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[suzysunday]

I also feel that the gp and gynaecologists haven't done as much as they could. Diagnosed with VA 2 years ago. Given vagifem and investing then 18 months on Tibolone.  Now bleeding and waiting for a hysteroscopy taken off her in the meantime and now in limbo. I have never had a blood test or had options explained.

[Ladybt28]

Daisydot,
Thanks for your kind words, my head's so bad I'm only getting through the day counting hours.  Its been nice being able to off-load on the forum today.  I have been reading here for ages, I should have joined sooner.  I did think about Dr Currie but I have had such trouble with my GP practice that I wondered how they would take it if I rocked up with a second opinion and a list of things to be prescribed.  GP's dont react well if you appear to know more than they do - well mine hasnt anyway.

I know that you are supposed to take your HRT for a full 3 months before changing like someone has said already but I worry that I will spend another 3 months feeling rough as hell and dangerously on the edge. 18 months gone and it seems like my life and my health are slipping away.  I really hope the pemarin/prova kicks in soon but I'm in the middle of the third week and there has been no change at all.

[racjen]

I'm sure there must be a large number of women under mental health services inappropriately as the majority of doctors seem to think our anxiety/depression is in our heads. Mine is clearly cyclical! And when the HRT is right I'm fine. Today is the first day for weeks that I've actually felt anywhere like normal so fingers crossed and touching wood!
I hope you find some solution - sometimes it's such a torturous Journey x

Yes, I've had a few visits from the Mental Health Crisis Team in the last few months, when the incessant anxiety has pushed me over the edge or the inappropriately prescribed anti-depressants have made me suicidal. The last time it happened I was visited by a consultant psychiatrist and a mental health worker, and they both agreed that my problem is hormonal, not psychological, and that my GP should have referred me to a menopause specialist long ago. They both urged me to change GP and get a referral, and supported by their reports I did. It just depends who you get on the day though - I've seen quite a few of the Mental Health Crisis team before, and these two (both male) were the first to take the hormonal connection seriously.

[Nik2502]

That's great that they recognised your problem and the cause. It's hot and miss with any doctor you see but I always get the miss!

I keep a mood diary now to show medics exactly how my mood dips are cyclical.

[Ladybt28]

I think it's really bad that something as serious as bad depression is so hit and miss.  I have been inside the community mental health team for 2 years and had a few run ins with them in the past but it's no real help because they are not acknowledging or dealing with the underlying cause.  The other thing is that it's not until you get older that you realise just how hormone related it is.  What gets my goat is that Doctors should have hormone related depression/anxiety on their radar but then women health in that respect is only just coming out of the dark ages!

The last thing they sent me on was CBT therapy in group sessions.  When they ended everything stopped haven't heard a peep from them since!  How can you just fall off the radar like that - that's bad? no?  Also it takes ages to get seen by anyone unless you rock up as an emergency psych admission at A&E and often suicidal depression doesn't present that way.  If you're having a crisis you're having a crisis now - no in 6 weeks or 6 months!


Oh dear - sorry guys rant over!

[CLKD]

You rant!  Mental Health support hasn't altered much and I've been using services since the early 1990s.  Even privately, once I stopped going - because the therapist upset me - no one phoned to see why or wether I still needed that support.  It was the fact that the therapist seemed to think that if techniques to cope were written down that they worked!  I could tell her which page of which book she was quoting to me.  At one point she acknowledged that I probably knew more about it than she did.  Well yes, I'm the 1 with the feelings!

[Ladybt28]

Thing is CLKD - not amount of therapy is gonna help if the problem is really screwed up chemicals in your body.  I always describe it like having an untuned engine in a car - if you don't get the oil/water/air and electrical balance right - the engine runs rough/loudly or not at all!  - bodies are just the same.  If we could all change the way our bodies react just by thinking there wouldn't be about 47k + women posting on this site, the majority of whom have hormonal depression or emotional psychological issues due to the female chemicals in their female bodies!

To me although it might seem far too simple loads of illness that cant seem to be fixed are all to do with in-balance in the body.  The NHS never does proper testing of hormone levels - vitamins, minerals, thyroid, cortisol, inflammation in the blood etc.

Are you still seeing anyone?  Mental health services are always going on about "your support network".  I didnt have anyone - no friends (didnt have time) loads of illness in my family - my mother was disabled - my children were premature and one was a great ormond street heart baby having operations - then I married into a family with genetic cardiomyopathy!! only I didnt know it at the time - so I was always the one looking after everyone else. 
Has it got any better as you have got older or have you just learnt to live with it?

[CLKD]

Thank you so much for asking.  I will up-date the thread I started on 'my depression' so that I don't hyjack this one. [If I can find it, that is  ]