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Author Topic: Hello from NZ!  (Read 1721 times)

kiwicsi

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Hello from NZ!
« on: July 30, 2020, 08:49:31 PM »
Hello ladies,
I found this site while doing a google search on anxiety levels during perimenopause.  I'm 50 and my periods have recently started to fluctuate and I've been experiencing weight gain around the midriff for the past two or three years.

I've been put on the pill (Ginet) by my GP to help regulate my periods (last thing I want is to get caught out!) and in the past week or so I've been feeling anxiety on and off.  I am assuming that's a normal part of the change but I'm keen to hear from anyone who has had similar experiences.  I've been through bad depression and anxiety in the past, and I've been on Prozac for the past 25 years or so and coping well in that area.  I definitely don't want to go through another phase of depression or anxiety!

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CLKD

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Re: Hello from NZ!
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2020, 09:56:33 PM »
Morning ;-)

 :welcomemm:  browse round.  As oestrogen levels drop the body may become dry: inside and out and muscles may become lax = aches and pains.  Mood swings, anxiety and depression can be troublesome.  Prozac made me  :cuss: ........

How was the anxiety during your regular menstruation years? 
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kiwicsi

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Re: Hello from NZ!
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2020, 10:40:17 PM »
I didn't really have too much trouble with anxiety over those years, just occasionally it would rear its ugly head and say 'hi'.  I accept that as part of life - now and again, we get days where we feel like we're pushing water uphill with a stick.  I've been pretty good for the past couple of days, so I'm hoping it was just another blip in my normally good mood.
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CLKD

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Re: Hello from NZ!
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2020, 10:44:58 PM »
How is your diet overall?  Some find eating little and often can ease anxiety as when the body is hungry and lacks energy it can do strange things!  I have a list of safe foods: dried fruits and nuts, bananas, slow release porridge or muesli ............. as well as eating B4 my body requires it.  Pancake mix is a good standby, it keeps in the fridge 2/3 days and can be cooked instantly. 

'pushing water uphill with a stick' - love it  ;)

R U North Island or South?
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kiwicsi

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Re: Hello from NZ!
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2020, 11:19:34 PM »
My diet is pretty balanced.  I eat three good meals a day, I've cut back on carbs in the evening (to try and lose some belly fat) and we always eat plenty of veggies and eat meat most nights.  I have a weakness for chocolate  ;D but that's always been my weakness, so I can't blame the change for that! 
I would love to snack on nuts but I loathe them and I'm not a big fruit eater either.  I eat morning tea most days, and it's usually something I've baked myself (a cookie or slice).  Lunch is a cheese toastie, followed by yoghurt.  I often skip afternoon tea.
Lately I've noticed that I'm put off by certain foods that I previously liked.  For example, I recently made a yummy frittata and froze portions of it to have for breakfast with baked beans on toast.  Now the thought of that makes me feel queasy (this has only really happened since the anxiety started). It reminds me of when I was first pregnant (20 years ago) and I had an aversion to some foods.  Funny thing is, I could wolf down a heap of salami right now, which I also had a craving for when I was pregnant.  Hubby has had the snip, so if I am pregnant, it would have to be an immaculate conception!

By the way, I'm from the North Island :)
« Last Edit: July 31, 2020, 05:59:09 AM by kiwicsi »
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CLKD

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Re: Hello from NZ!
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2020, 07:39:53 AM »
Morning.  8.30 a.m.

When I took the contraceptive Pill I lost my sense of smell, other than for garbage  :o  >:(

When I was given Tamoxifen in the 1990s my sense of taste and smell heightened, so much so that I was unable to eat.  As an anorexic that was difficult .......... DH had made a Dundee fruit cake: it was in a tin with a lid on in a cupboard with door shut but when I walked by I could smell the 2 tablespoons of fresh water he had mixed it with.  I won't tell you the other heightened problems, it would put you off your Kellogs  ;)

Definite hormonal!
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Jane50

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Re: Hello from NZ!
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2020, 11:02:47 PM »
Hi Kiwicsi,
I've had similar experiences to you. Suffered from depression and anxiety in my 30s and been on sertraline ever since with a standby supply of diazepam as was hospitalised with SVT at my worst and NOT going back there! I take them rarely but anxiety struck again last year as peri kicked in and thank goodness I had them. Racing heart, shaking, diarrhoea and adrenaline surges were all back with a vengeance. After various types of HRT the anxiety has settled but I'm beginning to feel it lurking again, so might need to increase my oestrogen. I also can't drink alcohol any more as that triggers anxiety almost immediately.
I've also had nausea and food cravings while waiting for HRT to take effect. Very similar to being pregnant as you say. I was eating cornettos in bed at 3am to curb nausea and lived on crackers for weeks with sudden cravings for sweet and sour chicken thrown in!
Things have improved a lot now I'm on 4 pumps oestrogel and 200mg utrogestan. Not perfect, but better.
I lived in Mount Maunganui for a year. Whereabouts are you?
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Taz2

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Re: Hello from NZ!
« Reply #7 on: August 02, 2020, 07:51:20 AM »
Hi kiwicsi  :)

Taz x  :welcomemm:
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kiwicsi

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Re: Hello from NZ!
« Reply #8 on: August 05, 2020, 02:13:10 AM »
Quote from: Jane50 on August 01, 2020, 11:02:47 PM
Hi Kiwicsi,
I've had similar experiences to you. Suffered from depression and anxiety in my 30s and been on sertraline ever since with a standby supply of diazepam as was hospitalised with SVT at my worst and NOT going back there! I take them rarely but anxiety struck again last year as peri kicked in and thank goodness I had them. Racing heart, shaking, diarrhoea and adrenaline surges were all back with a vengeance. After various types of HRT the anxiety has settled but I'm beginning to feel it lurking again, so might need to increase my oestrogen. I also can't drink alcohol any more as that triggers anxiety almost immediately.
I've also had nausea and food cravings while waiting for HRT to take effect. Very similar to being pregnant as you say. I was eating cornettos in bed at 3am to curb nausea and lived on crackers for weeks with sudden cravings for sweet and sour chicken thrown in!
Things have improved a lot now I'm on 4 pumps oestrogel and 200mg utrogestan. Not perfect, but better.
I lived in Mount Maunganui for a year. Whereabouts are you?

I live in Cambridge.  :)
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