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[emjane72]

Hi everyone

I’m 53 and post menopause. Last period Feb 24. Had a light period last month. Waiting on results of endometrial biopsy as scan showed thickening of the lining. Not too worried though. Hoping it comes back normal.

My main issue has been anxiety and panic attacks. I’ve suffered with them along with an episode of depression since my 20s and have been on paroxetine ever since. It gets bad press but it’s kept me sane all these years. Came off them when pregnant but had to go straight back on them after the birth as I went into full on panic attack and anxiety mode worse than I’d ever had.

These last few months I’ve become really anxious, panicky and extremely sensitive and tearful despite being on meds. I went to my GP and they increased my dose. I also had online talking therapy for anxiety. This has helped massively but I still have the odd wobble. I exercise, eat well and have cut down on alcohol. But I was just wondering whether or not to try HRT.

I’ve read conflicting things. It can make anxiety worse, some people swear by it and others don’t recommend it.

Is anyone taking it who suffer with anxiety issues? I don’t want to make it worse when it’s starting to get better.

Sorry for the long post
Thank you ☺️

[bombsh3ll]

I personally would vote for hormone therapy above psychoactive medication hands down.

People are afraid of replacing natural hormones that your own body made for decades, and the loss of these can really precipitate or worsen existing mental health conditions.

I am glad the paroxetine has fulfilled a role for you but it doesn't sound as if it is really serving you now, and going forward into hopefully a better second half of your life it would be really worth considering the particularly high anticholinergic burden of this SSRI in particular.

You have nothing to lose by trying hormone therapy., and potentially a great deal to gain.

I have PTSD due to a life altering accident at 34 which left the disabled with severe dysautonomia. Anxiety is a natural sequelae of this for me, and there is no universe in which I would want to be without ovarian hormones (or appropriate analogues).

[CLKD]

high anticholinergic burden of this SSRI in particular.. which means what exactly?

   emjane72 - keeping a mood/food/symptom diary mayB the place to begin.  HRT at this stage may be worth considering as panic and depression can become more noticeable as hormones become unstable.  Is there a connection between these feelings and your cycle?

Sometimes there is breakthrough bleeding so do keep protection to hand, I didn't stop carrying pads until 5 years after my last bleed 

Find a GP/Nurse Practitioner who is au fait with HRT.  There are options of dedicated clinics too.  There are options of various types of HRT too. 

Let us know how you get on.

[sheila99]

I started hrt because of ( mainly) anxiety and insomnia and it resolved completely after 3 months. My history is a bit different to yours as I had no anxiety before peri. As yours has got worse with peri it's reasonable to assume that this is due to oestrogen deficiency so may well improve with hrt. The long standing anxiety is unlikely to be oestrogen related so probably won't resolve and you may find you're best with both hrt and your current medication. It's rare for hrt to cause anxiety. Too much oestrogen can cause it (so perhaps best to start low and increase slowly) and some progestogens can cause it in some people but it isn't a common side effect and there are other products to try.

[emjane72]

Thank you everyone for your replies and welcoming me to the group.

Anxiety has been part of my life for over 30 years and the paroxetine has been the only thing to keep it at bay. Obviously the dose I was on was not sufficient when the anxiety got worse due to menopause. Because of my issues I predicted that it would get worse once I hit menopause. I was kind of prepared for it.

I have been on 20mg and now increased to 30mg. It has taken a month or so to take effect and I do feel a lot better however I do still have wobbles. I know my body and hormones are changing and making the anxiety worse. I just thought that HRT might be an additional thing to help during this time. I have overhauled my lifestyle over the last few months which has helped. I was overweight, drank too much and didn't exercise. My blood pressure and cholesterol were too high but they have come down now and I have lost 23 pounds in weight.

I will try and get an appointment with my doctors and have a chat about HRT and see what they recommend. Or if I just carry on what I am doing.

CLKD - I will try keeping a diary. That would definitely help. I have recently started a daily journal anyway as a way to support my wellbeing

bombsh3ll - I'm sorry to hear of your accident and the effects you are suffering from that. The paroxetine has served me well over the years so I will see how things go with the increased dose. I will however look into the benefits of HRT and make an appointment

sheila99 - my anxiety is longstanding like you say and has been made worse by menopause symptoms. So I think I will definitley explore HRT options

Thank you everyone 

[CLKD]

Let us know how you get on?  Every experience shared may well help others.