please, if anyone out there knows anything. . . i am 46, struggled with PMS most of my life. terrible cramping, mood, etc. terrible pregnancy mood into terrible labor then c-sections, then post part. depresn. my period has been dysfunctional to say the least. at times i need more sleep then not. 3 -4 am wake up time is normal then i usually go back. my problem is this. it now seems that i have perpetual PMS and i don't mean the irritated, aggravated kind. i mean the depression with anxiety vice versa. i am always sad-i can cry at the drop of a hat. i feel isolated. my oldest is going to college next sept. and my youngest is 12. the economy has affected my husbands business and times, needless to say, are hard. i am scared i am bi-polar 2 since none of the seratonin drugs work-they make me anxious. wellbutrin i thought i was going to kill myself. i wish someone could tell me what will help and that this definitly is hormones. doc says it is perimenopause(i am apparently in the thrust of it) and gave me birth control pill "YAZ". i cried teriibly for 7 days straight!! help, if anyone can.
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want help
Hi, I am sorry no one responded earlier to u!!! Well, here i am...I am 44 and going through the same shit. I have never had kids and my docter said she wouldent give me any help when it came to birth control pills...shes a bitch. u r not nuts; nor r u going crazy.. u are just going through bad hormone changes that make you feel that u are! It is very scary and most Drs are not good at telling woman how to handle this since everyone is so different.The one thing I can tell you is that u are not alone, and u have others that feel the same. I have not had my period in 4 months and it has made me nuts i work out...cry and yell..and still feel like a lunatick..i dont know if i spelled that right,,,but who gives a shit! anyhow...dont do anything that seems crazy even though u may not be able to do that...here are a few suggestions..go to the gym!!!!!! Eat healthy, do something u always wanted to do 4 yourself.cry because you feel like it and except, its ok..fuck everyone who does not understand ...and for the girls that arent there yet..they will....god bless you , dont worry u r not alone! Gail
hi gaily . . . . THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! you sound so real. my "friends" have all moved out of the area i live in and i am 1 1/2 hrs away from my childhood home. thank god for this facebook thing because i have been able to connect with high school friends that i lost touch with. going through this is a terrible downer and i feel isolatred most of the time and i was always a very social person. i feel trapped as well. when the old friends so me on the facebook, they wrote some wonderful things and i know it was genuine. it is definetly what i need right now. you sound just like one of my old friends so it was extremely comforting to read your comment!!! i know i have to get to the gym and i know the diet plays a huge role in it. i just don't give a crap. i let myself go and it is comforting having this "pity party". i did do something drastic. unfortunately, i cut my hair off (up to my ears) and had them highlight (real blonde) the whole head!!! LOL!! it doesn't look that bad, but if i was sane i wouldn't have done it!!! i have to force myslef to get out and walk/run or go to gym. times are tough now so it makes it more difficult but not impossible. thanks again.
Hi Lori, I'm 49 and have had the whole pms, perimenopause thing too. The ONLY thing that helps me is Evening primrose oil, or black current oil. I have tried everything- progesterone cream, made me anxious, black cohosh, soy, red clover, etc. etc. I take about 2,000 to 3,000 during pms. The only thing is it takes about 2 months to get in your system to work, Hope that helps! Good Luck , LJ
Hi, What you are describing is classic for perimenopause and especially with someone who has had significant PMS, so has probably run low progesterone all her life. The drop in progesterone that brings on your period and that's what also brings the symptoms you describe. Now, in perimenopause, you feel like you're PMS-ing all the time because your progesterone level is always low. It fluctuates, so somedays you may feel some better, but then it will drop again and the worst symptoms are back. The birth control pill is a failure for many (most) women in your situation because the progestin component is synthetic and does not act like your own body's hormone. You don't feel better because it's doing nothing to impact your moods or sleep as actual progesterone does. Bioidentical progesterone (brand name Prometrium) is a mood enhancer and calming agent which can significantly alleviate your symptoms, including the terrible menstrual cramping. The fact that you had postpartum depression is a further clue that you are probably normally low progesterone. Talk to your doctor and see if you can get on this drug that actually replaces your own body's progesterone and acts in the same way on your periods and symptoms.
Best of luck to you,
Sandy
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YOu can stop feeling confused and panicky now. I have been though hell and back with the perimenopause. The doctors were hopeless, and said that there was nothing they could do. Wouldn't put me on H.R.T because of sisters breast cancer from HRT. Never have any women in our family had breast cancer. I had, e.g. No sleep, restless legs (drove me and hubby mad) heels spurs (AAGONY, couldn't walk,tendons relaxing from too much oestrogen), severe brain fog (thought I was going mad like one of the Aunties), worsening depression, no confidence, crying one minute, then wanting to murder the next. Debilitating fatigue. Believe me I had the lot. Solution?!! found through Naturopath (expensive) First thing, put me on a product called Ultramuscleze x 2 tspns per day. My feet stopped aching within 3 days, and walked for 6 hrs shopping. Gained more energy, the brain fog cleared. another product she recommended was Relaxan and Adaptogen. The mood swings stopped, especially the anger. She couldn't help the not sleeping though. SO!!, I went to the natural menopause clinic online. They sent me off for blood tests, which all seemed "within range", but they go by what the symptoms are. WELL! Thank God for them. They put me on Progesterone made from plants.. I started sleeping like a baby. It's the Oestrogen dominance that creates the havoc, and also the Magnesium depletion which is caused by many factors, one being the hormones mucking around. I had a history of illness though, which exacerbated the Menopausal problems years later. Severe Glandular fever contracted when I was pregnant with my second child, which mucked up my Adrenals ( do some research). I had Adrenal burnout from a lifetime of anxiety and depression. Then was rejoicing 4 years later because I could get through the day without a sleep, but whammo! on came the Chronic fatigue (Naturopath cured me in 6 months) then ended up with Aspartame toxicity (severe brain fog/fatigue), the found out about how toxic it was. Went off it, and took about a year to recover, but was not quite right. This history made the perimenopause much
worse. There is a wonderful Women clinic in Maine (if your are from America)which you can contact via the phone..My regime is the
Progesterone, the Bioceutical-Ultramuscleze x 1 Tbspn per day,
Cider vinegar/organic honey in tepid water x 3 per day, helps adjust the acidic levels to alkaline,
a good multi-vitamin/mineral/herbal supplement (Swisse) x 1 per day,
Vitamin C, 100 mg x 2 per day, (exceleent against aging and middle-age eye damage,
Evening primrose oil, supports the female hormonal system.
St John's Wort 2700MG X 2 per day (DO NOT MIX WITH PHARMACEUTICAL ANTI-DEPRESSANTS), I went off pharmaceutical A.D.'s because of the side effects.
PANAX GINSENG (helps fix the adrenals),
Cod Liver Oil, dosage is dependant on where you live on the planet (amount of sun per day= (vitamin D))
Maca power powder in milk 1 tbspn per day (erky) but GREAT for libido
Extra magnesium in the right balance with calcium (stopped restless legs)
MY HEEL SPURS HAVE HEALED!! GONE!!
AND last but not least, hours and hours of research.
Go to it girl. Knowledge is power and don't let the Medicos treat you like and idiot. You know your body and what you feel. RESEARCH! RESEARCH! RESEARCH!!!. ALL these things made more difference.
Thank you so much for replying to the email. thought i was gone for sure. i went back to a really good homepathi girl in New YorK called Deb LiCurse. she gave me a remedy that i mix in 1/2 cup of water and then take 1/2 tsp. out. i do it every other day. i seem to be "okay" stable for now. manageable. i would love to just take a pill and be great though. just one little pill. i have to learn to be grateful that i am not palmitating and in a constant state of panic. i know the "meds" do not agree with me and have a sleu of side effects. weight gain is also issue too. did that happen to you? were you able to loose it? My D.O. doctor wants me to ge progesterone cream -- now since you explained, i will. i guess the progesterone calms, as well as, what you said the mag/calc. combo. you are right too with the cod liver oil. i take a tblsp. of norweigan stuff for thyroid and the impending arthritis. i am writing your regimen down and bringing it to doc. the online advice you got was that from the women to women clinic in Maine?
what was the magic for sleep?
hi Jazz its me again. its only 24 hours after i wrote the last reply to you and within the last 2 hours i have become very depressed. this is the first time since i have been on the "remedy". my chest is killing me and i don't want to eat anything but sweets. this is friggin crazy!! if i don't feel better by thurs. i am going to doc for some kind of med -- i am tired of the rollercoaster. by the way, i have an aunt with breast cancer and my father had prostrate cancer -- they won't give the HRT to me either!