Confused, menopause symptoms or sertraline

That is the problem with meds - you never know how good/bad you would have felt if you hadn't taken them! My Sertraline is still in the cupboard because I'm too scared of side effects (had lots of stomach issues). I've been on St John's Wort since before Xmas. That seemed to really help for a time though I've dipped again recently but I think that's because I've been feeling physically ill. I'm wondering about HRT too but want to feel better physically before I try any more meds because I really feel if I could sort the physical issues the anxiety/depression would also improve. I have valium I can take occasionally if the anxiety gets too bad.

How long have you been back on the Sertraline? If it's less than two months it could take a bit longer for it to have maximum benefit again, so maybe persevere with it up to the three month mark and review it again then? If there is still no change you could consider coming off it and trying a different AD or HRT. I try to try one thing at a time so I have a better idea of what's working and what's not.

I take sertraline and the side effects and menopause to start with I think really battled with each other.

And maybe still do , it's taken 3yrs for my anxiety , palpitations , panic to ease sweats to reduce , not gone but dam sight better than they have been.

One of my theories is the different brands you get. One batch can be by one provider then another and I am sure they differ slightly causing the feeling of side effects intermittently.

Hang in there , it does get better . Positive thoughts 😉

I had a similar experience. I was on sertraline 50mg from 2003 for moderate anxiety.

ì noticed about 3 or 4 years ago that I had anxiety breaking through so the doctor suggested upping the dose to 75mg and then 100mg, but really I didn't feel it helped.

At that point, I realised I may be in perimenopause as I went from a regular 28 day cycle to irregular cycles, occasional hot sweats at night during my period, weird dizziness and generally more hot and sweaty during the day than I ever had been (I'm now 44). I attributed increased anxiety to the sertraline not working for me and did not attribute the anxiety and panic to perimenopause until 3 weeks ago.

I saw a new lady gp 3 weeks ago as I was worried the increased anxiety which I now recognised as happening monthly from roughly when my period starts for a week or so (ironically I used to get pms PRIOR to period which I no longer get) and then the anxiety goes.

As an aside, I switched from sertraline to Effexor xr last Feb for reasons above and it is brilliant. It is much better for anxiety than sertraline and I highly recommend it and works for me at a low dose (75mg) and no side effects.

The new doctor told me she thought the increased anxiety and panic typically cycle-bound like mine is hormone-driven and classic perimenopause symptom of dropping oestrogen and bumping up AD will do nothing as it has nothing to do with low serotonin but fluctuating female hormones.

I had blood tests yesterday and see her again on Thurs to discuss and see if HRT may be an option or other medication. But since she explained it to me, it has helped to understand and I managed the last bout quite well with being able to take alprazolam (xanex) if needed (I only took 2 in 2 days when the anxiety was bad).

I'll post again on Thurs with results and dr's recommendations.

Good luck and hope this helps!

Sydneymum

HRT can cause anxiety symptoms too I would not do HRT at all 

Sorry to hear you're up against it. You have my total sympathy girl, because I'm fortunate to have been able to give up work, so can deal with this cr*p without an audience!:-)

I'm notoriously anti-SSRIs/ADs. My eldest sister has had L/T mental health issues and relies on an amazing cocktail of antipsychotic drugs to keep her 'sane'-ish. Brilliant and essential for her.

Trouble is, when they do their great job, she sometimes thinks she is 'better' so stops taking them, resulting in a major episode, and psych unit stay.

I think because her care sorta falls to me and another sister, we read up on her meds. Think we've seen every side effect in her, but know she can't cope without them.

So for me, I only want help with a hormonal imbalance: as far as I'm aware I don't have a chemical iimbalance: any mental stuff is caused by my hormones being out of whack/depleting.

I went to see my Nurse Pract'r about my symptomsgenerally, chatting quite happily and joked about getting a bit tearful watching 'Don't tell he Bride'. Funny, as the silly cow heard that, but not my aching joints, lack of libido, insomnia, hot at night etc. She prescribed me SSRIs as a first step for my Peri trip, which I believe is becoming very common in the UK for treatment of Peri/Meno.

I went home and Googled them......and thats when the sh*t hit the fan! As far as I was concerned I had no need to add the ENORMOUS list of side effects, none of which I already had(!), and some i wanted to get back (like feeling a bit horny once in a while!!) to my clearly, Peri hormonal symptoms!

It was a bit of a wake up call to think without telling her anything much at all, she was happy to dish them out like Smarties!!

Well ladies, although I was reassured they were not habit-forming, they seem to quickly become a 'crutch' that I feel i really didn't have a need for. My husband was amazed and shares my opinion that these were not what i needed - he should know we live, eat and breath together 24/7 - plus we ran a Business together until recently for 22yrs!!

As a result I joined this forum, read how others were coping, and decided before I went back demanding HRT, I'd see how I could make things a little easier for myself.

I've been fortunate (and I really do appreciate this, honest I do!) not to have suffered any major illness in my life, or had to take any meds at all. I don't like taking meds, and will suffer a headache until I can't improve it before taking Ibuprofen. My mum had a 'I can't be bothered by that/just get on with it!'-attitude that 4 of us 5 siblings have. I'm 54 and feel blessed with this ability to 'get on with it'. But I know oh too well not everyone can cope.

For me, I'll carry on taking Menopace and a bit of Bioidentical Progesterone Cream and see how I go. I noticed a real improvement physically/mentlly but realise I was probably very low in all the vits/mins that by taking a supplement I'd have to feel better.

When I feel like total cr*p I'll go back to see a GP and get some HRT, as my main concern is my bone/joint health ( my little mum had 5 kids, we run her ragged and she ended up having 3 hip replacement ops, all post-Meno).

There are some wonderfully knowledgeable women posting on here. They share a wealth of information about vits/mins/herbal supplements that help us through this cr*ppy, long journey. I for one know I won't be a martyr for any causes, let alone this one, and will try HRT to see if it helps me. Who knows what I'll feel like, but for me I don't see SSRIs/ADs because I don't think they're for me.....right now.

I'm very very fortunate to have a long happy marriage (32yrs) to a bloke who knows me well, will do anything for me, probably puts up with my sh*t - but not too much of it before he's telling me to 'get over' myself: very grounding! -and makes me laugh everyday:-) . Maybe he and our sense of humour is what has got me this far, but I do appreciate a lot of ladies don't have this support and love right now.

(Sorry for the rambling!! I've been catching up on all the discussions having been too busy to check in for a day or so. )

Apologies to any ladies who feels like I'm taking a swipe at them: that's certainly not what I'm doing. I just have a very personal reason why I don't fancy this route of tackling Peri. But clearly these meds give a lot of women their lives back. I just want to see what my future symptoms hold before I start taking anything that I may have to use for years.

(But if I thought it would give me my sex drive back, I'd take it like a shot!! (sadly, low libido is one of their side effects!!)

Sx