SD and menopause?

In my personal opinion, using my own body as a "guinea-pig" as well as talking to over 50 people who have SD and ANYONE who will listen to me on menopause (men don't like to hear about it though, have you noticed?), alot of "things" start happening to us in our 40's/50's which can be, but are *not necessarily,* related to each other except by "things that happen to people in middle-age." All women go through some form of menopause (thanks for reminding me...mine is quite NASTY these days!!) but only a tiny, rare fraction go through SD.

I was just thinking about this "symptom-bundling" concept last week. *Most* SD patients are women (about 60%+) per statistics and "most* cases of SD hit in the 40's/50's age group. I can tell you for sure that SD and menopause are NOT correlated...otherwise men would not get it. Plenty of men have SD. What IS correlated is that alot of *Stuff Happens* with our bodies during these decades. We are not the youngsters we used to be. We're not prepared and these "things" catch us by surprise. We thought we were young and healthy still!! :))

Upon my SD-onset, I went through dramatic presbyopia (suddenly couldn't read a newspaper) within the same year. I went from 20-20 vision and never using glasses to "complete blur" within months. So, in 1991, I couldn't talk; and, in 1992, I couldn't see to read. And, with all that going on, I couldn't work either so alot of things happened at once...which they tend to do at our ages. It becomes confusing to sort it all out when your body is going through several dramatic changes (that you have no experience with) and you can't figure out which is which and what causes what. Bottom-line: 1) Young women (years away from menopause) and young men get SD, although it is more common in our age group. 2) No man ever goes through menopause (they have their own things to go through). 3) Just as many men, as women, go through presbyopia...even though my voice and eye-sight went at the same time. The "body-falling-apart" syndrome (common in the early 50's) makes you think that every symptom is tied together or causitive; but, actually, it's just our age. It's a "wake-up" call for us in our early 50's. I used to get "carded" at 45. Now I look my age and feel 100 some days. It's rude what happens, don't you think? Not enough time to adjust.

The important thing on your message though (to me) is to know that both menopause and Spasmodic Dysphonia can prompt depression. You are obviously working very hard with your doctors to figure out a cause or a treatment. Just make sure that if you are having symptoms of depression over all of this overwhelming stuff ~ pay attention to that. Menopause is a normal (but not easy!) phase and SD has hit alot of us; but, if you're going through many of these new symptoms at the same time, your mental health may be affected. Also, because it begins to get grey-and-drippy in your area soon, watch out for Seasonal Affective Disorder too. That form of depression began to hit me in the early 90's also, along with SD and losing my vision. It's really hard to handle so many confusing symptoms at once. Hope your doctor is trustworthy and helping you with any signs of depression.

Good luck. See ya in a month. We'll walk around the park and feel so much better (remember however, that I am still recovering from breaking my tailbone...another "50's" thing that has really slowed me down).

--Lynne