Hi Countrygirl - please don't apologise for anything - we all come here to listen & help each other out with shared experience & we can only do that by reading about the unique set of symptoms, life experiences etc we each have. That you've written openly about what's worrying you takes guts, so please give yourself credit for that. Menopause can be such a terrible shock to the system - physically, psychologically & emotionally. It can really, really mess with us & many of us doubt the cause & question our identity at this time. We are changing, perhaps more dramatically than ever before in our lives; it can feel as though the process is completely beyond our control and that can be at the very least unsettling & at times panic-inducing.
I don't know where you are in the menopause process, but like you, I could not believe the severity of symptoms during peri, which seemed a horribly chaotic & frightening time. But it does get better with the right treatment/approach to ease us through the worst of it & as time goes by it all becomes less unsettling & we begin to breathe a sigh of relief that we have been able to handle the worst. There will always be someone here who has been through one or a combination of our symptoms and the reassurance that brings can go a long way to easing the ride, so please don't feel guilty for posting - you have not waffled & even if you had you'd have to go some to beat my record!
The colander brain thing is truly frightening - though it has improved post-meno I went through years when it felt as though I was developing an increasing number of black holes in my head. For instance I could see a famous face on TV, know I knew who it was but not name them or bring to mind the context in which I knew them. Poor quality sleep alone will do that to us, but it doesn't mean we are losing our marbles. And as for mood swings - I remember hearing myself shouting down the phone in sudden rage at some poor soul I'd never met who'd really tried my patience & thinking, whoooaaahhh where did THAT come from?! It was scary to feel that loss of control & I was ashamed & didn't recognise myself. But it all got better with time & the little HRT I managed to absorb helped me through the worst.
I'm sorry, I don't know your HRT history, but if you are only on a 25mcg patch I'm sure you know that's really very low dose, so I do wonder whether at least 50mcg oestradiol (considered medium dose) would help you feel better - reducing the overheating at night & helping you feel on a more even keel emotionally. The extra quarter patch you are thinking of will be such a tiny increase - not sure whether you have medical reasons for needing to keep it to a minimum. There is no need to answer that, but maybe think about it?
Anyway, do keep posting, we all love to do what we can to help each other through this, as we know how bad it can be, so you will never be alone.
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Topic: Vivid dreams and hot most nights (Read 5679 times)