perimenopause vitamins

[SusieMyerson]

hi, can anyone recommend any vitamins or supplements to help with perimeopause symptoms? the gp agrees that i am perimenopausal and has put me on the mini pill to help with feeling like crap. its not really helping. before that my previos gp put me on fluoxetine which is obviously not the correct treatment for perimenopause. i've come off the fluoxetine now and just feel either massive rage or very weepy. nothing else. is themini pill just a stronger form of hrt or should i be asking for hrt as well?

HRT

Vitamins do nothing as your symptoms are caused by loss of estrogen.

(Not being sarcy but if vitamins worked, we'd all be on them ! :) )

How old are you?
Some women find the combined pill helps if they are young (under 50) and have symptoms.

The mini pill is sometimes a disaster for moods as it's progestogen and this is the one hormone that causes PMS!

i'm 44. i used to be on the combined pill for contraception until i was 37. then came off it as i kept getting headaches. thats when the dr put me on fluoxetine (husband got the snip so didn't need contraception) So can i take estrogen then? and is that in hrt or should i ask for the combined pill again? all though i doubt i'd get it because thats why the dr gave me the mini pill because of the headaches.

sorry i meant supplements not vitamins, like menopace or something.

You will probably find out all you need on this good site.

www.menopausedr.co.uk

www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/

Previous link didn't work (?)

I know it's only anecdotal & I am a sample of one, but I started taking Menopace during perimenopause & I swear that I was feeling better within a few weeks. My overheating (I didn't get flushes exactly) disappeared as well. It might be completely coincidental but it's certainly worth a try.

I've nothing against HRT by the way, just haven't felt I've needed it yet (I'm 55 & out the other side now) apart from Vagifem, which I do need & use regularly.

Thanks for the replies. I'll have a look at that website. I just need to know if I should keep on taking the mini pill or do I need HRT. Even though I think HRT is a lower dose. But then maybe I need estrogen which the mini pill doesn't have. I don't know. My dr didn't offer me hrt just the pill so I thought they were maybe the same? J don't know how I've got to my age and I don't even know what I'm putting in my body or why

Age 44 is considered early for menopause though not for peri if your periods are regular still.

The difference with the Pill ( all kinds) and HRT is that the estrogen in HRT is the same as our own whereas the Pill has synthetic types, and the same for some of the progestins used in the Pill versus HRT.

This is why some women feel awful using the Pill but fine on HRT. The dose in HRT is also lower, but that's also why some young women use the combined Pill up to 50 (if they feel okay on it) as it's a higher dose.

I can't see how using progestin ( as in the mini pill) will help your symptoms in any way, so yes you ought to read up on HRT.

Thanks I'll have a read up and then go to my gp again and ask about hrt.

Vitamins and supplements will help if you are deficient, but otherwise won't have any effect.

I don't understand why the GP would prescribe the mini pill, the progesterone part of HRT seems to be the part that gives women most problems (although it is essential if you still have your womb).

What symptoms are you having and how do you know you are peri-menopausal? Have you had blood tests?

No blood tests. I just told the gp that I felt like I had pmt constantly, can't sleep but exhausted,and that my periods were getting a bit erratic and heavy. She was going to prescribe the combined pill (which I started taking at 15 for bad pmt) but then said the mini.pill would be better as I'd started to have headaches with the combined pill. I'm now thinking she doesn't have a clue tbh.