Perimenopause & hormones

[kelownagirl]

I am 48 and beginning to see some 'symptoms' of peri-menopause. Mainly heavier periods and night sweats. The night sweats dont' bother me much - not wearing pj's helps a lot. Now that I'm aware of the heavier periods, I am being more prepared. since I've been caught off gurad a bit the last feew times. I am on the pill and my doctor said stay on it, it'll help.

So here's what I'm wondering for you ladies who've been there, done that. If you have always had an easy time with menstruation and no PMS, do you think you have a tendency towards an easier time with menopause? I'm hoping that's the case.

[Tuckervill]

I'll disagree with the idea that long term depression is not hereditary.

Yes, please. Some people who have never been depressed just cannot relate to it. It is so harmful to people who have depression to perpetuate the myth that they can just "think positive" and "get over it'. Don't you think that if it were that simple, they just would. Why would anyone choose not to do that simple thing that makes life better?

So, please, don't say it's not hereditary. There's more to it than just wishing.

Karen

[OakLeaf]

Wait, wait, wait. Whether it's hereditary and whether it's "real" are completely different questions. Broken legs aren't hereditary, but they're obviously a real, painful and disabling condition. In many cases depression may be like a broken leg - a normal response to trauma, but real, painful and disabling, and only sometimes responsive to treatment.

Back to topic: yeah, I'm perimenopausal too, and if you look at the age poll I think it's most of us

At least I'm past the age where I'm buying pregnancy tests four or five times a year because my periods aren't regular any more. Although I still have stress in that department, it's not as often...

[Irulan]

Yes, please. Some people who have never been depressed just cannot relate to it. It is so harmful to people who have depression to perpetuate the myth that they can just "think positive" and "get over it'. Don't you think that if it were that simple, they just would. Why would anyone choose not to do that simple thing that makes life better?

So, please, don't say it's not hereditary. There's more to it than just wishing.

Karen

I should clarify, too.... not all depressive disorders are hereditary, but there is certainly evidence that in some families, it most certainly is.

[jennrod12]

I'm now 45 and on the pill. Last year I had one or two hot flashes during the day and a period of about 3 days where I was terribly angry and picked a big long-distance fight with my sister and did not feel at all like myself. Then, one day, everything was better and I felt like I woke up from a bad dream. For the last couple of years, my period has been getting shorter and lighter, and since last year I've had a lot of night sweats, but I don't mind them, since I'm usually cold.

I'd like to get my hormones tested, but since I'm on the pill I don't think a test would show what's really going on in my body? I talked to my gyno about going off the pill, but she said that at my age they are putting women ON the pill. She said if I went off it, my period would be like it was when I was a teenager (for me it was very irregular).

Next Feb. my husband will get a vasectomy, and a few months later I can go off the pill without worrying about pregnancy. I figure if I don't like it, I can go back on the pill. I've been on the pill for 20 years and it seems like my sex drive has been lower the whole time I've been on it, so that's another reason I'd like to try going off it (and I've tried several formulations). Also another reason I'd like to get my hormones tested.

Lots of depression in my family, too. My mother had it and committed suicide when I was a baby - I don't remember her. All my sisters have it, 2 out of 3 of my sister's kids have it, and I have it too. My favorite coping strategy is to admit it and go with the flow. When I'm particularly depressed, I force myself to do a chore that I've been putting off because I hate it. I figure, I'm miserable anyway, why not do something I hate? Better than ruining a nice day later. It's usually very slow going, of course, but when the dreaded task is finished (or at least well begun), I usually get really happy about my accomplishment and feel much better.

Jenn

[Tuckervill]

Wait, wait, wait. Whether it's hereditary and whether it's "real" are completely different questions. Broken legs aren't hereditary, but they're obviously a real, painful and disabling condition. In many cases depression may be like a broken leg - a normal response to trauma, but real, painful and disabling, and only sometimes responsive to treatment.

I don't really understand what you're trying to say. It's irrelevant to my point whether each and every case of depression is hereditary. Just the fact that some cases are hereditary proves it's real.

Karen

[OakLeaf]

I don't really understand what you're trying to say. It's irrelevant to my point whether each and every case of depression is hereditary. Just the fact that some cases are hereditary proves it's real.

Karen

My point is that whether it's hereditary is irrelevant to whether it's real.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'd like to get my hormones tested, but since I'm on the pill I don't think a test would show what's really going on in my body?

Jenn, they have more sensitive/accurate blood tests now than they used to for testing your hormone levels while you are still on the pill. You get your blood drawn on the last day of the week when you are not taking your pills- on the seventh day, just before you start the next pill cycle. It is supposed to let you accurately know whether you have started menopause yet, or whether you have completed it, or even if you have not started menopause at all yet. Ask your doctor about the new blood tests, hopefully he/she would know all about them.

[coyote]

Hi Dogmama,
My DGF has just started with hot flashes. She also has lupus. Her hot flashes were so intense that she could not sleep. For her, so far, cutting back on the caffeine has helped significantly. She is a big time caffeine person, so she has her 2 cups of coffee a day and perhaps a caffeinated soda during the day, but none at night. Its helped her a lot. She still has a couple at night and is a woman on fire during the day (caffeine probably).

We just goggled hot flashes and came up with some information on About.com. We do have the black cohosh that some one else mentioned. The laying off of the caffeine has worked so well, that DGF hasn't tried it.

Keep us informed on what you find out that will help. I can see that my DGF may get to the point that you are at. She too does not react as expected to hormones. Her lupus is attacking her endocrine system and that is nothing but hormones.

I wish you luck,
Mary

[Hub]

Ditto to lots of what Donna said . . . but I can say prozac helps . . . I'm 44 . . my last doc saidit was no big deal (snark)

[sundial]

Just wanted to add.....I'm 4 years into menopause. I used to have severe bouts of insomnia until my gyne prescribed Trazadone in a low dose for sleep. My insomnia was due in large to my hormones that were awry. My blue period was preceded by the lack of sleep.

Here's an interesting website for ladies in menopause. There's a section devoted to hormone therapy that I think you might enjoy perusing.

www.hystersisters.com

I went to a continuing ed meeting that addressed depression. It was determined in one study that depression was linked to the male chromosome.

[bmccasland]

I've been on HRT for 5 years.... when I started was right after the big article on the ties between HRT and other medical issues in Journal of American Medical Assoc (JAMA). My ob/gyn at the time said, 5 years, and we'll take you off. So it's been 5 years, original Doc has moved away, so now I see his partner, a Lady Doc. SHE has put me on a 1/2 dose to wean me off, but said if I get the night sweats, can't sleep, and can't function, then we'll increase the dose again for another year, and try again. Apparently the Rx I'm on is more specific than the med tested in the JAMA article that brought up some issues.

So, I haven't filled my new 1/2 dose Rx. Can report back in a month... (I had just refilled my Rx before my annual visit with Lady Doc, and am too cheap to throw away the pills).

5 years ago, when I asked for HRT - I tried the other methods to deal with the *change of life*. Was eating right, cut back on caffine, got plenty of exercise, "it's a natural process, I can live through it". Yeah, right. Waking up hot, then cold multiple times during the night, was just too much, I couldn't function.

Why are the hot flashes so bad during the night anyway????

[Dogmama]

So here's what I'm wondering for you ladies who've been there, done that. If you have always had an easy time with menstruation and no PMS, do you think you have a tendency towards an easier time with menopause? I'm hoping that's the case.

With no scientific backup, I do think that is the case. I've always had horrible PMS - to the point that I planned my wedding in the middle of my cycle. My perimenopause has been really hard too.

My thoughts are that if we are more sensitive to our hormonal fluctuations, we'll have more problems. At least, that's my experience.

[Dogmama]

Took the patch off today. It has kicked my lupus up and my hot flashes are actually a little worse. No sleep at all last night - I was up every hour totally drenched. My hands are swollen (lupus) and my joints ache. I can't take any more lupus med, I'm at my limit. My rheumatologist says it's very common for hormones to crank up lupus.

Oh well, at least I don't have to obsess about the breast cancer link. I've had my period for 44 years & that's a lot of estrogen.

Coyote, I don't drink a lot of caffeine. I mix decaf/caf 50/50 & have maybe two cups a day. I think the hot liquid kicks up the hot flash too. What a great way to start a day - sweat dripping down your back.

I can go from normal to sweating in under a minute. I don't think my stove gets hot that fast. Maybe I'll start cooking eggs on my forehead & save electricity.

[Triskeliongirl]

I have been perimenopausal for a long time (I am 50 now, no uterus but still have ovaries). I find vaginal estrogen cream does the trick for me. My undersanding is that it is much safer than oral estrogens. Perhaps you should discuss this option with you doc.