Posted by Lurker on June 1, 2000, at 20:58:10
In reply to Same side effect to everything I try - agitation, posted by Barker on June 1, 2000, at 17:44:05
Hi Barker: My mom went through the same thing when her menopause started. She couldn't take HRT or anything synthetic. She is very sensitive to all meds, even aspirin. She saw a naturopath who told her to take evening primrose oil and eat lots of soy products. The soy has natural plant estrogens that the body can tolerate easily and the evening primrose oil is full of the same plus the B vitamins that menopausal women need. She is greatly improved now and on no meds at all. Hope this helps, keep in touch--Lurker
> Hi - I very suddenly started experiencing depression along with other menopausal symptoms 3 year ago. It has since varied from mild to quite intense. Problem has been that everything I try has the same side effect within days to a couple of weeks - agitation, sometimes intense, often accompanied by a feeling of being extremely hot/feverish (quite different from hot flashes) and frequently with baseless mental/emotional anxiety. Estrogen does this - more intense in direct relationship to the dosage. St. John's Wort resulted in agitation, Zoloft in severe agitation and heat sensation (of course I was also taking St John's Wort and Estrogen when I tried it - with my then Doctor's knowledge). Phenylalanine also caused a similar reaction. I am fearful of trying new things. I have even weaned off estrogen with the result that the anxiety has decreased markedly -- however the depression has become more intense as I weaned off and is now essentially constant. Not to mention that other menopausal symptoms have returned, including night sweats. What does one do when antidepressant substances result in intolerable agitation? Is this common? It seems to point out to me that the cause of my depression is not related to a lack of serotonin, and that antidepressant substances, even estrogen (which I have read does potentiate the effect of anti-depressants) are over-increasing serotonin action in my brain?
>
> Barker
poster:Lurker
thread:35580
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000526/msgs/35593.html