Since I was diagnosed of already reaching menopause, my mood swing has been very bad. I get very irritated and I believe these are flareups. I've other menopausal symptoms and I would like to ask for your help on how to properly handle them. Medications, exercise, etc. Anything... Thanks.

Liquor?

Seriously, I don't know I just usually take a walk.

Hey When,

Well you can use BHRT or natural herbs or natural estrogenic foods... There is an alternative thread that you can search if you are interested. Some also use medications to help them along the way. There's plenty of information on the boards to help you make up your mind.


Best Wishes,

TJ

I understand how frustrating that is. I sometimes even yell at my dog George! lol Anyway, if you want, you can try some meds out. Ask your doctor about estradiol or any other meds specially made for women on menopause. Once prescribed, you can get it on almost any pharmacy or drug store. Hope this helps.

Welcome whenwemeet and highway. you have both come to the right place for answers with views and opinions from women world wide.. I have been taking a natural med called Remifemin bought from the pharmacy, they help to relieve the symptoms of hot flushies night sweats and mild anxiety. I also take vit D and iron supplement.. I try to walk as much as I can, take deep breaths when I feel a bit flustered.
Not easy but I try to keep positive. keep reading and posting

Dear'whenwemeet'
The mood swings can be very annoying and upsetting to ourselves and others.I take HRT but there is BHRT which is identical in composition to the Hormones your body would normally be making.

Exercise does help.For me it is Yoga,very grounding and trying to get a brisk walk every day.Also cut out caffeine and sugary based products as they do increase the jitters.

There is Valerian root for insomnia,Primrose Oil for the sweats and St.John's Wort for depression.These are all Herbal products but I still believe you should discuss with your Doctor before taking.

I hope you start to feel better
Keep us posted
Elizabeth

I had the worse mood swings and rages for awhile. I take the bio hrt now and it really helps. If you don't want to go that route you should try Happy Campers. Someone here told me about them awhile ago; you can get them at The Vitamin Shoppe. I used them when I'd feel my mood starting to come on and they worked. Also try taking L-theanine every day. I also used Oona 1 every day for awhile and that helps too; it comes with passion flower to take midcycle when you have the most tension, etc. Eventually I just gave in and opted for the bios b/c I was tired of trying so many different supplements. But the Happy Campers do work. THere is Kava Kava in them and you shouldn't take them every day, but for a few days or when you mood is off I'm sure it's fine. Give those things a try.

Hi whenwemeet!

I too noticed that my emotional “flare-ups” seemed to be at their worst with when my hot flashes were raging, and especially when I’d been unable to rest because of night sweats and general insomnia.

For the past three months, I’ve been taking an herbal product called Wisdom Menopause Formula. It came highly recommended for the horrible hot flashes and night sweats that I was suffering when I was going through “withdrawals” coming off of HRT in December. It worked wonders for the flashes and the sweats, but I’m almost more impressed with the way that it has helped my moods, anxiety, anger and stress issues.

For example, two days ago as I was going out the door to work, and I saw that some jerk had sprayed graffiti all over my truck! Amateurish scribble in black spray-paint all over the rear and on both sides of my beautiful white truck!

Was I mad? Yes, I was very mad, but if this had happened a few months back, I would have been positively LIVID, and would have probably spent the rest of the day alternating between red-faced anger and bawling my eyes out. I felt like I had been violated personally, but in spite of all this, I was amazed at how well I was able to keep my cool. After a quick check for further damage (they hit the neighbor’s garage as well), I calmly went back inside and called the police.

The officer showed up after only about 15 minutes. He took pictures of the damage, and told me that it looked like the same graffiti that had been showing up around the area over the past month or so. All the while I was amazed at how calm I was. I have always been a hot-head, quick to anger and slow to cool down. And once menopause hit? Look out!

Of course, when you think about it, getting really angry over something like this doesn’t do you anyone else any good, and the stress it causes wreaks havoc on body, mind and soul. But unfortunately, emotions don’t usually pay much attention to logic and reason – especially under the influence of hormones!

But I’ve noticed that since right after I started taking the Wisdom, I’ve become a lot more level headed. And it’s not just the big stuff, but the little things that used to make me grouchy and aggravated (or started me sobbing uncontrollably) just seem a lot easier to handle, whether it’s work, family, traffic, money, or whatever. Did my problems go away? No, they’re still there, but they aren’t tearing me limb-from-limb like they used to, especially since this whole menopause business started.

Also, I seem to worry a lot less. By far, my worst times of the day were when I was trying to fall asleep, and just as I was waking up. Going to bed I’d lay there, sometimes for hours (for a while there I’d swear I could keep time by counting the night sweats), and my mind would race from one silly scenario to the next, stressing and worrying about anything and everything, and beating myself up with second-guesses over what I should or shouldn’t have said or done. Lately I’ve been able to fall asleep easily, and wake up feeling like the day is more of a friend than an enemy.

There have been a couple of times when I’ve missed taking the Wisdom for a few days, and sure enough the hot flashes start creeping back, and along with them come the feelings of anxiety and dread. (I even tried to get my hubby to take it (he has his own issues – surprise!), but he KNOWS I take it for menopause, and avoids it like a bottle of Midol!)

Also, I’ve been reading (and re-reading) a book called “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle over the past few months. I first heard about him on Oprah, and this may sound corny, but I’ve really gained a lot of insight by reading this wonderful book. There is no doubt that the things I’ve learned have made a huge difference in the way I look at myself and my relationships with others - even with life itself. It made me realize that when I started believing that I was getting “old”, I had become so obsessed with the looming darkness of the approaching night that I was failing to see and appreciate the beautiful sunset that is all around me.

In his book, Tolle quotes Shakespeare who wrote “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”.

This really hit home with me, and lately I’ve come to understand that the way I feel – whether joy or sadness, anger or elation – has little to do with my circumstances at any given moment, and much more to do with the way I perceive myself, and my relationship to that moment.

You can’t always change the way things are, but you can take a step back and change you perspective, and that can make all the difference.

Here’s to a beautiful sunset!

Lisa

Hi! Try evening primirose oil. I found some at Wal-Mart. I was having bad mood swings, easily irritated, etc. While visiting my family recently, my step-mother told me that her gyno suggested it to help her with menopause. I have been on it for a week now and what a difference! I can't promise that it would work for everyone, but I am certainly happy with it. It has really helped a lot.

I have also read that black cohosh, wild yam root, and Don Quai helps too.

{{{{{hugs}}}}}

I'm sorry this is off topic, but I had to say that I really loved what you said about The New Earth. It is so true that it changes ones perspective away from the past and the future and instead focuses on the moment and what is... I think the part that has affected me the most is in dealing with the ego and how that can change ones perspective completely. I'm now taking the online courses and they have been very inspirational for me. When I find mysef getting caught up in things that have no relevance to who I am or what I am trying to accomplish in the moment, I separate and focus on my purpose, my intent in the now! The Shakespeare quote brings it home!


Best Wishes,

TJ

I have been taking evening primrose oil (softgels) 2-3 times a day and they seem to help out a lot with the mood swings.