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[Rainy kelly]

 Hi ladies
Just joined, been reading here for a few days before deciding to post anything but getting desperate and your def the best experts to speak to in my eyes if your going through it 
Im 49 and just been put on evorel sequi....(literally) only on first patch!  Been putting off using them as I wasnt completely convinced i was perimenopausal ...but the anxiety and continual nervousness is getting to me now and after reading some of your posts on here regarding the same thing I now know it can be a symptom!
As a sufferer of panic attacks many years ago and knowing that its a fear of the fear that really becomes the problem I instantly thought ' oh Gosh they're  back. ..but now wondering if my hormones could have played a role in my recent continual  anxiety and even looking back a few years in my early 40s im now thinking did this all start way earlier and I didnt know....I have been having hot flashes for about 5 years and sometimes these would be accompanied by severe panic/anxiety waves leaving me to pace the house for hours to the point of exhaustion questioning what id done to have my old symptoms back for no reason ( tiredness/ stress/ doing too much / severe nightmares would make it worse )
My periods became so heavy about 2 yeaes ago  that I was put on tranexamic acid( its great) but the menopause still never entered my head...and even the chronic  fatigue ive had for a few years i put down to slight aneamia due to the above mentioned and meds  that i have hadto take for a very bad back ( 4 slipped discs and spinal arthritus..) but after weaning down to the bare minimum meds and still feeling like I could sleep at the drop of a hat I hadnt put 2 and 2 together and at no point did any doctors that ive seen (and ive seen a  few! ) ever question the menopause kicking in!!! Well now after reading and researching myself online so much that I think I may have 'google' blindness 😎) its time for me to see if you girls can keep me sane (ish)
The anxiety is prob my worst symptom....it wakes me at night the most often but as a previous sufferer I know the fear of the fear can be a big factor and associating a time of day or place can become habit forming so trying to not do that but way easier said than done..the night sweats that come with it are then followed by freezing cold chills so its a constant arguement in my head whether to put the pjs back on ive just swapped for shorts 😵etc and the cycle continues often for hours ..by the time ive calmed myself enough to be able to sit down or get back in bed ( which i cant do when anxious hence the pacing) its just about time for me to get up for work 😣 ...where ive also been jittery lately and thats never happened before...about 8 weeks ago my lymph nodes in my head , throat , neck went crazy and swelled up causing a visit to hosp  and tests for all sorts...i had no infection no cough or cold and no explanation for it ..all yukky stuff been ruled out but the periods anxiety and sweats  kicked in for the long haul a week later and havent left ..was this my bodies way of trying to fight the true onset of menopause? Docs say maybe, maybe not! so the long and short of it is ..do any of you lovely ladies have any symptoms the same? Will the patches reduce the anxiety? And will this brain fog  ever let me remember what I actually went upstairs for before going back downstairs for the fourth time to try to retrace my steps to remember what id forgot in the first place!😨..please tell me thats not just me ..any help greatly appreciated

Rainy x

 

[Hurdity]

Hi Rainykelly

 

Sorry to hear about your symptoms.

You say you were not convinced you were peri-menopausal - but at your age your symptoms combined with your age and cycle changes - are enough to diagnose peri-menopause. If you period cycle length has altered and varies by approx 7 days each month then you are defo peri! If  your periods are still very regular or the cycle has shortened then you are in what is known as the Late Reproductive Stage (or Phase) when ovulation still occurs reguarly but hormones have begun to go a bit awry. Unfortunately some women start to get bad symptoms even at this stage which can be more difficult to treat because oestrogen levels may not yet have fallen.

From what I've read on here low dose hRT can do the trick but not always at this very early stage. Another option is one of the newer COC pills -  QLAIRA  or ZOELY which contain the same oestrogen as in HRT - but I think the cut off age is 50 - there might be some leeway f you ae oitherwise healthy (weight, lifestyle, diet, BP, cholesterol etc). You might like to explore this option with your doc if the Evorel doesn't work ( also these patches are in short supply so you might not be able to get any more when your current supplies have run out?). This mght also help with the anxiety which i imagine is caused by the hormonal fluctuations which lead to mood swings. Something like COC would control this.

Good to have other symptoms checked to rule out other causes for them.

Hope this helps and the Evorel works for you!

Hurdity x

[jaypo]

Hi rainy Kelly so sorry to read how you're feeling,I was exactly like you,never knew these symptoms were part of meno,coming on this forum was the best thing I ever did,the wealth of knowledge and experience from the women on here beat any gp I've ever been to.
Before a flush do you get ,like butterflies'this is what got,couldn't for the life of me understand this nervousness,went to drs and they gave me something for reflux WHAAAAATTTT?!? But these wonderful ladies told me it's adrenaline rushes,which are quite common and sure enough, I started timing them,I'd get these “butterflies “ then a minute or so later,sure enough a hot flush.
My anxiety and depression have gone but do re appear every now and then but only for short spells,I'm 56 now so hopefully things are settling down,I'm not on hrt so can't advise on that,sorry.Hurdity knows her stuff 👋😊 so maybe check out those things she mentioned x

[KiltedCupid]

Rainy kelly - wow, you've had a tough time and without any support. You'll get lots of help on here so you've come to the right place. What are your periods doing now? You say you had sweats 5 years ago and very heavy periods 2 years ago so it you might be further down the meno road than you think. Periods and how they appear and go is a good indicator of your whereabouts. I used to get lymph node swelling in my neck during peri when my oestrogen was surging so that might be an explanation for yours. Peri is a tough time and hard to wrangle it into submission, but hang tight, help is available!

[Rainy kelly]

Wow ladies thankyou for such quick replies..I will keep your advise in mind hurdity.😁..ive just found out that these patches are in short supply and may be so till late 2020!!!
I think the reason I never thought about  menopause is  because although Im 49 I really am a childish human being that still thinks she is 18 no matter how bad this body tries to punish me with pain to prove otherwise 🤣...
Hi kiltedcupid .. you had the lymph node moment too...oh my youve taken a weight off my mind 🤗 I did take a supplement called menoserene for a few years as suspected the heavy periods could be a 'oh hello' moment ..i have regular periods ..well i did till the lymph nodes went crackers ..then had 2 in one month ..so seeing what this month brings .....and Jaypo..yep a subtle butterfly feeling that just hangs about like an annoying itch then my overrthinking often steps it up a notch.......as the day goes on It starts to subside but I really am convinced its meno related now after all the reading and replies on here and not my old recurrence of anxiety coming back ..so relieved but wondering how long it will continue... managed 3 hours sleep last night and know it'll be the same tmoz so need to try some new coping techniques to get thru it...but think hormones are more diffucult little critters to manage than my mind over matter old ways of getting through a panic moment.... also trying to use food to help ..such as brazil/cashew nuts as snack to help the nervous system.. bananas too and a cube of dark choc every day ...all these things help with 'normal' anxiety but think meno may be a game changer and im clutching at straws but ill try anything to help tbh .. also taking magnesium with vit B....i used to wear a menopause magnet from boots to combat the sweats which was brilliant ...but I now have a trial spinal implant and am not allowed to use a magnet anywhere on my body  as it interferes with the data collected by my little device....but that magnet was a real gamechanger for the better if it thats any help to you guys

Thanks again for making me feel 'normal(ish)' this morning ladies ...
Here to help you too of course

R x

[Countrygirl]

Rainy kelly have you found that the anxiety is different than what you used to get.
I've had anxiety for a lot of my life, but found when this blind sided me it was a different beast and none of my previous coping mechanisms seemed to make a difference.

And it confused me that I couldn't work out what the triggers were at first, but have found the constant anxiety gets worse on a 6-8 week cycle (I'm a pacer too especially in the mornings), I'm 48 and peri to as it's a bit of a minefield, but the ladies on here are fab and i found the relief to know you're not alone or losing the plot is a comfort x

And welcome to the forum 💐x

[Rainy kelly]

Morning countrygirl👋
Yes to everything you say hun..the first thought was oh God they're back .😢...and then attempting all the things to cope that got us this far in life and find them not really working done my head in ...but that's when I thought... this is different ...its constant and goes from a 1/10 to a 10/10 at its worst ..but just no let up ... before mine would come then go and within days Id look back and think we'll that was a mad few days ...doc tried to put me on paroxetine but  they zonked me out years ago and I know they are addictive and just really dont want that route if its hormonal.. so here we are and we know we are not losing it at least😊 took the dark choc this morn and banana and im at a 2/10 which is some help ,of course that could all be in the mind and ive convinced myself its helped ...but it doesn't matter ..if that helps then so be it..maybe our coping techniques arent working because we were working on helping serotonin levels .
Oestrogen and progesterone seem to not wanna play by the same rules....but I certainly wont surrender just yet and will keep googling to try and find an answer
We aint alone it seems kiddo ...keep going
R x

[CLKD]

Anxiety floors me, without an emergency med I wouldn't be here.

I had my first panic attack aged 3.  Continued to plaque me intermittently ...........

Eating every 3 hours may help you.  That's even in the night.  Also that hormone 'cortisol' the waking one can cause anxiety if 1 wakes suddenly.  I would wake terrified.

Browse round.  Make notes.  You are in good Company 

[Rainy kelly]

Thanks CLKD ....meds def help even if just to sedate slightly and allow you to think straight ...im just sick of meds....was on 8 tramadol and 6 gabapentin 8 ibuprofen and 8 paracetomol a day this time last year to cope with my back but just thought this hadto stop. and so weaned over 3/4 of them...i did take a paroxetine 3 weeks ago before going on hols as just thought I'm not gonna get there but felt hazy for days and then thought let's get these patches on....if i feel like the world's caving in the antiD will go down my neck in a heart beat but reading how many of us have got this anxiety I don't feel quite as isolated

R x

[CLKD]

It's rarely that anyone is alone, it feels like it especially if GPs aren't supportive!

[Rainy kelly]

Country girl
You do whatever works for you ...ive been on the verge of taking a valium this post few weeks but refrained ....I do special care as a job and work 7 days on and off various shifts and go back out to work at night to administer meds ....and haveto be able to function and drive ...i find the meds give me that head in a good fish bowl and disassociated feeling ... so have always abided so far! but who knows what's round the corner ..ive got erm if i need erm and that's often enough fot me .. Well it has been in the past..
Would you try not taking them but taking them with you ...that way you know your answer is in your bag? ...its a bit like saying if i don't wanna be somewhere i can leave anytime i like... and once thats the answer you often don't wanna leave ...if someone said you can't leave under any circumstances your fear would be crippling you before you left the house....always how ive dealt with my 'old' anxiety ....so know I gotta try and stick to the the same rules as this anxiety is getting to me even driving .. which has never happened before..you know what's different so deal with it that way....specialist are only mere mortals too and if they've never experienced the symptoms themselves I think they don't have they understanding to give us the answers or correct help sadly ....

R x

[CLKD]

I used 'valium' successfully for years: taking it the night B4 events that I was unable to get out of. Knowing that I had another if necessary but never required it.  It made me sleepy though and would annoy MinL when I went to sleep by mid-afternoon  but I would tell her, 'You've got your son here ....... '

If I have to drive I make sure that the route has plenty of stop offs available ;-)

I take 20mg of betablaocka at night.

[Rainy kelly]

Girls!!! Im a long way from my first post.....read till i couldn't read any more ...magnesium for anxiety....ive started taking 900mg a day ...2 x 1 a day cheap ones @375g each and wassan magnesium ok which also has vitamins and has a combination of  2 different types .. and also magnesium oil from H&B rubbed on arms before bed.. well im sleeping soundly .. only waking once or twice jittery .. no pacing for 5 hours .. if i wake i reapply the spray and im back to sleep..... gotta be worth a go for the you girls maybe.??.. check with the other meds you take tho with pharmacy or docs .. you'll prob be advised of bad stomach taking too much ..  my tabs have magnesium oxide in and only a small dose of citrate( which can upset stomach) in the 'mag ok' .... its early days but im feeling like my old old old self for the first time in 6 weeks! X

[CLKD]

Becareful with magnesium tablets, they can have a reaction on the bowels    

Thanks for the update!

[Rainy kelly]

Its magnesium citrate that's the worst for that . There's 5 other types so best to stick to them ...oxide is pretty ok.. and the magnesium spray has no reaction at all as not going through the digestive system
Its def sorted my meno anxiety.. I've suffered with panic attacks for 40 year so it's like a breath out fresh air to find something that's not a mindbending drug x.