Pre menapause?

I am 49, and I think I am in pre menapause.               I am having mood swings and my period is coming later each month.


Did anyone have mood swings ?

My therapist is trying to tell me I am bipolar and I am telling her I think it is menapause or rather pre.

I didn't have mood swings, but every one is different.  I just noticed that every once in a while, I'd skip a period. In fact, I thought I was pregnant at 48 because I skipped for a couple of months.  Hubby and I were frantic and were doing the what ifs.  Then my sister said, girl, you may be like me and going through the change.  I went to the doctor and had the test done and no baby but she said she thought I was perimenopausal.  I cannot say what is what but bi polar is one of those disorders that requires intensive observation and testing and I wouldn't let your therapist just throw that dianosis around without a good cause.  My friend cannot get life insurance because she is bi polar and the insurance company said she was a high risk because of the depression ect. 

I hope it is menopause; it does end in a year or two.

Everyone is different when it comes to the pre-menopasual thing, but I had pretty bad PMS for the last 10 years of my womanly cycles and I believe it got worse the last couple of years before I had my hysterectomy.  The mood swings can mimic bipolar and I believe, though I am not sure, that a blood test can determine if your serotonin levels are off kilter, as well as your horomones, so perhaps a good gyno visit is in order and you might begin to weight the pros and cons of hormone replacement, not to mention if you've undergone weight loss, I don't remember if you're presurgery or post, that too releases hormones which are stored in our fat and so many of us women go through serious mood swings post-WLS, it levels off. . .  just my two cents worth, as I am not a doctor, I would strongly suggest you seek out a professional that you trust.

Best wishes, Laureen

 Ohhhh   Mood Swings ????   YUP  let me tell ya...  I was a sweet, nice lady one minute and the next I was a raving lunatic.  I was so out of control and miserable I just wanted to die.  

My family would literally look me in the eye when I entered to see if I was in a "mood" or not.  I could rip your face off at the drop of a hat.  No reason needed.

Dr. said it wasn't menopause.  He said diet and exercise would take care of it.  I wanted to rip his face off.  I was so tired of hearing "diet & exercise" as the cure all for symptoms they couldn't give a pill for.  I went out to my car and cried for a solid 15 minutes not knowing what to do with myself.

I had a partial hysterectomy previously so I didn't have the normal waning of menstruation.   I found a lady that helped me by giving me a pamphlet that explained what I was going through.  It helped a lot but as far as dealing day to day I finally went on a mild anti depression med.  It didn't take away the whole mess but it did help.

Oh, by the way,  being careful with my foods did help.  Staying away from sugar, caffeine and processed food helped a lot.  I guess you could say....  diet & exercise did help.  lol

Don't let the Dr tell you that it is bipolar.....   I was in my mid forties when this started and it ended in my early fifties.  Not a fun few years but having an understanding of what is happening to your body certainly helps.

Millie

If I were you, I'd go to my PCP and describe what is going on. They can draw lab work and if needed can prescribe things that help!  Don't let your therapist convince you that you have bi polar without looking into your pre or peri menopausal state.  You don't have to suffer with this as our sisters did in years past. 

As my doc says, "We have ways to treat thisfor this! But, I'm not a mind reader.  Let me know what is happening to your body!"

Hope it gets better soon!

C

 

I'm 52, and have skipped a period about every 3-4 months... but I still have all the other symptoms... My OB/GYN wanted to put me on Depro injections to put me into menopause.. I read the side effects and decided I didn't want them!!!  So, I'm not having "hot flashes" but mood swings... I think everybody has a little PMS.. some more than others... I think losing weight.. that you produce less hormones (I think someone told me we produce hormones in our fat cells) I hope my fat cells are shrinking/ I don't think they disappear... I think we keep all of them... they're just not full of fat anymore... off coarse...I could very well be WRONG..  I don't think I'd appreciate a therapist trying to diagnose bi-polar disorder... that's pretty serious...  go and have some blood drawn and see what your levels are...   Labwork will show if you're peri-menopause...

I would encourage you to have some medical tests before accepting the bipolar diagnosis.

Jeane 

Let me tell you mood swings to beat the band.  I turned into super b***ch.  I started out going late on periods and missing.  I went to the doc and she said if I could deal with the hot flashes and mood swings, no drugs.  There is a test they can run to tell you and I would have it before I would let the therapist label you!