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[Peri-wrecked]

Hi All,
So my doctor prescribed me some microlite 100 levonorgestrel/20 ethinylestradiol. I'm one month into it and I just had my 7 day break and I got my period yesterday  and I was just so low and had tremors going through my body mainly my legs. I'm after waking up this morning after a night of tossing and turning and hot flushes and its a beautiful morning outside and normally I love mornings like this but all I want to do is cry. I look at my beautiful daughter and I love her so much and I want to be my old self so badly for her. 
All I keep hearing from the medical professon is that I'm too young...(35-36 in MAY)...I must add that my sister who is 37 is experiencing a lot of peri symptoms lately  I.e flooding 8 days periods, air hunger, dizzy spells,hip pain, migraines nausea, paranoia,less able to cope with stress etc.  I was an extremely heavy smoker until 3 years ago so I understand that smoking can cause one to start earlier than normal.
I dont know what to do, I dont know whether to continue on the packet I'm on or perhaps I should just give anti depressants a try. I've been searching for answers for 2 long years and symptoms for 3 I think but worsened 2 years ago.
I'm just not getting any help from professionals here. I've thought of just continuing without any birth control etc but I know thats not fair on others.
Im so frightened of never getting me back. I mis the old me that had so much fight in her. I've been a single mom for years and I love being a mom. I just want to be the best mom I can be. I dont feel like I'm doing that at all.
I dont know anybody else my age experiencing this. I feel so alone and so frustrated with doctors. Each wants to fit you into their area of expertise and nobody wants to look at the bigger picture. Rheumatologist says chronic fatigue, endoscopy says hernia but no reflux, neurologist says all ok but maybe nerve trapped in neck, mri says some lower back disc damage. Nobody listens when I say it all go worse when I quit birth control....... nobody hears how I got my first panic attack a month after coming off birth control right when my period was due.
Do I just wait a few more years for my blood work to show it? Do I keep going with this birth control, do I try a different one, do I go on anti depressants?
I had 1 hormone test a year ago which wasnt taken at any particular time of the month and it showed low progesterone and high estrogen but since that I developed extreme joint pain in hands, fingers, toes etc. And lower back pain, ive also had dry ears, nostrils, private parts, incredible itching in privates at certain times of the month and on my legs.
I'm just fed up.

[Emerald2017]

Hi All,
So my doctor prescribed me some microlite 100 levonorgestrel/20 ethinylestradiol. I'm one month into it and I just had my 7 day break and I got my period yesterday  and I was just so low and had tremors going through my body mainly my legs. I'm after waking up this morning after a night of tossing and turning and hot flushes and its a beautiful morning outside and normally I love mornings like this but all I want to do is cry. I look at my beautiful daughter and I love her so much and I want to be my old self so badly for her. 
All I keep hearing from the medical professon is that I'm too young...(35-36 in MAY)...I must add that my sister who is 37 is experiencing a lot of peri symptoms lately  I.e flooding 8 days periods, air hunger, dizzy spells,hip pain, migraines nausea, paranoia,less able to cope with stress etc.  I was an extremely heavy smoker until 3 years ago so I understand that smoking can cause one to start earlier than normal.
I dont know what to do, I dont know whether to continue on the packet I'm on or perhaps I should just give anti depressants a try. I've been searching for answers for 2 long years and symptoms for 3 I think but worsened 2 years ago.
I'm just not getting any help from professionals here. I've thought of just continuing without any birth control etc but I know thats not fair on others.
Im so frightened of never getting me back. I mis the old me that had so much fight in her. I've been a single mom for years and I love being a mom. I just want to be the best mom I can be. I dont feel like I'm doing that at all.
I dont know anybody else my age experiencing this. I feel so alone and so frustrated with doctors. Each wants to fit you into their area of expertise and nobody wants to look at the bigger picture. Rheumatologist says chronic fatigue, endoscopy says hernia but no reflux, neurologist says all ok but maybe nerve trapped in neck, mri says some lower back disc damage. Nobody listens when I say it all go worse when I quit birth control....... nobody hears how I got my first panic attack a month after coming off birth control right when my period was due.
Do I just wait a few more years for my blood work to show it? Do I keep going with this birth control, do I try a different one, do I go on anti depressants?
I had 1 hormone test a year ago which wasnt taken at any particular time of the month and it showed low progesterone and high estrogen but since that I developed extreme joint pain in hands, fingers, toes etc. And lower back pain, ive also had dry ears, nostrils, private parts, incredible itching in privates at certain times of the month and on my legs.
I'm just fed up.

Hi! I can feel you! I'm a bit older, 41years old and on hrt. I think that you can try hrt or keep going with birth control pills. I think that hrt is safer for long term use. I agree with you, docs don't see the whole picture and we know our bodies better! We need estrogen for continuing our lives and it's vital for our brain, heart, bones, skin! Take care! 🌹

[Dancinggirl]

Desperatedee - I assume you have made appropriate changes to your lifestyle? e.g. diet, exercise, relaxation techniques etc.??
From what you are telling us - my instincts say that you should try being without any medication or hormones for a while.  Set yourself a good daily routine of small regular meals that are highly nutritious, low in fat and low in sugar and drink plenty of water.  No alcohol, caffeine, chocolate or any stimulants and definitely no smoking. Make yourself learn some Mindful Meditation and practise it properly for 3-4 weeks to build it into your daily routine. Get some exercise - even a brisk  walk (and I mean brisk , not an amble) for 15 minutes every day is a good start. In other words, give your body a holiday from all the negative stuff. This is not easy, as it takes lots of discipline but, I can tell you, it feels really good to have some positive routine in your life. The sense of achievement you can get from taking control of your life can be so great.

Read funny or uplifting books, watch funny and/or uplifting films.  Plan fun activities you can do with your daughter. Do anything that stops you focusing on you health - meet with friends, try a dance class etc.
SLEEP is so, so important - wind down properly with no technology for at least one hour before bed.  Lovely warm bath or shower before bed and a cool temperature in the bedroom. Get up at the same time each morning.

If your low mood is continuous and you feel you are not functioning on a day to day basis, then you are suffering with depression that would benefit from ADs/SSRIs.  If your low moods are just certain times of the month, occasional or simply fluctuating, then the strategies I am suggesting will help.

I do know how you are feeling - I've been there myself.  I'm afraid it's about taking back control of your health and wellbeing and not expecting doctors or any medication to sort it for you. Once you have done everything you possibly can to improve your health yourself, write down all these positive things you have been doing for, at least, 3-6 months, then list all the symptoms you want to improve and talk to the GP about how they can help you.  You will find that doctors will be better able to help if you are clear about what exactly you want to achieve. It's no good saying you want 'your old self back'. Life changes and how we feel changes all the time, we can't go back, we must go forward and learn to adjust and cope with those ‘down days'. DG x

[racjen]

It's all very well to say you must take back control of your own life - I'm sorry DG but your post does come across as a bit patronising. I'm in a similar position, where I've spent months doing all the right things - really good diet, no caffeine, no alcohol, daily exercise, relaxation and mindfulness, creative activities - and none of it is making any difference whatsoever. I feel terrible, really terrible and at the point where I've run out of the energy to help myself. It's not fair to say that if none of this stuff is helping you're depressed and need ADs - hormones can cause really horrendous mental health problems, and if the source of the problem is hormonal it needs addressing hormonally. Personally I can't take ADs, they make me much much more depressed so there's not a lot left but dragging on trying to work out for myself what's going on. I feel I need a referral to a psychiatrist who specialises in hormonal problems,  or an endocrinologist with knowledge of mental health  problems, but do either exist?

[Emerald2017]

It's all very well to say you must take back control of your own life - I'm sorry DG but your post does come across as a bit patronising. I'm in a similar position, where I've spent months doing all the right things - really good diet, no caffeine, no alcohol, daily exercise, relaxation and mindfulness, creative activities - and none of it is making any difference whatsoever. I feel terrible, really terrible and at the point where I've run out of the energy to help myself. It's not fair to say that if none of this stuff is helping you're depressed and need ADs - hormones can cause really horrendous mental health problems, and if the source of the problem is hormonal it needs addressing hormonally. Personally I can't take ADs, they make me much much more depressed so there's not a lot left but dragging on trying to work out for myself what's going on. I feel I need a referral to a psychiatrist who specialises in hormonal problems,  or an endocrinologist with knowledge of mental health  problems, but do either exist?

Hi racjen! I found very helpful my visit to an endocrinologist. I think that my gyn and my endo help me to handle all these awful symptoms. It's crucial to find someone who cares and listens! My endo told me that we can try to fix it! He explains me how hormones can make you suicidal and depressed.

[Kathleen]

Hello Desperatedee.

I'm sorry to read that you are feeling so awful.

I agree with Dancinggirl's advice but no amount of healthy living has stopped me from despairing when my hormones are making me feel physically ill. I'm battling nausea atm, it's much like morning sickness and is making me miserable so I do sympathise.

There are other ladies on the forum who have experienced an early menopause and hopefully one of them will comment soon plus twin studies have demonstrated that smokers age faster than non smokers ( smoking results in shortened telomeres apparently ) so that could easily have contributed to your present situation.

I'm sorry that I can't be of more help but you are not alone and I hope you can take some comfort from that.

Wishing you well and keep posting.

K.

[Dotty]

Kathleen - nausea is horrendous. It's one of my major symptoms and lasts all day, every day x

[Hurdity]

Hi DesperateDee

Sorry to hear about your symptoms but I am a bit confused as to why you think you might be peri-menopausal? Before you started the BCP that you are now on, were you taking another type of pill and if not what were your periods doing? Could it be that you are still in the late reproductive stage (regular ovulation and periods, but hormones beginning to go a bit awry) and that it is worsening pms you are experiencing which can happen to many women just before they reach peri-menopause? Or could it be that this particular pill does not suit you? It sounds to me like your body reacted to the sudden drop in oestrogen (as well as progesterone withdrawal) during the 7 day break.

I agree with all Dancinggirl's lifestyle advice and suggestions but in terms of what you are taking - if you think you are ovulating regularly still then how about a Mirena coil along with an low dose oestrogen patch or pill to prevent the worst of through the crashes? Alternatively there are other pills which are more closely related to HRT - like Qlaira or Zoely. Qlaira only has 2 tablet free days so no big hormone crash. Also some pills can be taken back to back for 3 months minimising the frequency of the 7 day break. Have a read of this section of the forum which explains more about this: https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/contra2.php. I suggest you get some specialist help here if you can - perhaps referral to a menopause clinic on NHS if there is one near you? 

Blood tests are not reliable if you are taking HRT and also in a normal menstural cycle progesterone is low in the first half when oestrogen is high . It is recommended that blood tests are taken on days 3-5 of a cycle - and FSH is usually measured.

Hope this helps.

Hurdity x

[Dancinggirl]

Fab post Hurdity.

DesperateDee - I'm sorry if my post sounded patronising - I was trying to inspire you. I had a premature meno and it doesn't sound as though you are yet in peri meno so I feel Hurdity has given you the best advise.
When my POF began in my mid 30s I had counselling for a year and my advice is based on all I learned from that.  DG x

[Woodlands]

Hi ladies.
I agree with you too Dancing girl.
I had a huge peri MH meltdown at 48, now almost 55..... didn't work for weeks,eat,sleep or function. Started Mirena, citralopam, counselling, mindfullness and eating better, no caffeine or booze either. Yay life improved so you would never know I had a mental health need.
Also as you ladies know my eldest became the angel in this time too:(
You can do attitude all the way
Woodlands x

[Peri-wrecked]

Thank you everybody for taking the time to comment. I will take all suggestions on board. 
I eat well as it is, I dont drink alcohol or I haven't smoked in almost  3 years either. When this happened originally I was in A great place. I was going to the gym every day and swimming and I felt amazing. 
I strongly feel I'm in peri and I thank you alll for suggestions regarding pms etc. I must have suddenly developed pms/pmdd....... My gut tells me I am in peri.  Anyway, I shall keep going with this pill for another month and see then. 

Thank you all.