Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Vicky81 on March 21, 2022, 06:47:38 AM
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Hi everyone....
Could anyone tell me their experiences using oestrogel and if it helped or cured peri anxiety as in quite bad/social anxiety and how long this took?
Thanks so much xx
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Hi Vicky
My mood changed and my anxiety lifted within a week, it was very quick.
Xx
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Aahh ok, i have been on 4 pumps for 4 weeks (tomorrow) and still getting the "not wanting to go outside" anxiety. I am only 41 and never had this anxiety ever before.
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Hi Vicky
Everyone is different. For me the anxiety was the last thing to go. It took about 3 months so give it time.
Nicola x
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I find the best way to cure the not wanting to go outside anxiety, is to face it.
I had this with driving over recent months.
I literally had a panic each time I had to drive. Sweats, racing heart. dry mouth, the lot.
The bottom line of it was, I had to drive. Otherwise I would have lost my independence completely due to living semi rural. So each day I would reluctantly get in the car and drive the fast bendy roads I hated so much.
Things are a bit better now, but not perfect.
Have you read the DARE book? It’s very good and offers some great tools for tackling anxiety head on.
Best of luck :)
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Remember, too, we're coming out of a pandemic during which our exposure to familiar, confidence-affirming, reassuring experience was dramatically reduced. I'm starting to think there has been much more of an emotional toll than we realise. As a previously extremely confident driver, I'm noticing a marked deterioration. Sorry if this derails a bit, but I feel it's an important element to life now that we can tend to forget!
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To be honest, Sertraline helped my anxiety more than Estrogel did. I can’t be my functional self without Sertraline anymore…I tried several times and it just works.
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shannon - have sent you a private msg
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Hi Vicky. I found the HRT (patches) did help but it took at least three months. CBT is great for social anxiety. I’m just completing an intense NHS course. It’s been amazing. I still have the physical symptoms but the CBT has helped so that it doesn’t affect my life so much and starts to bring my mood down.
Sounds like you’ve been suffering for a while. Do you have a self referral service to mental health in your area ? I did it and was told the wait was a year. … however it did come through a lot faster than that.
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Should add that I know exactly how you feel …used to get myself in a horrible horrible knot about driving, going to work canteen, going to my hobbies and especially social occasions. I am far better now though it still needs managing sometimes. There is light at the end of the tunnel honest. I’m not there yet but am so much better than I was looking back.
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Vanilla - i have sent you a message.
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Hi Shannon, what dose of sertraline did you need to feel better and maintain? I’ve been on 50 and now 100 for last 3 months, still adjusting to hrt regime as well tho?
Thank you all in here for support, it really helps xx
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The chance of finding some Oestrogel would be a fine thing. I have anxiety solely brought on from not being able to get any, so in that sense yes.
And in a more broad sense too, to answer your question. It makes everything better.
TD
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Myself I found 75mg Sertraline to be the sweet spot. Then after my HRT was settled, I was able to reduce to 50mg. I was actually feeling too anxious and on edge jittery on 75mg. I feel better on lower estrogen than higher, and lower Sertraline than higher. Not what I first expected!
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Thanks for all responses.....xxx
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Thank you Shannon xx