i feel like im dying

In the beginning of my post I say that would make it 8 years but that should be 13 years.

Hi and thank you for sharing that in-depth post, which mirrors most of what I have been going through since 2001, in my mid twenties. The first signs of perimenopause were depression, terrible fatigue and mild social anxiety. I was married at the time and my spouse back then would call me 'lazy'. I had no idea at the time, what was happening to me, except that I was losing a zeal for life. The anxiety and horrendous panic attacks, with digestive disorders set in around 2004 and after my divorce (which I was happy about), my hormones were yo-yoing. I found it very difficult to connect with others and socialise like before. I was vegan for seven or eight years, and practised yoga, which helped somewhat. When I collapsed with dizziness and fatigue in 2006, I was diagnosed with hayfever, systemic candida and ptsd and received treatment but symptoms still persisted. I was bedridden for 24 months, lost contact with all but two of my friends and family members, and lost about half of my body weight. To top it all, the symptoms of pink eye, headaches, migraines, dry skin, acid reflux, insomnia, visual disturbances, tinnitus, bloating, weight-gain, poor concentration and focus, racing, unhealthy thoughts, confused thinking, fear of going out in case I collapse, urinary tract infections, constipation, pain and stiffness, a surge of pressure from my chest to head whenever I stand up, drenching sweat, sudden awful body odour and generally feeling like I am going to die or a loved one is going to die are all being experienced regularly. All blood tests are normal, by the way. The Ladycare magnet from Boots has reduced the severity of symptoms, irregular periods, hot flashes, drenching sweat and feeling as though the ground or sofa wherever I sit will open up and swallow me. So, this has been a challenging time for me for the past 19 years. Maybe, by the time I get a grip of being on top of all of these symptoms (I wishfully think), then the big 'M' will set in and I will be ready for part 2! LOL!

I forgot to mention that last night, the palpitations were so bad, it felt like a huge fluttering in my chest. I sipped on water, and things calmed down. I'm starting to think that it is due to a digestive issue, as I was feeling quite gassy, bloated, and had acid indigestion.

I get palpitations and they are horrible, they are why my anxiety is so bad because they pop up from out of nowhere, at any time. I've had all the EKG's, monitors, blood work and stress tests I can handle over the past year and absolutely nothing comes up, ever. The anxiety over the palpitations has turned into health anxiety catapulting me to google heart palpitations and that is never a good idea as now I sit and fret about having a heart attack. If these palps were not bothering I could handle the hot flashes and other symptoms but that isnt going to happen so i'm stuck waiting until my body wants to stop the b.s.

hi Martine

it's important that you realize that many things have been ruled out so you should feel at ease knowing there isn't something immediately wrong with you.

heart palpitations happen a lot with fluctuating hormones and this is super common .

when you're having them what do you feel like.. are there other symptoms such as shortness of breath skipping other physical symptoms that cause you to worry or are there other physical symptoms that cause you to worry or is it just a fast heartbeat?

what is your average blood pressure and what is your average pulse on a daily basis do you know?

I spent a whole heck of a lot of time worrying and obsessing over my heart rhythm in my forties now I don't even worry about it much unless it's bad.

I however ended up having a weird arrhythmia that wasn't a normal rhythm not dangerous but simply an arrhythmia for which I take a propanolol as needed to get me back into sinus dangerous but simply an arrhythmia for which I take a propanolol as needed to get me back into sinus rhythm.

so if the docs have done EKGs and a rhythm strip and can see that there isn't anything significant then I wouldn't worry about it our hearts can handle so many different types of Beats and rhythms you would be amazed.

premature atrial beats and ventricular beats are also extremely common we have them here and there throughout the day but it sounds like you're just tachy..

I get the heart thing believe me so hopefully you can feel a little more at rest email me anytime you like

xo

sorry about the repetition of my words I'm talking into my phone x0

Thanks I know I shouldn't be worried because I literally went to the dr 3 times for tests and the ER 1 time. The palps usually come right before a hot flash, after it I get burning heat internally. I don't much mind the hotness and sweating its just that the palps are scary, it triggers my anxiety and I wonder if he missed something or that maybe the EKG he did was just done at a time when I was nit having any palps. probably all in my own head.

blood pressure has always been between 110/70 sometimes a tad bit higher.

my pulse is anywhere between 60 to 75 bpm unless I'm having anxiety the it can bump up quickly to like 85 or so then I can feel it thumping its usually when i'm hor flashed and sweating

all of what you just said is very reasonable and customary

I was just wondering how fast your hearts beating when you have palpitations but it sounds like it's all related to hormones .

x0

Hi Martine,

I hate seeing so many women suffer from Anxiety and Heart Palpitations. I suffered 3 weeks ago with it and it lasted two days, on the hour every hour. My doctor knows I'm in peri menopause and I work closely with a specialist in Mass where I just started BHRT treatment and so far its been my saving grace but I still get a bad day here and there or it seems like the 3rd week of every month I get all the symptoms. I was suffering so badly that I was missing work every week. I reached the point that I had to be on medication for the intense anxiety and heart palpitations. They put me on Cymbalta, which is working great and helps with panic disorder, along with Clonidine 0.1 twice a day for high blood pressure, "caused by Peri Meno," and Propranolol which is a beta blocker to stop the heart palpitations. The medications are working like a charm for this. I was never big on taking medications, but I'd rather feel better and now I'm starting to live a productive life again. I refuse to let this nightmare control my life.

what have been the side effects of cymbalta? is it an antodepressant ? i tried prozac but made my anxiety worse . ive gone through this for 11 years now and so sick of it .

I have to be careful with anti depressants, its documented in my chart that I'm allergic to them. I had no side affects with the Cymbalta. A little nausea at first but otherwise fine and worked within 3 days.

yes ive tried a few and just made me worse .i dont want an antideoressant i just want to be able to drive withoout the intense anxiety and panic . i did see that its an snri not a ssri which may be the key to helping anxiety as most of the other medications make you hyper i guess its to get you moving if you are depressed.

so no weird side effects ? and have you tried any other anti depressant?

Hi Lori,

I've tried others and they made feel like I was loosing my mind. The cymbalta works great. It helps with depression, joint pain, anxiety and panic disorder. I didn't have to wait a month for it to kick in either. I literally called my doctor and thanked her. I also take ativan too. I started BHRT treatment on Dec. 4th and BHRT seems to be working nicely too. Peri was doing such a number to my body, mind and soul that I was ready to check into a hospital. I started with Cymbalta and Ativan first, then 3 weeks later started BHRT, not HRT , there's a big difference. I pay for it out of pocket but I don't care. Anything to make myself well again. Hugs

glad its all working for you im on bhrt too justva low dose as dont want to gain anymore weight .

hello how is your anxiety and horrible GI upsets now that you are finished with your last period? I have been so sick for so long with nausea, anxiety, depression, crazy periods that are sometimes 6 months apart along with tons of other symptoms, i have lost so much weight cause im too sick to eat....i feel like i cant do this anymore and i dont want to take antidepressants, i tried them on like 3 different occassions they make me sicker! ive been on this roller coaster for 8 years now, 4 of these last recent years being the worst! I just need to know there will be some easing up of this cause i absolutely want to die just to get relief!

so sorry Brandy! going through all what you described for over 10 years now!!! the health anxiety is the worst for me..

it got worst the past month and i think it has to do with me start drinking coffee again..i dont know what to think anymore..i feel the same way as you..im tired of being sick, scared, unhappy!!! my bp is all over the place, my pulse so erratic and crazy headaches all the time!!!im start believing this is my life going forward, i cant see any relief anytime soon...

hope things will get better for you soon xxxx

Maria,

yeah sadly i feel like this is mu new normal. Over the past 4 years i would wake up every morning thinking well maybe today will be better, then it turned into maybe next week, then next month will be better but if anything its just gotten worse! I used to pray all the time this would go away, sadly i stopped praying about 2 years ago cause nobody is listening 😦 i hope you get better soon too