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[bev567901]

Has anyone here been given Anti depressants (mine is sertraline/zoloft) diazepam & sleeping tablets?  I'm not sure if this is standard practice or if it was because I had been back & forth to the doctors all year & got to crisis point after getting no where feeling sicker & sicker. I have not even had a whiff of a hormone but they did do me a blood test that came back fine. I even told them I was going through the menopause & my first symptoms started with irregular periods. I am 51 years old this year. Bev

[Lucky Stone]

I started with HRT but am now on Sertraline having been diagnosed with GAD. I am also seeing a psychologist for CBT and hopefully, mindfulness in the New Year. I think my problems with anxiety/obsessive thoughts are long standing but have been exacerbated by the menopause but I suppose it would depend whether yours has kicked in just at meno or has just been made worse? Maybe you should see if there is a meno clinic near you that you could get to for a second opinion? There will also be more replies to this posting in due course so check back in a while and good luck n hugs from me xx

[bev567901]

To be honest I think I have had anxiety in the past & it was always made worse by each period every 28 days so it is sort of 50/50. I do have a phobia of being sick too which doesn't help as my main symptom is very like morning sickness only with quads!  It is nice to meet someone on sertraline though (in the nicest possible way.) Has it helped you? I had quite a few side effects but I am now a month in & up to 100mg. I guess I may have another month to go until the full effects kick in.  Thank you for your reply it means such a lot. B x

[CLKD]

Bev.: emitophobia is not as 'strange' as we sufferers think it is!   

Hormones certainly made me nauseous at times  which meant for over 25 years I didn't eat properly.

GPs do tend to hand out ADs when ladies are in menopause.  But this isn't always a bad thing because it allows us to see the wood for the trees.  5/6 months of ADs may well lift your spirits so that you are in a better place to talk with your GP about managing your menopause symptoms.  Blood tests are notoriously unreliable in this  - we know our bodies best!

Let the ADs do their work, maybe keep a mood diary?  Then in the Spring go back to your GP with a list of symptoms so that you can discuss these, perhaps make a double appt.?

[Lucky Stone]

I'm on 50mg a day and have been since the end of May but I don't think I have really started to feel the real benefit from them until about 6 weeks ago. I'm not saying I am never anxious now and I still get obsessive thoughts but overall I am a lot calmer and at least can stand still in shops etc.  I am now coming off the HRT but spoke to my doc a couple of weeks ago (informally) and she commented that I can have the Sertraline long term if I need it and that was reassurring as I feel I am less mad and more normal on them. I do have diazees in the drawer and they calm me down but I have not taken them in conjunction with the Sertraline. Looking back, I have been obsessive since I was a kid and having just read Ruby Wax's book (on her depression) it seems that she is a bit this way as well. I think it is all part and parcel of the same thing. Honestly, apart from feeling a bit spaced on the first day I went from half a one to a whole one, i have felt fine on them and have no side effects at all.

[bev567901]

Thank you ladies it's great to have that support. I thought everyone would be up in arms I was on these meds & not hormones or more natural products. I think over the last few days I have accepted that & like CLKD says it will put me in a better place to tackle the hormone issue, & well done for knowing the word emetophobia too! 
 I am glad your doctor says you can take the sertraline long term Lucky Stone I think it would be quite wrong to stop something that is clearly working, did you ever consider a higher dose? I think as long as we can go about our daily life that is fine, its when the anxiety stops us that we have to readdress. I don't think the anxiety ever goes away 100% but as long as it is far into the background that is fine with me. We all have our little excentricities every one of us B x

[Lucky Stone]

I will certainly ask for the dose to be raised if I need it although I am doing quite well with the psychology sessions. I agree bev, quality of life is what matters and I am not afraid to take pills if they help me.

[CLKD]

I've been vomit phobic since aged 3    the Consultant told Mum I would 'grow out of it'  (I'm 60 soon  )

[bev567901]

CLKD have you ever managed to quell your emetophobia? Or are you not that bad.  I know I have times when it has taken over & other times when it was in the background. I remember having a carrier bag with me at all times when I was a teenager. I have started that again. I will never eat certain risky foods & going abroad was a bit tricky. I have been through pregnancy though & didn't let it stop me having kids. I have only ever got drunk once.  I used to be part of an internet group many yrs ago in the 90's when things got really bad so I know I could be a lot worse. I dread the sickness bugs from school & when my eldest daughter was training to be a nurse bringing sick germs home. I won't travel by public transport as I am not in control basically. Do you think it is a control issue?   In the 90's  I went to see a hypnotherapist, I wasn't even sure if it was a con. After a few sessions we got to the crux right at the end of my hrs appt. I was in my bedroom under eaves cupboard, I must have been under 5 as I knew which house it was & I had a box of marzipan fruits. I knew they must have made me very sick & I got told off. It was a memory I had forgotten, it wasn't one of those family stories but I knew it was real. Sadly  I was too scared to go back & deal with what happened so I didn't go through the details & process them with him it was just too much at the time. I wish I had now.  This is the worst I have been since the 90's, I know the hormones have started it off again big time but I know most of it is me. If my husband feels nausea he just shrugs it off but I spiral down this huge panic/anxiety road. I just want it back in the background again not with me every second of the day. I even went veggie for a number of years to cut down on food poisoning. I am 5 foot 7 & 9 stone, always been slimmer in the past probably because I don't over eat just in case. I do however eat regular meals as I would hate hunger to make me feel sickly. Sorry for the long post I just wanted to explain the phobia. Its funny as I am a clean freak but I have 5 dogs (its my job) so I can't be that clean its impossible to keep things spotless doing what I do.  I'm just not sure if I should do hypnotheraphy again or just hope the meds & hormones work/go away a bit. B x

[CLKD]

Bev:  I will fish out my thread on phobia so that we can continue there ......... but I hear and feel every word.

Funnily enough I could deal with my pets if they needed clearing up after  ....... and am not the tidiest person around the house, I bite my nails - still, even though Dad showed me germs under the microscope    ,..........

[bev567901]

Ok thanks, if you put it here will that be ok as I'm not so good at finding stuff once I have posted something to someone. B x

[CLKD]

I bumped the appropriate thread Bev so it will show on your 'unread' posts 

[Ju Ju]

I was told that phobias are actually a reflection of a fear of death. There is no logic in phobic behaviour. Your phobia has a profound affect to your quality of life. If you live want to see a hypnotherapist and live in the London area, I know of one who has had success in this area. Best wishes, Ju Ju

[bev567901]

CLKD I can't see the thread, I am stupid!!

Ju Ju  Sadly I am in rural Cheshire so a long way from the BIG City. You just have to find the right one though, I may try & search for the one I saw over 15 yrs ago but might need Cagney & Lacey to help. B x

[CLKD]

'Fear of death'    .......... might be worth expanding this in our emitophobe thread?