Here I am again, trying to find comfort with all of you out there who are going through this really difficult stage of life. I'm 47, I have regular periods though lighter and dr. says hormones normal
but I'm suffering from such bad pms, anxiety nearly all the time and in between I have days of real depression. Today I felt as if I couldn't face another day and that my whole personality has changed. I worry and stress about everything and the more I worry the more anxious I get. I wonder how on earth I'm going to get through this with probably years more to go. I just don't understand how at 47 my readings can be 'normal'.

Have any of you had this problem? My dr. has prescribed Imipropen and I have been on it for 5 weeks and feel worse than I did before.

I'm hoping that typing this out and knowing you are at the other end somewhere will make me feel better.

Hey Wuzzie:
I'm 47 also. My last period (and only one in 17 mos) was this past October. Not to worry about "years to come". Everybody is different. Like you I have had bad, bad anxiety and severe depression. Imipramine is a norepinephrine agonist, one of the old tricyclic antidepressants. If you're not feeling any better, tell your doc. As far as "normal", there are "normal" values for perimenopausal women..that doesn't mean that hormone wouldn't help you to feel better. I've chosen to go the bioidentical route with saliva hormone evaluation. I had my first one a while back and NOTHING was normal except for estrogen which was very low normal (I think the low end of the scale was 1.5, mine was 1.6).
You get through this one minute, one breath at a time..one day at a time. What I've had to tell myself is that I can handle what comes today..and that's all I'm going to worry about until I feel better enough to put it all back together.
It's really been rough for me and for a lot of the women on this board. But, it's a beautiful thing to see all the "sisters" supporting and validating each other.
Hang in there, you're going to make it.
Peace and love,
Avi

Hi Wuzzie....47 was the age when peri was full blown for me. I am now 7 years post. I assure you that things do get better. I couldn't find the medication you are on, on the internet. I was put on HRT at 47 and lasted 2 weeks on it. It made me feel ten times worse than I already felt. Headaches, depression, anxiety through the roof. Grrrrrrr. What is the med you were given? I learned along the way to trust myself in regards to what the doctors were telling me "what I should be doing." If I felt worse after I had been taking a med for a while, I went off of it.

Your hormones are going to fluctuate wildly during this time. My blood panels always came back during peri showing me being 'normal' or post-meno During one days time, your hormones will vary.

I hope I have been of some help. This Board is wonderful and I have always been able to find support here, 24/7. I am a ten year member of Power-Surge...

Hugs,
SusanC