Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: honeybun on June 20, 2013, 11:45:49 AM
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Been to my GP this morning and came back with these. She gave me 10mg.
I really want something to help but I am terrified they will make me sick.
Help ladies.
Honeyb
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Honeyb it's rotten that you went to get help with anxiety, and now feel scared of the tablets.
Have you tried them before, do you know they don't agree with you?
It might be worth giving them a go, you can always stop if you start to feel bad.
I have never tried Citalopram so can't offer any definite advice.
Sure somebody will be along soon
All I can do is send hugs
:hug: :hug: :hug:
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hi honeybun, your not alone i have had citalopram in the cupboard for weeks i know i need something but i too am scared to take them how silly i tell myself iam 56 get on with it but then i talk myself out of it my daughter in law had them last year and said the first 2 weeks were hell but then they helped :-\ what shall we do eh ;D
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Hi honeybun
I've taken citalopram for anxiety but at the time was in a bit of a state and needed something that would work immediately which i found these didn't. My gp then put me on mirtazapine which started to calm me down straight away. A family member is also taking citalopram and she is feeling much better although it took quite a few weeks and is on 30mg.
You can only give them a try and see how it goes. I understand your reluctance, its adding more medication into the mix and not knowing what the effects will be.
From my own experience hrt has only helped to a certain degree and i needed something to help control the overwhelming anxiety i was experiencing immediately. I take both now, still have ups n downs and its 2 years down the line, but much better than i was, couldn't manage at all without. I'm nearly 51 and intend to try coming off both when my periods have stopped and the emotional and anxiety symptoms will hopefully have calmed down.
Hope this helps, let me know how you get on.
Take care
Delilah x
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Hello honeybun, I have been on sertraline for 3 weeks now and was scared to take the first half tablet (as recommended by my GP) but just came home and took it straight away before I could put myself off :-X I have been lucky and not suffered any real side effects - when I upped from a half to a whole one I felt a bit spaced out for that day but it wore off. Three weeks in and I have to say I am feeling the benefits of them although I have had a couple of anxious days (but I am on other tablets at the moment as well for a skin condition and they are said to ramp up the anxiety), also we have been away and that was stressful for lots of reasons. But I do feel my mind is a little "quieter" than usual and I am not obsessing and worrying about things as much as I usually do. Citalopram is a similar drug - well, it's an SSRI like Sertraline so I would give them a go. I'm terrible with tablets and study the leaflet like mad, convinced I am going to get all the nasty side effects but usually the fears are groundless. You are feeling rough at the moment and these might help - grab that courage and take the first one. If it helps, wait until you are not on your own - maybe have OH around - that way if you do get a side effect there is someone there to offer help. That's what I usually do. Good luck x
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Hi Honeybun
I felt like you before i started the citalopram but although i had some of the side effects they really did help me. I began to feel better after a few weeks and continued to improve over a year and was able to stop them a few months ago. For me at the time they were a life saver because i couldn't have gone on like I was. Perhaps try them and see how you get on and if they don't suit you there are plenty of other's your GP could suggest. I took mine about 7 in the evening so that i would sleep through the worst of the side effects and they also helped me sleep better.
Good luck.
Mac
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What doseage are you on? I find that if I take my at night, about an hour before bed to avoid heartburn, I am fine! I take 5mg of Cipralex which is a similar preparation. I have taken Citalopram in the early 2000s and was absolutely fine, as someone with Emitophobia I have to be careful !
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It's a 10mg dose and like CLKD I am an emitophobe so that's my big problem.
I will take anything if I can be sure it won't make me sick.
I now have to explain to mum that I might be out of action for a short while until I settle on them. That will go down like a lead balloon.
Thanks for all the support. I will start tomorrow and take it with my evening meal so it's not on an empty stomach.
Guess that's my glass of wine at the weekend out the window.
Honeyb
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hi honeybun, if your going to start tonight would you please post and let us know how your feeling if you dont mind and maybe i will start mine :)
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The plan is to begin tomorrow night according to Honeybun's post.
I think you will be fine! I don't feel any queasyness with the AD. I have had some that made me really weird but that was in the 1990s and medication has improved a lot since then.
Tell your Mum that you are feeling unwell and your Dr has suggested that you rest for a week - I don't think there is any reason to tell her why or you will get the 'you don't have any reason to be depressed/anxious/moody' >:( - don't give her any information that she can feed off! No doubt you will get the 'you've only just had a holiday' scenario but have an answer ready!
Or let your DH ring her ;)
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good luck with the tablets x
I know what you mean about being scared to take them. I have a whole box of pregabalin in the cupboard but am too nervous to take them as well.
I suppose the question is if you think you can cope without them? If you're not doing well and have a low quality of life, you could give them a try?
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I've been on them for years, on 20mg atm. They'll probably start to kick in a bit after a week but the best results take a month or two. They may give you a try mouth but please persevere as this will go quite quickly.
Definitely dont tell your mum the real reason, as CLKD says.
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Hope they help you HB! I know how you feel about not taking prescribed meds. My GP gave me strong anti-inflammatories for my back. I read the blurb and refused to take. He wasn't best pleased.
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Hi Honeybun
I have taken them in the past, suffered from severe anxiety / depression after the breakdown of my marriage. I was given 10mg to start with, and as others have said, they take a few weeks to really kick in. I didn't really have any side effects that I remember, so I assume if I did then they couldn't have been severe or I would have remembered.
My dose was increased to 20mg as we, the doc and I, felt that I needed a little more help when divorce was pending. I did feel a bit spaced and hyper for a little while, this settled quickly and they became routine and I got used to them.
They were an absolute life saver for me, I couldn't have coped at all without them. Once I started feeling that I could cope with the everyday without them I was weaned off, I have had them since when I was suffering from meno symptoms and I took them for a short time to get me through some tough times.
I really hope that you give them a try, they may be just what you need, I really do hope they help you. Not everyone is the same and can't tolerate the same medication. You can but try.
Wishing you all the very best, keep us posted.
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I will start tomorrow as I have had a diazepam today and don't want to mix things up.
I did tell mum I had been at the GP and that she said I may well feel rough for a few days.I really hope I don't but when I go to mum's tomorrow I will be taking her seven meals......be prepared.....and I will change her bed and do her washing. If she has to manage without me for a short while she will manage with a full freezer and a clean house and bed.
That is one of the main reasons for starting tomorrow.
For once I am going to put me first and mother will just have to get what I am able to give.
Honeyb
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Well done Honeybun. I hope you don't get any side effects but just remember that within three weeks they should have disappeared. I had a prescription for citalopram last year but didn't feel brave enough to use them either so I know how you feel! My son takes 20mg a day and apart from the first two weeks (he started on 10mg too) where he felt very tired, yawned all the time and also a bit nauseous it keeps him functioning.
Taz x
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They must have worked well for him Taz.....He is in Canada now.....Not that I want to go to Canada.....mind you. ;)
I just want to do the things that I used to do. Not much....Just the odd time out for a meal or a coffee or even go to the pictures. I have not done anything like that for over a year now. Not only is it effecting my life but My hubbies too and that's not fair although he has never complained.
Honeyb
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Get your Mum sorted then go for it! Give yourself a couple of days off, I expect - like I did - you will 'look' for adverse side effects ::) - but remember also, a medication wouldn't work if it weren't for side effects ;) - so long as you get the 'good work in progress' ones .........
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Just wanted to say that it's the youngest one who is in Canada Honeybun not the middle (central) one but thanks to citalopram he has gone from being out of work, unable to travel anywhere or, eventually, eat anything and spending his days in bed to working full time, living away from home and travelling wherever and whenever he wants to. He has tried to come off them and although it is not addictive and he suffered no withdrawal effects the anxiety came back just as before. He worked out that as he had been like that since the age of 15 and he is now 28 then, for him, he will probably always need to take it.
Taz x
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Hope it goes well Honeybun.
Look after yourself.
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Good luck for later hb, I'm sure you will be fine with them. Got to be worth a try. Let us know how it goes.
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I am on citalopram HB. I can also be a bit funny with tablets...didn't get on well with HRT, and diazepam makes me feel completely spaced out for hours and hours (even the low dose) but I quite like that hahah! But... I have had absolutely no problems with citalopram. I didn't feel a thing - just took the tablet and got on with it. Thought about it for a few days, wondering if I felt different...nope, so just forgot about it. It kicked in properly after about two weeks for me, just woke up one day and felt so much happier in my own skin, much less anxious, (remember how bad I was?) stopped staring glumly into space and started singing again as I was going round the house! I felt sort of calmly excited, and looking forward to things again. Even the thought of reading a new book or watching something interesting on telly got me in a good mood, and I had been so down and miserable before...nothing made me happy, I had lost my joy. ONLY down side was that increased my appetite, but heyho, I feel great. Oh! Also got my libido back as I mentioned in a previous thread, not sure if it was the citalopram or not (not usual for a SSRI) but I am not complaining!
I hope you get on OK with it. It really is amazing when you get the brain chemicals sorted out just how much of a difference it makes to your life.
Edit: forgot to mention I have also been on Prozac in the past, it worked well for me too years ago when I was suffering PTSD after son had horrible accident and I got very depressed. Citalopram is better for anxiety.
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Thanks Sweet pea.
I will take my first one tonight with my dinner and I really hope I do as well on them as you have. Great to hear a really positive result.
Honeyb
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Fingers crossed HB!
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Feeling a bit sick at the moment. Off to bed soon so hopefully it will have passed by the morning.
Honeyb
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Probably anxiety? Hope you sleep well :)
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How did it go HB?
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I wish I could say it has gone well but I can't.
I feel as if I have been hit by a bus.
I have a stinking headache and feel very very sick. It was only through willpower this morning that I managed to hang onto my breakfast.
I am sweaty and shaky.
I don't know that I can cope with this to be honest but don't want to give up. I knew I would have some side effects but if one pill does this what on earth will the next one do.
I am so disappointed. My poor hubby is flapping around me not knowing if I am going to keel over.
Just to add insult to injury the dog has a tummy bug and he will have to take her to the vet.
What do I do .....carry on, stop, cut the pill in half and hope there are less side effects that way.
So sad about this.....really want to have a good cry. If ADs don't suit what else is there for me.
Honeyb
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Honeybun - you are on half dose at 10mg - for anxiety you usually start at 10 and then up it to 20mg once side effects have lessened. These side effects are typical I'm afraid but will get better. My doc signs her patients off work for two weeks when starting any SSRI as you do need this time to adjust. They made my son feel very sleepy - in fact he yawned his way through the first week - huge loud yawns and slept a lot. Tell yourself that this will pass and that you will then begin to get your life back. This is from the NHS website
"The side effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can be troublesome at first but generally improve with time.
It is important to persist with treatment, even if you are affected by side effects, as it will take several weeks before you begin to benefit from treatment.
With time you should find the benefits of treatment outweigh problems related to side effects.
Common side effects
Common side effects of SSRIs, affecting around one in 10 people include:
feeling sick
low sex drive
difficulty achieving orgasm during sex or masturbation
in men, difficulty obtaining or maintaining an erection (erectile dysfunction)
blurred vision
diarrhoea or constipation
dizziness
dry mouth
feeling agitated or shaky
not sleeping well (insomnia) or, alternatively, feeling very sleepy
loss of appetite
excessive sweating
yawning
These side effects should improve over time, although some can occasionally persist."
If you really can't tolerate them then I believe that the SNRI's have less side effects and it may be worth asking for these instead although I am not sure how well they work for anxiety.
Taz x
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The symptoms will settle. Do you think you could be sweaty and shaky because you are anxious about the side effects? Take paracetamol for the headache and suck a mint for the nausea. See how you feel later on.
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Honeybun that was how I reacted after just one Citalopram, I never took another one, I expect others may say that you will feel worse before you feel better and that maybe true.
I have been reading and following your posts about your anxiety and problems with your mum and it struck me when you said you were at your wits end and seeing your doctor about ADs, that it was such a shame that it was you who felt you needed something help cope with all the caring when it was the problems with your mum that have caused all your anxieties, (I hope I have this right) and not your brain chemistry that was at fault.
Maybe having a good cry would help it can be very healing (taking ADs might stop you being able to cry).
Only you can decide if you want to continue with Citalopram, I think this is the first drug of its type to be offered and there maybe others that don't make you feel so bad at first( I do remember that I felt as if my brain had taken over and was in a vice and feeling so sick) I was just not prepared to feel like that, it might have passed, but I decided to kicked the Citalopram into touch and was glad I did.
I hope you do find an answer Honeybun whether its ADs or not, you did ask "What else is there for me) well you do have your strength of mind and maybe a change of how you deal with things and that is mainly your mother and her hold over you ( maybe your mum should be taking the ADs!) only joking, but I do feel you have got into a cycle of a sense of duty, and anger of what its doing to you and your own life.
Wish I could help more x
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I will take one more tonight and see how it goes. I can cope with most things but the sickness.....Yes I have been sick, and it just knocks me for six.
I know the dose is small but I have always been sensitive to medication and I am only small myself.
Silverlady....sounds like we had the same reaction. The first thought is to throw them in the bin but I have been struggling for a year now and my world is slowly shrinking. Yes my mother is one of my main causes of anxiety but there is really nothing I can do about her behaviour. I do get paid for doing her stuff and yes I would miss the money, but I would still have to go and visit with her three or four times a week and would end up doing the same stuff. It's very difficult and I know that CLKD will come along and tell me I just need to say no but it's not that easy. My hubby has health problems and I worry about him too.
Silverlady what did use instead of ADs...Hope you don't mind me asking.
I have got myself in a mess and at the moment just can't see a way out or forward. I have always been a perfectionist and I don't think that helps as I think I should be able to cope.
Just don't know what to do.
Honeyb
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Everyones mum...How do you cope with your anxiety. I have never been depressed...Fed up yes and down but not depressed. You are right until you have to deal with a difficult and hateful parent you just don't get how hard it is.
Thanks everyone....What would I do without you all.
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Sorry to hear you reacted to the tablets HB. Hate feeling/being sick it's so draining. Wish I could suggest something to help with the sickness, apart from the usual - ginger, peppermint. :hug:
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Honeybun my anxiety was a health anxiety, my mother and father died within three weeks of one another, my mother had a severe stroke a few weeks before Xmas, my father took his life Christmas eve, my mother had another stroke three weeks later and died, just when she was desperately trying to recover from the first stroke and was up and walking, all this will haunt me for the rest of my life, we all coped with this and it was only when I had severe complications from an operation six years ago that post traumatic stress set in with panic attacks and anxiety.
I have got over it now without ADs but zopiclone helped with sleep for a long while. I just researched all I could about it and bought the "The Charles Linden Method" and read the Dr Claire Weekes books. I had a few A&E visits but really the only person who could help was me, its taken a few years, but touch wood I think I am myself again.
Tried Hypnotherapy, a waste of time for me, talking with my doctor helped and some counselling, I still have problems in my life, but that horrible fear and anxiety has been tamed without ADs. I don't think now that every sensation in my body is signalling a stroke or my demise, its my OHs health that is the worry for me now ::) and I do get fed up because he is so much older and then I feel guilty, so I do understand the caring and the conflict of feelings it causes. x
I also understand the "perfectionist" problem and I have had to let that go a bit.
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So agree with everyones mum about the "What if she dies" and the walking therapy, I have had to curb this lately because of my lower back problems, but walking is the best thing for anxiety that there is, I often thought I walked my way through menopause too. My walk to is lined with trees and greenery "a cycle path through cleared woods" nature is the best therapy there is.
You have to retrain the "old brain" the flight or flight mechanism that causes the anxiety and the adrenalin which cause the feelings and sensations , its called diversion therapy, doing anything that takes your mind off the anxiety and worry.
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The problem with with walking theory is that if being out of the house makes you anxious, walking wouldn't really work. I think if you can tolerate the AD, let them do their job until you get on an even keel then find other ways to cope naturally.
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Honeybun hope you get on better with tonights dose.
It will take a while to settle down.
Whatever you do, don't flog yourself to pieces, trying to reason with your mother.
Stay away for a while to allow your strength to build up again, while you get used to the drug.
As the others have said, don't tell her the full reason why you can't come.
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Oh dear, I was so hoping you got on ok with it :(
Perhaps you could have a chat with the doc about the sick thing, and try one of the others? Prozac? Mirtazipine? My 85 year old Mum went on Mirtazipine when she had a nervous breakdown when Dad got Alzheimers (gawd, what a lot we all are eh) and she is a tiny wee thing, she had no problems at all and she is much better now. Helps her sleep too.
Goold luck x
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I stopped the moment a medication made me feel queasy. Fortunately there are plenty out there to try. I know that my nausea was nothing to do with anxiety but the effect of the drug. Even though I didn't read anhy of the possible side-effects before taking them. I had to stop otherwise i would have been under a bus :-\
See how the next tablet is if you can face taking it. Otherwise go back to the GP. I can't remember whether you have tried a beta-blocka for anxiety? It works for me. Some people find it hypes them up - total opposite to what they require >:(
Get a Valium down you too. As for helping your Mum, well you know my feelings. She won't die overnight if you and your sister back off. She will moan a lot ::) ........ but you can ONLY care for another person if you are healthy yourself!
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This is a bit of a change of tack - but honeybun you did say if AD's don't suit what else is there for me, and a while back I did suggest about changing the HRT you are on but you didn't comment so I am suggesting it again in case it helps.
If I remember rightly you are on conti HRT which is Evorel? Apologies if you've changed and I can;t remember - if so ignore this post. However you are on continuous progestogen of a type that can cause anxiety - many women do not get on with norethisterone. You said you weren't depressed before - not sure when "before" was but maybe worth thinking about. I know that a lot of it from what you say is to do with your mother, but maybe the progestogen (synthetic) is exacerbating the problem and making you less able to cope with, and more anxious about your difficult situation.
You could change back to a cyclical HRT ( and you might still have a bleed if you are early peri) or to Utrogestan either cyclically or continuously - which may make you a bit more sleepy ( but less anxious) - or even Femseven ( although that is still synthetic).
Personally I would try that (change of HRT progestogen) before committing to ADs because until you do so you cannot be sure it isn't that making the problem worse.
And like everyone's mum - I agree that walking is the one of the best medicines.
Hurdity x
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Hurdity.
I have been sitting thinking the same thing. My problems did begin when I went onto conti HRT so perhaps what you say is very valid.
I think I will put on another appointment with my GP.
My only concern is that I did try coming off HRT at the beginning of the year. I managed a month and did not find my anxiety improved much. Would the conti still have been in my system after that amount of time.
Not moved from the chair today and still have a thumping headache despite paracetamol.
Honeyb
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HB suddenly remembered something for nausea. It's Buccastem. It's recommended for migraine sufferers. You can buy over counter at chemist. I was told to say it was for nausea associated with migraines, as some chemists are a bit wary of giving it. You let it dissolve between lip and teeth. Not very pleasant to taste, but not the worst thing. It's slightly bitter.
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Honeybun - did you say you had been sick since taking the tablet?
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Yes she did CLKD.
Just googled Buccastem, not surprised chemists are wary to give it out. Scary side effects and lots of contra-indications...
HB hope tonight is better but if not then it does seem a good idea to get the HRT sorted out ASAP.
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Well I have had a rotten day. Felt so unwell and just not able to give myself a shake. Could not even eat any dinner. I have had one slice of toast the whole day.
I am not taking anymore. I just can't cope with feeling like this. I will go back to my GP and talk things through but these are not for me.
I know they work well for others but oh dear not me.
Honeyb
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Honeybun - you've tried and feel rotten.
I don't know whether it would be any easier trying again tonight.......
Whatever, I think you are not alone in not getting on with them.
Really hope you feel better tomorrow
:hug:
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How was the actual being sick though? I had medication 2 years ago which made me ill but it wasn't actually as bad as I feared ::) ..... but that awful feeling when the gut rejects the medication and then the whole body gets involved >:( ....... even if I knew it was going to ease after 2-3 days I was unable to continue with it. Let us know what the GP suggests.
I am sure too that you will manage more than toast tomorrow but don't worry if not, make sure you drink plenty of fluids and if possible, some soup ;)
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The being sick was unpleasant.....Don't care what form it takes.....It's being sick.
It was not even just that. It was the sweating and shaking for most of the day. I have never felt like that after taking any pill.
Had an ice lolly and it was lovely. Had a mouth like the bottom of a bird cage all day.
Honeyb
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Hi honeybun
Just seen this thread and just want to offer my support.
I have never taken citalopram but I've been taking fluoxetine (Prozac) for 9 years for OCD.
I was prescribed Mirtazapine a couple of months ago when I was having terrible anxiety.
My GP didn't want to up my HRT because I am on a high dose and she wanted to sort out the anxiety as that is my worst meno symptom.
After a week on Mirtazapine I started to notice an improvement.
They made me feel calm and gave me a good nights sleep.
In 3 weeks I was feeling really good.
I found that the AD worked instantly on my anxiety.
I take 15mg at night and am feeling normal again.
Have a chat with your GP on other ADs.
Mirtazapine worked for me and it could work for you.
I know we are all different and react differently to medications.
Please keep us informed on how you are doing.
:bighug: Dyan X
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Hope your feeling a little better this morning HB xx
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The claire weekes books and the anxietynomore website were far and above the best self help I got after reading and browsing tons of stuff, especially when i was on the floor xxx
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Thanks,
Loads better this morning. Hard to believe that one pill could do that. Won't be doing that again. I will have a look for the Clair Weekes books for my kindle.
Honeyb
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hi honey bun least youve experienced taking the tablet now and you know how you felt my citalopram is still in the cupboard :( i know that despite what people tell me that medicines do not agree with me at all i cant even take multi vitamins without feeling sick and getting a bad tummy i have to continue with my 2 blood pressure meds but even them i have to drop 1 every other day as my pressure will drop too low my other half says iam just not normal :) any way just a thought for you did you ever try st johns wort ? i have read quite alot about it and it seems it does work unless you have severe depression wonder what you think it is a good feeling though when youve felt rough with a tablet and then stop and feel better least you know why you feel rough for a change x
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HB
I was really sick after taking one tablet, I couldn't stop throwing up and was only drinking water. I felt awful, I couldn't sleep but was really tired. I had to A&E a coupe of days off work, I felt so bad!
I didn't take any more.
3 days after taking one tablet, I got out of bed and got in the car to go collect my daughter. I fell asleep on the A14 and went into the central reservation, I was ok, (woke me up!), but wrecked my car!
I went onto HRT patches, which I am feeling much better on and my moods have improved as well.
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What a shame HB that you can't tolerate them. So it's back to the drawing board?
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I have had severe anxiety/panic attacks most of my life and have tried all sorts of ADs none of them have ever really helped me. I did stick with taking the citalopram when I was given them 5 years ago but having taking them for 6 weeks I had a horrible panic attack that went on for 9 hours and I just thought what's the point in taking them when I am still having horrible panic attacks. I just struggled on until one day reading a post on the nomorepanic site someone had recommended Filisa, i'm not sure if I might of mentioned these to you before? They really have helped me and along with taking the diazepam if I am very stressed over something I am so much better than I ever was and I gratefully for that.
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Such a shame you had a horrid reaction HB. I hope your GP will be sympathetic towards you and give you something which is kinder to you. I know my mum had a dreadful time with anxiety. Maybe because I'm on HRT, she wasn't, I will be saved from the horrid symptoms. Of course maybe I am just delaying them, who knows. She was put on Librium, though not sure if it's still prescribed.
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Have you arranged another GP appointment Honeybun?
Perhaps you could give her a ring rather than actually having to go in
Hope you feel totally right soon
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Librium is a drug which can only be prescribed under close supervision as regular blood tests are essential in order to monitor that the patient is maintaining the 'correct' level. It can work well for people as a last resort.
My GP never understood that 1 tablet could cause such reactions in me. Even a drug which 'had no known side-effects' made me really weird ::) ........... no names no pack drill ........
Glad you are feeling better today. I am afraid that I read all the Claire Weekes books and couldn't really believe that she had been through what I was experiencing - she made it appear so easy to gain back control. However, I had my first panic attack at age 3 and she was well through her panics before she wrote the books so she may have had less memory of what actually takes place :-\
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Just googled Filisa as I'd never heard of it and I've been on every anti depressant under the sun since I was 22. It appears it is a herbal remedy:
Does it work?
The Sutherlandia plant is rich in the natural inhibitory neuro-transmitter GABA, which relieves depression, anxiety, stress, improves the mood and gives a general sense of wellbeing. Filisa helps with stress, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, SAD, PMT and Menopausal symptoms.
What are the Side Effects?
Filisa can be taken alongside your prescribed medication. It should not be taken during pregnancy or whilst breastfeeding. It is not generally suitable for children under 14. Take 2x200mg capsules twice daily with food, to reduce any risk of nausea or dizziness (these are the only two rare side effects reported among already weakened patients).
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Here is more info on "Sutherlandia Frutescens" which is what Felisa is http://www.sutherlandia.org/
They talk about it on "No More Panic"
It is expensive, though these herbals usually are.
I think I would prefer my Rooibos tea "Aspalathus linearis" it is very calming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos
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If it is taken 'alongside your usual medication' how does one know that it works ........... :-\
I also want to add that some people are 'allergic' or react to the outer covering of the medication, not to the drug itself .
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Hurdity.
I have been sitting thinking the same thing. My problems did begin when I went onto conti HRT so perhaps what you say is very valid.
I think I will put on another appointment with my GP.
My only concern is that I did try coming off HRT at the beginning of the year. I managed a month and did not find my anxiety improved much. Would the conti still have been in my system after that amount of time.
Not moved from the chair today and still have a thumping headache despite paracetamol.
Honeyb
X
Hi again - I can't really comment on all the other meds or productds as I've never taken them - but just that you mentioned the prog in your system. I don't really know how long it stays in your system. From what I read blood levels reduce pretty quickly but other effects may take much longer and I imagine some of it must be stored in the body?
The initial withdrawal after stopping would have been felt within a week - you might have had headaches etc for a few days?
However the fact you stopped HRT completely means that even if the prog left your system - then you were also reducing the oestrogen - so some of your anxiety could have continued due to low oestrogen too.
I'm not saying that this is entirely the cause - but it could make the difference between being able to cope with the anxiety due to difficult pressures in your life eg looking after your mum - and finding it all too much.
Personally I would look to changing your HRT - at least or if only to rule out this as a contributory factor in your anxiety. As I said before - you could try Femseven but this also has a synthetic progestogen. How were you in the past with periods - did you get pms symptoms the whole of the second half of the month or only just before your period? I think I mentioned if you went beack to a cycle briefly at least you would be able to identify if it was the progestogen causing the problem and I would go back to a specialist if possible.
Maybe even the level of oestrogen is too low for you? I think you are still quite young (in meno terms!) so maybe could increase the oestrogen dose. In this case you would definiutley need to take separate oestrogen and progestogen so perhaps you would like to try to join the Utrogestan gang?!!
Coupled with this I would try the non-chemical approaches to dealing with anxeity - like has been suggested already on this thread - I think you went on a CBT course and not sure if you;ve been able to take any of this on board?
Hope this helps
Hurdity x
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CBT could never over-come the physical feelings that anxiety gives me. No amount of 'you survived before, you will survive this time' chat in my brain over-ruled the physical awful nausea and fear ........... because my phobia was engrained before I was a week old :-\.
Relaxation therapy helped a lot. As did sitting, with cat on knee, doing absolutely nowt. But it took a lot for the brain to stop whirring ..... the 'what if these feelings never go away or get worse' :'(
How are you this evening HoneyBun?
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Thanks Hurdity.
Could you possibly pm me your regime details. I have a tame GP in our practise who will generally give me what I want so if I can go armed with preparation details and regime I am pretty sure he will prescribe. The female GP won't so rather than be turned away....
I always had pretty bad PMS for about ten days before a period.
I am fine CLKD thanks.
Side effects all gone now and back to "normal".
I also intend to ask my GP for a different councillor to try that again.
Honeyb
X
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I guess the progesterone level must drop fairly quickly in that when on a sequi HRT you have a bleed within a day or two of stopping the progesterone. With me my anxiety lifted within a week. I have just finished my progesterone two weeks (bleed started today) and I am feeling more human again tonight.
Taz x
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So pleased you're feeling better HB. Lol @ "tame GP", wish I could find one!