Menopause Matters Forum
General Discussion => New Members => Topic started by: Wantmylifeback on December 10, 2015, 09:26:17 PM
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I am 40 years old, turning 41 in a few months. Over the past eighteen months I have been experiencing many changes in my mood and cycle. Every month I have 7 days where I lose control of my life and experience bouts of anxiety and depression. I have tried lots of different things to lift these symptoms e.g. Reflexology, yoga, mindfulness, exercise, relaxation techniques and hypnotherapy but nothing stops these cyclical symptoms. I have been on a low dose of venlafaxine for several years after experiencing the same symptoms after the birth of my second son in 2008. I recovered well and had five or so years of good health. I am a very active fit person, so therefore I was totally shocked when in May 2014 I had my first bout of anxiety in four years, and I have had 7-10 days of anxiety ever month since. My skin is itchy all the time and I suffer from night sweats, insomnia and itching in more private places also. My memory and concentration are terrible. My poor kids don't know what's going on. I feel like a basket case, fearing what each day will bring.
My mother was put on HRT at 40 and sailed through her menopause. She is now 70 and thriving.
The doctor prescribed Estraderm patches last week and I have been using them since Sunday 6th of December, but I feel worse than ever. My body aches, I feel nauseous, headaches, heart burn and hungry all the time, as well as spaced out and tired!
Please can you help me make sense of this! I am at the end of my tether.
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Hi Wantmylifeback.
Firstly it's good that your doc has recognised that your symptoms are probably down to peri-menopause which is the eight to ten years prior to menopause proper. I haven't had any experience of Estraderm but looking it up it seems to be for post-menopausal women i.e women who have either not had a period for a year at least or who have reached the age of around 53/54. It has been known for docs to prescribe the wrong type of HRT and I'm wondering whether you are menopausal or whether you are still having periods? It is common to experience side effects when starting HRT but these usually settle within the first three months.
You will find lots of help and advice on here. You are not alone in feeling as you do - especially the anxiety issues.
It's interesting that your mum had HRT and sailed through menopause. Does she still take it? If not did her symptoms return when she stopped?
Taz x :welcomemm:
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I am still having periods, I have the mirena coil but I still get a bleed. I start every 25 days then stop for around 3 days then start again. My mum was HRT for around 10 years then came off and had no problems. I'm wondering if I should change to the gel?
Wantmylifeback 🎅
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:) Welcome Wantmylifeback. I think you need to stay on a steady dose of hrt to give your body chance to get used to it properly before changing. Every month I get exhausted, can't think, insomnia and all the other rubbish too. I stated hrt in tablet form 2 weeks ago so it's not had chance yet to kick in properly.
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Just back from the GP who has advised that I come off the patches for 2 weeks and monitor how I feel, if I feel better than I have this week then the patch was not suitable but if things remain the same then I should restart them. Happy to go with this as got to get through Christmas and wouldn't manage feeling like this!!!
Wantmylifeback 🙏
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Hi there wantmylife back,
I am sorry you're having such a horrible time. I have just turned 41 And also have the Mirena coil in. I have no experience of HRT but plenty of people here do and will guide you. It is such a worry when you have young children as your life affects theirs but you will come through this. My daughter is only 7 and there have been times when I was being tested for M S that I thought the terror would overwhelm me, I was praying that I would at least live to see her to adulthood I was that scared about what was happening to me. Hang in there, you are not alone
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welcome wantmylifeback......im on 7 weeks of hrt pill form climagest, i too suffered really bad at the beginning.i felt a hundred times worse than before i started taking HRT, but the good people of this forum, advised that it can be quite normal at first to feel worse before you feel better, It took me about 4 wks before i started to feel better, i still have a few ups and downs with mood swings,but the horrible tiredness and nausea feeling has passed. I know we are all different but it seems to me the majority of people whether on pills or patches have a few teething problems, Im hoping when i see my GP in a mths time that perhaps can tweak things about a bit so i can get full benefits of HRT, I would say give things a bit longer,there really is a light at the end of the tunnel ..good luck with things your not alone keep as all updated on how your getting on :D.
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Thanks everyone for your support, I have decided to leave the patch off until after Christmas and try again when life is not so hectic, I certainly have been encouraged by all your messages so far, please keep giving me your advice and tips. Is there anything I could take meanwhile to help me through the festive madness? Vitamins, supplements etc. I look in the mirror and don't recognise myself, I've bags under my eyes, my skins dull and grey, I feel the Grinch 😖
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I don't know if it works or not but my old doc once said to take soya as it is similar to hormones
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Hi Wantmylifeback
:welcomemm: from me too.
If you've been on ADs since the birth of your son, and experiencing the same symptoms cyclically now then it does sound like hormonal depression and you might be interested to read what Prof Studd says about this. He suggestes that women such as yourself should be given oestrogen for PND rather than ADs, and also it may well be that your oestrogen levels drop very low at the start of your cycle which leads to low mood and anxiety - so the increased oestrogen may help eventually once your body acclimatises to it.
http://www.studd.co.uk/reproductivedepression.php
http://www.studd.co.uk/reproductivedepression_pnd.php
http://www.studd.co.uk/depression_peri.php
You mention that you are still having regular periods even though you have a Mirena - so do you know at the moment where in your cycle you are? For instance you say you feel worse since Sunday starting the patch but approx what day are you since last bleed ( counting first day of bleed as Day 1)? Is it at the stage when you would normally feel bad?
However nausea and headaches can be an initial side effect of increased oestrogen but this should settle pretty quickly, so personally I feel it would be better to wait for longer - you've only been taking it for a few days to see if you feel better. Also if you do decide to stop then two weeks isn't enough because - just say it was your own cycle making you feel like that, well you wouldn't know if the reduction of side effects was due to that or removal of the patch. You would need to stop for a whole cycle I would say - as you suggest - until after Christmas. Do give some thought to keeping on with it for a while longer and see how you feel?
As for the festive madness - I always find a gin and tonic does a good job ;D
Hurdity x
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Just wanted to echo what the others have all said - your symptoms/situation sounds so familiar (right down to the fact I too was a fit, happy and active 40 year old when all this hormonal madness kicked in). I hope this forum will at least help you realise you're not alone. :)
Are you still having periods/peri-menopausal? If so, at your age, you (may) find that you will eventually need something stronger than what you are taking. However, as other have suggested, give it a chance to work. I noticed no improvement to the weird symptoms I had for several months when I started on a 50mcg patch. IN fact, initially things got worse (which is not great for us girls with health anxiety!). Gradually I have moved to something strong enough to control my hormones rather than top them up and, as a result, things have got better. I'd definitely recommend the bio identical route, as others have said, if you want to avoid side effects.
If you look at the thread in the new members bit about PMS, you will see some links I have posted recently which may help if you are still having periods (or would be if it wasnt for the Mirena). A number of us on here have found, in peri menopause, we have needed to consider our problems as severe PMS instead of menopause, which makes sense. We need to keep our hormones steady rather than having the sudden fluctuations.
Hang in there x
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Sorry - just re read your posts and realised you have answered the question I asked already! x
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Hi Guys
Needing some advice, I have ordered some Buckthorn capsules Omega 7, does anyone know if they interact with AD's (Venlafaxine). I have read that they are really good for sorting out dry eyes and various other meno symptoms.
Please tell me life gets better, I am really struggling to to find positives this week, I am so.....down with all these peri-symptoms. I'm a nightmare to live with, always grumping and short tempered and the anxiety is not passing this time!
Any advice would be good
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Hi WMLB,
I can't find any reference to Omega-7 interations with venlafaxine, nor fish oils in general. However, I would advise you to check with your local pharmacist just to be on the safe side.
What did you decide to do with your HRT?
I asked the same question the other day... does life get better after all this upheaval? According to my mum and several women I know who are post-meno, it does get better. I think the worst thing about peri is the rapidly changing hormone levels.
Good luck.
Galadriel x
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Hi Galadriel
I have decided to wait and re-start the patches in January when all the madness of Christmas has past. I have spoken with my boss who (female) is very understanding and will allow me time to deal with any side effects. I am not looking forward to Christmas but I will get through it some how!! I can't think straight, and I just want to go to bed and wake up better, this is not a nice thing to experience.
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Good plan. My boss is understanding too - his wife is going through this horrible time as well so he's seeing it as a husband and a boss.
I was looking forward to Christmas but I think my family will be watching me like a hawk in case I flip out. Somehow, we will get through it all, Christmas and peri.
You and me both - When I was driving to work this morning, I thought wouldn't it be better to make a chrysalis (that weird thing caterpillars build) and hide in there until the changes were done with - then we could re-emerge into the world as beautiful butterflies. Failing that, hibernating sounds like a good option. Some days are better than others. I'd just like a few more of them please.
Galadriel x
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Me too Galadriel, the good days seem to be getting fewer and fewer! Somedays I don't know who I am!!! I have turned into a shadow of my former self. I had great plans for my 40's, I was going to study for a degree, be there for my children one of which has ADHD and is not coping well with my flipping out. I feel useless and demented :(