Hormones, mood swings and possible peri menopause
While we we do have a challenging ten YO, my moods are all over the board. Mostly anxious, angry, fed up, sad and depressed. I’m looking for a good functional medical practitioner or similar doc to help find a path to a better way. Already have a talk-therapist but looking for something more. Thank you!
Jul 5, 2018
Parent Replies
Have you considered acupuncture? This wonderful practitioner was recommended to me for postpartum depression/anxiety/mood disorder - I have been going in for treatments about every other week for a couple of months now, and taking the herbal medicine she has prescribed daily - feeling so much better! She specializes in women's health, and is a mom herself (so she gets it!).
Dr. Jules Bogdanski
info [at] julesbogdanski.com
510-387-0852
I am sorry to hear you are going through all this, and relate it to all too well as I've been going through much of the same (somewhat different situation, but in the end same issues with emotions, anger, anxiety and depression). You didn't say what insurance you have, which would limit which doc you could go to. I'm with Kaiser, and was happy with my therapist (Dr. Takaoka) and psychiatrist (Dr. Kim) there. While any therapist you end up clicking with will be able to help, for me the medication was what really helped me climb out of the hole I was sitting shaking in and start thinking and acting more rationally. In mental health, trial and error are even more part of the course than in other types of medicine. The first medication I tried (the mildest SSRI that is usually prescribed to pregnant women and I know several of my friends and coworkers take with great success) made me manic after only 3 days on the lowest dosage. So, I was told that SSRIs are not for me and the psychiatrist gave me a choice of two other different classes of meds. I tried one she said had the least side effects although it also had a lower success rate in treating my symptoms (busparine), and I was lucky to find out it worked GREAT.
I am completely functional now, and have almost no side effects from busparine. And, now that I am able to do stuff, I am going to start going to the "worry group" at Kaiser which I couldn't even think about before the medication (it was too much for me to get through the day as it was let alone go to a group ). I did manage to take a DBT (dialectic behavioral therapy) class at Clearwater, which was helpful and I liked. Clearwater is not Kaiser, it's a private company, so I had to pay out of pocket, and it wasn't cheap, but worth it. Good luck, I hope you find what works for you. Keep trying different things, and you will!
I experienced everything you described. My primary care doc prescribed me Lexapro. It worked! And when I began getting the heat flashes, my acupuncturist sold me Epimedium Curculigo and that also worked! Acupuncture has helped me and my daughter that suffers from major depressive disorder.
Take good care.
Evening primrose oil and lots of B vitamins (especially folic acid) helped me. Sometimes raspberry leaf tea as well. YMMV.