His and Her Health

Good Morning....

Each day I take 1.25/2.5 Tab of Estratest DS, 50mg Tab of Lopressor 1/2 Tab twice a day,
25 mg Tab Hydrochlorota once daily,
.5 mg Xanax twice daily and
100mg Prometrium Cap for 10 days each month.

I am 47 years old. I have been on some type of hormones and blood pressure medication for 3 years now. I find that I am experiencing EXTREME mood swings, especially while taking the prometrium. My husband said to me last night that it used to be that he knew my cycle and it was bearable....I would be agitated, irritated,etc...for about a week and then it was over......now....I am across the board and very rarely am I not agitated, irritated, etc......

Searching for advice or maybe a new diet!!! :p [*]

I have discussed your health issue with one of my health advisors and he responded to your concerns this way:

Our Ask The Expert Answered:

When people are taking several medications it is always difficult to be sure of the problem. It is a good idea to ask your doctor to check your potassium level and your blood sugar and thyroid hormones. Those can also cause people to feel agitated if they are abnormal.

For some women, the estratest can make them irritable because of the testosterone. Some doctors might stop the estratest and just give you a patch of estradiol 0.05mg which would make the dose evenly absorbed. If you still have your uterus, it is necessary to take progesterone at least 10 days each month to prevent uterine cancer. It is always a good idea to just change one thing at a time, perhaps once each month. If you're better in a month, stay on the new regimen. If not, talk with your doctor about changing the prometrium. Some doctors prescribe 200mg if it is for only 10 days.

Machelle M. Seibel, MD

Hope this is of some help to you.

<small>[ 09-02-2006, 02:44 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>

My experience with balancing tyroid and sugar levels is that it is on-going. Based on the suggestions above, I am going to add a potassium check to my list of "things to check/ regulate."

I recently started a diet regime that has helped me immensely with symptoms similar to what you described --see UGLY CRYING posting. I continue to feel good and am very grateful for the recommendation, which I received through this site. As I mentioned in my posting, I received almost immediate improvement (1.5 days).

For me, the cause & effect connection was so clear that I have gained renewed passion for monitoring my diet. It feels really great to be in control again.

I have not experienced a cycle on the new diet regime, so I would be interested in your experience over the period of time as well.

In re-reading my response, I am compelled to mention that the diet regime I outline in the UGLY CRYING posting is, "in addition to" and not (in any way) "in stead of" whatever advice you receive from a medical practictioner. Hope you start feeling better soon!!

<small>[ 09-02-2006, 02:46 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>