i had been on 20 mg paxil for 13 years with great success and suddenly 4 months ago my anxiety and depression came back, i went to several psychiatrics and one wanted to change med, one wanted me to push so many other drugs on me, one is trying to raise the 20 mg to 40 mg. i am a bit better but take xanax .5 mg for anxiety when needed.
I found this psychologist who is going to give me sessions and has suggested progestrone cream.
did any one have success with the cream, which one is good, how do i apply, will it help me with my mood swings, anxiety, sadness, etc.
One dr gave me birth control pill and i was so nauseous that i let go.
i am currently home and want to go back. anyways i am so negative that i take everything to the worst level.
please help friends....
You could also try seeing a Naturopath as an alternative natural option.
I have been using it on and off for a few years now.
My obgyn didn't really buy into the progesterone cream back when I asked her about it. So I had to find a doctor that would prescribe it to me. I found a dr right in the town I live in.
I first did a saliva test which tests your progesterone/estrogen/testoterone,etc levels. Then I started the progesterone cream. Unfortunately, my insurance doesn't cover the cream or the saliva tests. So I pay it out of pocket.
The doctor that prescribed it to me said that she has many patients that feel like new after using the progesterone cream.
I do notice a difference, but I have had some side effects with the cream. At one point my progesterone got too high and I could tell. So I met with the doctor again and I tapered down.
I wish I didn't get some of the side effects b/c I do feel the progesterone cream does help with my moodiness, etc that happens right before my period.
There is also some hormone pellets I have heard of which I think have testosterone and estrogen. You may want to google that too.
I think it would be worth giving the progesterone cream a try.
Please PM me if you have any questions. I would also like to hear how it goes for you if you do try it.
For me - my anxiousness or depressive moods are directly tied to my monthly cycle. Almost like clockwork. So I feel like my is totally hormone driven. It makes more sense for me to fix the hormones which is driving the anxiousness, etc instead of trying to take depression/anxiety meds, which is not really addressing the actual underlying hormone issue.
But this may not be the case for everyone.
I exercise about 4 times a week and this really helps me too.
I also have started taking a B-complex/stress vitamin and my vitamin D was really low, so I take about 2000 IU of vit D each night.
You may want to have your blood levels checked too.
With the negative thinking - try to find some cognitive type therapy - maybe google it and there may be something available you can print off. But you may want to spend some time replacing your negative thoughts with positive thoughts. This does take time and practice, but it's worth it in the end.
Oh and deep breathing really helps. And doing 'sessions' of deep breathing frequently throughout the day sort of reprograms your body to take deep, full breathes which relaxes your body.
Again, feel free to PM me if you have any questions or just need to talk. I've been in the perimenopause stage now for a couple years and as I go along I"m getting more and more of these wonderful (not!) perimenopause experiences. :)
How about nutritional supplementation if you don't want drugs. I'm just about off my antidepressants (with my doctor's supervision) and another friend had depression & anxiety combined, she's much better as well. We're all sailing through menopause too. No night sweats, no hot flashes, and so on. I'm not completely anti-medication but if I can get off it, great. And you say you don't want to be swallowing all those pills and are uncomfortable that they are being shoved at you - so it's another way to go. Happy to give more info.
I am 46 years old and have dealt with mild to mod depression off and on for many years. (it runs in my family). I have been on low dose meds a few stretches but like to get off of them when able.
I could feel peri menopause coming on so went to MD who drew blood levels for all my hormones including estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. All my levels were low. I was sure it was affecting me in my moods, depression, energy etc.
She first suggested progesterone cream over the counter. You can buy it at a "healty" grocery store such as "sprouts". It can be a little pricy but the tube lasted quite a long time. She gave me a prescription for the other hormones (estrogen and testosterone). After a time I had trouble with regulation of the progesterone (spotting) so we went to all prescription including the progestorone for better control and all has been well since. I feel better balanced and don't feel need for antidepressant meds at present.
Insurance covered the blood draw and MD visit but does not cover much of the hormones. I use a compounding pharmacy and all three meds in one cream preparation costs me between $30 To $40 a month. It pays to shop and ask around--at first I was paying over $100/month!
All that said in my opinion you should def have your blood levels or saliva test to see if your levels are low. As I understand it progesterone helps give
a sense of calm and contentment. This seems to be true for me. But if you are not low in your levels it is not going to improve your situation or may give you problem side effects.
Sounds like you need to see a womens health specialist or someone who has up to date knowledge of hormone replacement.
Good luck. I hope you can find some relief!
