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[lonleysindy]

do you think that being female and your cycle and in many cases pre menopsal make depression worse at times. I find i am depressed 2 weeks a month and completely nuts for two weeks

Edited by lonleysindy, 30 March 2009 - 05:58 PM.

[Persephone]

While being female isn't why I have depression, the worse my depression is, the worse the PMS is. And I only started getting PMS after I started having major depression. I used have no problems at all - I miss those days!

[PRT]

I find that I am much more depressed before my period. I thought the tablets would do something about this but they haven't. I'm going to chat to the doc when I go back.

[lizzy100]

i dont really find it makes a difference, im just depressed the whole time, all month lol

[jellybean27]

Like a week before my period my mood & attitude change & it doesnt get better till a few days after my period is over. This past period was horrible it was the worst i felt in a long time i had absolutely no motivation & slept up to 14 hrs a day, it was horrible!!!

[lonleysindy]

I feel like I am some person I don't know and would never what to know. I say very hurtful things sometimes to people.

[evenstars]

i was very much lower mid cycle, around ovulation, though i don't know how much of this was just pms as your hormones are everywhere then. certainly it made dpssn worse, and i was a total Biotch. all sorted now im on the pill though!!

[arboria]

I get a little weepy the day before, but nothing serious. After hearing some of the stories about PMS and cramps and whatnot, I have realized how lucky I am.

[Trace]

Lol, I suffer incredibly. I battle to get out of bed, get really ill, extreme pain and occasionally abcesses in my lymph nodes. Wish I got menopause early.

[amazinggrace]

From The Happy Plan book (Charmaine Yabsley 2006) "If you suffer from low moods around the time of your period, it may be that your progesterone levels are low. If you feel happier and more energetic when you period starts, or just after it, it indicates that you have high levels of oestrogen. Oestrogen levels vary between women and tend to be lower after childbirth and around and after the menopause. A lack of oestrogen in the body can cause depression. It is believed that oestrogen may help ward off depression during these times by increasing the feel-good chemical, serotonin in the brain"
Too high levels of oestrogen and you can experience anxiety, irritability and nervous tension. Can't win can we.

I take the Yasmin contraceptive pill, not for a contraceptive but to prevent cramps, spots and facial hair. Unfortunatley it tends to poop out on me. I get a year and a halfish then will have to come off and wait a while, slowly everything builds up again the cramps return and I errupt in spots, back on Yasmin and it all dies down.

[x_Spencer_x]

I definately notice Im worse around the time of my period although its probably because I normally suffer from migranes and very bad cramps before I get it

[marymary]

>>amazinggrace<<

No way!?! i did not know all that about oestrogen...and i should know!

i basically dont produce oestrogen naturally very well... my doctor told me to go on the Pill cos otherwise i'd be at high risk of osteoperosis and heart problems...(which happen to both run very strongly in the female side of my family...)......before i went on the Pill i'd had like a total of about 8 periods over 5 years...and when i started the Pill, it had been a year and a month since my last one (sorry if a little too much info there)..

but anyway... i did not know that it had so many effects on depression!... though it doesnt really explain why im feeling bad now...as im getting my daily dosage of oestrogen..in theory.... and i suffer from anxiety and irritability as well as depression... so doesnt really explain that... maybe in oestrogen intollerant...

that was a slightly pointless post...i am aware of it..

[girlypants]

Yes, I definately find my cycle affects my depression. I get much more withdrawn, snappy, moody etc. I wish I would get an early menopause too.

[Gemini]

Yes, I definately find my cycle affects my depression. I get much more withdrawn, snappy, moody etc. I wish I would get an early menopause too.

This is definitely me as well. Just prior to I get a non-stop headache, withdrawn, quiet, depressed and snappy. Although I am depressed all month long as well, it just seems more prounounced before my cycle starts.

[bastet]

Mine is sooo bad, I spend 2-3 crying endlessly. Last Saturday I spent most of the day in bed crying. What a waste, and I don't know how to stop it. :(

[east]

Yes, I definately find my cycle affects my depression. I get much more withdrawn, snappy, moody etc. I wish I would get an early menopause too.

I'm so glad I'm not alone. About a week before my period, my life falls apart. Most months I get moody, everything annoys me, and I snap at everyone; but there are a few months that I spend most of the week in bed crying and just trying to stay away from everyone. And it's like I'm having an out of body experience, where I can almost watch myself being such a harpy to everyone I love and yet completely unable to stop it. It's terrible.

[Girly]

Out of interest does anyone else have a very short cycle, 22-23 days? Just curious.

[SweetCore]

I have noticed that whenever my mood is a bit unstable the smallest thing can push me over the edge. If my hormones are acting up the week before and during my period then I have to be more cautious emotionally. Basically pull the rains back a little. If I am stressed and getting my period then I really need to watch out that I don't slip into a depressed mind set. But luckily, and I am very grateful for this, I don't have this problem every month.

[Boombox]

Lol, I suffer incredibly. I battle to get out of bed, get really ill, extreme pain and occasionally abcesses in my lymph nodes. Wish I got menopause early.

Haha same. I feel sooo down those days. It is like being ill... My back aches and generaly i have a lot of pain in my bones. I have those terrible headaches and my belly goes crazy; it is like a baloon. 2-3 years ago i had this episode, because i felt frastrated about having all this pain. Why do women have to go through all these? It is unfair....

[illusion]

It affects me a lot.
Not only the hormones, but also that because of "stress and depression" (my doc tells me this since almost 5 years), my cycle is completely out of control. I even take the birth control pill, but get my period whenever my body wants. It always depresses me a lot, because I fear of having a disease. sometimes it´s that extreme that I cry a lot and even hurt myself because of it.
But my doctor keeps on saying my body is fine and it´s stress.

[kassiegal]

dido here..... on prozac so it is not as bad this month the depression
but my anxieties really get worse.....and the social anxiety..and panic worse too before my period..anyone else...tension and anxiety get worse

[Unique]

Like a week before my period my mood & attitude change & it doesnt get better till a few days after my period is over. This past period was horrible it was the worst i felt in a long time i had absolutely no motivation & slept up to 14 hrs a day, it was horrible!!!

This is exactly what I wanted to say although I can sleep up to 20 hours sometimes.

[Meirra]

It most definitely effects my depression. I feel worse a week before and a week after my period. My cycle is still normal right now but I know at my age, 40, hormones will start changing if they aren't already. I'm trying to get my depression under control before menopause starts so that maybe it won't be as bad.

[tamsynx]

I used to get really nasty cramps and vomit too. Now I'm mainly cranky & irritable and for a few days I feel like I'm freezing to death. Now that I'm on an AD I feel better during my period. But I think I used to get a little depressed (normal, not clinical) around the time it started.

[shio]

Yep I was not the nicest a week before and during. However since I'm going through menopause and my cycles changing I've noticed the only time I crash is when i'm stressed out.

[Beanchop99]

Out of interest does anyone else have a very short cycle, 22-23 days? Just curious.

My cycle is 21 days.

[Symora]

Seems to me that I've been pre-menopausal for 10 years!!! I've had such bad PMS all my life that I think I was never able to develop a stable personnality because of it. 2 weeks a month I would turn into a basket case, completely impossible to figure out, hypersensitive, irritable, easily angry, discontented, depressed, critical, mean.... Then it would just fade away as soon as my period would start and I'd be normal, nice and calm person again trying to repair the damage I had done for 2 weeks. Then 2 weeks later it would start all over again... That was really tough on my relationships, and on me of course

So for the last 10 years I've been going through all sorts of pre-menauposal things. Serious depression off and on, hot flashes, irrationality for months at a time, crying fits, bloated belly, no patience for any bullsh*t whatsoever, and I basically pushed my partner out the door because I was could not stand anyone around me .... And my period still hasn't stopped at the age of 54, although it is haphazard now. I am so tired of hormonal fluctuations I could scream!!! Peace, I just want peace! I must be due for a period again..

Edited by Symora, 31 December 2009 - 12:16 AM.

[Helium]

In this aspect, I´m very lucky. I don´t have any mood swings or crams before, after, or during my period.

[makemesmilealways24]

From The Happy Plan book (Charmaine Yabsley 2006) "If you suffer from low moods around the time of your period, it may be that your progesterone levels are low. If you feel happier and more energetic when you period starts, or just after it, it indicates that you have high levels of oestrogen. Oestrogen levels vary between women and tend to be lower after childbirth and around and after the menopause. A lack of oestrogen in the body can cause depression. It is believed that oestrogen may help ward off depression during these times by increasing the feel-good chemical, serotonin in the brain"
Too high levels of oestrogen and you can experience anxiety, irritability and nervous tension. Can't win can we.

I take the Yasmin contraceptive pill, not for a contraceptive but to prevent cramps, spots and facial hair. Unfortunatley it tends to poop out on me. I get a year and a halfish then will have to come off and wait a while, slowly everything builds up again the cramps return and I errupt in spots, back on Yasmin and it all dies down.

Exactly the same as me about Yasmin for those reasons!

I've noticed I nearly always feel suicidal in the week or so leading up to my period and usually the day my period starts I feel a huge sense of relief emotionally too! Although can still feel depressed all month, but especially bad in those 2 weeks!

[crispian]

I'm not a woman, but am married to one, with 2 daughters to boot.

Pain and Depression are related, so it would be logical to make the connection between your cycle and levels of depression. My wife suffers from horrendous pains during her cycle, how she holds it together sometimes I'll never know, but when she doesn't, it shows. Its a part of nature I'll never understand!

[Spiritual_Wanderer]

Every month for maybe 5 days or so I feel like my medication isn't working, then I start my period, and everything starts to get ok again. Just happened this week to me! Ugh. I definitely get MORE depressed, more anxious, more irritable, more nervous energy, etc. Thankfully, I don't get cramps! (I used to as a teenager really bad.)

It is very annoying!

[imperfectsilence]

I am just depressed every day, regardless of it is before, during or after my period.

[Lisa15]

Out of interest does anyone else have a very short cycle, 22-23 days? Just curious.

My cycle is 21 days.

My cycle used to always be 29+ days, but lately it can be as short as 22. Also am having longer, heavier periods. I'll be 46 in three months, so I supposed I'm peri-menopausal. Because of that, I've started to chart my mood to see if it is related to my cycle. I suspect it is, but I need to study the pattern to be sure.

[NorthernStar]

It used to affect earlier, but after I started taking birth control pill in April 2004 my PMS disappeared so it doesn't affect my depression anymore. I'm very thankful for that, since my mental premenstrual symptoms were absolutely horrifying. I was nothing but an emotional wreck.

[summer_rain]

I just joined this forum cos I am premenstrual and having depression from it, yet again. I have depression generally too, but being premenstrual makes it really bad. I wish I could make it go away. It seems so unnecessary!

[neo_politan]

struggling with this right now. i started bc nearly 10 years ago to get regular, and i am regular now, thank god. but i notice i get cramps like 5 days before it actually starts and im more lethargic than usual. i am not a crier but i cried for no reason today. its so uncomfortable :(

[yesican]

ugh! PMS sucks!!!!! I get very irritable, teary, angry and depressed about 4-5 days before my period. I snap at the people around me and just want to be alone...but I can hardly even stand to be around me! lol

I hate how this affects my life!