Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[CLKD]

It's horrid how these anxiety which for years is background suddenly tries to take over  .  I have vivid dreams due to being on various medications  , we have a thread about that here somewhere: not me being one various medications but about dreams ;-).  Some are illogical, long and leave me knackered!  Browse round!

[Errol]

dear all
it is both comforting and disappointing in equal measure to hear of your experiences.  I have been suffering with increased anxiety for quite a few months and hadn't linked it to the menopause until the last few days.  I have had a pre-disposition towards it for years and have been on long-term ADs as a maintenance dose, but this feels "different" somehow.  I can't explain quite why beyond that it comes at unexpected irrational times e.g. when I am with a very close friend, when I am alone, whereas before it would be in relation to a known trigger.

I have changed HRT a few times due to tablets being withdrawn, side effects, etc. and am now taking 100mg Utrogestan every day and have just increased from 1mg to 2mg of Sandrena per day.  I went to the GP who didn't mention meno and said I needed to up my ADs so I feel I am rattling - yet still feeling anxious!!

I have an appointment with the HRT clinic next week and am hoping for a miracle cure.  wish me luck

errol

[maelynn]

Good luck Errol!

[Tempest]

Grrrrr! It makes me so mad that the 'experts' don't acknowledge this!!!!!

I can tell you EXACTLY where this is coming from! As the production of estrogen moves away from the declining ovaries, it shifts to the adrenals (this is true of post meno too - more so in early post meno). Along with increased production of androstenedione which converts into estrogen etc, the adrenals will produce mighty bursts of norepinephrine and epinephrine  (essentially adrenaline). This is what drives the 'fight or flight' response. Therefore, the body (and brain) will be on high alert and this causes the feeling of anxiety!

Add to this any 'outside' stressors (we all have many in our modern lives) and no wonder we feel totally frazzled with it all! Anyone who has already suffered with anxiety before menopause hits will feel this all the more.

It's not fair, but it's nature! This is why if you  have had long term issues prior to meno. with anxiety that its a very good idea to seek help in addition to just HRT maybe in the form of CBT or medication. Medication is nothing to be ashamed or scared of, it can make a HUGE difference between being miserable or living your years as happily and comfortably as possible.

CLKD is a great example of how this helps - it enables her to have a life as she's told us so many times here on the forums (thank you for being so open, CLKD)!

I hope this info helps you all in some  small way to not be so afraid of these strange and awful feelings that are going on in your bodies and minds. GP's don't 'get it' as they have very limited training in menopause and sometimes even mental health. Menopause Clinics in the main just seem to focus on hot flushes and bone and cardiac protection (in my experience anyway). Hopefully one day those that are supposed to be assisting us will take a more holistic view and acknowledge the real complex impact menopause has on
women. xxxxxx

[Tempest]

Here's a good article that explains the whole adrenal thing very clearly:

http://ndnr.com/womens-health/the-relationship-between-adrenal-function-and-menopausal-symptoms-2/

xxxxx

(So be sure to limit your stress and look after your adrenals)!

[dazned]

Very good article Tempest,thanks.

[Annie0710]

Here's a good article that it explains the whole adrenal thing very clearly:

http://ndnr.com/womens-health/the-relationship-between-adrenal-function-and-menopausal-symptoms-2/

xxxxx

(So be sure to limit your stress and look after your adrenals)!

Aha this is the link you meant !! Thank you Tempest for sharing this .
So informative, I've said all along that the major stresses I was going through immediately prior to my meno being diagnosed must've exhausted my adrenals ! I had months and months of heartache and worry which ended with me nearly collapsing and seeing a gp who said it was b12 and menopause.  I bet it was predominantly adrenal fatigue.  Then came the social anxiety.  It all makes sense

Plus explains why I felt better self medicating with utrogestan those few months, as it was helping adrenals ?

Xx

[Tempest]

You're most welcome, ladies!

I'm sure this is why SNRI antidepressants work better for menopausal ladies as they are Selective Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors - SSRI's of course work primarily on Seratonin and as Serotonin is highly stimulating, some ladies find them a rough ride.

It's not for nothing that the SNRI Venlafaxine is proven superior for treating vasomotor symptoms etc. in ladies who cannot take HRT.

[Tempest]

You betcha, Annie! Ignoring the adrenal connection is down right foolish of the experts! My Gynaecologist has referred me to Endocrinology for this very reason (along with checking my thyroid function) as he totally 'gets' it and wants my adrenal function tested. I sincerely wish I had gone back to him in the first place!    xxxxxx

[jorainbow]

Hi Tempest I used venlafaxine in 2004 and it really helped anxiety. It's now going through the roof at certain times of the month plus a year of stress and a car accident and the last 4 months have been awful. Yet gp prescribed SSRI which can increase anxiety when the SNRI worked so well!!!

[warwick01]

Hi Tempest

That is spot on I just wish GP and other medics were aware of this.

I remember in my early/mid 40s getting these feeling come over me. They would start in the middle of my stomach and wash over me, then leave me shaking, always felt I was having a compulsive thought (like I was about to scream or do something silly) then in minutes it would go away. It would happen maybe once a month. At no point was I told it could be hormone related, in fact I thought I was about to suffer a break down

Thank you....... Wxx

[Tempest]

I know that feeling well too, Warwick!

Bless your heart, Jorainbow! Could you see your GP and request a change to Venlafaxine? As you did so well on it before it makes perfect sense and it IS indicated as very effective for both anxiety and hot flushes too (and of course can also be used in addition to any HRT for any ladies reading needing extra help)!

That's excellent, Sparkle! I am a great believer in breathing techniques, they really DO help so very much. I use very simple '3,3' breathing now which I learned recently - so simple but it decreases feelings of panic very effectively. Quite simply 3 breaths in through the nose for a count of 3, and 3 out through the mouth (also known as 'belly breathing'). It reduces hyperventilation and calms down hot flushes well. It also helps to calm the adrenals - there are articles available online about 'adrenal breathing' so this is well recognised.

Oh, and another symptom connected to the adrenals! The 'internal vibrations'. Lots of ladies talk about this, and this is also due to the release of stress hormones such as cortisol from the adrenals. It's no accident that cortisol levels rise during the menopause transition and into post menopause - which also ties into the whole morning anxiety thing as cortisol levels are highest between 6 and 9 am and then decrease as the day wears on. They are lowest around midnight and start rising again at 4 am. This is why a lot of ladies say they feel so much calmer in the evenings!

[lesley998]

...another one for whom anxiety and the jitters/dreads  were one of the worst parts of this whole menopause thing.  Being told to calm down, when there was no apparent 'reason' for my anxiety...wondering if I was going mad, waking in the morning terrified for no reason, the thought of the normal day ahead was just like a mountain I had to climb. Fearful of everything.  Feeling like I might actually die.  Constant churning stomach.  My GP was also very dismissive, another one put me on anti anxiety meds, made me feel worse.  I don't think anyone will ever get to the bottom of what goes on in a woman's body during the years of peri and menopause. We know our bodies the best, and I know this anxiety came out of nowhere, and had a physiological cause...i.e., too little or to many circulating hormones, all out of sync with each other.  I'm only beginning to feel normal now, five years since peri started!

[Bettyboo]

Hi all

What a great forum this is. I've not been around for a while because I have been feeling better - and stupidly thought it was all over! Ha, ha! Even OH said that I'd been better lately. It's still a daily fight to appear normal and the anxiety is always bubbling just below the surface, but with the ADs (wow do I notice if I forget one), the meditation and the yoga I thought I was about as good as I was going to get.

Then a few things happened that made me realise that I must still be in the throes of peri/meno or whatever it is. First off I went for routine Dr appt feeling fine and then had a panic attack in waiting room (it was hot, crowded and long queue). Dr dismissed it as nothing... few days later got tiny barely there period. So, I concluded that was it, the hormones were still at it. Then in the last two weeks, first one of our dogs died (he was very old but we hadn't had him long and he was really attached to me), so that upset me and then the stupidest thing, I tripped over and landed heavily on my left side. Since then I've been aching all over, gets waves of nausea, feel panicky, pains in ribs, want to cry all the time. So, logical brain says it is just a little blip caused by sadness about dog, hormones are probably still raging and pain is bruising due to falling over and my crap posture. Anxiety brain has decided it is something sinister, pains are some insidious cancer, etc. It is just so b**** tiring thinking like this.

Anyway, sorry for the rant! Just wanted to say that I came on here and within minutes I'd found several posts all with the same problems - pains in ribs from computer, anxious minds, sadness, panic ... and that has really helped me. I won't stay away so long in future   

[Dee46]

Wow lesley998 what you have described is me all over, this is scary stuff & a horrible experience for us all to go through, I agree the gp putting us all on anti anxiety drugs which make us worse should be reviewed by gps, I have never suffered anxiety or depression so thanks to my gp I am now scared by this experience along with my family watching me turn into some psycho woman they didon't recognise, exactly when anxiety comes out of nowhere it brings up all these awfulthought's,  I hope I am not like this for 5 years or I will need locking up !!