I take it every day and I really believe in it. My daughter takes it too. If you are going to try it, I highly recommend magnesium citramate. Thorne research makes a good version. There are a lot of different types of magnesium and some are better for certain things than others. That's the one I like and I think is well absorbed. If you try it, let me know. Love, Dr. Jane.
I really, really, hear you. It's absolutely brutal to navigate perimenopause with any level of pre-existing anxiety. I'm sending lots of love and solidarity.
I'll share that two years ago this December, I had what I characterized at the time as a nervous breakdown. I've lived with severe anxiety and depression for most of my life, and I thought it had been brought on after some very upsetting dental surgery...collateral damage from years of eating disorders.
I was reliving a lot of excruciating memories, feeling very much shot back in time by the experience, but it was unlike anything I'd felt before. I was disassociated, jumpy, frightened, and so agitated.
Long story short, googling "how to stop disassociating" led me to an article about the link between fluctuating estrogen and mental health--specifically PTSD, in my case. It was a brief comfort to begin realizing I was in perimenopause, then I began a long journey of trying to find support. Gaslighting by GYN, anyone? Actual note from medical visit, "Patient thinks hormones are causing her mental problems."
I'm nearly at the year mark of HRT (Dotti patches) and recently had a progesterone IUD placed (the oral stuff made me super anxious). I take daily D3, B Complex, Omega 3, Potassium, Magnesium along with my trusty Prozac (not to mention biweekly trauma therapy). I know that HRT is not the right fit for everyone, but it's not an understatement to say it's saved my life.
I hope you can find some relief, and again, sending total solidarity.
Sarah, you will never know how much I appreciate you sharing your experience with me. This is why we shouldn't be afraid to be vulnerable--we can learn so much from one another. I'm sorry for what you've been through, but I'm happy you seem to have come to a solution that works for you. And yes, the GYN gaslighters should be banished from this earth!
Mood swings are already my baseline, so I’m a little scared what’s on the other side of this perimenopause that snuck up on me last year and is now on hold so I can enjoy bleeding out for god knows how much longer. But in all earnestness (and apologies in advance that I am super boring when in earnest) I have experienced the most balance when immersing myself in Buddhist teachings (immersion for me is key, I get sloppy if I just try to meditate on my own). I used Adyashanti’s online course “The way of liberating insight” and it’s relevant to mood swings because he breaks it into learning to meditate, emotional maturity and embodying whatever insight you gain in meditation. That middle section (about as packed as my perimenopausal middle section) was really helpful for me to get to a point where I didn’t feel like I was at the mercy of whatever mood decided to come knocking…
I love this post and I love you for writing it. This is going to sound really basic, but do you take magnesium?
I don't but I've heard that it can help.
I take it every day and I really believe in it. My daughter takes it too. If you are going to try it, I highly recommend magnesium citramate. Thorne research makes a good version. There are a lot of different types of magnesium and some are better for certain things than others. That's the one I like and I think is well absorbed. If you try it, let me know. Love, Dr. Jane.
Thanks Doc!
Ha ha ha ha
I really, really, hear you. It's absolutely brutal to navigate perimenopause with any level of pre-existing anxiety. I'm sending lots of love and solidarity.
I'll share that two years ago this December, I had what I characterized at the time as a nervous breakdown. I've lived with severe anxiety and depression for most of my life, and I thought it had been brought on after some very upsetting dental surgery...collateral damage from years of eating disorders.
I was reliving a lot of excruciating memories, feeling very much shot back in time by the experience, but it was unlike anything I'd felt before. I was disassociated, jumpy, frightened, and so agitated.
Long story short, googling "how to stop disassociating" led me to an article about the link between fluctuating estrogen and mental health--specifically PTSD, in my case. It was a brief comfort to begin realizing I was in perimenopause, then I began a long journey of trying to find support. Gaslighting by GYN, anyone? Actual note from medical visit, "Patient thinks hormones are causing her mental problems."
I'm nearly at the year mark of HRT (Dotti patches) and recently had a progesterone IUD placed (the oral stuff made me super anxious). I take daily D3, B Complex, Omega 3, Potassium, Magnesium along with my trusty Prozac (not to mention biweekly trauma therapy). I know that HRT is not the right fit for everyone, but it's not an understatement to say it's saved my life.
I hope you can find some relief, and again, sending total solidarity.
Sarah, you will never know how much I appreciate you sharing your experience with me. This is why we shouldn't be afraid to be vulnerable--we can learn so much from one another. I'm sorry for what you've been through, but I'm happy you seem to have come to a solution that works for you. And yes, the GYN gaslighters should be banished from this earth!
Thank YOU, Vanessa, for opening the space to do so! <3
Mood swings are already my baseline, so I’m a little scared what’s on the other side of this perimenopause that snuck up on me last year and is now on hold so I can enjoy bleeding out for god knows how much longer. But in all earnestness (and apologies in advance that I am super boring when in earnest) I have experienced the most balance when immersing myself in Buddhist teachings (immersion for me is key, I get sloppy if I just try to meditate on my own). I used Adyashanti’s online course “The way of liberating insight” and it’s relevant to mood swings because he breaks it into learning to meditate, emotional maturity and embodying whatever insight you gain in meditation. That middle section (about as packed as my perimenopausal middle section) was really helpful for me to get to a point where I didn’t feel like I was at the mercy of whatever mood decided to come knocking…
I've tried meditation off and on, but maybe it's time I leave the on switch on, and see what happens.