Perimenopause or Anxiety
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi,
I have suffered with Anxeity for over 23 years, I take Venlafaxine 75mg daimy and also 80mg of propranolol which I have taken for 15 years, I am 46 and I think I am perimenopausal, I dont get a period as im on mini pill and dont want to come off it incase my symptoms get worse. My anxeity has been relatively stable the last few years bit the last 6 months I feel it has gotten worse and Ihave been having anxeity attacks again, I dont know wheather its my hormones or anxiety, my GP wanted to put my antidepressants up bit i am reluctant to do that, I am thinking about asking GP about HRT especially estrogen to see if that helps.
Has anyone else found their excisting anxeity be exasperated by the perimenopause ? Thanks
0 likes, 4 replies
liga23742 Haze19
Edited
Hi, I am pretty much in the same boat as you. I'm 53, perimenopausal (still getting periods, ugh), and have the Mirena coil. I've been on SSRIs for about 22 years for anxiety. I'm on sertraline (Zoloft) now. My anxiety has been going through the roof the last few months, mostly health anxiety -- every time I hear about a relative or acquaintance or someone who knows someone who just got a cancer diagnosis I freak out. My anxiety is worst in the mornings, but by evening I'm usually completely fine and can think logically and clearly and tell myself that if anything horrible happens, I can and will simply deal with it, just like millions of other people around the world do when faced with bad luck (reading books on stoic philosophy helps). Unfortunately, I cannot make myself feel this way in the mornings. I understand that cortisol, which causes this "fight or flight" anxiety, is unusually high in women during perimenopause, and highest in the mornings, especially. I've gotten on a regimen of talking a long and brisk walk with the dog right after taking the kids to the train station in the mornings, and that helps a bit. But it's not enough and I've been caving in and taking ativan to just take the edge off. It really does help to calm me down enough to realize how self-centred and irrational my anxious thoughts are. And then there's the Catch 22 -- I'm becoming scared of becoming addicted to the ativan, uggh! It's like a never-ending circle. But what's the point of living if I'm incredibly anxious all the time...? I cannot believe that in this day and age, we have to accept this kind of mental state and just push through it. The ativan has kicked in and now I'm angry, not anxious, ha!
Haze19 liga23742
Edited
Hi Liga,
Thank you so much for your reply...Yip, my anxiety is always worse in the mornings, as soon as I open my eyes the anxiety kicks in, my ectopic heartbeats have gotten worse also, I was convinced I was headed for a heart attack, I have a heart rate app on my phone ( use it everyday) I know they are harmless but doesn't stop me worrying. It is also health anxiety for me too, headache - brain tumour- tingling hands - MS, palpitations - heart attack, aches and pains - cancer, its a vicious circle. I get myself so worried that I am going to go mad!!!! I had a meltdown 2 weeks ago in the morning, I called my Mum to come over (i am lucky my Mum lives minutes from my flat)and I just burst into tears, feeling very sorry for myself and worrying what I will do when my Mum is no longer here....later that day I was completely fine and felt like an idiot!!!! I good cry does do you the world of good. I really hope the GP gives me HRT and that it does help.
Haze19 liga23742
Posted
Liga,
Have you tried HRT or even been offered it?
beth58277 Haze19
Edited
In the middle of massive anxiety right now. I'll be 47 next month and the past few months have been anxiety hell.Back in April my mom had a heart attack and I was with her when it happened.She had symptoms for months. So here I am palpitations, shortness of breath, arm pain which is probably muscular. I think my jaws hurt all the time. So I basically dwell on having a heart attack all the time. It sucks. Anxiety sucks and perimenopause sucks.