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[Rae64]

Hello, I am 56 yrs old and have been through the menopause for about 5 years.  I have always suffered from intense flashes and night sweats 24/7 but I have learned to live with it (HRT did not work for me) and I think I cope pretty well. 

However, for the last few days I have been having this every morning at 5am (or thereabouts). I wake up in a hot sweat (not unusual) and then get very cold (not as usual) and I find it impossible to get back to sleep as I feel nauseous, like I have an upset stomach and I cannot switch my brain off.  If I think of anything real, even if it's I must put the bins out, that's it I just lie awake until it's time to get up. 

Is this to do with the menopause or could it be anxiety (or both)?  I have felt like this before when I have been stressed at an old job but I have a job with no stress and I cannot work out why I feel like this.  It hangs about all day and I have to force myself to eat as the thought of food makes me feel nauseous again.  The upset tummy feeling also hangs around all day.

Any opinions or help would be gratefully received as I am fed up wondering what this could be

[Postmeno3]

Sounds like a cortisol surge? This could be to do with being overstimulated in a whole range of ways. The racing thoughts kind of point to this as well. So it may be a kind of maladaptive stress response in your system, but there will be other folk along with their take. Meanwhile, you may want to consider what has changed lately, if anything, in your circumstances which co-incides with this "sudden" response? Good luck!

[Deeble]

Hi Rae64
This sounds familiar to me - I'm 62 and several years post-meno and still sometimes get this morning anxiety, most recently a couple of weeks ago when I stopped hrt, but it has eventually settled down again. Not very pleasant. I describe it as morning jitters!
I think it is to do with rising cortisol as you wake in the early morning and that low levels of oestrogen are insufficient to damp the anxiety down? Someone else will know more..
I try to get up when I wake up; take some deep breaths to try and override the feeling.
I imagine stress and low oestrogen with a rush of morning cortisol could  result in what you describe - and upset your stomach too - it did for me!
Good luck with it. X

[SaraC2773]

I can totally relate to this and I'm 47.

I've had this on and on for a few years now and it seems to come and go, so I've always put it down to hormones but I also suffer from anxiety and find it is worse if I'm feeling stressed.

I actually went to the GP once as on occasions I'd have those sensations you are describing but my heart would be pounding.  They did an ECG and said it was fine and was just hormones/stress.

It's horrible I've had it this morning and it really makes you feel rotten for a while.  I find with me it can take a hour or so to settle.

I did see somewhere (not sure if this forum) that someone suggested it might be linked to low blood sugar? 

[jaypo]

All par for the course I'm afraid,like postmeno said,cortisol rushes,some night's I wake having a sweat and my brain is running at a million miles an hour and this feeling of immense dread sweeps over me,it's awful but I know what it is now and it passes. Lack of oestrogen causes many many symptoms and they can pop up when we least expect them

[CherrySG]

I don't know how you feel about supplements but as someone with chronic anxiety I've had some success with a supplement called phosphaydylserine. It regulates cortisol and can reduce those horrible 4am anxiety wake-ups.

Blackout curtains also help, but take a few weeks. As Deeble said, cortisol naturally rises in the early hours of the morning to get us up out of bed. It's activated somewhat by the morning light, so reducing the impact of this can help.

[Jule1]

Hi there,
I can also relate to this - and was glad to read some explanation here. My anxiety is terrible in the mornings and I feel I can barely cope but after lunch I often feel better... and I have terrible stomach and poop issues, feeling nauseous most of the time. It’s terrible and I feel I might have to tackle the anxiety somehow as it’s stopping me from living... I am 50 and perimenopausal... I hope yours will disappear soon again!
Jule

[jaypo]

Jule1 I had awful nausea too,in fact it's back again now but I'm 57 and was hoping I'd seen the back of it,I take stugeron to help with it,it's a travel sickness tablet,they really do work,maybe worth a try for you?

[Shell babes]

I too suffer terribly with morning anxiety, it wakes me early with what feels like a jolt of electricity. I can barely function in a morning whilst pretending everything is fine. I also wake with a feeling of intense fear. I am now afraid of it, the fear of the feeling of fear, if that makes sense. I can barely cope in a morning and have lost confidence, I used to be very confident and outgoing. This has blindsided me as it has been going on for 18 months. By lunch time, I am feeling better but left shaken, yet again, by the morning events. X

[jaypo]

Yes,it's always worse in the mornings,like you I was a confident woman but it floors you
My OH and I LOVE cruising,done it for years,two years ago, I was so bad, I had it in my head I didn't want to go (unheard of) I was terrified of leaving home,the "what if's" my mood went to an all time low but I did eventually come through the worst of it and with no HRT but I do still have my days of anxiety,I'm just hoping the lessen as time goes by

[Shell babes]

Jaypo - how long has it taken for you to come out of it all? The low mood, anxiety etc.

[suzysunday]

It's good to know other people have this.  My morning anxiety has been terrible, but less so of late.  I don't know why.  It really floors me sometimes, waking early with the weight of the world.

[Shell babes]

Yes it does floor you. The thing I find unmanageable is that I wake up and my thoughts are racing at what seems like a million miles an hour and I can’t control them. I have been reading about low blood sugar and adrenal fatigue which seems to fit. It’s just exhausting and trying to work out what is going on is exhausting me more.

[jaypo]

I get that too she'll babes,the racing thoughts,can you do any relaxation? Don't let the racing continue, I follow a technique that soldiers learn,it takes a while but works,imagine floating on water,gently bobbing and in your head repeat........."don't think don't think" and you can slow the racing down.
I had it really bad for 6 months or so,don't get me wrong, I still get anxiety occasionally now,especially health anxiety but not so bad,I'd say it took about two years

[Shell babes]

Thanks for your kind reply. I will try what you said. I am grateful to learn that I am not the only one. X