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[Victhechick]

Hi all. I'm going insane! For the last 5 days I've been bursting into tears, tense,  anxious, feeling like I have restless legs throughout my body (I know that sounds odd but it's the easiest description as "I itch all over the inside of my body" sounds really mad ), sensation of 'fight or flight', feeling like every nerve is jangling. I spoke on the phone to my gp and she's put me on 2mg of valium 4 times a day just to help me function as I could barely speak to her for uncontrolled sobbing for no apparent reason!. I'm 47 and 6 years post hysterectomy but i retained my ovaries. Does this sound like menopause or am I going mad? Any help much appreciated. Thank you, Vicky

[babyjane]

Hi Vicky, I am so glad you have found this forum, welcome.

It certainly sounds like hormonal upheaval to me.  When I had my hysterectomy (with ovaries retained) about a million years ago (21 years actually  ) I was advised that despite still having my ovaries I could experience hormonal upheaval quite early on.

Fortunately I did not experience a reaction such as you describe, it sounds as though you have been unlucky and need proper medical help.  I am reluctant to endorse the use of valium at the level you have been prescribed but I am not medically trained so will not comment further on that.

You will get a lot of help and support from other ladies who have a lot more knowledge and experience of all things hormonal than I do but 

[coldethyl]

When I first presented at my GP in 2014 he gave me Valium to take for one weekend to just calm me down then I had to see him face to face to sort a plan out so hopefully you can get to see your GP next week as long tern use of Valium is not to be recommended. It maybe be that a course if betablockers would help with the adrenaline feelings that you are  experiencing along with either anti depressants or HRT or both if you have other symptoms such as flushes indicative of this being hormonal.

Take the meds, try and relax ( I know easier said than done but a short walk after you've taken one is good ) and make an appointment to discuss things,

[Victhechick]

Thank you 😊 I'm planning on trying to see my gp early next week. I'm usually so level headed and rational! I have a lovely simple life with the most amazing hubby so not a depression or stress sufferer. Just need to reassure myself that I'm normal as I feel far from it right now and it feels like it's been so sudden. So glad I found this site as can see me coming here often. I'll update once I've seen the doc but would love to hear from anyone who's had similar symptoms 

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Victhechick and welcome to MM
If you have had a hyster then I'd really get the oestrogen levels checked - it really sounds as though you are needing some Oestrogen.  You are too young to be oestrogen deficient - ADs and particularly Valium are not perhaps the best way forward.  Ask for oestrogen patches or Oestrogel and see if this helps.  Dg x

[Hurdity]

Hi Victhechick

 

I agree with Dancinggirl - sounds like peri-menopause to me. Unfortunately without your uterus it is so hard to tell -but in some women the removal of uterus can lead to early menopause. The hormonal fluctuations just before peri-menopause and in early peri can become extreme and give rise to your symptoms, and it could well be the oestrogen crash making you feel like this.

If you are not, as you say a depression or stress sufferer then it sounds hormonal and Valium is most definitely not the way forward - although I can see perhaps why it was prescribed for an emergency. I would want to stop this asap as it is highly addictive as coldethyl says, and the body reacts to its withdrawal - there is a thread about this elsewhere at the moment. Please go to the home page of the forum and do a search for diazepam, or benzos.

The NICE Guidelines say that women should not be prescribed ADs or similar for hormonal/menopausal symptoms so please don't take them longer than say this w/e and get to the doc on Monday. They will probably ask for blood tests but you don't want to be on Valium all the time until you get bloods and wait for the results, so see if you can ask for something else to tide you over or see how you feel without the again.

Hurdity x

[Victhechick]

Thank you 😊 I'm not happy about being on valium at all but had to something to get some control back. Couldn't go on constantly bursting into floods of tears, feeling panicky and like my whole body itches inside, unsettled, palpitations, restless legs and feet, angry and irritated for absolutely no reason ..... horrid!! Will be calling my gp first thing on Monday to get in asap. Thank you for making me feel a bit more normal just because I don't feel quite like I'm just losing the plot now 😊

[Hurdity]

Make sure you say it is an emergency appointment ie you want to be seen on the day - not one for a couple of weeks - as that would mean taking the emergency meds ie valium for longer than is advisable I believe. Let us know how you get on and read up as much as you can about menopause and oestrogen!

Hurdity x

[Mary G]

Victhechick, welcome to MM.  I just wanted to say I agree with the others and strongly urge you to start taking HRT asap because you are far too young to be oestrogen deficient.  Luckily you can take oestrogen only and will not have to suffer the ill-effects of progesterone which is a positive.  I would highly recommend the Oestrogel because it is flexible and you can split/adjust the dose to suit your needs - I would steer well clear of oral HRT because it can cause digestive problems.

You should not have been given valium in preference to HRT, this is completely wrong and the guidelines have been changed to reflect this fact.  HRT is supposed to be the first option to treat the menopause now so you might want to mention this to your GP.  Also, don't forget to print off and take the new NICE guidelines with you to the appointment. 

Good luck!

[clare663]

Mary G can you explain "too young to be oestrogen deficient but needing to take oestrogen". Im still trying to get a hold of all these hormonal changes etc and dont understand what you mean x

[Hurdity]

Also to add that because you have had a hysterectomy you won't know when you actually become menopausal ie your ovaries pack up. You may not yet be oestrogen deficient - but say if your ovaries packed up now then you would need oestrogen at least until the average age of menopause as Stellajane says. The fact that your FSH measured low sounds like your ovaries are still working so may not be on the blink just yet - but a low dose oestrogen may be worth trying and certainly preferable to valium.

Hurdity x

Edit - sorry I muddle you up with another poster - you haven't had any blood tests have you? Ignore what I said about FSH!

[Tempest]

Hi, Vic. I'm fairly new here and we are the same age! I had my hysterectomy aged 36 and was ok until I was 43, and then things started just as you describe. I went 3 whole years and as I didn't have any periods to gauge by, my then GP wouldn't listen that my symptoms were peri menopause as they said I was still too young! Utter nonsense, as I now know that us ladies who have hysterectomies pre menopause do start the menopause a few years after our hysterectomies generally. Apparently, I was 'lucky to get 7 years out of my ovaries' according to my Consultant.

Please, please don't be fobbed off by your GP as I was mine! I was told it was just anxiety. I found it wasn't after needing an oopherectomy just after I'd turned 46 and had it confirmed that my symptoms were very much perimenopausal prior to the surgery. Surgical menopause for me is 'same, but different' - it's hard to explain, but the symptoms now are much more intense but very similar to what I had in peri.

I very, very strongly urge you to find out if there is a menopause clinic near you. It was only after I self referred to the one near me that things have started moving and I've only just started HRT a year after my surgery. I don't want ANY lady to have to suffer on as I did, you don't need to. There is help, and an HRT that is right for you and you really mustn't be afraid like I was, or  be intimidated by your GP into taking valium (yes, I got that too. Doesn't do a thing except for a couple of hours of feeling slightly calmer, but it's not a solution as you can only take it as a short course of 14 days maximum, or occasional use).

I'm now having to  think long term about protecting my bones, heart and staving off the dreaded vaginal atrophy. If you can start HRT now, you will be in a good position to live a long happy life with good bone health and lower cardiovascular disease risk. I know now is the time when you feel so vulnerable because your mood can be all over the place and anxiety crippling, but from one who has walked in your shoes I very much advise you to gather courage and do this for yourself.

And of course, sending you hugs!

[Victhechick]

Thank you all girls the immediate help and support! My update is that I've seen my new gp (was mud changing surgeries when peri hit  ) I only took the valium for about 6 days at the lowest possible dose and my new gp totally agrees that my self  diagnosis of peri menopause is correct. Due to a family history of breast cancer we've agreed for me not to start hrt immediately but it is there as an option should I need it further down the line. In the meantime I started taking a herbal product called 'Womankind' by a brand called 'Pukka' (contains Red Clover and Motherwort ... interested if anyone else is taking this) and so far it's helped hugely. The anxiety has pretty much gone, I'm less stressed. I do still burst into tears randomly and have told my family that I'll just tell them when I feel stressed so they can back off  I'm about to start taking Omega 3,6,9 for joint pain and breast pain that have coincided with the onset of peri. Interested in the comments about losing oestrogen early so def need to know more about that as controlling symptoms is one thing, protecting myself a whole other issue. On the bright side, my gp recommended I join this site as she rates it highly so well done ladies I'll be here regularly on this big learning curve