Stages of menopause symptoms and conditions

I have been on Loestrin 24 for 2 years!! And I am finally getting off... and so happy to find this site! I have had to be put on Topamax because my migraines became so bad, which helped my weight gain (that I attributed to my own depression that I thought was my own fault!) I didn't even realize bc could cause depression but it all makes sense! I came on here to find out if Loestrin has been the cause of my SEVERE HAIR LOSS over the past year and a half! When I started taking it, I was also going through a stressful situation and thought that was the cause, but have now realized that my life is back to normal that something else must be causing it. I tried to get my Dr. to take me off of Loestrin about a year ago due to the EXTREME nausea, dizziness, headaches and fatigue that it was causing and he decided that I should just be put on Topamax because I was just a Migraine sufferer! What a nightmare. I can't wait to switch tomorrow!!

When an ophthalmologist friend heard that my PCP prescribed 50 mg/day for PCV, he warned me to watch out for depression. I experienced the typical nightmares during my first weeks on this medication. I allso experienced such tiredness that just the thought of the effort it would take to move from one room to another was practically overwhelming. I asked my PCP for permission to reduce dosage to 25 mg and later to 12.5 mg (lowest available). I understand withdrawal from this drug, like HRT, must be reduced slowly (allow several weeks between changes in dosage). I continue to experience great bouts of sleepiness during the daytime and insomnia at night. Headaches, weight gain, pain shooting from ball of feet into all toes when I walk, giving me the sensation that all toes are on fire (like blisters), wanting to claw at my skin from a sensation of itching, and periodic blurred vision are on my list of complaints. I also thought I'd made it through hot flashes but now I find myself dealing with huge wringing wet series of flashes 24/7. I don't want to forget the shortness of breath that wakes me often during the night and the dizziness that periodically comes out of nowhere when I bend over to pick up something or move too quickly from a sitting position. I can't tell you the number of times I've brought these symptoms to the attention of my PCP and each time I'm given the impression that because I'm female in the final stages of menopause (10 years and counting), it's mostly all in my head. The only other items I knowingly place in my system are B-12 time release 1000/day due to removal of several inches of my ileum (the body's manufacturing source for B-12) which housed the remains of my shattered appendix and a periodic aspirin. Go figure!