LAVH 4 months post hysterectomy: Depression and dizziness

I have had bouts of dizziness since my surgery on February 27. I started shortly after I returned to work and so I thought it was due to not enough sleep or lack of water. I upped my water intake for the day and that didn't help so I saw my GP. She gave me some pills to assist with sleeping but I can only use them on weekends when I don't have to get up for work and she only gave me 10 so I have to be really careful when I use them. This helped a bit as I was only getting 4 hours of sleep but now I am finding the dizziness is back. Even with a good (well as good as it gets) sleep.

Also I have found I am heading into depression for the past month. I don't understand where it is coming from, Seems everything affects me negatively. It affects the way I feel about my job and my home life and even my friends. I am lashing out at my family as they are the closest but I am so frustrated because everything seems "so bad". Realistically though it probably isn't as bad as it feels but I can't seem to turn the negative around in my head.

I am unable to take HRT because of breast cancer history in both my sisters. I did go on them for a short period but since they didn't help the hot flashes I stopped taking them as I didn't want to increase my risk of breast cancer (I am having lumps tested currently).

Anyone out there have any solutions for either the dizziness or the depression?

7 weeks out for me and I couldn't stand it anymore, my GYN put me on Effexor, its only been a day but I wasn't feeling well at all, crying for nothing and depressed and just didn't care. I fought it but I told my Dr. I need help because i can't crawl out of this on my own. Almost went the estroil route but I had a lump from that last year and popped out of no where so that got crossed off the list. My gyn at 3 weeks said we want to be careful about depression. It was affecting my digestion and anxiety, nothing looked good, so I'm hoping in a few days I'lll start to feel better. Hope this helps you but don't let it go to long.

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Originally Posted by hystertvt I have had bouts of dizziness since my surgery on February 27. I started shortly after I returned to work and so I thought it was due to not enough sleep or lack of water. I upped my water intake for the day and that didn't help so I saw my GP. She gave me some pills to assist with sleeping but I can only use them on weekends when I don't have to get up for work and she only gave me 10 so I have to be really careful when I use them. This helped a bit as I was only getting 4 hours of sleep but now I am finding the dizziness is back. Even with a good (well as good as it gets) sleep. Also I have found I am heading into depression for the past month. I don't understand where it is coming from, Seems everything affects me negatively. It affects the way I feel about my job and my home life and even my friends. I am lashing out at my family as they are the closest but I am so frustrated because everything seems "so bad". Realistically though it probably isn't as bad as it feels but I can't seem to turn the negative around in my head. I am unable to take HRT because of breast cancer history in both my sisters. I did go on them for a short period but since they didn't help the hot flashes I stopped taking them as I didn't want to increase my risk of breast cancer (I am having lumps tested currently). Anyone out there have any solutions for either the dizziness or the depression?

My husband asked me to get some help, thats how much it was affecting him!

Thanks. I have wAnted to stay away for meds as Antidepressants tend to make me gain weight and I am struggling to lose another 15 pounds right now. But I hear what you're saying. I will talk to my doc if it persists.

Try and see if St. John's Wort works for you. It did wonders for me when I was going through this, and it's mild enough that it may not give you those side effects.

There are anti-depressants that will not cause weight gain. If you google it there are ones that are found to help with menopause symptoms.
Generic Name Brand Name
escitalopram - Lexapro
fluoxetine - Prozac
paroxetine - Paxil
venlafaxine - Effexor

But if you are taking Tamoxifen, some of them are not good. I am on Wellburtrin. It is not listed as one for hot flashes but my doctor said he often prescribes it for that. I was on it a couple months before I went to the Gyn so have stayed. Unfortunately, 5 weeks post op the hot flashes are worse than they were but I am believing they will subside to at least presurgery levels soon. A plus for the Wellbutrin is I have lost a little weight on it. Hope I can keep going since I used surgery as a place to jump starting new eating habits.

If you ask your doctor for one, if you are one that does not go overboard on things, research it on the web. They all have pros and cons. Remember - if one doesn't work, it might not be the one for you. Also, they do not have to be lifelong. Years ago I was on Prozac. After a few years I began to feel worse on it so went off.

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Originally Posted by hystertvt Thanks. I have wAnted to stay away for meds as Antidepressants tend to make me gain weight and I am struggling to lose another 15 pounds right now. But I hear what you're saying. I will talk to my doc if it persists.

I went the route of being the all natural way to go much of my life, I've struggled and struggled AND struggled, its just not worth being unhappy. I've been to the health food store and back countless times, Dr.s with holistic approach, tried this and that. So when I went to the Dr. this past week I just prayed for simplicity and asked for help. I chose Effexor because my Aunt and her other friends recommended it and so did a nurse midwife over a year ago when they first found my fibroid, and I was starting to have irregular periods. Its not supposed to have the weight gain issues either. After the hysterectomy I just went down fast, I maybe had 2 weeks where I thought I was going to be ok then it was like overnight it all just hit very hard. Actually I was going to an acupuncturist who does Korean hand acupuncture/chinese herbs prior to my surgery, and that helped with anxiety and calm me down. But this surgery just put me over the edge. There are things like 5HTP but I drove myself crazy reading about dosage and I think things like that need to be monitored as well also. Don't ignor it and if its hard on your family just think how much better you will feel to get some help.

Also, if you want to try something natural for depression, I use to take Serenity Formula. It is natural and got it at the vitamin shoppe. I know a lot of Alzheimer spouses that don't want RX anti-depressants and use it. It was working for me, not sure why I quit and went on Rx.

Thank you all for your advice and help. For any of the antidepressants that any of you listed do you know if they have side effects if you stop taking them too quickly. I remember being on one years ago and when I started going off them I had vertigo symptoms. But I don't remember the name of it and my Dr. at the time is now retired. My new Dr barely knows me which makes it harder. I am not one to take pills so this will be a tough one to swallow (pardon the pun). I will let you all know how I make out.

The Serenity Formula has no side effects when stopping except maybe getting depressed if you have not passed that time. Any RX antidepressant will have side effects if you stop cold turkey. I know when I stopped Prozac years ago, every two weeks I would change how often I took it until I was 4 days apart.