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Can't Handle Perimenopause Symptoms Anymore!!!

Posted , 57 users are following.

debbie_18471
debbie_18471

I think I have been in perimenopause for about 8 years now. I will be 49 in April. The last 10 months of my life have been horrible. The symptoms never seem to let up. They are only getting worse. My quality of life is absolutely terrible. The Jitters, Anxiety, Heart Palpitations, Panic Attacks, Blurred Vision, Dizziness, Off Balance Feeling, Pressure in My Head, Etc are ruining my life. I don't know what to do anymore. I have lost 20 pounds, eat organic and clean, no sugar, salt, caffeine or chocolate. I take a ton of supplements, progesterone cream, some soy, amino acids, calcium magnesium vitamin d fish oil, do acupuncture etc. Can't shake these terrible symptoms. I feel hopeless like this is who I will be for the rest of my life. I cry every morning when I wake up because I feel this way every morning. I don't even recognize myself in the mirror anymore. Went to Target with my Mom the other day and got stuck at the end of an isle holding on to a shelf for dear life crying. I felt so off balance, had a panic attack and couldn't move for a minute. This can't be my life forever. It's horrible. I want to go on hikes like I use to, go to the beach and boogie board again.. I cry just typing this because now I can't seem to do anything without having a panic attack. Sorry for this vent I'm just so discouraged by these symptoms that just don't stop

5 likes, 101 replies

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  • francine61535
    francine61535 debbie_18471

    Edited

    Hello,

    Well, perimenopause is before menopause.  Do you still have a monthly period?  If not, you are in Menopause.  See a Dr.  you may need hRT if you are in menopause. peri, does not last 8 yrs.

    • debbie_18471
      debbie_18471 francine61535

      Posted

      Hi Francine,

      Yes I still have a period. I asked my GP for HRT but she said they don't give it anymore to women who still have a period. I have an appointment with a new Gynecologist, hopefully He can give me something to balance me out. Thank You

    • paula20385
      paula20385 debbie_18471

      Posted

      Hi Debbie I still have light periods and I am on hrt have been on them just over a year they have helped me with my anxiety still get a little anxiety but not as had

      I Hope you get it sorted out

      Paula

    • sha863
      sha863 debbie_18471

      Posted

      Did your doctor tell you it is perimenopause/menopause? I tried to go with the no sugar, no red meat, very little other meat. I ended up in hospital in metabolic acidosis. Had to get B12 injections, then when I went home I was on B12 sublingual. I was "self medicating" with supplements too. I just read that something like 23,000 or 25,000 emergency room visits in USA are from supplement use. Make sure you get good ones, they are not regulated like meds with a prescription.
    • jamie50513
      jamie50513 ImagineOneDay

      Posted

      The average is 4 years but can last up to 10 years and in some women 12 to 15 years. Peri does not end until you have gone 12 consecutive months with no menses. I guess it all depends on the woman's body.
    • ImagineOneDay
      ImagineOneDay jamie50513

      Posted

      So it sounds like menapouse is the end if it and nothing to worry about it. PERI is the worst bit of it that many people don't even know about. Peri is not heard of much is it me that didn't know about peri. sad
    • jamie50513
      jamie50513 ImagineOneDay

      Posted

      Not you at all. I didn't know anything about it either. When I started experiencing these symptoms I was at the ER every other day and two hospital stays for testing and they never could find anything wrong. My family thought I was going crazy and so did I. My aunt told me about peri and to research it. Low and behold I found this forum while googling some of the weird sensations, and the expierences the ladies shared sounded like they were me. My mom expierenced it

      and didn't even know at the time and so did many of the women in my family and they didn't know so it's never talked about. I was always knew of hot flashes and they were in Menopause. I watched my mom suffer with bad anxiety and heart palps. We could be in the house and all of sudden she would run out the room thinking something was wrong with her. Several times she went to the hospital only to turn back around and come home once she calmed down. She had it bad, but never went to the docs because she doesn't like them. She never knew all she went through was peri. I am now going through it too just as bad, but at an earlier age. So I know the lack of knowledge is certainly the reason I had no clue of it as do so many other women. I'm sure a lot of women suffered back in the day but just didn't know.

    • Zigangie
      Zigangie ImagineOneDay

      Posted

      Hi I'm post now.

      Mine started at about 41, it wasn't too bad for the first few years the symptoms would come and go. By the time I was 45 it was in full swing. I'd say 45 to 49 were the worst years.

      My periods stopped at 51.

      Now though some of the symptoms have just stayed. Hot all the time depression and anxiety zero libido.

      I didn't realise how horrible it was until I started HRT and these things went away.

      I still get hot but only on occasions libido is good and depression and anxiety much better. I have had a few anxious days but it's not there all the time now.

    • paula20385
      paula20385 charlotte89738

      Posted

      Hi charlotte take prempak-c 1.25mg /0.15mg estrogen and norgestrel .That's what the doctor gave me tryed lower does but bid not help never said about any other ones

      Take care

      paula

    • dionne33211
      dionne33211 debbie_18471

      Posted

      I'm having a lot of the same issues. I also still have my period so the dr don't want to do any hormone replacement. Was able to have a dr prescribe testosterone/ progesterone cream which seemed to help until my body adjusted to it now I'm back where I started! Everyday is a struggle. Keep us updated maybe one day someone will find a miracle cure!!

  • liz53953
    liz53953 debbie_18471

    Posted

    Hi Debbie I can't make it go away but you are not on your own. We all have a mix of these dreadful symptoms it's just finding a way of dealing with each one. Deal with one symptom like panic sttacks palpitations and anxiety are all similar. Sorry it sounds daft but meditation yoga or hypnotherapy can help with these . I did hypnotherapy and that really helped and I have tapes to listen to when I'm stressed. Maybe you should look at all the things you are taking and try taking one away then reintroducing it just to see if it is doing anything . I did the same and ended up not knowing what worked and what did not. Don't give up you will get your life back.
  • metamorphed
    metamorphed debbie_18471

    Posted

    oh debbie, try not to get disheartened.  It may be an idea to cut back on some of the supplements etc., your clean diet with no sugar salt etc., should be plenty to keep you healthy.   I found that when I took the extra vitamins when this first started for me that I was jittery, when I cut them out, things started to improve.  I know it's hard to know what to do for the best, but I would try a week without supplements to see if you feel any way more normal.  hope this helps because it is not easy.
  • Zigangie
    Zigangie debbie_18471

    Posted

    Hi debbie,

    Have you considered HRT? You say you are using progesterone cream. I didn't find progesterone did much for me. But the first 2 weeks on estrogen gel put paid to a lot of the symptoms you describe.

    I wanted to do it naturally but gave in 2 years after my periods stopped. Mainly started on it because I had zero libido and I was just so hot all the time.

    I was surprised just how much I had been putting up with/got used to. Now I Just wish I'd tried it sooner so many years wasted feeling horrible.

    • mauiblue
      mauiblue Zigangie

      Posted

      Hi Zigangie

      Who knows if you are here on the forum still.

      I read your post, about bioidenticals and how they have helped you.

      I am almost 53 but have fallen into a huge depression/anxiety menopause for the last 5 months. Im talking scary, ot being able to cope well, single mom..having two boys who dont know what is going on with their mom.

      Long story short, ive been about  6 months with no period, and the hotness, and memory etc. is tolerable to me. What has been devastating has been the depression. I have zero serotonin. 

      Ive tried two antidepressants and they make it worse. Now i have anxiety and dread and its just debilitating.

      My practitioner has me on a very low dose of bioidentical, but im thinking its not enough. Would a patch such as vivelle dot be better?

      I need to do whatever it takes to get through this.

      I dont care about the hot flashes and libido, those are all cake walks when it comes to having your mental faculties checked out. Its about survival at this point.

      So appreciate a response if you are around or anybody !!

      Thank you

      Elizabeth

    • Ruralgirl
      Ruralgirl mauiblue

      Posted

      Hi Elizabeth, I saw your message and I wanted to reach out, how are you doing?

      Carmon

    • mauiblue
      mauiblue Ruralgirl

      Posted

      Thank you Carmon!

      Its funny im just reading my old post and that you had also written me.

      11 months have gone by, and i am not much better at all. Its a game of survival of the fittest i guess.

      Tried months of bio identicals never getting it right, just not the same.

      how are you faring these days? Hope you are ok, thanks for reaching out

      x0x0

       

    • jill19850
      jill19850 mauiblue

      Posted

      Hi Elizabeth-

      Hope you are still on this site. do you have any issues with sleep??

    • Sapete
      Sapete mauiblue

      Posted

      HI, mauiblue.I registered to respond to your post. To be clear, I am not in menopause or perimenopause; I stumbled upon this forum while trying to find out if the progesterone I am on is causing my blurry vision. BUT, I did have severe depression for 17 years and none of the prescription medications worked. I then stumbled upon SAM-E. It is a supplement that increases your dopamine levels. within two days of being on it, my depression lifted, and i had no side effects. That was 9 years ago, and it still works great for me. The 2 brands I know of are GNC and Nature Made, with the first one being slightly better IMO. I take 400 mg a day. One warning - it is NOT appropriate for people who have manic episodes, as it can cause mania in those people. I hope this helps you.

    • mauiblue
      mauiblue Sapete

      Posted

      That is so kind of you to respond!

      I am wondering what post that was.

      I know if Sam e and i tried it but it was a a year or more ago. Who isn't to say that as I'm going through these times that I couldn't revisit it.

      Thanks so much and may I ask how old are you now and are you female?

      Thanks so much. For me it's hormonal as I didn't suffer depression until 52 yrs.

      Xo

    • Sapete
      Sapete mauiblue

      Posted

      HI! I'm glad you received my message. I am a 43 year old woman. I am on progesterone to see if it helps with cramping that I've been having nearly every day that I've been nursing my 1 year old baby. It's not helping, and I'm scheduling a hysterectomy.

      I can't be certain why I was depressed for so long, but I do know that hormones definitely have a huge impact on moods. Estrogen based birth control makes me very irritable and depressed, and progesterone makes me somewhat apathetic.

      I thought about suicide alot when I was suffering from depression, but I am better now. It took 17 years, but something finally worked. Please don't give up. Just because 2 anti-depressants didn't work doesn't mean others won't. For me, prozac and paxil made me much worse, zoloft caused restless leg syndrome, and effexor and lexapro did nothing. But celexa does work, and I've recently discovered that gabapentin, used for nerve pain, even helps energize me and motivate me. There may still be plenty of options for you.

      Also, I highly recommend the GNC brand if you have not tried that brand. It does seem to be a bit more potent and worked very quickly for me. I started at 800mg, and when my depression lifted in only 2 days, I thought that maybe I didn't need so much and dropped to 400 mg.

      No matter what you try, I also recommend researching and practicing some self-soothing techniques. Self-care is one of the first things to go during depression, but it also one of the most important.

      I hope you have some relief soon from the depression beast. There is hope!

      Best wishes

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