Hello,
I am newbie (but lurking for a while!). I am 47 and fairly sure am peri. I am still having periods but have night sweats, dryness, lack of libido, sensitive bladder, mood swings, anxiety etc. These symptoms all started about 2 years ago. The mood swings and low mood started to get very bad after the summer, noticeably before my period. I have always been prone to hormones, had bad PMT when younger and had post natal depression with both children. Eventually I went to the doctor and told her, she said that she didn't believe there was a link between menopause and depression and told me I was seratonin deficient and gave me anti depressants. I was really floored by the appointment, felt quite dismissed. She was really nice about it, and told me she knew her stuff as she came from a psychiatry background. I have been taking the anti depressants for a month now and do feel better but all the other peri symptoms are still there. The lack of libido aspect is really upsetting me as well! I am due to see her for a follow up on Monday but I don't know whether to mention the peri stuff again. I don't know if she would even consider HRT for me. They did the usual blood test which of course showed nothing. I have been doing so much research into it and see that the guidelines now say that HRT should be the first thing tried in depression in women over 45. My GP is quite forthright in her manner, a bit scary even! I am nervous about saying anything to her. She is the fourth female GP I have seen about this at my practice. The first did blood test and told me I was not menopausal and I should be careful with my contraception! The second gave me vagifem which then she wouldn't repeat. The third told me to come back in a year and see if there was any change in my blood tests as "they can't prescribe HRT without knowing what is lacking according to blood tests." I am at my wits end. Thank you for listening!