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[vintagefiend]

I've just turned 45 and periods regular (I think!- a lot of treatments get in way of being able to tell!)
Periods starting to become further apart and last a long time.
I'm depressed and on a fairly high dose of venlafaxine 225mg. Actually last month I felt fab around the time of ovulation- it was wonderful!! haven't felt good for a very long time so really great experience! in fact the whole cycle was reasonable (again- unheard of for me!) and it followed starting a 25mcg oestradiol patch.
I thought that was it- i'd cracked it but this month i've been feeling progressively worse since ovulation. i tried increasing the oestradiol- v nominally to 37.5mcg- it's made me feel a lot worse and i don't honestly think it's what i need.
so i'm back to the 25mcg as of today- but wondering about testosterone.
would i be right in thinking any woman of 45 could be a candidate for testim let alone a depressed one? i dont think that testosterone (or lack of) is the one cause of my symptoms but is it reasonable for a depressed woman- fairly resistant to ssris- to try it? also i've read that testosterone levels fluctuate so i'm confused as to why people have blood tests for it- thank for any info

[Taz2]

Hi vintagefiend - I'm sorry that I can't help with the testosterone question but I wondered which progesterone you are using as certain types can lead to low mood etc?

Taz x

[vintagefiend]

Hi Taz- thanks for the response. I'm not using any prog as in my experience they do indeed, either make me anxious or very depressed- as does my own! i'm kind of doing my own thing treatmentwise but live opposite a gp who i chat with occasionally- who feels that it's fine not to take prog on such a low dose of oestradiol. I need to get back into the gynae system but last time was referred to a rather unpleasant lady who specialised in pms/pmdd (fine, that's what i needed), but wasn't actually a gynaecologist- so after 3 month wait i still wasnt in the frigging system!! and i just cant be bothered to go back to gp and the rigmarole of slow referral! sorry bit of a rant there! got that off my chest! thanks again x

[Annie0710]

Hi

I'm on testosterone gel, very early days but from what I gather you will ideally need good oestrogen levels so that testosterone doesn't override and become dominant.  Hurdity is much more knowledgeable and explains these things much better than I can

But more oestrogen will probably mean you'll need progesterone too

X

[vintagefiend]

thanks Annie- I've seen your thread and keep going back to it! very pleased it seems to be working for you though realise it's early days. hopefully my own oestrogen would be high enough at present to cope with the testosterone- i dont know this- i'm assuming! yeah the idea of prog terrifies me- i have been offered hysterectomy with oophorectomy ('spelling) but I'm frightened of feeling crap and there being no way back. I have no problem with the op itself- it's just that i've had chemical meno and felt suicidal! testosterone is about the only thing i haven't tried. I've found a private gynae with a special interest in "perimenopause quality of life" and just written to him; his special interest couldn't be more appropriate so fingers crossed. And i'll keep looking at your thread- really glad you started it. Thanks again x

[Annie0710]

My ovaries played up after my hysterectomy but that doesn't happen to everyone, but losing losing the womb will help with your prog intolerance at least

You need to gather your info, I needed my uterus and cervix gone but had no idea my ovaries would fail at just 32.  To be fair oestrogen alone saw me ok for about 13 years til they packed up completely

X

[Hurdity]

Hi vintagefiend

I also started a thread on Testosterone when I started using it but haven't kept it up to date! It's here if you want to have a look:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,27959.0.html

There are quite a few threads on it at the moment

Hurdity x

[vintagefiend]

Thanks again Annie and thank you Hurdity- I shall have good read of your thread!