Can't Handle Perimenopause Symptoms Anymore!!!

chris.  I've had all of this and like you, the crazy symptoms started in 2015 when I missed 2 periods in a row.  It has been a rollercoaster of emotions and symptoms and I was 47 when it started also.  Have been to all the doctors and never had anxiety before this and they just kept saying 'anxiety' because during this time, nothing shows up.  At the very least I've had a complete body check-up, although it didn't solve the horrible peri symptoms.  I just want to let you know that it did take 18 months, but started feeling like something lifted during November and today I feel really good, better than I did in a long time. I can't believe it myself and kind of still think that it will return but almost all of the symptoms have stopped (still have a little doubt that they are gone altogether).  I have missed a period again this month after many months of having one each month but varying in length between etc., so I am keeping calm and hoping I've reached the next stage!  The best thing is the anxiety and nervous feelings are gone and feel more like I did mentally before this all started. level-headed and sharp etc.    So hold on in there, I know it feels so awful when you're in the thick of it... that you will be like this forever.. but I can assure you that I have felt like that, and today I don't feel like that,  so it does goes away.  Another bit of advice I would give you is to have your vitamin D checked.  Please do this as the symptoms of low Vit D are very similar and you just might be suffering from deficiency (as I only found out a couple of months ago).  They gave me large dose to take over 6 weeks and then a maintenance does.  I have a feeling that this has helped also with a lot of things.  Ask for a test, they just don't offer this unless you ask.  hope this helps you!

hi.  I just saw your post and have been saying this a lot on this site.  Did you have your vitamin d levels checked.  I had loads of aches and pains which have improved since i was given high dose vitamin d3.  I thought it was all menopause but this has helped everything, mood, anxiety and aches.  I had shoulder aches too.  it might be worth getting checked,  have a look at vitamin d deficiency symptoms, there are many of them.  It's just a suggestion.

Thank you for answering. All my tests come back fine. I have gotten all types of blood work done. I did buy vitamin D just recently. Do you take vitamin D3 and how much do you take? Thanks again.

I was taking 800iu regularly but recent bloods showed a deficiency even though I was taking it and they upped it to 5000iu a day for 6 weeks.  I now feel so much better (unless I was nearing the end of this whole mess) but either way, the vitamin d higher dosage is helping me.  

yes, it is vitamin D3.  No harm in getting it checked.  You have to ask for this test.  they don't do it normally.

Ok i will have them check that next week Thank You 

no problem.  Maybe you'll post here if the levels are low and what they give you?  would be interested 

Thank you for your reply. Never had these crazy symptoms before and now its every day! Am going to try bc pills..went to new gyno and when i told her about my off balance and ringing ears & other numerous symptoms she immediately said anxiety. So frustrating bc i never had anxiety..think my other symptoms might have brought it on bc i never feel good anymore! Said to give bc pills a try for 3 months so im crossing my fingers that this will help me. So desperate at this time. Had low vitamin d at 1 point but last blood work was normal. I also found that i have a very high TPA which was discovered by an endocrinologist. .but my thyroid level is in normal range.

chris,  I have had all this said to me before, they seem to have no idea of the symptoms that we experience, the dizzy spells, feeling off-balance and terrible ringing ears are considered by them to be anxiety.  I too have not suffered from anxiety to that extreme, just the regular anxious moments that everyone experiences.  This diagnosis frustrated me the most as I felt they were not listening to what I was saying.  I believe my vitamin D went low because of lack of motivation because of the peri symptoms, but I know that it is helping me now, but I don't think there is a way around the peri symptoms, they still have to take their horrible course!  I am a lot better than I was last year, but went through very very rough times, feeling horrible everyday.  It affects every part of you.  Please post here how the bc pills are working for you, am very interested to see if they help. How long are you on them now?

Didnt start the bc pills yet. Will at the end of the week. Dr said to give it 3 months..wont see results right away. Praying this will help me. I know its peri..all these symptoms started at the same time. I also forgot to mention that i get this internal shaking that will sometimes wake me at night. Doeant happen in the day. Read that its also another strange peri symptom. I seem to have all the very severe symptoms..lucky me! I will have a day every now and then thats ok but for the most part its a constant battle to make it through the day. I just want to feel good again! Will post how the bc pills are working

hopefully they will give you relief.  I also had the shaking and waking during the night.  It took forever but went eventually.  When did these bad symptoms all start to come together, you said last year, mine started in june 2015.

Hi metamorphed, I'm sorry to be butting in on this thread but I wondered how you are doing now. I'm almost 35 and I began all these symptoms in July 2015. I barely had a period from May 2015 to June 2016 only brown spotting (sorry if tmi), then in June 2016 i finally got a bleed accompanied by extreme shakes and jitters.... then depression set in. It's been awful. I know it's linked to my hormones as it started initially just when I got my periods, then when I ovulated and now it's almost constant. The anxiety has subsided a good bit but the crying and low mood hasn't. I get heart flutters a lot and sudden pains in chest. I've been to A&E too many times that I've been red flagged so I can't go back anymore for my own sanity. I've tried 2 anti depressants which were awful and my body couldn't take to them. My periods now last max 2 days and my most recent one came after only 22 days and I'm normally 28-30 day cycle. My hormone tests come back 'normal' -well my last one was in October 2016. I can't get them tested again as I've been labelled a hypochondriac by them and my family. It's so frustrating. My Oder sister who is 37 has started having symptoms similar to my early ones within the last month (lower back pain and crawling skin sensation, fatigued,joint pain and period arriving week early but she has more flooding), I haven't mentioned peri to her as she thinks I'm nuts as it is. I'd be curious to see if the anxiety arrives soon for her or if it's just me. I'm hopeful my symptoms will lift like yours did. I can handle physical pain but not this anxiety and depression!!! It's such a mental challenge to keep going!!!

hi deirdre.  I just came on this site this morning as I think I have now started hot flushes or flashes or whatever they're called!!  So had a good few months last year and then December started to feel new symptoms each day, not severe ones like in 2015 but some fairly bad days.  your story sounds identical to mine, so although I 'think' i'm starting into the hot stage now, I can tell you that it did improve a lot for me for a while.  I am no way near as bad as I was at the start of all this.  I am interested in what your doctors have been saying to you, as I have had such unhelpful doctors, and I've seen a good few now.  feel free to pm me

Hi, my GP is a man and he is quite good and he did all the hormone tests which came back normal-I had everything under the sun done-MRI,endoscopy,barium swallow test,ent test,brain MRI to rule out ms. I've had everything done and all come back normal. I had referral to gynaecologist due to only brown spotting for 13 months-they spent 5 mins with me and said oh that's just body balancing after coming off pill-all normal. They said come back in 4 months if no change. I got no scan of womb etc just a physical exam and swabs. I must wait till march to go back. I'm seeing a psychiatrist at the mo. I tried 2 pills lustral and molipaxin and they were not suited to me.

I was told to go back on birth control to even out my moods. I'm so emotional it's unreal. I'm really depressed by it. I gave up work too because I couldn't drive or anything due to anxiety-my anxiety towards driving had eased up a lot but I'm just not the 'happy' me anymore. I'm only 35 and I'm a single mom and this has really just thrown me.i never knew about these things happening. My own mom went through it later in life maybe 40's-I remember her having really heavy periods but that was it. She says she sailed through it. My sister says she was terrible moody. I just miss being me so much. I'm tired all the time, I'm weepy, I've lost weight, I'm just miserable. I have another anti depressant to try but I'm just scared. I know i have low progesterone and that's what is causing this but it shows within normal range so doctors don't think anything of it. I wish I could afford to go to the proper hrt or bio identical hormone guys but not many in Ireland and I don't want to get the run around saying hormones within range because they are not for me. Doctors just say I have anxiety. I told them over and over that it all started when I quit birth control and they just say go back on it. When will doctors understand that anxiety is caused by hormone imbalance. Have you been diagnosed in Peri? Were you offered HRT?

hi deirdre.  I really sympathise because feeling like this is not right.  You definitely have an imbalance  but I am not sure that their answer that because you stopped bc, that this is the reason for this.  I stopped bc at 35 and do not remember having anything, no side effects and definitely not feeling mad like I do during this peri stuff.  So not sure about that one!  I was diagnosed being in Peri on three different blood results, but just to add that my latest 2 blood tests, (2 months between each result) showed 'normal' ranges.  But they can't be relied on, I am proof because I still have symptoms.  In fact when they came out normal on the most recent bloods, that was when I was feeling bad, as that is what brought me to the doctors for the bloods - feeling bad!  Otherwise I would not have gone.  I was given HRT in 2015 and didn't take it.  That was because I kept going back to the doctors, they never just offered it, I had to ask.  All they offered was anti-anxiety tabs. In the end, because they had given me no confidence to take it, I was anxious to start!  It's a joke.  I am older than you (not that it can't affect you being younger) but I am more the age group considered to be nearing menopause by the medics, at 48 (but I was 40 when I first started experiencing mild symptoms, like digestive issues, tiredness, lack of motivation and possibly some anxiety when I think back (but not enough to affect my life/work). As I got older I started getting hormonal headaches which became migraine.  So I know now that all this was hormonal as the migraines have now gone and are replaced with other symptoms.  From what I've read and know now is that our bodies do start to change mid-thirties so it's likely that your are at the beginning, despite what they say to you.  I don't know where you are living but have you tried a well-woman clinic, they know everything about us and could really help you.  Try them before you take anti-depressants (i really don't think this is the answer personally) and get your life back.  They will know what to do for you.  Hope this helps..

just to add, when I first joined this site, there was a lady aged 38 who had the exact same symptoms as we do, who also had trouble convincing her doctors that it was peri related.  I don't remember her exact name, but look for posts by 'jamie' which would have started around october 2015, if you find my posts, she will be on those threads too.

Thanks so much. I definitely feel like this is hormonal. I'm contemplating jumping back on the pill but then I think I'll have to jump off it eventually-plus my anxiety has become so bad now that I'm scared to try anything other than vitamins. I live in Ireland so there is a pms clinic in London alright but I can't afford to go there. I do feel I just need progesterone but I can't ask my doctor for that now cos I've been such a frequent flyer to him that anything I say it'all be into hospital for me I fear. Life was cruising along so nicely before this. I actually had such a great few months off the pill and then one day right when I was due my period I got a panic attack and it all went down hill from there. I must admit that I didn't know anxiety could be so awful. I always used to worry about things like bills etc but this is extreme anxiety that I suffered a few months ago. Even now as I'm typing my skin on my legs is crawling!/tingling. It's awful. I guess all that is left is to try birth control but I'm just scared. Really scared as a few months ago I couldn't get out of bed with anxiety and now I can get up and dressed and so a few things but I cry so much. I feel robbed..... I did see the posts you mentioned by Jamie-I may even have sent her a message (I can't remember) , I've been searching for answers or help. I've tried all the supplements as well. Doctors were trying to convince me I was depressed but I was the happiest I had ever been in all my life when this happened to me!! I just want to feel that happy again!!! Why don't doctors listen. Instead I had a doctor convince me I could have ms, RA or fibromyalgia and to be honest he scared me........ that was a young doctor I went to see at the start. It's been horrible and I can't imagine going through this for years. Then I feel like I'll never meet somebody to love me now!!! I was so full of hope before but now I couldn't imagine asking a guy to take a chance on me the way I am now. It's a mans life!! Is women do suffer.

deirdre, you will feel good again, you just need help with this.  You may need progesterone.  Find a well-woman clinic, there is a few in dublin.  They might suggest a mirena coil instead of bc and I believe it is great for these symptoms.  look it up.  hope you feel better soon!

Thanks so much. You have been very kind in posting responses. I hope your symptoms settle down soon. Us women certainly get our share of crap!!! Thank god for the internet. I don't know why women don't talk about these things more openly. Even my own mother couldn't provide any informations-she claims she has it forgotten. I hope to forget this experience too but somehow when my daughter reaches my age I think I'll have her fully warned on the role of hormones etc. Hopefully you won't be suffering for much longer with your symptoms and you'll be back to 'normal' soon. I hope we all will. I'd love to sail through it-apparently 1/3 of women breeze through it. Those lucky ones!! LOL thanks for the advice and listening to me blab on!!