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[JS79]

Been feeling not great for a few weeks but put it down to stress as my dad had surgery and still in hospital, coming to end of my uni course so lots of work due, plus Christmas coming up etc. I also though it was because I missed a week of my vit d, I was found to have a level of 27 in Feb this year.
I tried increasing to 4 pumps of oestrogel but this made me feel worse so back on 3. My last period was 2nd October but it came last night.
Last few days I've felt awful, but I also have a cold. Not been out of bed much, muscle aches, loss of appetite etc. But today is the worst, I feel back to square one. I can be sitting on sofa for a while and all of a sudden  came across funny, like dizziness or light headed and I need to go lie down. It's hard to describe and it's very scary.
I'm getting testosterone levels checked on Monday and as its private bloods I've requested full bloods just to check vit d, b12 thyroid etc.
I haven't felt this bad in ages and certainly nit since starting HRT in July. Possibly due to being on my period?

[Dierdre]

Sounds like you need to have a few days resting and pampering yourself.  Could be a virus on top of anxiety and stress, then your hormones all over with your period, no wonder you're feeling awful.
Have you took a covid test?

[JS79]

I've teated twice this week and negative. Will just keep drinking plenty, taking paracetamol and ride it out.

[Dierdre]

Hopefully the tests will give you some answers and peace of mind. Let us know how you get on and hope you feel better soon.

[JS79]

What a nightmare, got the home testing kit from Newson but my OH who cannulate and sometimes takes blood couldn't get my blood on 2 attempts so stopped. I went and paid to go to a clinic and 2 practitioners couldn't get any blood so fave me the stuff to take away and hoping someone on the ward will have a go but need to wait a few days to let my veins recover.
Feeling worse this week anx contacted GP twice. Eventually got an email response to say they will see me face to face on 13th Dec but that my symptoms are alot so better to write down what,I feel is more important.
I quote her.....
.would hope you do not have too much longer to
wait for your Neurology review. I don't dispute your
symptoms but what I do wonder is whether this
increasing anxiety you have is exacerbating things

considerably?

[Dramy3]

This isn’t going to be a popular reply but I’m at the zero f**ks stage of peri so here goes…

My peri symptoms were very similar to yours but I had breast cancer 5 years ago so everyone was cautious about HRT and I tried everything else before trying Estradot. Spent 18 months slowly titrating up to no avail. Finally acknowledged I wasn’t absorbing switched to oestrogel 1 pump.

But…

This journey, all the panic attacks, dizziness, nausea, pins and needles, fatigue, itching, reflux made me seriously mentally unstable. My anxiety ruled my life for 3 years and made all the underlying symptoms (including anxiety) SO MUCH WORSE. To the point I was under the care of the Crisis team.

I was put on a high dose of sertraline (150mg) and it made me feel pants for 6 weeks but my symptoms slowly improved. This was alongside my change to oestrogel that I’m actually absorbing. 10 weeks post-crisis and I’m me again. Tapering down on the sertraline to get to 100mg and will stay there for a while.

Long story short, don’t write off an SSRI or SNRI. These peri symptoms put you in a constant state of fight or flight because your body knows something is wrong and different. Some people can cope with that, but some of us can’t and it makes our symptoms worse and gives us new symptoms.

Also, CBT can be great for helping you find ways to cope with the terrible health anxiety.

This is NOT me saying antidepressants and CBT are an alternative to HRT. They are not. But they can help us get through the storm until the right HRT is found or your body settles.

Just my experience. I wish you all the best and a calmer 2025.

[Dierdre]

I definately know  my anxiety has caused my palpatations and ectopic heartbeats for the last 5 weeks. Heartbeat 127 per minute 3am the other night and ectopic beats were coming in rows and 10 per minute. Rang 111 nhs who were great and  calmed me down, then arranged with my GP the next morning an urgent ECG. I had a routine one booked in a couple of weeks anyway but the anxiety waiting was making the palpatations 10 times worse. I  only had to think about them and they'd start up again as if my brain was triggering them. When distracted or busy I was fine.
Had ECG on Tuesday and was normal, brain and heart behaving theirselves!!
That was all I needed, reassurance. Heart rate back to normal and the occasional missed beat if I take my pulse and think about it, I'm trying not to.
Health anxiety literally causes so many
physical real symptoms it's difficult to diagnose which are caused by illness, menopause or anxiety.
When health anxiety kicks in I know it's anxiety but I still can't control it no matter how much I reason with myself. I know I'd never cope if I had a serious illness

[CrispyChick]

Dramy3 I don't think your reply will be unpopular at all.

I posted recently about taking AD instead for this peri hell.

I have so many horrific symptoms. And hormonal changes just seen to make me worse and worse. I'm currently in chemical menopause. Made me worse and adding back hrt - making me worse.

I'm just trying to see this last trial out before I go on the AD as this is ruling and ruining my life and to be brutally honest, I just need to escape my own brain.

The reason I'm not going ahead yet is I know I'm very sensitive to them and that first 6 weeks u talk of is so hard.

But I'm done. Hormonal upheaval is causing me more issues than the bloody hormones themselves.

I like your post. I relate to your post. And today, I needed to read your post. So thank you. 

[DottyD68]

Hi JS79,

Sorry to hear you are suffering. I can completely relate to your situation. Back in 2021 (in Covid) I had several external stressors going on at the same time as wildly fluctuating hormones and the wrong dosage of HRT.

I was the only "bubble"/carer for my Mother who had been diagnosed with Alzheimers and living alone at home, my F-I-L was in palliative care for prostate cancer and then my husband was under investigation for a suspicious finding in his bowel which apppeared in an MRI for a totally unrelated investigation which totally came out of the blue. Plus we were approaching the madness of Christmas. I was so internally stressed trying to remain calm and supportive for everyone I thought I would combust at any moment. This is when my anxiety and palpitations literally went off the scale and I had my first ever panic attack in a shop and thought I was about to die (sounds dramatic but true). I'm normally pretty good at managing this type of stuff but the raging hormones tipped me over the edge. I felt trapped as I felt I couldn't "get out" of my postion as a carer and let people down. I think caring is a natural response for most women.

I don't really have a simple solution to your situation other than to say the ladies above have some very good advice. I haven't (so far) taken any anxiety meds but I would definitely consider that to get you through this phase, I think it would have helped me. Also for me my gel was too high and once I had gradually got down to 2 pumps these symptoms greatly reduced (even if other, more tolerable  symptoms appeared). Finally the most obvious suggestion (but very difficult to do) is to really try to look after yourself and not give yourself a hard time.

Someone once used the analogy that we are like life rafts, helping others to stay afloat, but if you have too many people on the life raft, you all go down and that is no good for anyone. I think this is very true and has stuck with me.

Things will calm down for you, although it may not feel like it at the moment. Take one day at a time and look after YOU X

[Dramy3]

Dramy3 I don't think your reply will be unpopular at all.

I posted recently about taking AD instead for this peri hell.

I have so many horrific symptoms. And hormonal changes just seen to make me worse and worse. I'm currently in chemical menopause. Made me worse and adding back hrt - making me worse.

I'm just trying to see this last trial out before I go on the AD as this is ruling and ruining my life and to be brutally honest, I just need to escape my own brain.

The reason I'm not going ahead yet is I know I'm very sensitive to them and that first 6 weeks u talk of is so hard.

But I'm done. Hormonal upheaval is causing me more issues than the bloody hormones themselves.

I like your post. I relate to your post. And today, I needed to read your post. So thank you. 

Thank you for the kind reply. Things didn't turn around for me until I got my brain back. Then I could tackle what my body was doing. I hope you find the same peace soon.

[Minicat]

That sounds really tough, especially with everything you're dealing with at once. I’ve had similar moments when adjusting HRT or dealing with stress, and sometimes my period can throw everything off too. The dizziness and muscle aches are definitely worrying, but it’s good you’re getting those blood tests to check for any imbalances or deficiencies. I had low Vitamin D before, and it took a while to feel better after boosting it, so that could be playing a role too. Hopefully, the results give you some clarity and you start feeling more like yourself soon.

[JS79]

My GP appt is this Friday morning after what feels like weeks of being unwell. Last few days have been the worst, lots of dizziness/vertigo episodes. Had to leave my songs recital last night, and I would do anything for him and his performances but just felt terrible like I was going to pass out. Called GP this morning to discuss worsening symptoms but receptionist called back an hr ago to say they won't see me as I have an appt on Friday but they want bloods, ecg and blood pressure checks with the nurse beforehand, which is Thursday. Nof sure if my blood results will be back for the appt on Friday
I never got to speak to the actual GP so didn't mention about the private bloods results.

[CLKD]

How is your Dad?

[JS79]

He is out of main hospital and in a rehab hospital until we can find a suitable nursing home......which also has space for him. Physio are doing minimum work with him but have said they don't expect him to ever be as mobile as he was and think maybe a few steps to transfer from bed to chair is the best he will get.
Haven't been up to see him in a week as I've felt so rubbish and up to my eyes in assignments, trying to get them finished so I can enjoy Christmas without having to be stuck inside a laptop.

[CLKD]

A nursing home is important rather than a care home !  R U in contact at all, I have in the past left messages with staff hoping that they get passed on