Perimenopause & hormones

[Brandi]

I believe I have just started going through the peri part. I started having palpataions at around the same time every month and I want to whack my dh over the head at least a couple times a day. I am emotional and not thinking rational thoughts. This is of coarse a couple weeks out of the last few months. I am only 39 but it is possible. My GP wants me to go see my gyno doc and have her run the test needed. Right now I am taking a vitamin called Optivite. It is supposed to help with these problems. But it takes at least 2 months to see an improvement. I have been on them a month so far. Haven't noticed any real change yet.I am going to keep records for a little longer before I go see my gyno about it. i just want to be armed with info so she can say "oh yea I can see a patern here". But I won't take hormone's though I want a more natural approach.

[KnottedYet]

I started when I was your age, Brandi.

My mom says it lasted about 10 years for both her and her mother.

oh, goodie....

At least exercise seems to help me. Alcohol makes it worse for me. Chocolate... lots of salt... much better! (too much sweating = loss of salt, I guess.)

[Miranda]

The GFs and I that are in the same boat say this (meant to be funny in a way, but NOT in the true sense): "It's a coin toss: am I suicidal, or am I homicidal?" Isn't being a woman just "wonderful" sometimes? BLEAH!

I went to a shrink for part of the depression, and it was helpful in many ways. The shrink was: a woman, an older woman/mother/wife (been there, done that, sorta thing), and bonus prize... a cyclists. By some miracle, both my fm doc, and gyno docs' are cyclists.

I have yet to do the meds. I have some though sitting in my medicine cabinet. My endorphine happy serratonin rush from pedaling keeps me from flipping the proverbal coin mentioned earlier. All of my docs said above encouraged my cycling as a positive outlet. The dog happily gets walked to death with me listening to my ipod too. One of my GFs went on a low does BC pill just for the hormone help. It helped her. She's not a cyclist, but runs and whacks the living he$$ out of tennis balls as a treatment.

I don't use this now, but there is a antiper/deorderant called Certain Dri you can buy OTC. It's high aluminum content, so check with your doc. But, it was the only thing to combate the sweats at work. You use it at bedtime, and for the love of gawd do not shave your armpits before applying it.

I'll save my long rant about picking up DH's underware. But in short: no, you are not meant to be on Earth to pick up the underware. My shrink had some opinions about underware that worked on many different levels.

Unfortunately my wise mother told me that it is a good ten years for the change to happen with the family women. Guess my bike has a lot of miles in it's future.

You're not alone, FWIW... hope there are some things from the TE wisdom that helps carry you through.

Miranda