Does anyone have a hormonal imbalance that causes anxiety?

[WaterFlowers]

Does anyone else have some kind of hormonal imbalance that's causing anxiety? I can't get my period at all unless I'm taking birth control. I'm not on birth control right now, and around the time of the month I *should* be getting my period, I become extremely anxious, depressed, even suicidal. I'm not sure what would help this. I've got some Ativan here, some Celexa, and two kinds of birth control and I'm trying to decide which one to take.

[Brenndy]

In a study for the Women's Nutritional Advisory Service (WNAS), an article entitled "PMS sufferers 'consider suicide"  found that "The pain and misery of pre-menstrual syndrome can be so bad that 50% of women who suffer from the problem have considered suicide," and that "57% of sufferers have contemplated suicide - a rise of 7% on 1996."

Source:  BBC News; Monday, 5 February, 2001.

[29sillygirl]

Agree with Mammo.  You are having extreme distress that could be caused by any number
of things.   As I only had about a dozen periods in my life, I am not qualified to talk about them.

What I might suggest is that menopause is scaring the hell out of you.  I have observed many woman totally obsessed with this natural part of life.  My daughter is one:).  Some of the things she did to fight what she thought was a serious problem were outlandish.  The Suzanne Sommers poster girl that one!  She has money, so went to a private clinic; then bullied her doc to give her a strange combination of hormones.  Now she is certain she has a metal problem..forget what she was going on about last Saturday.  More $ spent foolishly.  She is a very healthy 53 yr old woman.  Extremely active.  Successful businesswoman.  And a hypochondriac.

This is my opinion of course.  Maybe we all should head to a private clinic and get tested for every possible thing that could be off  or 'toxic'...hahaha.....Not!!!

[mammo]

Have you seen your OB-GYN regarding this? Birth control pills are given to help regulate your period, and if these help then I would stay on them. Most women suffer from what you describe right before their period, with the exception of feeling suicidal.  Ativan will calm you quickly, Celexa takes several weeks to build up to a therapeutic level in your system.  You may also want to consider seeing an Endocrinologist to make sure your thyroid and everything else in the endocrine system is working properly.
I don't think feeling suicidal is a normal part of PMS and you should see a professional about this.