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[lisabright]

Hi

Im new to this forum.  I am 52, perimenopausal and I am getting very anxious.  I get angry very quickly and that is very difficult for my loved ones.  I am sleeping very badly and am now using sleeping tablets to help me sleep.  I am also getting the odd hot flush but my periods are fairly regular. Sorry if I am whinging but Im feeling really overwhelmed about this.  I am so irrational that if I get the tiniest ache or pain, I think the worst.

With regard to HRT, If you take it and then stop a few years later, does that mean a delayed menopause and you have to go through the whole thing anyway. I would love some feedback. 

On a positive note, I am still exercising, working away and getting on with my life, it just the hidden anxieties which are so frightening.


 

[renee]

Hi Lisabright,

Sorry to hear your getting anxiety....Iv had it a long time and it can certainly cripple your thought process.

I too suffer from insomnia when my anxiety is really bad, along with starting the menopause at 45!!

Iv tried a few different meds for my anxiety and they all gave me restless legs so Iv had to stop taking them, I do have a little stash of diazepam 2mg that I got from my doc and I take one when Im bad with it.

Have you tried anything for your anxiety? X

[CLKD]

   have a browse of the menus left of screen
Make an appt with your Practice Nurse for a 'well woman' check and a chat
See how the Surgery deals with menopause problems
We do tend to worry more about aches and pains  and anxiety seems to come with the territory!

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and Welcome to MM lisabright
You are experiencing very typical peri menopause symptoms.
Do read up all the info under the headings to the left of this screen and get really clued up.
If you do find you need HRT (and HRt may be better to use than sleeping pills) then don't worry about coming off it - HRT doesn't delay the menopause as such but menopause symptoms can last many years and if HRT can help maintain a good quality of life, especially when you still have to work, then it is worth it.  Dg x

[Joyce]

I've been getting more & more anxiety over last 9 months. Disturbed sleep, nausea, knots in stomach resulted in me visiting GP today. Been given Citalopram to see if that helps.

I'm trying to wean myself off HRT.

[GypsyRoseLee]

Welcome Lisabright

I am 44 and peri menopausal. One of my worst symptoms is the random anxiety that arrives from nowhere and is caused by nothing. Just this sudden panic filled sense of Doom for no reason. It comes and goes. I tried taking Sertraline which just made me much worse. Then I spent 7 months of amitriptyline which eventually got rid of the anxiety and made me sleep like a log, but I felt like I was living in a woolly dream.

I stopped the amitriptyline 4 months ago but have been left with random insomnia and occasional bouts of high anxiety and periods of very low mood.

I am seeing my GP tomorrow about HRT. I have been doing a lot of reading latterly, and there is real concern that too many women, presenting at their GPs with anxiety and depression in their 40s and 50s are being fobbed off with anti depressants, when hormone therapy would be far more sensible and beneficial to them.

3 GPs told me I needed anti depressants and refused to consider peri menopause could be causing my symptoms despite my history of PMS and PND. Finally saw a lovely gynaecologist who immediately reassured me I wasn't going mad, and that my anxiety was caused by hormone issues and that I needed oestrogen.

[Mrs January]

Hi Lisa bright

One day at a time honey. it is very hard to deal with all this turbulence of hormones etc.......Be kind to yourself and others will be along with more help and advice

Mrs January xx

[PoF]

GYpsyRose I entirely AGREE with you.   I am not a doctor, but someone with premature menopause and I have done a lot of research and thinking about this issue.  I've been battling random anxiety - it's not characteristic for me normally - and it's been plaguing me more and more since 7 years ago.   When I look back, I really DO believe it's menopausal and hormone related.  It's never been too bad until very recently, when I've had some real surges of adrenalin and panic etc .  ANyway, after a lot of thought and discussions with various people I think my HRT may well need adjusting and I think I may be low on oestrogen.   If you look on some websites, panic and anxiety often crop up as menopausal symptoms, often associated with vasomotor symptoms.  ANd because women don't immediately know what's going on, they get even more panicked and upset and so the cycle goes round and round and we feel worse and worse.   ANd I agree that doctors will often see just the 'panic' part, and think of antidepressants, rather than looking at the whole context and the whole woman, and see that in some ways it's a very 'physical' change in our bodies that is causing this, and we are not 'crazy' and 'weak'.

ANd lots of women on this forum talk of anxiety which normally they'd never experienced, which was new for them, and is now a real challenge.

ANyway, some anti depressants can worsen anxiety.  And I wonder, if anxiety is hormone related, surely taking an antidepressant won't necessarily stop the panic, since the hormones that are causing it are not tackled.  It's like putting a small sticking plaster over a massive wound - it might mask it for a bit, but the problem is still there under the surface.

[CLKD]

Anxiety is NEVER caused by nothing!  There is always a reason! low blood sugar, fear, hormones …… the cause may not be obvious and the solution may not be easy but there is always a reason!

For me it is instant, I don't need to think about anything worrying but when my gut turns 

[Tabbycat]

I am 52, perimenopausal and I am getting very anxious.  I get angry very quickly and that is very difficult for my loved ones. 

Oh, I know that feeling! Angry and scared - not a good combination.

Have you tried Melatonin for sleeping? It doesn't work for everyone but it's much better than sleeping pills.

[Joyce]

Can I ask? I've been referred for CBT for anxiety. Most of my anxiety just happens, so probably hormonal. I do get more anxious in some situations. How will CBT help if it's mainly hormonal? I've no control over my hormones.

[Dancinggirl]

I practise Mindful Meditation which is a form of CBT. After coming very close to a complete breakdown I had a year of counselling with CBT and it was really helpful.  CBT can help one deal with the anxiety. Hormones are just one aspect of the anxiety and I think it's well worth trying CBT as it can help many areas of your life.  DG x

[Hurdity]

Cubagirl - I have no experience of CBT but as far as I understand it should help you cope with the feelings you get which are the result of hormones.

There was a study (reported on here) into women who had had breast cancer and couldn't take HRT, and CBT did help with their menopausal symptoms of flushes particularly ( as I recall). I understand it worked by helping to give women strategies or thoughts to work through the flushes - but of course the underlying hormonal changes and deficiencies were still present.

Hurdity  x

[CLKD]

CBT never helped my phobia as it was instigated when I was a few hours old  and how it could help someone suffering hormonal upset I can't understand ……..

Once the anxiety hits someone can be taught deep breathing and to focus their mind on positive thinking    it's getting over the physicality …….

[Tabbycat]

CBT helps you deal with the effects of anxiety - it looks at anxiety triggers and helps you change the way you deal with them. It doesn't look at the causes so it won't help with any underlying psychological issues. However, if your anxiety is hormonal, that's not a problem.

I had five sessions - not really enough but it was all I could manage at the time with work commitments. I found it helped a bit, and just having a "tool" was empowering in itself. Like every kind of therapy, it won't work for everyone but giving it a go won't do you any harm.