Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Hills on August 21, 2017, 01:02:01 PM
-
Does anyone have really bad anxiety when waking and then by 3pm it goes away completely?
-
Yep though it can take longer B4 I feel anywhere near relaxed.
Some people have excess cortisol in the morning: the 'get you out of bed' hormone : which causes anxiety surges as we wake. Awful :'( which is why my GP prescribed a Betablocka. Once my commitments are done each day I begin to feel better and by 7.00 p.m. I'm a different person :-\. I have learned never to say 'yes' in the evenings to a request as by morning I will be FULL of anxiety.
-
I have similar experience to CLKD with regard to anxiety that levels off as the day goes on. I sort of wake up and see the whole picture of the day at once and as the day goes on and things get done one by one I start to feel better. I am learning not to stress the whole day at once nowadays, it isn't easy as it is a learned behaviour that is deeply rooted. I try to remind myself that there is always tomorrow (hopefully)
-
I try not to look further than half a day at a time but it doesn't always work!
-
I wake each morning and think :cuss: and wish I was still asleep. Except the other morning when I was having a very disturbing dream :-\
I signed up to an intensive dance course a while ago and went to bed, crashed out, got up, went back and felt really good. It was like when you were a child and had a really busy time. I am not sure I can keep that up every day though.
-
Yes every day. Upset tummy in anticipation of what horrors await me when I log on to my work laptop - in my mind the world will have fallen in since I logged off the day before. My GP told me it is called catastrophising. Once I have logged on I calm down gradually but it is horrible. I am lucky in that I am currently in the middle of long term counselling to help me deal with it.
-
........ and breath. I would wake deeply terrified :-\. I wake each morning and wish that I could sleep longer, once I'm dressed though that mood lifts. After breakfast I potter so that I don't have to think too much and ease my way into lunch time.
-
I am a little unsettled :-\.
I had an upset a couple of weeks ago with my medication and my body still isn't quite settled after that. I coped well with a busy weekend and I am happy enough in myself :), but my mind and my gut is still somewhat upset ???.
This has made me realise what a fine line it is between stability and instability and how much I rely on routine and order despite certain people who should know better trying to convince me otherwise :(.
I do struggle to 'tune out' those people who think they know what is 'best' for me but it can be a challenge at times ::).
-
Yep me.... I wake up every morning with panic and dread then my tummy kicks into knots... Doctors had put me on HRT but that only lasted 7wks as side effects of them were dreadful.. just wonder how long this awful roller coaster ride takes as I'm 3 yrs from last period but my menopause systems just seem to be getting worse...... Maybe one day soon I will feel normal again :( ....
Kaz xx
-
Morning anxiety is a very common feature of anxiety and depression. If you Google "morning anxiety" you will find so many hits on it. :(
I have suffered from this since my early 20s, when my anxiety disorder was really in full-force and fully established. I still have issues with morning anxiety when I'm going through a tough time emotionally or mentally.
Just as CLKD said, it improves greatly as the day wears on. It's amazing sometimes to me how differently I can feel towards the end of the day as opposed to the morning!! During bad times, I frequently wake with a knot in my stomach, and a very strong sense of apprehension. For me, this has nothing at all to do with hormones and it never has. It's part and parcel of my anxiety disorder. I don't wish this on anyone - hugs to all of you!
-
I'm blaming my hormones as I have never suffered from anixty until my periods stopped ,but something deffo triggered it of and with no great stress issues in my life the only thing I can blame is my hormones, been using beta blockers from last yr but still have this awful anixty and panic, I think there is that much going on during menopause we just can't seem to work out what is causing what..some days my anixty will ease off as the day goes by but other times it can last a few days!!!
Kaz x
-
I think if you have never suffered with any anxiety or depression until the age of menopause than it is highly likely that hormones has something to do with it. However if anxiety has been a constant companion since a young age, as in the case of weathergirl, CLKD and myself (and maybe others too) then it is not primarily rooted in hormones.
Having said that, my own history with anxiety goes back to when I was very young and is a result of a traumatic and dysfunctional childhood, but I never had a panic attack until two and a half years ago when I was menopausal. It is my belief that the hormonal upheaval exacerbated the already present anxiety and brought it to the fore. In a way I am glad because it led me to get treatment for it.
I will never be completely clear of it but it is almost under control a lot of the time now.
-
Babyjane, I agree with you. Causes can be varied and are quite individual. For me, strangely, my anxiety was generally much worse in my 20's and 30's than it is now at nearly 51 - even through all of peri and meno. I started on a very low-dose SSRI in my mid-40's. I guess it was what I needed after decades (lifelong really) of struggle. I still have bad spells and some tough patches, but I try to stay focused in the here and now (easier said than done!). I'm glad you are doing better! Always good to hear of people getting some semblance of normalcy back to their lives! xxx
-
I started on a very low-dose SSRI in my mid-40's. I guess it was what I needed after decades (lifelong really) of struggle.
Do you mind me asking which one works for you and what dose? I use escitalopram (Cipralex) 5mg.
-
No, not at all babyjane. :) I'm on 50mg Zoloft. I really should be on 100+ mg but I was very reluctant to use anything at all, for so many years, that I wanted to use the lowest possible dose that gave some effect. I went down to 25mg at one point but I seemed to struggle more so I went back to 50. I've heard a lot of good things about escitalopram which is called Lexapro, here in the U.S.
-
escitalopram is one of the gentler SSRIs I was told by my GP. I was started on its sister drug, Citalopram, but the escit has less violent side effects I was told and I found it so. It's a bit unkind if you want to taper off it. I did try to see if I still needed it and I did. I went really weird for the short time I did not take it and ended up at the doctors where it was explained to me why I needed it and I was advised to restart it straight away. I am feeling a lot better now and won't be doing that again in a hurry!
-
I think all of the SSRIs can be challenging to discontinue. That is one of the reasons I keep my dose low as well, in case in time I decide to try to wean/taper.
I'm glad you found what works for you! :) It can sometimes be a bit of trial and error.
I was fortunate that I never had any side effects, only relief! After I had been on it a few weeks, I cursed myself for having let myself suffer so very long.
I tried a few off/on over the years prior to the Zoloft but would be nervous about being on a medication and take myself off of it quickly before I had a chance to really see any effect.
When i decided to give the Zoloft a try, I was really at very rock bottom. :( It was very, very bad. Staying on it really saved my sanity.
-
They are NOT addictive in the same way as the opiates though. Some need tapering off. Some can be stopped at once. 5mg isn't much BJ, I take that twice a day as a 'maintenance dose' advised by a Psychiatrist who visited at home, my GP was really worried about me at that time. A pattern of depression was noted and a betablocka was added to the mix - mainly it keeps me ticking over. That hit in the morning though is dreadful for me and a sign of depression is early morning wakening.
When out of my routine I still wake with the feeling of dread :'(
-
weathergirl I am also glad that your medication works for you. Zoloft is sertraline in the UK and I have heard/read of many patients who had a bad time with it.
Hi CLKD, I am feeling better in myself since restarting my Cipralex and 5mg seems to be enough along with propranolol twice a day. Today I am feeling I have been run over by a truck after the weekend but that is just the effects of an over busy time, adrenaline and excitement. I am used to the come down after exertion now .
-
That's good news BJ :foryou:.
I woke suddenly on Monday morning as we had commitments yesterday and thought "oh no!" but anxiety went off after breakfast.