Hi Joana!

This is really interesting question...and I think you may be on to something with the perimenopause.  Here is what I would wonder about...are you doing anything currently to treat your seasonal affective disorder?  Do you have a special lamp or anything like that.  Let me know if you need any tips about that because we have quite a few articles here about SAD. 

I am a writer over on our Sexual Health site and I just wrote an article about Perimenopause that you may want to check out.  I am now 45 and I believe I am beginning this phase...did you know it can last for ten years before menopause?  And it definitely can play havoc on your mood...absolutely.  I think what might help in your case is to do a mood diary...write down the days you are feeling bad and what your symptoms are...are you feeling more angry...more irritated...more weepy...whatever your symptoms...write them down and I think you will see a pattern develop.

I have just begun to research what things can help perimenopause and...exercise...B-12 vitamins with folate....eating more fish...the list goes on. See what happens when your meds are adjusted but you may have to add some other things to help you to get through this.  I promise you...we will get through this together!

It is so hard to tell with these things when you have multiple issues going on...we truly are biological beings and it makes total sense that the perimenopause is not helping your mood.  Ask your doctor for some natural ways to help you get through this.

Thank you for your question and let us know how things go for you.

INFPJoana

12/ 7/09 7:07pm

Hi, Merely Me - Thanks for your response. Part of the reason my psych doc raised my Effexor is because of the SAD, which for me tends to start in August - when I see the days getting shorter, it just gets to me, but this year has been the first year in a long time I've had such an intense response. To make matters worse for me, I also have a 4-cm uterine fibroid, which we are treating medically with Prometrium, which does help with the mood swings a bit in that I'm not so estrogen-dominant. Oh, and did I mention I'm also a migraineur? My migraines have increased from an average of 1 a month to 2 to 3 a month; Thursday and Friday, I had 2 different migraines in 2 days! I was lucky to be able to abort the 2nd one thanks to getting a visual aura. It's all so complex! Yes, perimenopause can indeed last 10 years - my first night sweats started at 37(!) but I've really noticed it the last 4-ish years with the other "symptoms." I keep a combination mood/migraine/menstrual diary in my appointment book - it can be very helpful to see what's going on for all my docs (internal med, psychiatrist, GYN), but it can be hard to separate which is migraine-related, which is cycle-related . Cycle-wise, yesterday was 19. I've been taking fish oil. I'm lucky enough to have a window by my cubicle at work and to drive to work in daylight year-round, which helps. I've tried soy (no help), black cohosh (no help). Any other tips, including more on SAD, would be appreciated!

Merely Me

12/ 8/09 6:55pm

Hi again!

 

You know...you really are doing so many good things for yourself...I hope you give yourself credit. 

 

We do have some posts about SAD and our Renee C. has written about Developing a Yearly SAD plan that you might want to read.

 

Have you visited our Migraine site at all? Or our Menopause site?

 

I could use some tips myself about the perimenopause...been reading some about progesterone cream and I did go out and buy myself some perimenopause vitamins.  I will let you know anything else I discover in my research. 

 

Please keep writing and let us know how you are doing in the weeks to come okay?