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[sharon1958]

Another sufferer here  :(Mine usually happen during the night - not every night but at the moment they're happening quite often. It's a horrible feeling but I try telling myself that it will pass which it does after about 10 minutes. I also get an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach and can't think of food at the time yet after it passes I feel quite hungry! For what it's worth I find that the beta blocker Propranolol helps calm things down along with Kalms tablets and Bach Rescue Night spray! I tell myself whilst it might be very unpleasant at the time it's not life threatening etc. I have in the past worn a heart monitor when I thought it might be heart related and everything was fine. Unfortunately it's just another meno symptom which hopefully will ease off at some point.
I came off HRT 4 months ago after 7 years and want to try and manage without it if I can. Sometimes I feel that I'm doing OK - other times I feel like I need to go back on it. The flushes are just about copable if not embarrassing at times but like someone else said preferable to these horrible palpitations.
It's reassuring knowing we're not alone and this forum is a great support.
Hope things calm down soon for all of us currently going through this.

Sharon

[PoF]

thanks ladies for all this.   It does reassure me.  It really feels to me like a 'surge' - I can literally tell when it starts, and feel it peak, and climax and then subside.  I also get a sick feeling in the stomach for a little bit too.  I suspect adrenaline surges can make one feel a bit sick - I wouldn't be surprised if adrenaline was involved in the act of vomiting (that makes sense to me since I feel a little bit like throwing up when a surge happens, but I never have, just felt like it a bit).

What is so frightening is that they strike out of the blue.   I was watching the weather forecast last week, and ooooooohhhhhhhhhh, another surge and extreme panic for a few moments.

And of course to state the obvious, everyone who has replied to this thread recovers to tell the tale.   It's just hard to imagine how it can be so scary when you are feeling completely fine.   It's like a cloud suddenly coming over the bright sunshine - everything goes dark and grey for a few moments and then suddenly you're left wondering 'what on earth was that?!'  And also, mine too tend to be at night, which again makes them extra scary as it's just dark!

[Glass.half.full]

Hi POF,

These symptoms were the main reason for me going on HRT in the first place.  I too felt I was stuck in a cycle of panicking about having a palpitation attack.  During one attack I called my friend who actually managed to calm me down so it seemed to me that what was happening was that I would get lots of bumps and skipped beats and this would set me off I to a panic attack which made my heart race like mad. 

My Gp was brilliant, an older lady who had already been through it all herself and had lots of experience treating ladies going through peri and menopause.  I've been on HRT now for 7 months and apart from the odd skipped beat I don't seem to be bothered by them any more.  I would say you probably need to up your HRT dose. I think my HRT acts like a soothing balm....it actually seems to sooth me and makes me feel human again.

[lisabright]

Hi

Im new to this Forum and after reading the other posts regarding anxiety, I am so glad that I am not going mad.  I have lots of anxiety and the slightest thing will make me angry.  If I get a pain or an ache, I automatically think the worst. I get the odd hot flush in bed and my periods are still fairly regular.  I have spoken to my GP about this and I think maybe I need to go back to him because I really need something to help me.  I'm 52 so must be perimenopausal.  Any feedback would be most welcome.

[Glass.half.full]

Lisabright, this website will save your sanity as it has done mine on many occasions  . The ladies on here are a mine of fantastic information and advice.  No question us ever too silly and you will definitely find test you aren't alone with your symptoms.  Happy reading xx

[PoF]

yep - i'm SURE that if you're having your first one of these horrible surges, your body WILL react with blind panic, which only fuels the whole merry-go-round and hey presto, you're momentarily crazy woman who wants to dial 999!!!

I have to say the last bad attack I had, I totally told myself about all the replies to this thread, and said 'it's only adrenaline' and paced around for a while, but tried to really 'ride the wave' of it and just feel it happen, but not go through the whole 'oh my goodness what is this, what is happening ..... etc etc' and it DID help in that the panic wave hit me, climaxed and then just kind of went away and I managed a lot better.

Silly as it sounds, I find also that if I get a hand held fan and fan myself while it happens, it gives me something to do and help pass the seconds until it subsides.   I'm not actually hot, but the act of moving the hand rather vigorously helps to displace the fear a bit at least.

[goldgalaxy]

I have had palpitations, generalised anxiety and panic attacks for years on and off.  I have been on AD's and beta blockers in the past but wanted to help myself and not rely on medication. My gp referred me for counselling, but in the meantime I scoured my library for books to help me understand what was happening when I got panicky.  The books I read and which helped immensely were:
Self Help For Your Nerves by Dr Claire Weekes.  This book was written in 1962 so is very dated, but it explains exactly what happens to your body, your brain and your nerves when you suffer from anxiety. It is for people who have had or having a nervous breakdown, but is still helpful for anyone suffering with physical symptoms of anxiety/panic.
Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway by Susan Jeffers - helps with self-confidence and motivation (if you need it)
Control Stress, Book & CD - Paul McKenna - The CD was a life-saver, took some getting used to and may not be for everyone, but really helps with relaxation and calming the mind.
I don't think the menopause alone causes anxiety, I think it can be a build up over many years, and unless you learn how to control it without medication it be a life-long burden.
Finally I cut out caffeine and only drink decaf drinks now, and it is this final change which has practically stopped my palpitations. So I would advise anyone with stress/anxiety/palpitations to cut this out as it has a huge effect on our heart/nervous system.
Hope at least one bit of the above helps anyone suffering from generalised anxiety, as it's not pleasant to live with.

[BrightLight]

I am sorry you are experiencing these, but also it's good to read, as I feel very very similar.  I am new here and found out last week I am menopausal and I had no idea and my head is a mess.

For the last 2 years my anxiety is out of control, it might have been an issue in any case as some major life changes happened, but unlike the past I couldn't seem to come out of it. 

Now that I know what is happening on top of all that, I wonder if I will ever feel in control again.  For me, the feeling that the anxiety is almost random and comes out of nowhere can really mess with your head - I am realising that without knowing I was going into menopause I have been analysing myself and my entire life for 2 long years trying to 'pull myself together'.  Now I need to reframe that and come to terms with it as 'symptoms' and seperate these from real life stress etc.

I also cannot shake the fear that something is wrong with me and I am going to fall apart and drop dead! Extreme I know, but that's actually how I feel deep down, it's awful to loose confidence this way.  I am 44.

[PoF]

Bright Light - oh yes me too.  I feel the 'me' part of me is going down the plug hole.  Used to be so confident, professionally confident, socially confident.   And just like you, I feel so uneasy about everything - every single little tiny twinge and I get terrified about health issues, it worries me so so much which is completely silly and yet I cannot help it. Just wish I could meet you all in person and have a good old moan!  Had a few good weeks, now back to the 'I can't cope' thing again.

But it is true, we're all feeling similar, coming to similar packed conclusions, so it shows we are 'normal' and how we feel is probably what anyone in our position would feel.  THe fluttery heart in the night seems to be a sleep-related thing mostly. 

[nelliedee]

Thank you so much for this thread as I have started having these dreadful surges and and this has helped my confidence so much. I have been contacting gp's, every 2 days to tell them something catastrophic is happening to me !!!  I shall now try and ride them thru and talk myself out of the complete and utter doom they are reducing me to. I have had panic attacks before but this is off the scale, floors me and basically makes me shake inside and out
Thank you x

[warwick01]

Hi - this has been my a nightmare for me. I wake in the middle of the night with these surges, always feels like I'm going to scream out loud, its scary. I always get this feeling like a red hot poker going through my stomach, heart beating...ect.

During the day I get irrational anxiety 'what if thoughts' I honestly feel Im loosing my mind at times. I am 56 and in the process of reviewing my HRT to find some form of quality of life.

Why does nobody ever tell us there is more to menopause that hot flushes/night sweats.

W

[dazned]

I have had all the same symptoms this past week . Absolute hell ,there is no terminal illness that I haven't convince myself I have ! It's excruciating! I kept thinking how can hormones make you feel this ill. Had heart palpitations,short of breath,shaking inside and out,and feeling so low,constant nausea,etc . Thankfully things are starting to settle down with the help of a few diazepam, just still nervous incase it comes back, which I know doesn't help
Just got to keep thinking it will end sometime just don't when. At least I now know it's not just me ,as you say when doctors only seem to recognize hot sweats or flushes as menopause,and that's the one thing I don't have !  Onwards and upwards ladies

[Scampi18]

Hi to you all

I don't seem to be able to take hrt, so my gp put me on sertraline because I had hit rock bottom, the panic and anxiety palpatations sweating depressed sobbing, I also developed thyroid problems supposedly, I take 75 mg levothyroxine and 100 mg sertraline and I still get palpatations and sweating profusely, my gyni said there was nothing more to try ,I am sure that can't be right, I also have five fibroids, have asked for a hysterectomy but keep getting told no, at the end of the day this is my body even if it is in terrible condition at the moment.

I don't even look like me anymore, I have aged so much, I am socially withdrawn, and now have no job.

Does anyone have any joy with vitamins and things, I would like my life back.   

[PoF]

I am still struggling on, and returned to this site today.  I'm sorry about your issues.  I felt I was making progress quite a bit as I am seeing a Cognitive Behaviour therapist. For me the key to NOT getting really out of control seems to be the fact that I start to THINK a lot of thoughts once I feel the adrenalin. And it's those thoughts that sustain the panic and fuel it.

I tried to write down every single 'silly' or 'catastrophic thought' in my head.   I made a list of 41 thoughts!  For many of them, I realised they really are totally unnecessary.   That has helped me a lot.  I am trying just not to let that list of thoughts roll out in the same way it always does.   So now I focus only on the feeling, without supplying the thoughts.   That has been hard to do, but the list helped and now I think I can separate thoughts from the feelings  .   So I just let the feelings come and go.

I do not claim this is a solution at all, but it has made things calmer.  Without the catastrophic thoughts, the feeling of panic is just a feeling and it goes away after 10 mins.   That's all it does - comes, then goes away.

[maggie101]

Hi ladies,
I too have struggled with this problem. My surges come on waking at about half 7 to 8 o'clock and have been driving me mad as I'm 60 and have always loved a lie in when possible.
I believe this to be connected to the adrenals as they take over hormone production after menopause. I found drinking a full glad of salted ( Himalayan) water ( I know yuk) on waking really helped. Try  googling salted water and have a look. Hope it's gone by now as I know this is an old post, and its a horrible symptom. X