[IntentOnHealing]

Hey All,

What's the relationship between bipolar and hormones?

I was diagnosed in 1989-ish. I was 20 or so. Now I'm almost 50 and peri-menopausal. My moods haven't been this unsteady and hard-to-treat in years and years. I have read that "the change" can affect your stability, but in what I've found, there aren't many details and even fewer recommendations.

The only thing I know for sure is that I cannot take hormone replacement therapy. It's contraindicated for me since I have aural migraines.

What's your experience?

Any thoughts/knowledge you have to share appreciated. Thanks!

[Moose72]

I'm with you. I'm 45, but haven't started peri-menopause (that I know of; my periods are missing though). I can't take HRT either, but in my case its because I have a 2x history of blood clots in the lungs. (Though I do have migraines, too.)

[rwwff]

Originally Posted by IntentOnHealing

The only thing I know for sure is that I cannot take hormone replacement therapy. It's contraindicated for me since I have aural migraines.

Did you try the transdermal estrogen patches?

[IntentOnHealing]

Originally Posted by rwwff

Did you try the transdermal estrogen patches?

I wish I could. I'd like to at least see what would happen! But estrogen is a hormone. I guess that if you have aural migraines and you use any kind of hormone--even birth control pills--your incidence of "cardiac events" including stroke, heart attack, blood clots, etc.,--is so significantly increased that they are an "absolute contraindication." My doc said that means "under no circumstances are they to be prescribed."