Thank you so much! My medication is for bipolar type 2 and anxiety disorder and I was on it long before menopause hit, but it seems to have made things very smooth sailing indeed. The one I think is making the biggest difference is naltrexone, which I take for an anxiety disorder called trichotillomania, but it has a profound effect on my mood as well, and honestly I recommend it 10 times more than an SSRi. It has had a massive impact on my life overall. It is normally used for alcohol abuse treatment, I don’t have alcoholism at all, so this is an atypical use, but what a difference it’s made. Also I have lost tons of weight on it as they also use it for bariatric patients. Like 50+ pounds. Bitch is skinny!
My mentally ill mother became psychotic (not using that lightly at all) when she hit menopause. It was before using psych drugs became commonplace in society, and I think it had a profound deleterious effect on her psychiatric disorder. She could only be described as violent, dangerous, and manipulative after “the change”. Her behaviors since then have been frightening and alienating, she has BPD so she’s already incredibly difficult but now she is positively malignant and we are estranged, so I am vastly relieved to be having a completely opposite experience.
I’m really glad we talk about it openly too! I am not sure how many women on Lemmy are of this age group, but my hope is to let everyone know that it’s ok to use medication to manage the mood swings. It’s a huge difference. Thank you!