Swinging from high to low.

[coalwife]

I have spent about the last year of my life swinging from being super motivated with lots of energy and generally happy in life to being utterly exhausted with zero motivation and if I’m honest a little moody or short tempered.

Granted the lows are only a few days but they are getting me down.

I’m 42 and I’m wondering is it a menopause thing or do people generally experience this as part of a monthly cycle?

When does the Menopause start?

Is there any pattern to the lows and highs? Does it follow a predictable monthly pattern?

When you are up, do you feel a reduced need to sleep? Do you take more risks? Any particular physical symptoms?

How different/extreme are the lows to the highs?

I don’t take more risks. I’m a fairly cautious person anyway.

During a low I feel physically exhausted. I feel like my energy has been sapped out of me. I also have zero motivation to do anything other than get through the day. Eg housework etc. I literally couldn’t be arsed. My older kids know that if I’m like that I’ll generally agree to most things as I can’t be arsed to fight with them.

The thing is I don’t have periods as I have the implant so I can’t tell if it’s a
Pre period thing or what.

Wondered does this happen to everyone?

It doesn't happen to me, but I have different circumstances, as not on hormonal contraception.

I think mood swings can be a symptom of perimenopause, though there are others on here who have a far better grasp of this than me. I was just asking about risk taking etc, as your description of highs and lows struck a bit of a chord with respect to bipolar. Of course there are many things that can cause mood swings. It sounds tough.