A lot of patients are asking us about how their hormones affect treatments.
At Lone Star Infusion, we have patients who are dealing with pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), premenopausal symptoms, and post-menopausal symptoms.
Although ketamine is still incredibly and impressively effective at treating 70% of patients with anxiety and depression, patients may still notice some good create negative thoughts and feelings at certain points during their cycle.
There are some easy ways to combat this and maintain more consistent results from the ketamine treatment.
For patients with PMS and PMDD, it’s important to keep a chart of your symptoms and make sure that they are cyclical and not related to other stressors occurring throughout the month.
For postmenopausal and perimenopausal women, if you think your mood symptoms are hormonal, it’s worth considering having your hormones checked and possibly bioidentical replacement.
Some simple at home treatments can include herbs and nutritional supplements that are easily available from grocery stores or Amazon.
For women who are experiencing depression and anxiety related to decreasing levels of estrogen, some common supplements that help are vitex or chasteberry, St. John’s wort, black cohosh, and evening primrose.
For women who are experiencing depression and anxiety related to elevated levels of estrogen some common supplements that help are: DIM and calcium D-glucarate. Some women have also found supplementing with over the counter progesterone creams during the 3-5 days they have mood effects can help them sleep and feel less deeply anxious. 5-htp is also commonly recommended during the 2 weeks before and during a period to relieve some of the symptoms.
In general, knowing when to expect a mood decline and preparing for it mentally can be helpful. Also increasing radical self-care and stress relieving techniques during this time can help with milder symptoms.
