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[Noheroicsplease]

Hi all

Not posted in months. Had a very up and down time. Don't feel extra progesterone has helped. Don't feel HRT is doing much actually (never had physical symptoms, just mental swings)

My mood is so flat, i'm thinking of trying anti deps. I took them once decades ago. I know NICE guidelines say doctors should prescribe HRT and not anti deps during menopause...but NICE guidelines aren't living my life.

Anyone take a low dose of something that they take with HRT? Any recommendations?

I'm tscared that I'll put on more weight from them, so ones that avoid this would be helpful. Thanks, x

[Tinkerbellj]

I feel exactly the same xx tried every anti d under the sun all had terrible side effects. Gp has just got me to try liquid fluxotine. I only take one ml a day usual dose is 2oml..has given me upset tummy but think it is doing something in a small way but only been a week so time will tell xxxx

[aspie65]

I take cipralex (escitalopram) and had no real side effects.  I take 20mg but 5 or 10 is normal to start with.  My GP is a big fan of this AD over all others because side effects are less common in her experience.  Good luck!

[Noheroicsplease]

Thanks very much both. x

[CLKD]

I've taken ADs since 1988 and never put weight on.  I don't know anyone in recent years that has done when on ADs.

What's to lose?

[racjen]

What's to lose is that ADs can have nasty side effects and can make you feel a whole lot worse; they work for some people but as you know they've been disastrous for me and I wouldn't recommend them for hormonal problems.

NoMoreHeroics, why were you expecting that extra progesterone would help? Many women have terrible trouble with progesterone. If you're having mood problems, and depression particularly, you need your estrogen levels to be pretty high to make any difference at all. Have they been tested?

[CLKD]

Oh I've had nasty side-effects .......... see my response in the other thread.  I did despair that there wasn't anything out that that would help, fortunately my GP found something which worked well for 9 years.  Until then though 

[Noheroicsplease]

Hi

I don't know re: progesterone. I just thought that would help my mood.

I can't imagine my estrogen levels are good. I don't really take much estrogel as it didn't feel like it was doing very much. Maybe I need to start by increasing that,

[Jo24]

Sorry, I am rather confused regarding the effects of Oest and Prog; I was of the belief that the Prog had a calming effect, and was important for sleep?
My personal experience is that I seem to need continuous Prog along with Oest - on a trial of Sequi patches my insomnia returned, waking up 2-4am, and I felt more anxious, which I thought was related to the swings of Prog every 2/52?
I went back on the Conti px and my sleep patten normalised again...

[Kas]

Hi all,haven't been on here in quite a while,but found solace on here last night.
I take Fluoxetine 20mg a day and i have found them to be helpful since I entered the meno. I think I have been on them for about 4 years now.I had an blip about 3 years ago , when the my doctor upped me to 40mg and referred me to 'Time to talk', which helped me manage the anxiety and moods swings,but I have had no side effects or weight gain in the whole time I have been on them.
Hope this helps
Kas

[Dancinggirl]

Jo24 - everyone is different and in your case it was the sequential regime that didn't suit because you suffered more after the progesterone phase of the HRT. You clearly do better with the conti hrts. This is why I suggested the Mirena for you as you would get a lower continuos dose of the progesterone to give balance but fewer negative side effects.
The Mirena also allows you to use more oestrogen  if need be  without increasing the progesterone. 
Noheroicsplease - HRT doesn't work for everyone and perhaps you should try a SSRI - - escitalopram dies seem to be a good option - it's been recommended by several ladies posting on this site. DG x

[Yammy1]

I tried hrt a few times without success. I have been taking citalopram 10mgs for the past two months. I will be honest it's only the last couple of weeks I'm getting back to the old me,they did make my anxiety ten times worse at first so be prepared but I Had an energency Xanax to tide me over when things got bad. I have to say I'm glad I stuck with them as my life was a mess emotionally before them. I hope this helps whatever you decide.

[racjen]

NOMoreHeroics, is any one actually monitoring your situation? If you have menopause related mood problems you need to get your estrogen level way up before you'll feel any difference in depression, it's a very different ball game from just alleviating hot flushes etc. which takes a relatively small amount of estrogen. Progesterone can be calming in some women but in  others it's a complete nightmare, causing a huge array of negative symptoms. Then there's also testosterone to consider. You can't hope to sort this out for yourself without expert help, and in my experience that means finding a menopause expert, either an NHS clinic or private if necessary, because your average GP doesn't have a clue about this stuff. Don't leap to ADs as the answer, they're not an appropriate treatment if your mood problems are hormone related.

[Roseneath]

racjen. I can relate to what you are saying. I have tried several GPs at my practise and they have all just thrown ' top of the list' HRT or ADs at me like sweeties; no explanation of side effects, pros and cons etc.  No hormone level testing or mood swing analysis.  My ' only' peri symptoms apart from mid cycle discharge (which checked out fine) is bad anxiety / digestive issues and for a while insomnia . No flushes at all. I took HRT (Ellestre Duet) for 8 weeks but felt terrible on it anxiety wise.  My symptoms come and go; weeks I will feel really great then terrible for a week.  I live in the sticks 3 hours from a large town so no real chance of any referral to a clinic. It is a very lonely game and I don't feel any GP has a grip of what causes my highs and lows.