Posted by leeran on March 26, 2003, at 14:38:06
In reply to Hormones, posted by pumpkin on March 26, 2003, at 13:53:20
Hi there,
I meant to reply to "jim" or "jimi?" about this yesterday.
I take natural hormones that were supposedly formulated based on the hormone levels detected during a blood test my gynecologist took last spring.
They are prepared at the Beverly Hills Compounding Pharmacy and luckily, they ship them out at no additional charge because I'm about 15 miles from there and with heavy traffic it makes it seem like 115 miles.
The "formula" is a combination of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone - which I think makes me feel a little more like my "aggressive type A 'old self'" As you probably know, women produce testosterone (low levels) and as we age those levels taper off (similarly to the other important hormones).
Apparently there is a fairly accurate blood test for determining hormone levels and perimenopause. One doctor took the test and wanted me to go on synthetic hormones (a suggestion I ignored for a year), then this other gynecologist (who happened to also be doing my liposuction) took a blood test and found the same thing (low levels of all the 'mones or 'moans' as I like to call them).
During perimenopause - and even before - our hormone levels can shift wildly, causing all kinds of mood swings, depressed feelings, etc. I've read that pinning these levels down is more difficult because there can be many factors that contribute to what the levels are from day to day. In my case, my hormones were definitely low - i.e. menstruation tapering off almost completely - and the blood tests just confirmed the obvious.
Regarding my own hormones being messed up while on anti-depressants: early menopause runs in my family (my mother, a heavy-duty smoker) was finished with menopause by age 37. I didn't start any anti-depressants until my later thirties (I'm 44 now) and even then, I could sense a shift in my so-called "cycles."
You mentioned headaches. Do you think that's related to the Lexapro? I've read on this board that many people have experienced headaches with this medication. Of course, fluctuating hormones can play a part in this as well.
I've scoured the internet for articles about A.D.D. and menopause and I've found a few (not many). My own psychiatrist thinks that A.D.D. can mask itself as depression because the disorganization can affect our self-esteem and make us feel even worse about ourselves. I took an "online test" for A.D.D. and my husband answered the questions as well (the website encouraged having a close family member take the test with the individual in question in mind). I had never really thought that I might have A.D.D. until recently, when my 15 year old son went back on Adderall and I saw what a difference it made in him. I joke w/ my husband that I'm sure I "caught" it from N. (son) and ex-husband (father of N.). Of course, we know it's not an airborne "disease!"
I think I may have had slight tendencies toward it growing up, yet I maintained good grades and did well in my career.
My strong feeling is that the decrease in hormone levels (along with a lot of stress for a few years in my thirties, stress that also weakens the adrenal glands) is what contributed to what I now see as a full-blown case of A.D.D.
My metabolism was so bottomed out that I would want to sleep for hours on end (this was different than a "depressed" sleep - it was actual exhaustion). That did pass - even before I started on the Adderall - but since age 35 I gained FORTY pounds! Luckily, I've taken off twenty of that in the last two years but it hasn't been easy and I literally had to have liposuction to help redistribute the disgusting middle section I had acquired.
SO - for me, that's been the menopause journey so far.
With Adderall I truly feel more like I did in my twenties and thirties. More focused, more energy, less liable to space out totally (but I still DO space out, and many a times I wonder why I'm so cold when I realize I've been standing there with the refrigerator door open trying to figure out what the h*ll I was looking for).
Basically, I think these pyschotropic drugs are great for trying to reconstruct what "normal" is - or should be - for each individual. But I liken them to plastic surgery. You can tweak and pull and add but you're still not going to create absolute perfection. In my opinion, it's an artificial means to obtain a liveable/livable end.
Hope this doesn't violate any rules -
I'm going to copy and paste a brief paragraph about estrogen and A.D.D.
In females with ADD there are significant hormonal influences. ADD symptoms seem to be worse at times of significant hormonal fluctuations, such as the week before menses, after having a baby, during perimenopause and after menopause. Current brain imaging work demonstrates that low levels of estrogen correlate with decreased brain activity, causing women to feel more tired and have greater problems concentration. So a woman with mild ADD symptoms may have major problems during low estrogen states.
> Leeran
> Read your post about natural hormones. Sounded
> like me when I went off all anti-depressants.
> I would read a book and cry! I couldn't figure
> this out, so I started Lex. I've had people
> tell me about perimenopause(they think I'm
> starting), but the blood tests tell differently.
> I wonder if your hormones could be messed up
> while taking anti-depressant meds? I would love
> to get an "accurate" count. What do you mean
> by "natural" hormones? Better safe, than sorry!
>
> Meanwhile, guys, my doctor changed my Lex to mornings. What a "trip" I've gone on! My emotions are going everywhere! This is day
> 16 for me, and I'm hanging in there. Depression
> is still bad, have some problems with anxiety,
> and I'm tired. My appetite is bad, but my
> motabilism is slow, so I haven't lost much weight.
> I would like to get rid of these headaches too!
>
> After struggling for over two years with this-
> I'm starting to think that something else is up!
>
> Thanks for the posts- they are an encouragement
> to me!
>
>
poster:leeran
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030325/msgs/213106.html