How long have you been with this doctor? I am 46 and have had perimenopause symptoms since my mid-30's. I have switched gyno's 3 times over the last ten years. I have not had good luck with GP's doing anything to help. They have tested my thyroid, etc. Basically telling me that this is life and you have to get through it and deal with it! Finally went to a naturopath for help, but that is scary because you don't really know if what they are doing is effective. Depending on what your doctor is familiar with they will recommend different options. My main issues were - night sweats and chills, heavy periods, miscarriages, fibroids, weight gain and backache - along with emotional ups/downs.

The things I have tried are these:
Fibroid surgery
Mirena - IUD, took it out after a year due to increased moodiness and backache
Novasure Ablation - didn't work because of the shape of my uterus
Bioidentical Hormone replacement - Estrogen and Progesterone creams
Acupunture
Yoga
Diet and exercise

Now my doc says I have a cyst on my right ovary that is growing rapidly, from 1 centimeter in February to 3.5 centimeters in September. She wants me to go on Birth Control for 2 months (to suppress my ovarian activity) and then have another ultrasound to see if it has receded - always something!!!

I haven't heard of Lexipro - off to research that one! I also have trouble sleeping on and off. Wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep. Stressed out about work and the family, generally grumpy and impatient. An all around joy to be around. :laugh:

My doctor is also not interested, always feel rushed and not great advice! I've had most of the symptoms mentioned here, especially the mood swings, irregular periods and sleepless nights. I recently went to the local health food store and talked to a very helpful lady there. She said about taking a vitamin/tablet for PMS as I'm not really ready for full on HRT. So with that and eating healthier I'll give it a go.

I never wanted to go on HRT, so I stayed away from Rx medication as I went into menopause. I did get good results for the mood swings and hot flashes with Black Cohosh and Soy Isoflavones. One warning I saw for the Black Cohosh is you should take a break from it about every 6 months or so.

The right BC pill can do wonders for keeping all sorts of hormonal madness at bay, and it reduces your chances of developing ovarian cancer. You have many choices.

I went to the health food store and purchased high-potency B-complex, 400 mg magnesium and a sub-lingual 500 mcg B-12. Taking these in combination helped a lot with the anxiety and depression, especially the B12. Make sure it is sub-lingual (goes under the tongue) as stomach acid destroys B12.

Another thing that helped was Iron. I had some testing done with an Osteopathic doctor that showed I was iron deficient. You might have your GP test your iron levels to see if you are anemic.

Overall find ways to simplify your life and relieve stress. If you're in a high-stress job, find a low-stress job. Cut lifestyle choices down until bills are easily manageable and you can have some savings. Try to refuse to participate in stress heaped on you by other people. Above all get plenty of sleep.

If you are still having depression or it worsens, as your GP for a referral to a Psychiatrist for the depressive symptoms. If he feels a referral to another specialist is in order, you may get one. Otherwise, maybe the Psychiatrist -- who is also an MD -- will prescribe something to help you with the depression.

It is very helpful to attempt to balance your hormones, but it is often not covered by insurance and can be costly. If you can't afford to go see a specialist on your own, you wouldn't be able to afford the practitioner, testing and hormones for balancing yours with bio-identical hormones either. You might check into the cost and save up for it though.