Hi! I’m new here too! I wish I had some help for u but I don’t and I must admit I’m terrified of the thought of the combination myself but I have nothing to go on. Good job on not hiding out! Ur doing the right thing and I recommend using this group. It’s helping me out so far.

HRT is the best med that I've ever taken and it takes care of the way hormones can affect moods....

Welcome to the board Spoonful!!.... xo

I had a Hysterectomy at 36 and went through "Surgical-induced" Menopause and had to use HRT drugs for several years to keep my BiPolar somewhat stable. I was able to wean off of it after about 5 years and haven't had to use anything since. I'll be 52 in a couple months.

What a great topic. I'm also in perimenopause and my bipolar gradually got worse as I turned 50 and got very bad at age 51. I'm now 52. I don't tolerate meds well so I'm really struggling. Is it aging, in general, that makes bipolar get worse or perimenopause? In other words, females and/or males? I haven't googled this topic and I don't know if it will come up. I'll check later for curiosity. What about menopause? If I continue to get worse, I wonder if HRT would be recommended? Usually, it is not recommended because it increases the risk of various things, particularly breast-cancer I think. Good for bone density though. Not sure about the heart……

FYI –
"Fluctuating hormones during menopause can worsen bipolar symptoms. Find out how to cope. If you are a woman with bipolar disorder, you may experience a double whammy during a profound time in your life — menopause. “Unfortunately, menopause can exacerbate bipolar disorder,” says Ahsan Y.Sep. 25, 2009

Menopause and Bipolar Disorder - Bipolar Disorder Center ...

Thank you to everyone who responded. I appreciate your input & advice. I have a therapy appointment tomorrow & this topic is on my agenda...
:)

HRT literally works overnight.... It was fabulous!!!... xo

I do recall...but this was almost 20 years ago, because of the BiPolar, specifically Mania there were only certain types of HRT I could use....just remembered that.

I’m closely monitoring how age is affecting the mania episodes. I went through perinatal loss years ago and I am fairly certain the episode one year later was not just mental trauma but hormones. And then estrogen positive breast cancer years after that. Hormones play a major role in all of this and a good point to bring up!

I went through menopause around 2000. My RA got worse, and I bled more and more every month, till I had a very long period, and my doctor decided to do a D&C. I was good for 2 days, I took a shot of methotrexate, a chemo drug I use for RA, and started bleeding again. My gynaecologist put me on Provera, which is Progesterone. I had tried estrogen and went almost out of my mind. I also had severe anemia, no mature red blood cells left in my body.

But the Provera worked, and I stopped bleeding. I was very hysterical through all this. I already had RA that wasn't being medicated properly. My pdoc felt I was going to need a trip to the hospital, and maybe stay there. He says a lot of women get worse bipolar in menopause and beyond.

But I turned out to be lucky. Once I got my blood back to normal, and the bleeding stopped, I got so much better. My pdoc said a lot of women don't get better, but I was one who did. I stopped taking 5-6 bipolar meds daily, and didn't need them. I was taking a small dose of lithium, but my kidneys suddenly got bad, recently and I had to stop it.

Provera is definitely a good option to take. I took it for 2 years daily, then stopped, and I was through and done with it.
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Same, I could take Progesterone, but not Estrogen. Estrogen made me Manic as hell.

Could perimenopause or menopause also increase bipolar depression? Not just mania? How would one know when or if to add HRT?

Your Gynecologist would advise you when it's the right time to add HRT therapy.