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[mags]

Please can someone help me-I am suffering badly at the moment with dreadful anxiety and depression and can.t seem to get out of this black hole that I seem to have got into-I am post meno but still having panicky feelings on waking, feelings of absolute dread and terror, hot flushes with adrenaline surges and crippling anxiety,I have posted about it before on another thread so forgive me for repeating myself. I tried mirtazapine but it just knocked me out too much and am now on my third week of sertraline. but still not feeling better- I have also felt very sick and agitated for all the time I have been on the medication which is just awful-I don't want to go out because I am so low and tend to stay in bed-some days I can't even get downstairs. My GP has told me to persevere with the ad but I don't know how much more of this I can take as  my symptoms have been on and off for the last few years but almost constant for the last year- I tried HRT but had to stop due to heavy bleeding, I also stopped Prozac at the same time as it hadn't worked so maybe I am still in  withdrawal. Any advice from you lovely ladies would be very welcome and sorry for such a moaning and long winded post-Love Magsxx

[littleminnie]

Hi Mags, I felt exactly the same as you a couple of years ago so I know how you feel.  I was post meno at the time too.
Did you suffer from anxiety/depression before this meno madness started? Also which HRT were you on?

[Hurdity]

Hi mags - sorry to hear you are feeling rough - don't apologise!

I am sure HRT would help if you persevere unless as littleminnie suggests you might have suffered from anxiety before menopause, that was not hormonally related ( eg monthly cycle etc). How long were you on HRT for?

Have you had other tests eg thyroid?

Yes could be still suffering from withdrawal from Prozac - I understand this can happen - and depends on how long you took it for and how long ago you stopped.

Theoretically once a couple of years post-meno, as our hormones become stable so should our moods ie the sudden surges due to hormonal fluctuations, should disappear.

Hurdity x

[Kathleen]

Hello Mags.
Hugs, hugs and more hugs to you. I  know exactly how you feel and am in a similar situation myself. I am also post meno and haven't had a period for three years. After six months of constant anxiety and panicky feelings I tried Climesse HRT and it did take away the worst of the panic after about two weeks, unfortunately PMT took its place and I came off it almost two months ago. I'm now feeling yuk again but not as severe as before. When I was prescribed HRT I was also given Beta Blockers for the anxiety attacks and the AD Venlafaxine both of which I still take.
I was in a pretty bad way when all this was happening and I thought I was having a breakdown, I also talked of suicide as I just didn't think I could take much more, so I do know how tough this thing can be. The good news is that things have improved since then, the ADs are helping and this has given me the strength to start therapy next week. 
Sorry I can't be of more help but your post rang a lot of bells and as I am no longer in that dark place it proves it is possible to feel better.
Other women I know say the edgeiness does fade and I see no reason to disbelieve them.
Take care and keep posting.
K.

[bev567901]

Hi Mags I am on my fifth week of Sertraline. I am peri & only started meno in February but got in a big black hole by September that I am still digging out of. I started the sertraline on 20 sept, I still have really bad side affects from it mainly gastro upset & nausea. Also headaches, sweating, nightmares, insomnia, anxiety. Everything I have read says to persevere with it & things will improve it is slow acting. I am on 100mg I take it in the morning but my doc gave me diazepam & sleeping tablets to help then the CBT team upped the diazepam. I think benzos are commonly prescribed with it as it is such a horrible drug when you start.  I write a journal every day to remind myself of what is happening & see if there are any patterns. I still want HRT too & I am trying with the help of MM to arm myself with the correct info & decide which one would be best for me.
Please feel free to message me with any sertraline enquires to put your mind at rest, I try not to look on the net as it is constant horror stories. I am 2 weeks ahead of  you so may be able to offer some hope. I am not going out at the moment. I remember staying in bed, not eating with the family etc but have gradually returned to a bit of normality. I have taken up knitting very badly after 30 yrs of not doing it just to keep my mind & hands busy. I am 50 & have two young children & sometimes I just want to be on my own. It has made me very strange in some respects & given me some strange thoughts. Bev x

[mags]

Hi Bev and thankyou sooo much for your wonderful reply-It's comforting to know that we are on the same medication and suffering the same symptoms- I too can't eat with the family and was in a panic about the nausea lasting for so long- the mention of diazepam also put my mind at rest as I too have been prescribed it but was paranoid about getting addicted-even after the GP had said it was ok to have it!  I am a lot older than you-57 and have four grown up children and a 2 yr old grandson -I can't knit but do artwork and sell my designs to greetings card publishers. would love to keep in touch  on the sertraline progress!  My husband constantly tells me off for reading medication forums so am going to stop doing that-as you say they are all horror stories. Your post has really given me hope, so many thanks again-Magsxx

[CLKD]

My sympathies!     if the side effects are too bad then talk to your GP to see what else is available.  It's bad enough feeling bad without medication adding to the symptoms     ......... nibbling dry biscuits, dried fruits and nuts, crackers can help keep the nausea at bay as can ginger or Rescue Remedy. 

How long were you on Prozac?

[mags]

To Hurdity, Littleminnie, Kathleen and clkd-thankyou for your kind reassurances- - to answer your questions-Ialways have been an anxious person but never this bad,and I suffered PND after two of my babies, but have never had clinical depression. I was tested for thyroid but that was  ok. I was on femoston conti HRT  for five months but had to stop due to heavy bleeding and it was giving me constant anxiety and depression- I had been on Prozac for five years so maybe it could be causing withdrawal. Hoping that you all continue to improve and many hugs

[bev567901]

Mags I have had bad anxiety too in the 90's but not clinical depression it was due to circumstance. This is so much different isn't it. Please do keep in touch re your sertraline & don't worry about the diazepam too much. So many people do give up taking it but I do believe with time it will work. All those people with scare stories on the net are the ones having a hard time, the ones it has worked for are out having a great life enjoying themselves. Its a pretty well used AD in the US(zoloft) so there is a lot of stuff out there which is a good/bad thing. Keep up with your art work or whatever you want to do really don't feely guilty about the stuff you aren't doing your brain is having some time off to rest. I work from home too but because it involves people coming here I just cannot do it at the mo. Keep me up to date with how you are with the sertraline either here or via a msg. Its still early days yet so take each day as it comes. Bev x

[mags]

Hi Bev- I will certainly keep in touch -being fairly new to the forum am not sure how to message you-my meno brain! Iknow what you mean about the anxiety being different to situational stuff- this is just agony and the depression too. Thanks so much for your great encouragement and good luck with the knitting- love Magsx

[bev567901]

There is a little thing at the top of the page called my messages to do it privately or just do it here maybe someone else might benefit if they are about to go on sertraline. Ha ha on the knitting I just cast on & had no idea what I was making. I decided it would be a blanket & it had millions of dropped stitches. I decided to give it to the dogs & hoped they would *****  on it as it represented hell, then my little boy said could he have it as a snuggler when it was finished as it smelt of me. So now I am on number two snuggler for my little girl so I don't feel so manic when knitting now it represents something nice.  Have a good day. B x

[CLKD]

Clinical depression is due to circumstances
Organic depression is when the brain doesn't get 'support' and lacks serotonin, dopermine etc..  - I have suffered both <sigh>

I used to make a list in the evening so that I could tick off and see what I had achieved the next evening 

[mags]

Thanks for thatCLKDX

[Dyan]

Dear Mags,
  I know exactly how you are feeling having been there myself and going through dreadful anxiety now.
I take Prozac for my OCD and Mirtazapine for the anxiety.
The Mirtazapine worked really well for me until recently.
I am seeing my psychiatrist on Friday this wk to talk things over as I'm not sure how much of this is meno related or OCD.
I suffered extreme anxiety and depression as a child through to adulthood.
9 years ago I went to the priory as I had a breakdown and was diagnosed with OCD.
I had a brilliant psychiatrist who prescribed the right medication- Prozac- and within a year I was well.
Since meno has started 7 years now I've had meno blips where my OCD rears it's ugly head especially if it is anxiety and then the depression creeps in.

I really feel for you as I know 100% what it's like.
Thinking of you.
Dyan x

[mags]

Hi Dyan and so sorry to hear you too are suffering at the moment- I think we have talked before about the mirtazapine as I tried it and you were feeling good on it- sorry that it isn't working as well for you-I stuck with it for eight weeks but was so dizzy and spacey all the time and it did nothing for my anxiety-my GP explained that it is mainly for sleep and appetite and she felt that the sertraline would target the anxiety better. This anxiety just sucks though doesn't it-I am really struggling with it at the mo and know how awful you must feel too- I hope that you have some luck with the psychiatrist and thank you so much for your kind words-if only someone could just wave a  magic wand and make us all feel better! Thinking of you too-great big hugs-Magsxx