Menopause

Exercise.

Seriously.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/menopause/DS00119/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

Thanks you all, I appreciate it!

You are probably talking about perimenopause -

http://www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/guide-perimenopause

What symptoms have you had so far?

Did the doc tell you that you were entering early menopause?

I work in a pharmacy and have a lot of customers on medications. I know you don't like doctors or medication. However don't make it harder on you than it really is. All you have to do is have blood work done and they can check your levels. Taking one pill is a lit better than dealing with hot flashes, no sex drive, being moody and just really being unhappy for no reason. Plus it also makes it a lot better for the friends and family that are around you all the time bc they will see the changes in you! Kjw

Yoga. Especially the positions called the "triangle." All of our 2,000 parts are muscles. Yes, even that one. My first symptom was in my 40's -- cramps, which I'd never had much. Took care of that. If you know what a colonic is, that's the best remedy. Just staying regular is key, however. Multi-vitamin, too. Don't ever let yourself stay constipated over one day.

If nothing helps try screaming into a pillow. I'm really glad I didn't take medication (hormone therapy) as it's just too dangerous. Take art lessons, like oil painting. Wishing you well.

Thank you all for the advice! I do appreciate it. My life is really busy now, so my responses may be sparse at times... Just kind of the way life is I guess. So here we go:

Osso: Unfortunately it is not Perimenopause, but I sure would have like to have known about that four years ago when all this started! Man... I'm telling you... the more I find out about this the more the last five years of my life are starting to make sense.

ehbeth: I've had all the symptoms for a good six months and just struggled alone with it quietly, not quite sure what was going on. I finally went to the doctor to have my levels checked but I really thought my thyroid might be the problem because I had issues with that in the past. It turns out it's menopause. Long story short I have had hormonal problems my whole life. (panhypopituitaryism... not sure if I spelled that right!) I stopped taking the hormones eight years ago and pushed myself into an early menopause. Hey though... at least I get to get it over with early! (JUST turned 40 lol)

karajo: I really hate pills and doctors both, but unfortunately both seem to be some sort of necessary evil of life. *sigh* I've started the hormones and the physical symptomes have eased quite a bit. Though truthfully I am finding that the" emotional lows" I've struggled with have taken a serious dip. So much so that when I'm down I'm suicidal down almost every time. Practically have to lock myself up. The whole time my logical brain is screaming at me it's just feelings, breathe, calm down, don't do anything rash...

The best way I found to et through those moments is I've come to terms with what's going on and deem those extreme emotional moments as "M+M" moments. (menopausal moments) As soon as my brain starts going there I usually look at whoever's with me and say, "Please excuse me, I'm having an M+M moment right now and need to be excused." As I'm walking away just realizing what I said and what's happening makes me giggle which is like a tiny little ray of sunshine on a dark gloomy day. It's much easier to deal with it when you realize what is happening... but honestly speaking there are moments I'm getting weary of it all. *sigh*

Everything is just so much more intense. Happy is shear joy... sad is tears that feel like they've been bottled up for years and may never end... anger is rage... depression is absolute despair... and I can go through every single one of those emotions in less than an hour on a bad day. So... I'm on the fence right now between getting on antidepressants (which could actually make things worse), or... other methods which have been working quite nicely to level out my moods but are not quite so legal and a bit more expensive... *ahem*

Pemerson: This has actually been one of my biggest struggles. Due to a peptic ulcer I am extremely limited as to what I can eat which has only increased the intensity of that side of this issue. There are days I'm lucky if I can get a couple of pieces of bread and some scrambled eggs down. I am rarely hungry, and have to force myself to eat most days. Just figured out it's the depression doing that to me. Since all this started I've lost almost 30 lbs. Rarely even desire food anymore. Actually I only WANT to eat when I've been "smoking". It is what has kept me from starving to death the last three or four months. I'm down to 102 and cannot afford to lose another pound. OMG I'm shrinking too! I've lost almost an inch! Grrr... I worry about the hormone replacement therapy. That is why I stopped taking the hormones eight years ago. All of those studies came out about the increased risk for heart attack and stroke and I thought... oh hell... I'm too young for all that! Heh... and now I'm thinking that backfired on me because my body is acting older than it really is! Argh.

I do have to say this though... I finally have the answer to what's been going on and can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I literally woke up one day 5 years ago and everything was different. I was angry and I didn't know why. Then the anger slowly started turning into just a general moodiness. Always. My brain has turned into this constant raging battle for sanity, and when the actual menopause symptoms started I really was very close to losing all hope when it dawned on me this could be hormonal and I went to the doctor. I was ready to write myself off as a loss and call it good. Done fighting an enemy I can't see. That's what it's been like. Just constantly punching the air and not hitting anything because you can't see what you are up against. Frustrating, aggravating, and discouraging. So now I know what it is and it's not permanent. Not only that... It's probably almost over! (in comparison to the last five years of hellish confusion I've lived in) THANK GOD, because honestly I don't know how much longer I could have dealt with this. I felt so isolated and alone. Like there was no one in the world who could possibly understand, because even I didn't understand what was happening to me. What a flipping relief! There's hope for me yet!

Black cohosh and evening primrose oil.

I think you need to find a doctor you trust. See if you can find an ObGyn who has experienced menopause herself and can discuss Natural Hormone Therapy with you. You can Google NHT to start. Good luck.

Very interesting article about menopause. If you weren't having such bad symptoms already I'd be hesitant to recommend it, but since you are, this might give you some info and some context (as in, other people experience similar things):

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/magazine/18estrogen-t.html