Hi there.
I took fluoxetine in the past and hated it - it’s put me off anti depressants/anxiety drugs altogether.
The current research and NICE guidelines say that women who are perimenopausal or menopausal should be given HRT to treat their symptoms and not anti depressants.
If the mental health problems are caused by diminishing hormones then that’s what should be addressed - treating the cause will help the symptoms. It is not the same as non sex hormone depression.
I went to the dr with a massive list of symptoms and dr wanted to put me on antidepressants - I said no and now on HRT feeling much more like myself. I just don’t get why drs want to treat the symptoms without sorting out the cause, isn’t that just a waste of time?
When all my symptoms started I was having periods, although I think that was my body’s last ditch attempt at some sort of fertility which had been a problem for me (needed fertility treatment).
I use gel which can be a bit annoying to do every morning but it means I can change my dose if I find my symptoms are still showing their ugly heads! You could ask to swap if you don’t think the patch is working. Some of my symptoms went within 2 weeks of using HRT but others are taking longer - I think the rule of thumb is to give anything 3 months before you can judge if something works or not, although I am rather impatient and already upped my dose after 1 month!
Have a read around - I’ve learnt such a lot from reading replies to other people’s posts, there more of us that know these things the more we can help/guide each other.
It can be really scary, I thought I was going to die until my mum pointed out what it could be and that she was my age (40). I still do think like that some days but I’m feeling much better having started HRT.
