I work for a doc who has known me for 15 years...I told him when all my symptoms seemed to hit the ceiling...he checked me out as I was afraid that I had MS or Parkinson's or a brain tumor. He did BW and gave me the once over and said that he felt it was menopause and depression most likely caused by the hormone issue. He said to think about Lexapro. He felt it had less sides but said nothing about the weight gain issue.Then I went to my ob/gyn and asked her her thoughts on all of this. She didn't want to run hormone test because she said...you are 51...your hormones are less than they have been in younger years...so...hormone tests sometimes dont show that because at any given time they change...suffice it to say that you have decreased hormones. Anyway..she said quite honestly that I have three options. Natural alternatives...try a variety of supplements and maybe hit the mark...start HRT to see if it takes the edge off and then we will know if its menopause for sure. Or try Effexor (her anti-dep of choice) she thinks the side effects are less than others and you dont get the weight gain like you can from other anti-dep. Wow...ain't life great when those are the alternative. So...I started with the natural options and really did not find it helped a great deal but I have not been doing it long...I am going to try the HR to see if I get some relief and if so then I know that its the menopause and then I can take some time to really research my natural options as I do not want to take the HR for any long timeframe. But you might want to ask the doc about whther Effexor may be a better option for you if weight gain is something you want to avoid. I just know that at this point in my life it is difficult enough to lose weight and stay healthy so who needs that kind of help. Let me know how you do!