Menopause Matters Forum
General Discussion => New Members => Topic started by: jakeconmag on October 11, 2015, 04:15:29 PM
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I have been lurking in this forum for the past month or so. I am so appreciative of the wealth of information and caring attitude of all those who have posted. I know most of the ladies are from the UK so I want to apologize in advance if terminology/experiences from the US causes confusion. As an aside it has been very interesting learning about the UK medical system. From what I gathered it differs somewhat from the US but there is some commonality.
A little about myself – I am 52 years old and had a partial hysterectomy (for adenomyosis) 8 years ago. I kept my cervix and ovaries. Having a hysterectomy I did not have changes in my periods to gauge if I was in menopause but I had been having night sweats for a few years - seemingly my only menopause symptom (didn't know insomnia was a symptom.) I even had my hormone levels checked in February because my thyroid levels (I was diagnosed hypothyroid with Hashimoto's in my mid-thirties) had been fluctuating in the past year (I know now because of dropping estrogen) and the hormone levels were all within normal range. All was well until three months ago when I had a panic attack out of the blue and my friend called for an ambulance. They told me I had a panic attack and my EKG was normal. I have had many panic attacks since and anxiety. BY FAR my worst symptom! At this point I started having hot flushes, joint pain, vaginal dryness. About a month ago I had another PA with heart palpitations and high heart rate and they transported me to the emergency room. My EKG then was showing heart palpitations (PVC's and PAC's) and high heart rate. My second worst symptom! I had a CT scan of my heart which showed no blockage whatsoever (yay!) Went to my GP and she prescribed citalopram and clonazepam (for emergencies) for anxiety. She recommended I go to a cardiologist and gynecologist as she thought it was menopause related. I was afraid to take the AD so coped until I could get into the gynecologist. In the US, generally, GP's do not prescribe HRT.
The gynecologist agreed I was in perimenopause and prescribed estradiol 50mcg patch (the generic for Climara) which I've used for 3 weeks. Most of my symptoms have slightly improved but still having them – the hot flushes have increased, heart palpitations remain about the same and anxiety/pa's have decreased but still there. I have to refill my prescription this week and am wondering if I have given it enough time or if I should call and have the dosage increased. I keep reading on the forum that HRT needs time to work and I am not sure I have given it enough time or not.
Thanks!
Maureen
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:welcomemm:
Your own hormones may well be fighting against the HRT too! I'm sure someone will be along with advice or you could use the 'search' button for the Estradiol to see how other ladies have managed?
Browse round!
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Hi and welcome to MM jakeconmag
I assume you are not needing progesterone as you have had your uterus removed, so using oestrogen alone is usually easy to tolerate and effective. Patches are a good way to use oestrogen and you have been given a low to medium dose which is probably appropriate. It can take 3-6 months for the oestrogen to work it's magic so I would be patient and see how you feel in a couple of months before increasing - your own hormones will probably be fluctuating as you are peri menopausal so you may find symptoms will come and go. Many women start increasing their dosage too soon, often with no really benefit. Be patient. Hope you feel lots better really soon Keep posting DG x
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:welcomemm:
We're scattered far & wide on here. From across the pond to all the way over to Australia.
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Hi jakeconmag :welcomemm:
It can take three to six months to fully settle down on HRT, perhaps give it a little while longer.........
Are you able to touch base with your Gynae?
She/He may be able to set your mind at rest.
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Thank you all for your input. I can definitely be patient and wait a few more months. I had seen posts about waiting three to six months when changing dosages but wasn't sure about how long to wait for the initial try. Since I have been checked out pretty thoroughly I am able to cope with the symptoms - I think health anxiety has been an issue as well. I have totally given up caffeine which has helped the anxiety. I have tried several times but I can't even have decaf - ear ringing starts almost immediately followed by the rest of my anxiety symptoms. No alcohol either - I tried having one beer after no alcohol for 3 months and had bad heart palpitations for two days. Not worth it!
If it is at all helpful for someone suffering anxiety one thing that has helped my mild to medium anxiety attacks is EFT (tapping.) I do it for the hot flushes as well. I haven't seen the technique discussed here but it is very helpful! I am happy to post some websites if I am allowed. I taught myself the technique and did not have to go to a therapist.
Thanks again.
Maureen
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Tapping has been recommended in the UK for a few years. Don't know how it would work though, once anxiety takes over nothing else is in my head.
De-caf: make the cuppa as usual then tip down the sink ;) therefore missing out the middle man ;D
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CLKD - tapping only seems to help the mild anxiety attacks that I get. If it's not mild I have to reach for the clonazepam. Eliminating the triggers seems to have reduced the quantity of attacks. I have never suffered from this before three months ago. I have a lot of empathy now for those who suffer from this. Until you walk in someone else's shoes...
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So true …… it's 8.30 p.m. here, what's the time over there ???
Eating regularly might ease anxiety surges. That is, every 3 hours, 24/7, 52/52 ;). HORMONES >:( ::)
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We are five hours behind - soon to be six. We turn our clocks back an hour in a few weeks - crazy system. I have been trying to eat every few hours - always a protein with carbs. Diabetes runs in my family so I have been doing this for a few years now - trying to keep blood sugar as steady as possible. When I had my initial panic attack I had two glasses of wine the night before and in the morning I had not had any water or food and had only drank some coffee - recipe for disaster.
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Shame about the wine ::) but a usual problem when hormones start playing up!
How's the weather over there? Autumnal?
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It is a shame about the wine - good news is that I am a permanent designated driver for my husband/friends. I live in Central Florida (think Mickey!) so no autumn weather here. It's hot but the humidity is not as a high so that's good. Three of my children live in the Northeast so they have the changing leaves and the cooler weather. Since they were raised in Florida they are not too keen about the winter weather that is coming soon. Florida is just beautiful in the winter months.
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:welcomemm:
Lovely to hear from someone from over the pond! I regularly visit the USA as my son has married a lovely American girl and they have a gorgeous little daughter. I get to hear a lot about the medical world where they live as my son is a paramedic and his wife is a PA. I hope things settle down for you.
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Hi jakeconmag
:welcomemm: from me too.
I agree it can take a while for symptoms to be eliminated but using patch HRT you should notice a difference quite quickly - at least a reduction in number and severity of flushes. I would not wait 3 - 6 months to up your dosage if you notice no difference in flushes at all. I would suggest after a couple of months (maybe sooner) you will definitely know if this is working.
I would have thought you may need to adjust your thyroid meds too - I would ask for a print-out of your results over the past while so that you can see how they have changed. Just because they are normal doesn't mean to say that you will not experience some symptoms. I am not overly clear about the relationships between thyroid hormones and oestrogen/all the other hormones - but I know they are interrelated so important to keep them both monitored until you find an oestrogen/thyroxine dose that eliminates your symptoms. I think this may well be dsicussed on thyroid boards - eg thyroid UK?
Hurdity x
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Hi Hurdity!
Thanks for the info! I have only had the patch for three weeks now (putting the last one I have on today.) I definitely have seen improvement in anxiety (maybe just because of lifestyle changes???) and heart palpitations but the hot flushes and the joint pain (hips and shoulders.) have increased and insomnia is the same. Kind of a mixed bag!
I just had blood work done on Friday to check my TSH, T-4 and T-3 and will get the results next week when I go to see the endocrinologist. We will be having a discussion about estrogen/thyroid hormones and how to manage those. I have actually had to change my Synthroid (levothyroxine) dosage several times in the past year and a half, both up and down, because of fluctuating TSH results. Probably due to perimenopause - which the doctor indicated that probably was the cause. If I understand it correctly estrogen causes less T-4 to circulate in your blood, making me more hypothyroid, so the need to replace it (with levothyroxine) increases. Because I am increasing estrogen via the patch I will probably need to increase my levothyroxine dose. When I went to the hospital with racing heart and palpitations it was the first thing they checked because too much levthyroxine can cause the symptoms I was having but all my levels were normal.
I think I will stay on the 50mcg patch until talking to her since my menopause symptoms, while not gone, are manageable.
Thanks for the help - I really appreciate it.
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Hello jakeconmag and welcome to the forum.
As you have seen, there is a lot of information and support here and now you have joined the forum the lovely ladies can help you even more.
Wishing you well and keep posting.
K.