Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Nannyneet on May 18, 2019, 09:10:50 PM
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Hi,I joined the site a while ago but I wasn't sure if i was going through the menopause properly at that point so haven't posted since
I am now 8 months without having a period and have just started having hot flushes ( I thought I was having them before but not as bad as this)
The physical symptoms aren't bothering me too much it's the mental health aspect that has thrown me,I feel so depressed most of the time and can't seem to muster any enthusiasm for anything
I went to my GP to ask about treatment for menopausal symptoms and she put me on anti depressants, they didn't make a difference so she wanted to increase the dose,I didn't like the way they made me feel so have now stopped taking them
Does anyone else feel like this and if so have you found anything that helps, I'm particularly interested in anything herbal or natural
Thanks in advance for any help
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Theres an alternative therapies section that might help and will have all sorts of advice if you want herbal and natural options.
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Theres an alternative therapies section that might help and will have all sorts of advice if you want herbal and natural options.
Hi
Thanks for the reply,I've just looked at my previous posts and realised I asked this before,I joined about two years ago but what with one thing or another completely forgot I had posted,my memory is soooooo bad,I'm off to have a look now 😊
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Are you depressed? In which case appropriate medication should be considered. St John's wort apparently eases 'light' depression but I don't know what that would be exactly, other than a person feeling 'low' which is totally different.
Let us know how you get on.
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Are you depressed? In which case appropriate medication should be considered. St John's wort apparently eases 'light' depression but I don't know what that would be exactly, other than a person feeling 'low' which is totally different.
Let us know how you get on.
This is what I'm not sure about,I have had bouts of depression in the past that are linked to me having chronic pain ( Fibromyalgia ) and I was given anti depressants for that and they worked really well,the Fibro is now really well managed without any meds as I have found other non medical ways of dealing with it
I then started to feel depressed and have really bad mood swings so I went back to my GP after my daughter told me I needed to sort it out,she put me back on anti depressants but they haven't made any difference,she told me to increase the dose but that didn't help either,I'm not sure now if this bout of depression is down to my hormones being out of sync which I'm presuming anti depressants won't help with
I bought some black Cohosh yesterday as this I supposed to help with anxiety and mood swings plus hot flushes,but I'm not sure now if I should take it after reading that someone died while taking this herb
I might just try the St Johns Wort and see if that helps,I'm just wondering if there is a natural way to manage my hormones that anyone has found actually helps
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It's all very confusing - although your depression may very well be of hormonal origin, that doesn't mean that anti-depressants won't sort it out. As I understand it, the neural pathways that govern our moods are pretty much the same for both hormones and neuro-transmitters like serotonin. For some women, hormonal depression and anxiety is resolved by HRT, for others it just isn't, despite trying lots of different types. In these cases ADs may make all the difference. So it isn't as simple as saying 'appropriate medication should be considered', because until you try it you won't know what's appropriate. I think the biggest thing I've learnt from the whole menopause ordeal is that women's mental health can't be separated from our hormonal health - the two work together.
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What drug has been prescribed for the depression?
Some work better than others, after a while the 1 I had taken successful for 8 years pooped out so my GP found another.
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What drug has been prescribed for the depression?
Some work better than others, after a while the 1 I had taken successful for 8 years pooped out so my GP found another.
I was taking Fluoxetine for depression,I wanted to try a different one but she wanted to try to increase the doe first,I've been on and off this drug several times for the last 15 years,I am now completely off and really don't want to go back on it because I don't like how it makes me feel or rather not feel anything at all
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How do you know if you need anti depressants rather than an increased dose of hrt?
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Unfortunately the only way you can know is by trying...
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Totally relate to this. I have months and months of feeling so much ' better' and then boom
hit a brain/anxiety fog. The ' fog' has been getting worse and more regular as I go through Peri.
Eating /drinking regularly makes a huge difference for me. I felt rough about an hour ago and wasn't
hungry but made myself eat. Can feel the difference in mood.
It is catch 22. The soft stuff only works when you feel good. In the midst of the fog it is so hard
to think let alone do anything which might help.
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I have to eat B4 my body gets hungry.
Sometimes an AD won't work if one stops/starts it, because the brain is used to the medication make up.
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I can totally relate to this. I too suffer with the mental side of things more than hot flushes.
The problem is that low or fluctuating oestrogen reduces serotonin the feel good neurotransmitter in your brain hence feeling depressed & anxious. One size doesn't fit all. Some women swear by HRT & feel great. Others take AD & feel great. Others change their diet, exercise more & mediate. Some do all 3. It's trying to find what works best for you. I do also believe in the eat little & often to help even out moods & try to avoid sugar & processed foods as much as possible.
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I can totally relate to this. I too suffer with the mental side of things more than hot flushes.
The problem is that low or fluctuating oestrogen reduces serotonin the feel good neurotransmitter in your brain hence feeling depressed & anxious. One size doesn't fit all. Some women swear by HRT & feel great. Others take AD & feel great. Others change their diet, exercise more & mediate. Some do all 3. It's trying to find what works best for you. I do also believe in the eat little & often to help even out moods & try to avoid sugar & processed foods as much as possible.
Hi thanks for the info
I am just starting to try meditation in relation to managing the Fibromyalgia, the first one I did was lovely and relaxing and I had the best nights sleep ever after doing it,I do need to work on my diet though because it is quite often rubbish
I'm going to give it another couple of months I think and if I still feel like this I will go back to my GP, maybe she will let me try a different anti depressant because fluoxetine just doesnt help anymore
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Why wait :-\
Tnx paisley
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I don't want to go down the anti depressant route again unless it's an absolute last resort,I'm trying other things such as mindfulness, expressive writing and meditation for the next couple of months to see if that helps first
My GP recommended some of these to me the last time she gave me a prescription but I didn't try any of them,I now want to see if they make a difference before I go back to her
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Progressive muscle relaxation is also good. This is where you tense certain parts of your body & then let them go. If I do this regularly it does help
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From the toes upwards - tense, hold, relax. Supposed to concentrate the mind to the area in tension. Yoga? Swimming? Sometimes it's about getting adrenaline levels up, if I went for a walk and met people, my mood would lift even if I didn't want to speak to anyone.
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Progressive muscle relaxation is also good. This is where you tense certain parts of your body & then let them go. If I do this regularly it does help
Thanks Paisley
This is one of my favourite things to do, it works to relax me especially at bedtime,I do it when I've just got into bed and always feel really relaxed after
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From the toes upwards - tense, hold, relax. Supposed to concentrate the mind to the area in tension. Yoga? Swimming? Sometimes it's about getting adrenaline levels up, if I went for a walk and met people, my mood would lift even if I didn't want to speak to anyone.
Thanks CLKD
I keep saying I'm going to try yoga but never get round to it,I do love going for a good long walk with my dog,I quite often listen to podcasts at the same time which always lifts my mood
I've also recently started going riding again and that helps enormously, I can only go every other week for an hour but that hour riding round my local bridlepaths is so lovely and it gives me something to look forward to a couple of times a month
I'm not keen at all on swimming even though I'm a fairly good swimmer ,I have to swim in a heated pool as well because cold water makes the chronic pain symptoms worse,I used to run before I got ill and would love to get back into this but I'm not sure my body would stand it, I also loved going to the gym but cant really afford that and go riding and I would rather ride and be outside
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The horse riding sounds lovely & you are out surrounded by nature. I would love to do that too
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I gave up horses ;D - too tall, too strong, they have large hoofffy things :D
Brisk walking can be beneficial. Swimmingg is too cold for me here ;)
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I gave up horses ;D - too tall, too strong, they have large hoofffy things :D
Brisk walking can be beneficial. Swimmingg is too cold for me here ;)
You just have to keep an eye on the hoofffy things and it's fine, the horse i was riding last year was about 16hh but the one I've just started to ride is smaller and more of a plodding cob type who spend more time trying to eat the hedge than actually going anywhere, he is really comfy though 😀
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A friend had a 'hack' aged 24 who would wander along the lanes, get into an open space and the horse would take off :o. I had a Shetland/Welsh who stood on my feet when I was 6 :-\ ......... she continued grazing :D
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I love nothing more than a good fast canter or a flat out gallop,blows the cobwebs away :)