I can't take it anymore!! Perimenopause horrible..HELP!

Hi Pam, I feel your pain. It's hard to believe that hormomes can have such an effect on us. I am still getting my period at age 50! It's horrible, anxiety, bloated, cramps, joint pain, headaches, sore muscles. I can only tell you that my sister went through the same thing, and at age 52 her period left and never came back, Those feelings left too, there is a light we just

have to get through this storm. Try to eat healthy, get rest, walk or do Yoga. Whatever can help you get through.

Pam I am 46 and I take Paxil for anxiety and an anti anxiety medication and it was just like it just stopped working one day. I woke in a constant anxiety attack. I've been basically homebound for almost 2 years. My heart palpitations and shakes are horrendous in the morning and sometimes into the night. I've never been like this. I have nausea, lost weight, headaches and my cycle starts on day 26, but I've had 2 times it's been day 20. Lasts about 3 days and have started having pain in my pelvic area like when I was a teenager and ovulation is terrible too. I have pain and it lasts longer

Not sure if in uk but have you tried venaflexine or sertraline? Was getting similar anxiety out of nowhere and impending doom, drop in BP and chest pains. I take mixture of herbal stuff for flushes and moods and then prescription meds for lack of sleep and anxiety. Get weird nerve pain in face and teeth and daily headaches. It does get to you, I manage to work part time but am so tired when get in have to go to bed. Have Fibromyalgia also abd this has been much worse. Just be aware you're not alone abd despite what doctors say you are not exaggerating.

Hi Julie ,your posts hit a nerve with me I'm 52 and been getting worse for last 6years .my anxiety is so bad and I feel so lonely no period since last October !! I also had two strokes last May 2016 in ok had to be redeployed as unable to do my old job.ive been given 4 different antidepressants and won't take them as they have interacted with my anti cogulation tablet.im having counselling know for panic attacks and anxiety.my face gets numb pins and needles and I've got so many menopausal symptoms I've lost count.feel so fed up my husband been wonderful but feel I'm dragging all of the family down !you name it I've tryed it can't take HRT due to stroke thanks again your post helped I'm not alone.

Sorry to hear that you are suffering in similar way, it really must be worrying when you have had a stroke. Some of the anxiety symptoms are so severe. Numbness and pain you don't expect especially if never been an anxious person before. I used to get when sat on sofa or sat in lectures so not like had reason to be worried.

I'm actually in medical profession so being treated like I was mad or exaggerating everything was getting to me most. I don't enjoy spending the night in casualty but I'm not stupid enough to ignore chest pains abd BP changes. One gp told me was obviously transferring my job into my symptoms, idiot! Got to point now where all my meds are taking the edge off but do have my hormonal weeks were things flare up. I did try HRT despite breast cancer and stroke in the family as couldn't take feeling so bad but it didn't help enough to warrent the the risks and just added permanent headaches to my huge list of symptoms. Anxiety is awful makes you feel so physically ill and out of control. I can't drive long distances now as often feel odd when driving so limits where I can go on my own. Spend most of my evenings and days off in bed as my Fibromyalgia pain terrible. I just hope it doesn't go on for 10 years like some people get! Keep trying some of the herbal things if don't affect your meds. I found Venaflexine been best for my weird symptoms so far. I wouldn't worry too much about trying things most things ok with anti coagulants if monitored, not sure what you take but should be some that interact less.

Good luck with it all, I hope the counselling helps you

Hi Becky

*feelings come into play now alot dance they. I've noticed now when I get a *gut feeling about something, I can't trust it. It could just be hormones making me suspicious, sad, intolerant, doubtful, but you just don't know. Then forgeting stuff!!! What's it all in aid of? This is a very bad design flaw in female makeup. We've had enough coping with hormones before peri reared it's head.

Hi Becky, how bad has your anxiety been? Mine is horrible. Functioning is even hard for me. I already had an anxiety disorder and now it's worse. I hurt in my pelvic area around ovulation and my menstrual cycle. I haven't been like that since I was a teenager. I have headaches before each one and during. My anxiety has made me have gastritis and I feel nauseous. Everything is magnified. I wake up at 4:30 in the morning with my heart racing and my hands shaking for no reason. I take clonazepam and it doesn't really help.

Hi

I never had any anxiety until all this started and it was horrendous, impending doom the full works. I take venaflexine but sertraline initially helped too. If I take my pills on time I'm fine but there is a week when I expect my period would be without my IUD that everything gets worse despite the pills. Evenings are much worse weirdly?

I took 6 GP's to find one who is Empathic and tries to help. A lot of people have minor symptoms so just don't get the fuss over the menopause thing.

Couple everything with insomnia and it's been a miserable 18 months but not getting steady on meds.

Black cohosh and sage leaf for flushes.

Angus castus for mood.

The rest from GP for acid and anxiety etc.

Keep trying things and hopefully you will get some relief.

Hi tonia,

My anxiety is very intense during part of the cycle based on what my hormones are doing. For example, as my estrogen (energy) rises and eventually becomes too high, I feel anxiety/agitation. That's most intense for me early mornings, week 2 and 4. I've recently learned that what we want to happen is for estrogen and progesterone to be balanced. During perimenopause our hormones are not balanced and shooting all over the place. I also have the pelvic pain around ovulation and my period. I take Alprazolom for the anxiety when I just can't handle it. It does make me sleepy though so I try not to take it. Some mornings I just wake up and cry until my daughter gets up. Then I try to pull it together until I drop her off at school. It's crazy because I can't even explain to my husband what I'm crying about. I'm grateful he's patient with me.

Ps I'm on the way to 54 and started at 49.  I know some go on ten years but I'm praying that won't be me🙏🏽

Hi Catherine, I've had the very same thing with heavy periods. Some women find taking the mini pill helps with flooding periods, there is an iud which reduces periods to zero for other women. The hormones in pills and even iud gave me terrible migraine, I was very sick from attempting those, even got shingles. Like you insecure anaemia from heavy periods every 3 weeks. One stage I collapsed and my kids had to call emergency!!

What helps reduce flow, as well as transexamic acid (cyclakapron) is to take NSAI every 4 to 6 hours for first day or two from when you feel period starting. These would be heaviest days. It's something I found myself in a Google search and as stated, reduces flow in length of time and reduces amount. Now WHY hadn't I been told that simple cure in all the trips to Doctor? Surely transexamic acid, minipills shouldnt have been tried first. When I said it to my Doc that I found nsaids worked she said, oh yes, that really helps! Pity she didn't pass it to me in 2011 when I was severely anaemic. It's important to keep iron levels high enough in your body and in your blood, I believe when I'm anaemic, I bleed more, so I always take my iron. Taking vitamin c is great not only to strengthen capillaries, but to help absorption of iron. Tea/ coffee reduce iron absorption, so take iron at different time of day. I find iron hard to take, so take it always with food and at night, so I sleep through side effects! I find getting up early, walking every day the weeks leading up to periods for an hour seems to regulate me a bit. Like you I felt I had to give up work in 2011 it got so bad. However now I'm working again and it is actually helping me, keeps my mind focused and a regular routine. I'm 49.

I really really hope you find what works for you, there ARE ways to manage and alleviate heavy periods, they are so debilitating. Have you thought of having an ablation or hysterectomy?

Lots of good wishes, hope you're feeling better very soon.

Hi Tracey you and I are exactly the same! 48yrs been in peri I think for a couple of years now, periods now gone haywire - were every 3 wks, then last year had a period every 3 months, then weirdly the next two were bang on 28 days and now every 6 weeks so far. Along with it, back pain, rib pain, lower abdomen pain and leg pain - hideous. Hating it and thinking I've got something terribly wrong so anxiety at an exorbitant high. Can't take HRT for a number of reasons and I actually don't want to take it. So, it's Pilates, yoga (good for mind), and now turmeric - trying that now for about a week. Meant to be an excellent anti inflammatory - the wonder spice so will see how it goes. I am going with the flow and just praying this process doesn't carry on for too many years x

Hello Tracy . Yes my periods can be every 3 weeks for a few months , then back to 4 weeks , often really heavy . You never know where you are . I would like to know how the reflux affects you . I have been suffering with terrible sinuses lately , though no cold , at times it affects my ears as well and I have constant thick catarrh in my throat . Some nights it wakes me up like I'm choking on it . Is this right ? I worry all the time about my symptoms . The list just seems to go on and on . My stomach and general aches and pains are the bain of my life , healthy anxiety , doom and gloom and some nights really horrible , vivid dreams . Last night I woke up thinking I was going to be sick and I was soaking wet , even though it was a freezing cold night . A little while later I was cold again . Is this all normal ? Lots of love Jane

Hi Jane, the reflux was something I never had my whole life.  But bam I started all of these perimenopausal symptoms and reflux came with it.  I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy 2 years ago.  Just some minor redness in my esophagus and he put me on a PPI.  I recently weaned myself off and take zantac now.  Yes my ears and throat get sore from the reflux as well as the mucous (catarrh).  I have been changing my diet to less carbs and less foods that excacerbate reflux.  Taking Fish Oil and D3 and I also try to take Magnesium Glycinate and a good probiotic.  I wake up very sweaty as well and sometimes I am freezing during the day.  This is the most painful period of my life and just looking for relief.    I also don't want to take HRT or hormones.  x

Oh my God Tracey I've ALL that, exactly as you describe, hip pain etc. So much so I had to double check I hadn't written it!

I too tried turmeric, with ginger. Now take oils, starflower, sunflower and a spoon olive oil every day. Rub warm olive oil into neck.

Sometimes I can hardly think straight, and those times I notice I feel my neck and back are in a vice. Periods are heavy on 4 and 5 day now as well as 1St and 2nd. It feels endless. I've had symptoms of one type or another for almost 10 yrs!!! The middle of shoulders pain started Sept 2015 though, that brought thumb pain, hip pain etc. Suddenly, like old age just jumped on my back! I have a weird feeling pain in my back, almost like kidney infection, a bit more frequent going to loo. But no sign of infection, says Doc, and sample off to lab for tests. And of course the mystery illnesses of menopause, nobody seems to know for sure, nobody has a cure. We're all having to find our own cures.

I’ve started juicing again and banning sugar, coconut sugar is nice, exercise is next. I’ve just joined a hula hooping class, eating better, masses of garlic. It’s all good! Whatever makes us feel better, what makes me feel better now I am aware and not alone, which is definitely better than feeling any one of those listed emotions and not knowing why..