pills are masking everything, then how the hell are they supposed to see what your actual hormone levels are doing? It feels like you're chasing ghosts. If the data is being skewed by medication, is there even any point in seeing a specialist at all? It feels like a total waste of time and money. I’ve already sat through appointments with my OB-GYN and my primary care doctor, and honestly, their logic is driving me up the wall. They basically implied that I should just ignore this whole hormonal mess for now and only deal with it once I actually decide to try for kids. Like, excuse me? That makes zero sense to me. Why wait until there's a baby involved to fix the foundation? I can't wrap my head around that kind of "wait and see" approach. It's infuriating!😕

Look, I’ve been there myself. It wasn't exactly life-changing or anything, just a standard appointment. Usually, you just sit down, vent about whatever is driving you crazy, and then they write up a list of labs you need to get done. But here's the kicker—if you’re looking to get your hormone levels checked, you can't be on birth control. You have to be off the pill for at least two or three months to get an accurate reading. If you're just dealing with thyroid stuff or something similar, though, it doesn't matter; you can go whenever.

Laura Campbell18 said:I’m curious about what an actual appointment with an endocrinologist looks like. I assume they just send you off for blood work right away? But what if you’re on birth control pills and that messes with seeing your true hormone levels? Is there even any point in bothering with an endocrinologist then? My take, after talking to my OB-GYN and primary care doctor, is that I should just deal with this whole situation whenever I finally decide to have kids. It feels totally nonsensical to me...😕

Look, I’ve been doing this for seven and a half years now, going in every six months, and back when I first started, I was seeing the endocrinologist even more frequently to manage my thyroid. As far as the physical exam goes, it’s really nothing special. They might palpate your thyroid or check your blood pressure if there are any obvious issues, but honestly, most of the time an endocrinology visit is basically just a deep dive into the lab results you bring in. That’s how they actually get the real picture of what’s happening inside your body. If it’s your first time and you show up empty-handed, it’s a good idea to at least have some basic blood work ready; between those numbers and your conversation, the specialist will likely sniff out where the trouble is and send you for specific testing. Then, when you come back for the follow-up with the completed labs, they’ll either tweak your medication or ask for more tests.
For my part, I’ve been managing my thyroid for seven and a half years by getting blood work, thyroid hormone panels, and a yearly ultrasound. I take all those results to my endocrinologist, we have a chat, and then she—she’s a woman, by the way—prescribes my treatment, which in my case is Synthroid. Depending on the labs, my dosage either stays steady or gets bumped up. Since I don't have issues with blood pressure or cholesterol or anything else, she doesn't even bother with a physical exam; she won't even check my blood pressure, she just reviews the data and decides on my next dose. Then she just tells me to come back in six months with the same set of labs, and that’s pretty much the whole routine.

Laura Campbell18 said:I’m wondering what an endocrinologist appointment actually looks like. I assume they just send you off for blood work first? But what if you're on birth control pills—won't that mask your actual hormone levels? Is there even any point in seeing a specialist then? My takeaway after talking to my OB-GYN and my primary care doctor is that I should just wait until I'm ready to have kids before dealing with this current mess. Honestly, that makes zero sense to me...😕

The month you go in to get your hormones checked, you really have to be off the pill, otherwise the tests are basically useless. An endocrinologist told me the exact same thing.

Since you're heading in specifically for the prolactin check, I don't think the birth control is really the culprit here... though, honestly, I’d still mention it to the endocrinologist just to be safe... you know how these things go. And they'll probably run your thyroid levels too, since sometimes a high TSH can actually kick those prolactin numbers up a notch...

good luck 😘

Harold Stewart3 said:Since you're going in specifically for prolactin, I don't think the birth control is really the issue here, but I’d definitely mention it to the endocrinologist just to be safe... plus, they'll probably run thyroid labs too, because sometimes high TSH can actually bump up your prolactin levels.

Good luck! 😘

Thanks. Honestly, I'm just totally lost. My OB-GYN told me that if I want to get my hormones checked properly, I might need to pause the birth control, though she didn't see any reason to stop unless I was planning on getting pregnant. My last hormone panel was way back in July 2007 because I've been on the pill ever since. Then, in January 2008, during a physical, my doctor suggested I see an endocrinologist and come back for a Pap smear in four months because some inflammation made the initial results hard to read. When I finally went back to ask for a referral, my gynecologist just gave me this patronizing little smirk and asked, "Oh, did they scare you?" Then I went to my primary care physician and laid out the whole story. She also gave me that same "why did you wait so long?" look, but she did give me the referral for the specialist, noting that my old labs were basically ancient history and I needed fresh ones. What's tripping me up is the birth control thing—I'm terrified the endocrinologist is going to roll their eyes and wonder why I even bothered coming in if I'm still on hormonal contraceptives. I have no clue what to do, so I'm looking for anyone else who's dealt with this kind of runaround. Thanks in advance.

Laura Campbell18 said:Thanks. Honestly, I’m just super confused because my OBGYN told me that if I actually want to get my hormones checked properly, I might need to stop taking birth control—but then she followed it up by saying there’s no reason to quit if I’m not planning on having kids anytime soon. My last real hormone panel was way back in July 2007 because I've been on the pill ever since. Then, during a routine physical in January 2008, they suggested I see an endocrinologist and come back for a follow-up Pap smear in four months because some inflammation made the first one hard to read. When I finally went to ask for a referral, my gynecologist literally smirked at me and asked, "Oh, did they scare you?" Unbelievable. So, I went to my primary care doctor and laid out the whole story. She also gave me that same smirking look, wondering why I waited this long, but she did give me the referral for the specialist. She mentioned my labs are ancient and I definitely need updated ones. But now I’m spiraling because I’m worried the endocrinologist is going to lecture me about being on birth control while trying to figure out what's wrong. I don't even know what to do anymore, so I'm looking for anyone else who's dealt with this. Thanks in advance.

When I went to the endocrinologist for the first time, I was still on the pill too. Trust me, they aren't going to say anything to you. And if you're checking hormones that aren't related to gynecological issues, you don't even need to be off the pill.

Lisa Barrett22 said:When I had my first appointment with an endocrinologist, I was also on birth control. Honestly? They aren't going to tell you anything different. If we're talking about hormones that aren't gynecological, there's no reason to stop taking the pill.

Thanks, I feel way better now!🙂

Laura Campbell18 said:Thanks. Honestly, I’m just confused because my OB-GYN told me that if I want to get my hormones checked properly, I should probably stop taking birth control, though she didn't see any reason to quit if I'm not planning on having kids anytime soon. My last hormone panel was way back in July 2007... since I've been on the pill ever since. Then, back in January 2008, during a routine physical, they suggested I see an endocrinologist and come back for a Pap smear in four months because some inflammation made the initial results hard to read. When I finally went for the follow-up and asked for a referral, my gynecologist just kind of smirked at me and said, "Oh, did they scare you?" Then I went to my primary care doctor and laid it all out, and she gave me the same smirking look about why I waited so long... but she did give me the referral for the specialist. She mentioned my labs are ancient and I really need updated ones. But now I'm overthinking it... I'm worried the endocrinologist is going to judge me for being on birth control while asking for these tests. I don't know anymore... just looking for anyone else who's dealt with this. Thanks in advance.

I don't think the endocrinologist is going to say anything to you either. If you're on the pill, the only person who can tell you to stop so you can get clear labs for a certain period is you... nothing else. Just go talk to the specialist... if they ask why you're there while still on birth control, just tell them you'll consult with them on what needs to change. You aren't a doctor, after all... you shouldn't be expected to have all the answers before you even walk through the door😉 that's literally their job.
Good luck

If you actually make it to the endocrinologist, let us know how it goes... specifically if they mention any issues caused by the birth control 🙂

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I’ll definitely be there. I'll let you guys know how it goes!

Harold Stewart3 said:Let us know how the endocrinologist visit goes! I'm curious if they think the birth control pills are causing any issues. 🙂

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So, I finally made it in yesterday. The doctor went through everything with me—I laid out the whole story from day one—and then she sent me off for a battery of tests: prolactin levels, thyroid stuff, an ovarian ultrasound, and a few other hormones. She mentioned that being on birth control can actually send your prolactin levels spiking way higher than what’s considered "normal," so where you are in your cycle matters a lot. Now I just have to go grab all my referrals, get the bloodwork done, and once I have the results in hand, I'll head back for a follow-up. So... yeah. That's the plan.

🙂 See? It wasn't actually that bad 🙂 just take it one step at a time... let us know how those results turn out 😘

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So, here’s the deal... I’ve gone through the whole gauntlet of bloodwork—checking FT4, FT3, TSH, TPO, androgens, DHEA, prolactin, testosterone, free testosterone, SHBG, ACTH, you name it—plus an ultrasound. According to the results, everything looks perfectly fine, except for my cortisol levels, which came back high on a 24-hour test. My endocrinologist basically brushed it off as just being stressed out, telling me that from their perspective, everything is normal and I should just come back in three months to run the same battery of tests just to be safe. What’s actually bugging me, though, is whether the Yasmin I'm taking could have skewed all these results. Since I was on the pill while getting all this blood drawn, is it possible it threw the whole system off balance?

Laura Campbell18 said:So, here’s the deal... after running every single test imaginable—ft4, ft3, tsh, tpo, androgens, dexamethasone, prolactin, testosterone, free testosterone, shbg, ACTH, and an ultrasound—it turns out everything looks fine on paper. Except for my cortisol, which came back high during the 24-hour test. My endocrinologist basically brushed it off as just stress, saying from their perspective, everything is totally normal, and I should just come back in three months to re-run the whole battery just in case. What I'm actually worried about is whether being on Yasmin could have messed with the results... since I was taking it while all these tests were being done. Is it possible the pill skewed the entire picture?

I don't think they'd mess with your thyroid numbers. But if you ask me... birth control definitely impacts the actual state of things, because at the end of the day, your body isn't producing its own sex hormones anymore; you're just taking them synthetically... 🤷
As for the cortisol, plenty of people see elevated levels just as a reaction to stress... 😉

I'm pretty sure you have to get your sex hormones checked on day 5 of your period if you're on birth control. At least, that’s what the doctors—and even the lab techs—keep telling me. I've been on Diane for almost 10 years now, excluding a two-year break for pregnancy and breastfeeding, but I’ve always made sure to get my levels tested that way while I was taking them.

Hey, ladies! I’m 17 and dealing with some major thyroid drama. Hoping someone here can help me make sense of this mess. So, basically, I’ve got big issues with my thyroid—hyperthyroidism and Hashimoto's—and I recently saw my gynecologist to get some birth control prescribed. Because of the thyroid stuff, they sent me for the usual hormone panels (TSH, T3, T4) plus cholesterol, clotting factors, bilirubin, and all that good stuff. On the OBGYN's end, everything looked fine, so they prescribed me Diane. I couldn't start right away since my period had just ended. Then I went to see my endocrinologist, who basically told me I'm in a high-risk category for birth control because of the thyroid issues combined with my body type—he was super firm about me not taking anything until we run every possible test. Long story short, I did the blood work for the hormones, but I also had to test for antibodies and go in for an ultrasound of my ovaries (which turned out to be a bit wonky—macrocystic ovaries—so now I'm in another "high risk" bucket) along with a standard CBC. Now, I have to wait until November 26th for the results, and heaven knows when my endocrinologist will actually fit me in. By then, I’ll definitely have had another period (fingers crossed 😉) which means more waiting around before I can even think about starting birth control... and honestly, who knows if I'm even allowed to take it at all??? Basically, safe sex is off the table for a few months, and when things aren't "safe," I lose my mind just waiting for my cycle to show up.
😢 😢 😢 😢 😢 😢 😢 😢
Hope I didn't overcomplicate this too much—if anyone has dealt with something similar, I would seriously appreciate any advice or insight!!!
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WHO ON EARTH ISSUES THE REFERRAL FOR AN ENDOCRINOLOGIST???

My primary care physician is being absolutely useless and simply has no clue how to answer this question! 🙂

🤦

Or maybe you're just being dense. 😉 It follows standard medical protocols, just like any other referral.

And please, quit typing in all caps. On this forum, we consider that shouting, and you'll end up getting flagged by the mods. 🙂