Okay, I Wouldn't Go Right To "Exciting..."

...but we did find out some interesting things from my full-cycle saliva analysis hormone panel or WHATEVER IT'S CALLED oh my gosh. Main info is as follows:

-I ovulated VERY late. I had a thirty three day cycle and didn't ovulate until day twenty two, meaning I had a luteal (post ovulatory) phase of eleven days. Anything under twelve days is considered to be a luteal phase defect, something both of my OB's have suggested as a possibility before.

-My progesterone, which has always been super low in my failed pregnancies and borderline low in the ones I did carry to term, was FINE. ABOVE AVERAGE, even. WTF. Seriously, it almost annoys me. So it only decide to go crazy when I'm pregnant, then?

-My estrogen levels were very high, not QUITE in a danger zone but at the very top of the acceptable range.

-My testosterone levels were more than twice as high as a normal woman's. This is indicative of ovarian cysts, which I always get when I ovulate, so we expected this level to be fairly high. Not THAT high, though. It was... Well. The doctor mentioned the term "premenopause" several times.

-My lutenizing hormone had a below average output, whatever that means. I was RELUCTANT to ovulate, I guess.

Overall the doctor seemed pretty concerned. He said my hormones were what he would expect from someone almost twice my age. However, before prophesying doom he did think to ask if anything unusual or stressful had happened during the test cycle. When I explained that I had done the test through the month of December, during which time my husband got in a serious car accident, our laundry room flooded and we had to have the floor pulled up, and our washer and dryer both needed replaced, plus, you know, CHRISTMAS and all, he got this lightbulb look on his face and said "Oh! Maybe you're okay then!"

At this point we're going to hope that a lot of the really weird stuff, like the elevated testosterone and estrogen, and the delayed ovulation, is a result of stress. He suggested six supplements he wants me to go on to try to balance hormone levels and to help me de-stres. He emphasized that about a thousand times. He said stress is usually what throws people into premenopause, which- well, who knows. He even suggested I trade in cardio and weights for yoga and long walks with soothing music instead of bouncy stuff. Just for a couple of months, to see if it helps, and then he wants to retest me when I'm hopefully in a calmer and less stressed place. And when hopefully no one gets in accidents and nothing in our house decides to break.

Oh and P.S., nurse on the phone the other day who said it didn't look too "crazy" to her: maybe check with the doctor before you actually voice an opinion. Grr.