Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Sparkles1973 on January 04, 2023, 03:06:09 PM
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Oh no..... the dreaded thumping heart and hot face is back ???
After 4 months on Fluoxetine they kind of went to mild and anxiety felt better too. I started to get my life back. I had Covid over Christmas so I'm wondering is it......
A. After effects of Covid.... has it made my hormones even more wonky again? Or...
B. The Fluoxetine isn't working anymore.
I'm hoping and praying that Covid has knocked me off track with my hormones and I'll feel better again in a few weeks. I really dont want to increase my Fluoxetine dose. I have tried a couple of different methods of hrt in the past but they didn't work or made me worse 😣 I'm so fed up now and frightened .... please can someone reassure me? Xx
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It sounds like the after effects of Covid to me. Covid really messed up my body too. It caused me to be breathless a lot so I can imagine that has caused your heart palpitations to return. I think all you can do is remind yourself that this is going to pass. You are safe and you will be back to how you were. I am sending you a virtual hug.
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Ahhh, thank you Flossie! ❤ by the way, how are you doing? Xxx
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Hi Sparkles1973,
Nice name. My Dad used to call me sparkles.
My peri menopause symptoms were initially mostly settled after a year on daily gel and 14 days utrogestan. Unfortunately at the time of my GP annual review to change me to a conti regime (because of my age - 54) I had covid which floored me (and took me 12 weeks to feel human again, mainly from an energy perspective). At the same time as Covid and change in HRT many of my symptoms returned almost immediately, the worst being anxiety and it was worse than I'd had before. After a desperate call another GP told me to return to my original sequi routine and let everything settle. She also said that I shouldnt have changed regime whilst recovering from covid as there is evidence to show covid affects hormones.
I'm now 3.5 months in back on my original regime and due another review tomorrow. Many of my symptoms have settled but my anxiety reared its head again in November and just got worse with the run into Xmas. I feel that my regime needs tweaking as my bleed pattern has changed as a result of messing up my HRT original routine whilst having covid. The anxiety wasn't helped by having to cope with my feisty mum (who went into a care home last year with Alzheimer's) demanding to "go home" all the time and saying she wasnt staying "in there" for Xmas. So I have spent the last few weeks with a jangly tummy, loose movements, palpitations and generally feeling agitated. I have never really enjoyed the pressure of the xmas period anyway and I think the combination of unbalanced hormones following covid, my own fluctuations and external family stresses (I also have 2 poorly in-laws who live 250 miles ago) have "aligned" to cause havoc with my anxiety levels.
Funnily enough when I woke up yesterday I felt better just knowing that the festive season is over and we can get back to some normality and hopeful get a GP appointment this week.
I am not a medic but I wouldn't be surprised if your anxiety has a lot to do with Covid and hopefully it will soon settle.
Exercise, Meditation and Chamomile tea are my go to therapies while I'm waiting for it to pass, though it's not easy.
Hope that helps x
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I'm not on HRT but covid left me with palpatations and extremely fast heart rate for weeks. Had ECG and all was fine. Also covid messes with hormones and HRT.
It can take a few weeks to settle.
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Hi Dotty! ❤ thank you for that, it is surprising how Covid and a tweak in hrt can 'upset the apple cart'...I will take your advice and I hope you feel top notch soon xxx
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Thank you Deidre 🥰 I hope you're feeling good now xx
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I have had long covid for 2 years and what you are describing sounds like the effects of that nasty virus. It dysregulates our systems even more than peri/menopause does. Despite being on HRT I can guarantee that my long covid dysregulation will flare up round about what would have been ovulation and menstruation. And that always includes palpitations. I know dozens of women in this situation.
Thankfully, the vast majority of people who have covid do not develop long covid. But you might want to see if increasing your HRT for a short time helps.
Despite these horrid palpitations I can tell you that my heart and blood pressure are perfectly normal and healthy. All hormonal.
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Thank you Zoe ❤ I'm not on hrt as it didn't do much for me and if anything, made me worse. I'll wait it out and hopefully I will go back to some kind of normality (well, as normal as I can be 😁) xx thank you and I hope you feel good soon xx
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Sorry Sparkles1973, missed that!! Yes, it should calm down in time. X
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No worries Zoe! Thank you 🙏❤
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Interesting as I’m not on hrt and covid has caused a fluttery heart, jittery in the stomach feelings with me too. It feels physical rather than emotional anxiety but it feels so much like nerves it makes me feel so unsettled and well, anxious!
How long until this settled down for people? I’m about 4 weeks since positive test
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Just to add I don’t think it’s the fluoxetine not working x
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Hi Scampidoodle ❤ i totally get what you mean and sorry to hear you've been suffering too, it's horrid, isnt it? I'm 2 weeks since a positive test.
It isn't as severe today nor as it has been but it is still unnerving. I honestly think the Covid can affect your hormones for a while xx
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Scampidoodle, yes that sounds very like COVID. It took me a while to get my doctor to understand the difference between bodily anxiety and mental anxiety.
Everyone I know with long covid says the same (male and female): it is your body telling you something is very wrong. Some of the men I know through online forums/Twitter (all younger, in 30's and 40's) have been put on testosterone replacement because long covid seems to have affected their testosterone levels . And yet so little is still known about how long covid works.
There is no doubt in my mind, nor my menopause specialist's, that long covid has made perimenopause far worse. 'Menopause on steroids' is her view. She also says it affects women she sees who have covid for the standard time of 4 to 6 weeks but no long covid (fewer cases of long covid since vaccines were available).
The key is to rest and do not try to push yourself through it. It should all settle down in time.
To be honest, this probably needs a thread of its own.
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Hello ladies.
Scampidoodle - As far as I know I have never had COVID but your description of physical anxiety with a fluttering heart and jittery stomach feelings certainly match my general menopause experience.
Many ladies on MM report the same and my trusty meno book also notes these sensations as hormonal.
It is highly likely that COVID is contributing to your symptoms but what you have described sounds very menopausal to me. Hopefully when the virus leaves your system your hormones will settle down and these very unpleasant sensations wil diminish.
Wishing you well and take care.
K.
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Thank you Kathleen ❤
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Interesting as I’m not on hrt and covid has caused a fluttery heart, jittery in the stomach feelings with me too. It feels physical rather than emotional anxiety but it feels so much like nerves it makes me feel so unsettled and well, anxious!
How long until this settled down for people? I’m about 4 weeks since positive test
I was about 8 weeks before i was back to normal and the palpatations completely stopped. They gradually got less over the weeks and the anxiety lessened which probably helped the palpatations too.