[Babygirl03]

Can perimenopause worsen my cyclothymia symptoms?
My symptoms *had* been under control for many years. The last few months have been hell. (insomnia, crying spells, mood swings) I have been diagnosed perimenopause through blood test.

[zijax]

Yes perimenopause can wreak havoc with bipolar symptoms. I'm on hormone replacement therapy and it is working far better than ssri ever did with no side effects. It's estrogen in a patch form with a progesterone pill. I wish I had been open minded enough to try it years ago instead of only tryng psyche meds. Hormones play a huge part in our moods.

[LucyG]

A good part of your problem could be the change in hormone levels as you slide into menopause. Your symptoms are as much that as bipolar.

There's a great book on the subject dealing with using natural progesterone cream that goes into the subject. I think you'll see yourself in this. I found the book very helpful when I was in perimenopause.

https://www.amazon.com/What-Your-Doc...+perimenopause

I'm in the same boat. I've asked my doctors to test my hormones more times than I can remember....I've asked 3 separate physicians. One of them, a female doctor said "I wish I could test them because I'm sure it's contributing but they don't let us do that anymore". What? They won't even tell me if I'm in peri menopause or not. My current doctor said that hormone replacement would be more harmful than helpful. I'm going to research this fully once my brain can comprehend medical jargon efficiently. Good luck to you.

[Unrigged64072835]

My bipolar didn't get bad until perimenopause. I couldn't due estrogen patches because I have a cancer risk. Good luck with finding the help that you need.