His and Her Health

I'm brand new to this site, have just spent an hour scanning some of the topics and at least now I don't feel quite as "crazy".

I don't have any close female friends that are going through menopause and feel awkward reaching out to women just for that reason.

I live in a very rural community and it's pretty small so I'm also a bit scared to put this subject out there to get support.

I am being pro-active in using a tincture a couple of times a day called Women's Change-with black cohash etc. and started seeing a Naturpathic Doctor about 6 weeks ago and some of the remedies she reccomended seem to be helping some of the symptoms.

I feel like I'm all over the place with my emotions and I'm not sure what's me and what's menopause.
I've been on anti-depressants for over 12 years so I'm kind of used to the lack of libido but it seems to be getting quite a bit worse.

Sorry to be such a whiner-I'm just feeling very overwhelmed and I'm not used to feeling so out of control.

any thoughts?

Hold on riverlover,support is on the way. In the meantime take a look at www.redhotmamas.org
there may be some info you can use on that site.

You are in good company. Many of us here are going through the same thing. I'm 52 and am going through a very difficult menopause.

I don't know if your naturpathic doctor recommended high quality fish oil, but you should give it a try. If you do a search here you'll see lots of info. I've been taking it for over a year and a half and it's really helped me. I feel more upbeat and free of depression than I have in years. You have to take a lot of it - twice the recommended dose.
By the way, the brand my naturapathic doctor recommended didn't do the trick - I had to step up to a stronger brand. You shouldn't take high dose fish oil if you take blood thinners or are about to have surgery.

I also take a lot of vitamin E - 800 USP a day. It helps with the hot flashes. For libido, I can highly recommond a suppliment called Arginmax. You can get it at GNC stores or order it online. I have had really good results with this - I actually quit taking it recently for a month to see if there was a difference and there definiately was! I got right back on it.

If you're having a problem with vaginal dryness, get some Astroglide. I love the stuff. It has completely taken care of that problem for me.

These are the tools I use to get through this. Hang in there. I know what you're going through, I think it does help to talk to other women facing the same struggle. Remember, this is a natural part of the dance of life and
mid-life is actually something to celebrate. I've made dramatic changes in my life lately, something I wouldn't have done five years ago. All for the better! The best is yet to be!