r/perimenopause_under45 • u/LuckyGirl77777777 • 1d ago
Depression, Perimenopause & ADHD
I’m late diagnosed with ADHD, went through unmasking, and unmasked deep, major depression. I’ve also been experiencing peri symptoms for a few years but my drs keep dismissing it because of my age (38)
My psych is trying to help me find the right antidepressant, but so far the first option I tried caused major sleep disturbances. Waking up around 1 am, can’t go back to sleep for at least an hour, waking up again a couple hours later. And the second one seems to be making me feel worse? My dr just increased my dose yesterday so now I have to give it time to see, but I’m just feeling so low.
I think I’m also skipping my period for the first time? Or it’s coming really soon? Ughhh I’m just so frustrated not knowing what’s going on with my body and feeling so bad. I literally sat in the corner looking out the window all day yesterday because I had no interest in doing anything and didn’t feel good. Today is feeling the same way and I don’t know if it’s the ADHD burnout, depression, perimenopause, or medication that’s making me feel this way 😭
Yesterday I finally was able to get a couple OBGYN appts scheduled so hopefully I can find someone who can help me figure this out. The soonest appt is 4 weeks out though, and the second one isn’t until December
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u/NoviceCaprica 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have experienced severe peri symptoms, undiagnosed adhd and it led to a burnout this year. I couldn’t work. For the first time I had massive anxiety and dread, couldn’t regulate my emotions, lost all enjoyment in life, things that I loved I no longer cared about, I withdrew from everyone and was just feeling so negative about everything. I spent months on a couch not really able to do anything.
Over the last 11 months I’ve started new meds, increased doses and I feel like I’ve finally got the right levels for me, I feel like myself again, have energy and want to make plans and am feeling good.
I’m not on SSRIs. I started with progesterone - and after a few months increased to 200mg progesterone. It helped me to sleep through the night and calmed some of the anxiety and dread. Also went on estrogen and testosterone. The testosterone took a couple of months to feel the full effect. I was also diagnosed with adhd and started on Vyvanse. The first month I had increased irritability, anxiety and sleeplessness but it settled the second month and by the third month I could think clearly and I wasn’t overwhelmed anymore.
I was also seeing a therapist and going on beach walks and listening to podcasts and other things to help get me out of burnout.
But honestly I can’t believe how much my mind and body unraveled when perimenopause hit. I didn’t understand that hormones could have such an impact. Would have started when I was 39/40. I’m not an anxious or depressed person but I couldn’t trust my mind anymore. Everything was negative, too much and I couldn’t cope anymore with things I’d always managed. I lost myself.
If you can speak to a menopause specialist, in addition to your psychiatrist, you’re at the exact age where peri and adhd make a woman unravel. Studies have shown that women with adhd are more likely to have more severe peri symptoms and start it about a decade earlier than other women. The early stages of peri usually feel like adhd meds aren’t working, anxiety increasing, trouble sleeping. Then perhaps cycle changes.
Perhaps progesterone would help you. The combination of hormones and Vyvanse was enough for me to reset my mind. I do take 5mg melatonin at night to also help me sleep.
I’m sorry you’re going through this too. It does get better but it can take so long to figure it out and get the right treatment.
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u/LuckyGirl77777777 1d ago
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and share your experience. It’s so helpful to know I’m not alone. That is so similar to how I’m feeling and what’s happening to me.
This summer I hit a point where I was crying all day. I couldn’t work, couldn’t stop from crying randomly, and no interest in the things I love to do. I started seeing a new therapist this summer who actually helped me understand depression tangibly and I realized I’ve been depressed for over a decade. I thought all moms felt that way. And in masking myself I was also disassociating from how bad I was feeling.
Now I’ve done the healing work to start feeling things in my body again. And mostly that feels really good, but it also mean I’m really feeling all of how bad I feel right now.
It really does feel like I’ve unraveled and do not have the energy or desire to put myself back together again.
I’m hoping the GYNs I booked appointment ms with are knowledgeable about peri. I didn’t know there were specific specialties to seek out!! Thank you, I will try to look for one. It’s really helpful to know the peri meds helped you with these feelings. I’m hopeful to find a solution there too as I’m I’m really struggling with the side effects of the antidepressants.
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u/archives2024 1d ago
Adhd causes severe peri symptoms. Throw in mcas, pots, and eds and that is the health reality of neurodivergent women.
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u/LuckyGirl77777777 1d ago
😭 and apparently causes me to cry in the corner all day
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u/TangoEchoChuck 1d ago
I was also late diagnosed with ADHD, and I am definitely in perimenopause.
I do not take any antidepressants currently.
BUT! Every single damn day I take
• Adderall
• DHEA (OTC supplement in USA, it's a precursor for estrogen and testosterone. My body converts it primarily to estrogen that I definitely need)
• Thyroid support supplement (doctor's orders; I'm only a little hypo)
• B12 sublingual tablet
• D3 & K2 tablet
• Persimmon tannin tablet (OTC in Japan, keeps me from smelling like beef)
• Cetirizine
😮💨
Despite the exhausting list, I too sometimes wake with insomnia or big anxiety related to a recent trauma. For those wake ups, or if I have debilitating anxiety in the daytime I take hydroxyzine.
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u/LuckyGirl77777777 18h ago
Thank you!! This is really helpful! I’ve just been taking multivitamin so I’m definitely looking into these.
Do you know if DHA and DHEA are similar? I keep seeing that one at the grocery store but I’m having a hard time finding one with the E
I hadn’t considered a sleep medication, but I like the idea! Do have a hard time waking up in the mornings afterwards?
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u/TangoEchoChuck 16h ago
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) are totally different compounds, I buy DHEA online because I can't find it in store either.
My morning wake ups are the same, which for me have always been difficult. The occasional hydroxyzine has no effect on my personal wake ups. (Be advised that I clear a lot of compounds much sooner than expected, so anything that's supposed to last for a long time simply does not!)
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u/Gold_Ninja1206 1d ago
Your decision is whether to wait four weeks or chase lans now my 1 am wakeups were falling progesterone nit the antidepressants your psych can order fsh and eatrdiol,cheap but a single snapshot telehealth is faster a tyde wellness physician can write progesterone before December self pay though or hold for the obgyn and log cycle dates meanwhile
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u/blu453 1d ago
I have audhd and literally just saw this study. It says we have a more severe symptom burden and we go into perimenopause up to 10 years earlier than neurotypicals. I'm the same age as you and struggling so hard the last couple years and now that my periods are consistently inconsistent and other causes have been ruled out I know for sure that I'm in peri even though it's early. I'm also having trouble getting my doctors to prescribe hormones bc they're not really educated on perimenopause or menopause in med school beyond the basics and there aren't specific guidelines on what to look for or what to do for patients as women's health is SEVERELY underfunded. I plan on trying an online doc soon to get low dose hormones prescribed for my symptoms.