Menopause and Depression: Does Menopause Trigger Depression?

My life has been in ruins with having severe PMS and then menopause. I have suffered depression for years because of it and been suicidal without medication. Even with medication...and I have tried many....I still suffer from it. I have lost my marriage over it and my daughters. The mood swings were and are so severe that I have spent many years being negative, angry, bitter, hurtful and now lonely. I'm still searching for an answer to this nightmare. I still love my husband with all my heart and soul but he just couldn't take the abuse from me anymore and I can't say I blame him. He also has and is still suffering from male menopause which doesn't help the situation any. I couldn't live with his moods or abuse either. It's such a shame that we both have to live this way since I believe there is an answer out there, it's just a matter of finding it. Being a woman, I will admit to having a problem but he won't. I started menopause at the ripe old age of 38. I'm postmenopausal but have not gotten any better. I am desperate for an answer so I can have peace and happiness in my life again...it's been so long and don't really know what it is anymore!! Family, friends and outsiders used to say how good my husband and I were together. I still have hopes that someday we can get help and find our way back to each other without all the emotional upheaval. I would also like the chance to be a good mother again. After twenty four miserable years, there has to be an ending to all of this. Shirlee M

I have not had a period for 3 years and 3 months.... Since our whole family just about on my Mom's side dealt with depression, anxiety issues--me included--made my peri, menopause & even post menopause worse. Unfortunately I cannot take any of the antidepressives(tried many). They either don't work at all & completely taking away my ability to be aroused or orgasm. The only one that helped to a small degree(Wellbutrin) ^& didn't affect arousal/orgasm caused my anxiety to be over the top. I thought I was pretty much out of the "meno-tunnel" but still have my ups and downs(some pretty severe) at times even though 3 years/3mos. without a period. I seem to have a harder time dealing with circumstances in my life that are more serious than I did before menopause. My sex drive is dried up; yet no doctor(believe me I tried) will not give any kind of testosterone supplementation so I've just given up. Thank God I do think of my husband's desires or I would never push myself to have sex. The good thing is is that I can still become aroused and orgasm. That can bring me down though also.... Crickett

I am an extreme case in the menopause and depression department. At age 45 my hormones "suddenly" crashed. I started heavy-duty sobbing for no reason and could NOT stop that sobbing long enough to leave the house. It was out of my control. Then the left side of my brain started "screaming" at me to kill myself, that it was hopeless and nothing was left for me in life. Oddly, the right side of my brain was being more logical and kept saying, "NO, this is not logical. Humans will do anything to survive". But the longer this situation went on, the more the deadly left side of the brain kept grabbing more of the "logical" rights side of the brain. So, after a while, my whole brain thought that killing myself was quite logical, that I would find my poor husband a much better wife, that my siblings had eachother and my Mother had 4 other children so she would not miss me. I did go to the GYN and had it written down clearly that I was suicidal since I was NOT able to speak. My inability to talk was so bad that my Mother and sisters all thought that I was simply mad at them and not speaking to them. OK, that does NOT fit my personality. If I am mad, EVERYONE knows it, I scream, carry-on, and it's over. But no one figured out that I was so dangerously depressed. And I could NOT speak. And it is this INABILITY TO TALK and TELL someone that you are dangerously depressed that is critical to my story. I finally called my Internist who knew I was having menopause issues (A MAN, no less), and told him that I could not stop crying/sobbing and was suicidal. But sadlly, what got MY attention to do something was crying in public in front of other people. My EGO was involved and so things had to change quickly. I am thankful for that public crying episode as it appears that my ego is quite the motivator. I asked my internist if he could call in Zoloft (since it worked for my mother-in-law so well) and he agreed this would be the best antidepressant for hormonal issues. My husband ran up and got the Zolof and I took a 25mg pill and about 3 hours later, the extreme urge to kill myself, the non-stop SOBBING (I am NOT one to cry), the feeling of that deep, dark hole being pushed away all kicked in. This was NOT a placebo effect since I was not paying attention. I just felt SO damn much better and that Zoloft saved my life. Now, it did take a good 3 or 4 weeks before I was back to ME, normal ME, but that Zoloft did stop the insane crying and severe deadly depression. What lessons are learned from this: First, watch your female (wife, girlfriend, daughter, etc) and if they start crying often (and are not big into crying) ASK them what is going on. Don't let this go. Ask gently but firmly as they may be having problems talking. Remember, there are many people out there who have killed themselves and no one even KNEW they were depressed. So, if you see pattern changes in personality: ASK and be gentle but firm and keep asking and watching. Second: For me and many other women, ZOLOFT is a true life-saver for hormonal problems. It got rid of the depression, helped with the hot flashes, night sweats, etc. Zoloft is a great hormonal/menopausal antidepressant. Take what I have said seriously. This whole situation hit me so hard and fast that I really did not have an idea of what was going on. That black hole was so deep and dark that I could not see out of it by myself. In fact, the brain really does believe that getting rid of oneself IS logical -- and that is most dangerous. You really do believe that others will be best off without you, that your spouse will get a better wife, the kids are adults and can go on with their lives, etc. etc. So somehow, YOU MUST get your wife/girlfriend/daughter/friend to a doctor assap. Explain to your wife/girlfriend that this is NOT normal feelings. That they have a right to feel better, that they can not remember anymore WHAT it feels like to be normal and happy, BUT that THEY WILL go back to feeling happy and enjoying the things in life they enjoyed before the damn hormones crashed. I too thought menopause would just be a pain in the behind but it almost killed me, literally. Take it seriously. Women: Watch yourselves and get to a doctor and MAKE the doctor listen to you. My GYN ignored me. Thankfully, the male Internist knew me and knew I was in deep trouble. Men: Yes, this can be a deadly period of your wife's/girlfriend's life. Watch the trends. Watch for changes. Involve others in getting her to the right doctor and make sure that that doctor IS listening and aware of what is going on. That may mean YOU have to do the talking for your wife/girlfriend. So, OPEN YOUR MOUTH on her behalf. You really could be saving her life.

I am not going through menopause, but my wife is in menopause and refuses to see a doctor, though she haas severe symptoms such as little sleep, memory lapses, hot flashes/sweats all day and night, does not want to see friends, thinks she wants a divorce, wants to be alone, etc, etc. She just thinks she is changing and thats the way its supposed to be. Is denial a part of menopause too??

Had a TLH/Bso on 01/14/09. Woke up with a Migraine the next day...still having headaches. Spent the next few days trying to compete with Linda Blair..according to my hubby & young'ns...and of course the "Power Surges"...wow...break out the bikini's cause its super hot!!!..The last three days I seem to have acquired a new talent..."Breathing with a touch of Constant Crying". Yes, the new Lack O' Hormone Land is absolutely amazing! Hello ladies!...I am obviously a newcomer, searching for answers.

I entered medically-induced menopause about 5 months ago, as part of my treatment for breast cancer. I first experienced depression about 3 years ago but recovered with the help of an anti-depressant. I was able to deal with the cancer diagnosis, surgery, radiation and other treatment with relative ease, but once the estrogen went away, I found the depression returning and within a month had to increase my anti-depressant. Luckily, I am feeling much better again. It's not in your head - it's in your hormones!

I am currently experiencing depression while going through menopause. I sometimes feel I have been suspended in mid air. I try to avoid the social scene and I have recurring feelings of upset. My doctor placed me on a low dosage of anti-depressant to help place some calmness in my life and also because I was missing too much sleep at night with frequent episodes of crying.. I am much more better now and I believe I am functioning a lot better. I can't take estrogen because of my family's history of cancer. I shared my feeling with my physician and he does everything possible to assist me through this stage of my life. I must say listening to music I love on my Ipod helps me considerably in de-stressing and that is from country, classical, world, smooth jazz and meditative tapes..

I was a mental health specialist and I believe the sever symptoms I suffer from during this menopause has left me unable to function at my level of work. As a high stress emergency worker I loved my job but now can no longer work, not even a few hours, I am undependable and depressed, fight daily just to care for my basic needs. I feel so sorry for anyone who is told it is all in their head.