I'm almost 46 and swear I've been going through peri now for at least 3 years. I thought the first two were having to deal with a really nasty divorce and the stress of having gone through two major job changes.
But I read the list of symptoms, and boy do I have them. Mood swings, my cycles vary from 25 to 60 days, my skin is so dry I want to crawl out of it, acne outbreaks (yeah, even with the dry skin!!), bouts of insomnia and then bouts of extreme fatigue when I do get my period. My weight though has been relatively stable, but having periodic bouts of bloating/minor weight gain. I am so spacy and forgetful at times it's driving me nuts!! I have a real techy job too, so I *have* to be really alert.
The list goes on...
I really feel like a freak, and since I'm divorced and single, not a whole lot of support here.
My kids think I'm crazy. I think I'm driving the guy I'm dating nuts. I still make sure I get lots of exercise by hiking or doing the treadmill several times a week.
Any advice on how/what to talk about with my doc? When I started having irregular periods several years ago, my doc wanted to put me on Sarafem (prozac) saying it was just the stress and aftershock of all the baloney I went through with my divorce. But, now I'm not so sure... life is actually much better for me overall. I didn't fill the script for the Serafem and just dealt with the depression by exercising and making sure I had a social life/friends around. This isn't a whole lot of fun, though! I finally got a period yesterday after a 57 day cycle and a seriously difficult slump of depression/PMS. And it was like the flood gates on the Nile opening up... in public, how embarassing. I definitely was never like this when I was younger, and never was so moody, either.
Am I just nuts or what?
