Hello, My name is Laura, I am 35 yrs. old, for over two years now I have been experiencing hot flashes, mood swings, dry skin, sever pms, facial hair, dry hair, you name it. I've experienced it!! I'm only missing two of the symptoms, vaginal dryness, and loss of desire. THK G ! some days I feel like I could just pounce on someone and start beating on them, even if they just look at me wrong. other days I do nothing but bawl my head off ! last year I went to see my OBGYN, she said that it sounded like my thyroid was out of whack, that the thyroid will mimick perimenopause. Well as it turned out, my thyroid was way off, and I have been on medication for almost a year now, and I;m still experiencing these problems, I went to see my Dr. on Wednesday, she ordered some Lab work, she said they came back normal. but like I told her when I feel like tripping and knocking down old ladies because they get on my nerves,.....then something is wrong !!! and it's not my job, and I'm not bipolar or anything, because I have all but two of the symptoms for perimenopause.... My Dr. did put me on Effexor , so far I've only taken one pill yesterday, and I felt good, except for being a little drowsy, shakey, and had a headache by the end of the day, some co-workers of mine are on the same thing and they take their Effexor before bedtime, so I thought that I would take one tonight about two hours before bed. But all day I have been irritable, and feel like I'm sitting on a bomb waiting to explode.....WHY?????? any responses would be appreciated. Going crazy quickly in Kansas Laura

Hi- I had many of the symptoms of perimenopause. I had lots of morning anxiety, mood swing, edgy, angry and the list goes on. My thyroid test came back normal as did my tests which would indicate if I was low on estrogene. I took a saliva test and had it analyzed. It showed that I was very low on progesterone. I take 2 pills orally/day during the 2nd half of my cycle and boy what a change. I feel like my old self again. This in NHRT (naturally compounded progesterone not synthetic) You may want to look into using progesterone. It works very well for me. Sandy

I am going to be 35 in about a month and I've had some peri symptoms too. My thyroid was normal and everything, but a lovely little fibroid, nasty periods, and hot flashes didn't ring a bell with my doc. I started myself on progesterone cream last month (I've been on for 1 1/2 months now). I feel better, no more hot flashes, but now have other things happening. (extreme fatique, water retention, and fat that feels like foam rubber?). So, I'm not sure if this is working or not. But I'd definately agree on the natural hormones. It just seems like a good thing to stay natural. Hang in there! MK;)

Laura, I am almost 43 and you sound just like me! I just started Zoloft three days ago to try to resolve the cry urge/anxiety - I couldn't deal with it anymore. So far it definitely has not made things any better -as a matter of fact I feel more agitated this morning and drowsy added in with the cry urge! I am only taking 12.5 mg - and I am trying to decide if I should go up to 25 mg. Does anyone have any advice??? My Dr. thinks I need to stick it out for two weeks to see if it helps at all. I tried other antidepressants about a year ago during a previous hormone surge and they didn't help that much. I am on natural hormone therapy (Vivelle Dot 0.1 and Progesterone 200 mg) and it helped a lot for my physical symptoms - but the emotional turmoil is still there. I have been to a counselor who feels there is nothing going on in my life to cause this - he just agrees that it is hormonal and he will try to help me get through it. I never had any mood problems before perimenopause started. I am about wore out from this. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for us. Are antidepressants the only answer??? Laura - keep me posted on how things are going with you - I will let you know if I find any magic solutions. A sister in hormonal turmoil Theresa (Missouri - close to Kansas)

Check out the Power Surge Recommendations for all kinds of help. You can also go to Power Surge Ask the Experts and ask Dr. Stuart Shipko, Founder and Medical Director of PDI (The Panic Disorders Institute) any questions you may have, or read the answers he has already provided. Dr. Shipko has been Dearest's guest in 9 different Power Surge Guest Chats. Reading the transcripts would give you some additional insite, Find those in the Power Surge Transcript Library. Dr Steven Holt's chat last Thursday, although about osteoporosis, also talked about anxiety and how to help get past it. Other guests who discussed anxiety were: Dr. Bert Anderson, With Dr Lee Baer, Fred L. Miller and Bronwyn Fox and I'm sure that I missed some. Doing a search of the Power Surge site - not including these boards! - brought up 710 different documents, so this is a very common problem for us meno women, unfortunately. You can do the same search at Power Surge Search. You're definately not alone with this - and there is help on the Power Surge site for you and everyone who suffers from anxiety. Dearest has provided us with tons of resources. Best of luck to you!