Any advice or similar experiences please

[mostlyhappywithsomelowpressure]

I feel abit of a fool putting this in mental health because it's not a real illness but i'm feel pretty bummed out about something and would like to know if anyone else has had the same problem.

I have (what i think is) a severe hormonal imbalance. My month goes - 1 week of happiness, confidence and general well being, one week of unfounded anger, a week of unfounded misery and a week of paranoia and over analysing every single thing i and others say - in various orders and forms, month after month.

I feel so out of control, i know it's hormonal because i've kept a note of my changes and can attribute it to some extent to various stages of my cycle.

I started taking St John's Wort and it was amazing, i was the person i want to be, i was up early, full of energy, happy, confident, everything I wish had been before. I thought I was finally 'cured' as it where. But a month down the line and it seems to have stopped working. I started last week struggling to get out of bed and then this week i'm miserable for no discernable reason, i suddenly can't be arsed in a job I love and i'm having trust issues (a long running problem for me) founded on nought!

Has anyone else ever had St John's stop working? What do i do now, i can't go back into that cycle. I hate feeling out of control yet i know i can't control my hormones. I don't want to go to my doctors because a) he's a 'pull yourself together' type of person and b) if by some miracle he does think there's a problem i don't really want prescription drugs for it.

Sorry for the length.

Hopeful

do you think you could possibly be cyclothymic?

not sure if your mood cycle fits but worth a google if you haven't already - not sure it is something that can be medicated away but must be ways to minimise the impact of these mood swings upon your daily life

Some times fluoxetine (prozac) can be great in situations like this as it has a long half life so you do not need to take it for the whole month once it is in your system it will be there for a while. Could you see a different GP?

Know you don't really want to go down the medication route but maybe it is worth considering as it sounds as though this is really impacting on your life.

If not have you considered evening primrose or vitamin b6? Both supposed to help. Also exercise is good.

PMT is horrible and can have a massive impact on your life. Hope this helps, hang on in there

p.s sorry if I sound like a pill pusher! am not one I promise!

if there is any possibility of your periods of 'happiness and confidence' being on the bipolar spectrum (however soft) stay well away from SSRIs especially prozac! am not 100% sure but strongly suspect, if medication even needed, that 'mood stabilisers' rather than anti-depressants would be in the guidelines

Really didn't want this to turn into a medication discussion as I know that's not what you wanted.

Is there anyone apart from your GP you could talk to?

p.p.s my experience was that vitamin b6 and exercise helped for a time but it didn't really settle til I was on the pill.

Thank you all.

Will look up that cyclothymic

My surgery is a one man operation so no more GPs to see.

Re the bipolar thing, i had wondered but thought i was being dramatic, will look into it.

Already Take evening primrose and B6!!!!

Think perhaps i should just see GP and if not happy then ask to see someone else, or change surgeries.

Thanks again, really appreciate it.

x

please let us know how it goes with your GP. Hope you find some thing that helps soon x

Hi 2cats. thanks for your concern. I braved a visit to the doc today and it was a stand in (locum is it?). I didn't use the words bi bolar or depression. he suggested i get my blood tested (on day 19 of my cycle) to check for excess testosterone (i have PCOS) and if that yields nothing then look at going to psychology services for anger and stress management! (which, maybe suprisingly, i don't actually have a problem with, i'm outwardly quite together!)
I tried to explain that I didn't get angry outwardly and my stress only really shows itself in this finite analysis of conversations that i have.
I'm to get my blood tested then take it from their with my regular doctor. So fingers crossed.

thanks again

x