Perimenopause or Anxiety or ???

I think that perimenoapuse can trigger at a lot of different ages..due to hormonal changes that can be happening for so many many reasons. I started back when I was 37yrs old I had colon cancer and had to do chemotherapy for about 9 months and that kicked me in. I now don't get periods much maybe every 4-6 months..I am 49 now so I have been in it over 10 years. I guess I won't be considered menapausal until I stop periods for a whole year. I have a lot of the typical symtoms and I think I have had a few hot flashes but not sure.... I know when I did get some I actually felt nausea with anxeity too. Good luck!!! We will battle through it the one most important thing that gets me through it is that it is all a normal process and we are all going down that road so it helps to see all the posts and how we can all "relate"!

Yes, that is true Lisa.  I am glad there are more people feeling this way so that I am not alone in this.

Hi Ruth

everyone different, from approx mid thirties the body can change ..

i was age 40 / 41 when i realised I was in peri, and still am now age 50 last week, had nine years of peri, maybe longer ... FSH blood tests are never accurate unless your steady peri and having hardly any periods, the hormones fluctuate all the time early on and although your in peri the test can say otherwise depending on the hormones at time of test.. 

i took the natural supplement route and B6 a must as mentioned before..

it helps no end... Jay x

 

Hi blessed

just read your message, i post alot on here, dont know if you seen any of mine yet..

i too take natural route, i am aged 50 just... and can say try 100mg - 150mg  of Vit B6 daily hun, its changed my life I am in year 9 of peri, i had the shakes, dizzyness, anxiety, doom and dread, uncertain about everything, aches, pains, the list goes on, but B6 is essential for peri and menopause and assists us greatly, I take 150mg every morning and feel fab, no anxiety no aches now etc etc, it does work.... also it gives us energy and works wonders on all the other symptoms ... Jay xx

Hi Jay

Well, I have had 2 attempts with the B6 and both times I have felt increased anxiety right through till the next day, that's only from a 50mg pill.  Having said that, I have now stopped the mirtazapine, so perhaps the increased anxiety could be down to that, reduced from 30mg to 15mg for 2 weeks then stopped on Wednesday.  Doc said I can have up to 10mg diazepam per day as nothing else seems to be working, so far I have only taken 5mg.  Went back to magnesium oil to help with sleep, that does work.  Hope you are still keeping well xx

Hi Cheekygal

I am fine thanx, i dont take any thing like diazepam so wouldnt like to say, maybe best to stick with just that then .. if doc says so.... 

B6 suited me just fine but you need to take it daily and stick to B6 ... I have and its been great for me, couldnt be without it,  it made me feel great after only one week..

i take effervescant magnesium, 300mg orange flavour drop it in cold water and it hits the spot 😃 i got my my hot flushes back when i stopped my magnesium and now they are under control again now i started the effervescant type...  hope your anxiety gets better soon, take care Jay xxx

 

Glad your doing well.  As they say what suits one person doesn't suit another, although doc did seem suprised when I said I felt the B6 increased anxiety, maybe it is just me, might give it another go at a later date xx

Hi Jayneejay

Yes , I have seen your other posts and seems B-6 is working good for you...happy for you!

Im like Cheekygal below ...what works for some doesn't for others but your intentions are great for helping others and  to share about B-6.

I bought a book in my 20's on pms and B-6. It did wonders for me back then. Made my moods perk right up but I couldnt take it for more then a week straight. It made my eyes feel strained like they was popping out of my head. That went away when I stopped the B-6.

I found a guy on youtube..Dr Robert Morse that speaks about the Adrenal Gland. He says when thats out of wack our hormones are also. He advised to get the Adrenal back functioning like it should and all other symptoms would subside. I guess when we are under lots of stress we fatigue our Adrenal glands causing our hormones to flucuate. How can we keep the stress level down when every day is another symptom to worry about? You wonder is it my brain with a tumor causing this...my heart palpitates so is it a heart attack...my legs and arms feel like im loosing feeling in them is it a stroke..so how do we stay unstressed!!?

Have you ever ended up in ER from any bad symtoms and it be nothing? Sorry this is sooo long but 9 years you have to be a pro at this lol. Let me ask you...do the symptoms get worse each year or do they ease up before the real menopause sets in.

My periods are not heavy but enough to wear a pad one day and the rest is spotting with a pantyliner and not even 3 days of it. I started peri, noticing every other month was a good month and a bad month. A 7 day period and then a 3 days period. Now every month is the same and Im lucky to feel good 3 days of the month. Just curious if Im in a further stage of this or is this going to get worse. Im staying all natural though because Dr Morse says that anyone that gets on HRT has worse symtoms after they stop then before they started them. I cant handle any worse symptoms so I never started. I take the Flaxseed, Chia and Maca as needed but the Maca really takes the edge away sometimes for me...and pray alot!!

Chasteberry is another herb I take only when needed also. When I take these I can tell right away if its helping or I should not take it at that point an time but they have kept me out of the hospital, so Im thankful for the natural things in life. My kids even try to keep me positive that this will end soon. 

Be Blessed !

Blessed_Mimi

Hi Blessed_mimi

thanks for the reply,  i guess i am lucky B6 works for me... and sorry it doesnt work for everyone one, I guess it depends also on what else others take, I dont take anything other than Vits and natural Supplements..

you ask about later in peri as I am in year 9 of it.. 

well in a short nutshell, at first I was age 40/41 bled, spotted, heavy then normal then spotted for 21 months solid, maybe the odd day okay but then spotting came back, so never had a break from that... then very few irregular periods then after ultrasounds I find i had ovarian follicular cysts, not serious, just grew as I wasnt having a period to disperse them ' follicular cysts' but then they did go.. they were the size of small oranges and at ine time I thought I would need surgery... i had one it went and then months after got another one..

then i would have maybe 4 or 5 periods only a year for a few years..

last year 2013 i only had two periods and the PMT before actual period was the worst, migraines for four days solid day and night none stop, nausea, felt dreadful... it was the migraines that made me know for sure a period was actually coming.. i had two period in 2013 and 3 in 2012. ( never had these hormonal headaches before, it was very scary) 

after I still got the symptoms but no headaches and no period, but felt rotten, and very emotional for a week, tearful, took things to heart..etc etc

i was feeling low, no energy, feelings of doom, anxiety from hell, wanted no one near me, did not want to go out, then i started B6 150mg and for me this worked wonders, i also take, Magnesium, Menapol Plus ( natural)  Maca, Vit B1, Vit C, Iron, Calcium and D3, and also B12.. 

I now have not had a period for 11 months, I live in southern Spain, I was age 50 last week, and just pleased I feel alot better now... I wont let it beat me, i want my life back, I wont take antidepressants as its menopause not depression, and I dont want those, they have been offered them but for me .... its a no, not for me, I want to come out the otherside and deal with it with a clear mind and take in the experience and deal with it best I can... they are perfect for some and its only my personal choice, the worst time for me was last year and the beginning of this year, with the emotional feelings and feeling low, but its passed and hopefully will stay that way...  i appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and this web has been a god send to me when I was so low, the support is so valuable and together we can get through it .... 

all the best Jay xx

 

hello blessed i too had almost all the same symptoms as carlacupcake but somer have eased off but the dizzy spells have stayed with me.  I had one today just as i'd planned to go to a class of yoga so again i cant go cos i'm too dizzy. I seem to go cold and tingly and my head feels as though its stuffed full of something and my eyes feel as if they've been twisted, do you know what i mean do you feel like this?? I'm about in my 3rd year and i too have ended up in A & E and had every test known to man, In the early days of this i was brought home from work more times than i can remember. You made me laugh about your husband, they do try and understand us but yes i feel like punching mine at times but would it help our dizziness. I'm going natural as well and just take a vitimins and a good diet.  I 'd like to get back into walking but i've not got my nerve back to go out on my own with my dizziness and i get anxious i will feel faint again and not get home. Sorry i've been no help with the dizziness but just had to reply to you cos i can relate to you and i know a lot of other ladies will on here. sending you a comforting hug. we'll somehow get through this x

 

Hello Anxiousface!

Oh the eye thingy  lol I was just telling my husband wonder if anyone gets the eye thing. I have had sinus allergies all my life since I have had my first child at 17. My pms and all hormones switched my life around it seems. I could wear hairspray and perfume but after my first baby life changed. I begin to notice sinus pressures, drainage, motion sickness from the car rides..just about everything bothered me.

Now into this Peri-world..I started to notice about every other month I get this feeling like a motin sickness ,eye strain, almost as if I have a headache in the back of my eyes feeling...sorta the feeling at the begining of a pregnancy. My symptoms all change I feel like from day to day, sometimes hour by hour even. I cant ever explain anything to anyone that understands me in my family.

Im so glad I searched and found this forum because it helps me go for a walk or helps me to venture out enough to tell myself...your ok you just have to get through these years ahead...and that everyone else has the same sympyoms. I know how you feel about going out. I stopped driving. I dont go anywhere without someone with me. I think the fear over takes us when the dizziness steps in and we just feel out of control of our own bodies that we are afraid of what will happen next. _____ is my favorite place to shop for all my natural stuff. I have taken Kava Kava for anxiety. Im a light weight though since the Peri started I have to open capsules and put under my tongue to see how im going to react.Kava numbs my mouth but if I keep it there for a few seconds it goes away. I decided one day when I was stressed out to take a capsule and see if I could deal with it. NEVER AGAIN lol it numbed my forhead instantly and I freaked out so Ill go back to opening the capsule and taking half. I usest to take a handful of vitamins every morning but I havent been able to lately. Everything affects me weirdly now must be hormones. The one that I like the best is Gaba I order from swansons vitamins. It has a very calming affect and has B-6 in it. I cant take alot of b vitamins everyday. I have to take them on days I feel ok or I get all spacy feeling.

I hate it beacuse I was such an independent person. I had all my babies from my first marriage by 19. I remairried at 26 and had 2 more children. Ill be 43 in September and I feel so old and have hated my life not being able to do things with my 9 year old because of the dizzy spells. Do you ever get some days, where you feel your eyes bugging out of your head..like a weirded out feeling almost like an out of your own body experience? I know it sounds crazy but you do have the same eye thingy as me lol How many children do you have? How was your periods as a girl. They say in books if you had problems with your periods or pms then perimenopause will be bad. Lucky me! Are you loosing your libido yet? I feel so bad for my husband some times... these are the reasons men cheat... when we cant keep them satisfied. I have started to care less about sex anymore. Just curious as to when that all goes away for good lol. I was reading about menopause symtoms and read about vaginal thinning and dryness. Never paid attention to all this til I focused one night lol and I had such a burning feeling inside I hated the sex. I feel bad for saying that but I hurt so bad i didnt want to tell my husband. I just want to keep him attracted to me so those things scares me. Its bad enough we feel so old going through all these symptoms. Sorry for the post being so long . Nice to talk to someone that understands me...Hugs back atcha ! Praying for all the ladies like us out there 

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Hello Jay !

WOW reading what you have went through scares me now. Youve been through some rough times. I have experienced the migraines already. One day I couldnt get out of bed. I got up had my something little to eat and felt really drained that morning and started a little headache. I tred not to take anything so I layed down. after 12 hours of not being able to move I had my kids bring me nyquil and ibuprofen. I dont even know how much I took but it started to taper off. I never want to go through another one of those again. I cant imagine it for 4 days like you did. Im starting to feel worse and worse each week before my periods just hoping if it comes it will relieve some symptoms but its not the case anymore.

Im in Northwest Indiana. We are quite far from one another lol I will be 43 in September. Happy belated Birthday to you. 50's is still so young !

Im like you ..I have been to doctors and everyone wants me on xanax or an antidepressant (prozac) but I have refused everything they give me. I have them filled but will not take them. I already feel, not in control of my body...I dont want a drug controlling me now. I want to beat this also. I need to try the menopal plus that you take.

My body is so sensitive to everything I feel like. I dont know if its just the hormones or there is something Im highly allergic to. I was never this way before Peri. I took so many vitamins before and never no affect but now they make me feel weird and spacy or light headed. I wish I had more answers but I think its all trial and error with hormones.

Im blessed to have found you...it does help on my bad days to at least be able to type and vent at the computer !  Be blessed !

Hi Blessed_mimi

hello hun, shame vits and naturals space you out, not sure why that would be.. B6 is fantastic just try that for now... maybe ? 

do you think you are in early Peri ? as your aged 43.

in mine others things i havent mentioned as theres so many, was during and after the 21 months bleed, I also had three faints, yes !! that did scare me, my blood pressure just dropped so low, I had every test known to man and all was fine apart from the cysts i mentioned above,  also in first few years I had sensitive bladder feelings, ( all hormonal) felt the urge to wee all the time, and had to nip to loo alot, yet it wasnt urgent when I got there, this lasted a few years, but has passed now, also bowel disturbances from cant go to cant get there fast enough.. streaming nose out the blue, also sensitive teeth only on one side, even though dentist says all good, they ache..

also in early peri I just took Maca ( still do) amongst other things, also sleep disturbance I think is the worst, I had and still have problems actually nodding off, insomia very common in peri meno...

I have just changed to Menapol plus natural, previously I took natural Estroven Max but been on that for many years and so thought i would change to Menapol plus now..

also in first years of peri i noticed more hair on hairbrush and had to eat little an often otherwise felt shaky and fainty, always now i have to force breakfast before I leave the house, and always have natural almonds with skin on in my bag for a boost if required... just sharing the things that i remember the mosr..

take care .. Jay xx

Hi Blessed..

just read your post, and yes peri does affect libido or did with me, not in the beginning, but more or less in the 6,7 and 8 year with me... but be reassured it does return. or has for me... if you feel pain ... try Replens MD internal vaginal moisturiser, its amazing... 😃 doctors also recommend it..

I am year 9/10 of peri and libido is good again, and i feel fab, i know you cant take B6 but that helps in this situation too amongst other things it helps with.

i am lucky it worked so well for me... 

only thing i have got now, is day flashes ... had them early meno and they stopped and they are back, but taking magnesium again is helping, i was having 12 plus a day, but they have eased off no end now... but a nuisance, feel like my body temperature thermostat has broken, plus its very hot here in Southern Spain too.. other than that my anxiety, feelings of doom, tearfulness i had and not wanting to go out or drive alone has passed now .. thank the lord... take care Jay xx

 

Hi Jayneejay !

Just read your post...am I in ealry peri???  Im still trying to figure all this out myself lol but I started my hospital visits 3 years ago and this is the first year of just giving up on ER visits. I just figure why... they wont find anything!

I first started with my periods different every month. One month being extremely heavy for 7-8 days and the next month light but painful. When I was a teen I was one of those girls that never would know when my periods would start. I never had the sore breast never any cramps...just looked and there it was. 

Now that Im in peri... I have very painful breast almost 2 weeks before my periods , cramps like early labor pains..some that radiate down my inner thighs like my bones are going to break. I havent had any nose bleeds but some days I have to stick a tissue up there to stop the flow , maybe post nasal drip...read thats an over amount of progesterone in the body not balanced out with estrogen so idk. I have the shocking or what I call lightening of joint pains that sends almost a shock feeling through me. Im not as shakey as I usest to be at the beginning of peri. I went through the whole fainting spells at the beginning also. I had a 10 day hospital stay and had 6 doctors that could not figure out why my blood pressure would not come up. Mine was a normal 76/66 they said it wasnt extremely low but they wanted to see it go up. My heart rate would never go below 93. They wanted that at 60 and gave me meds to bring it down but couldnt ever get it below 78. I had my heart drop to 44 after eating peanut butter, something that I could eat all my life, but havent been able to since peri..almost get an anaphylactic shock from it now...so Im guessing an allergic reaction to it. Yes.. the hair thing. My hair thinned out so quick ...I felt it looked stringy. My skin is so dry all the time...I baby oil up in the shower. My sugar would always drop but i wasnt ever diagnosed with any sugar problems. So finally they sent me home and said your healthy eat what ever you want, but put me on potassium for my heart. I only now take it when I feel like its low. This maybe why potatoe foods help me feel better. When I get shakey I grab chips...maybe the salt that helps too.

I have also went through the whole constipation and hurry and get me to the bathroom stage. In my 3rd year I could be laying in bed, in the morning and get a cramp and have to fly out of bed to run to the bathroom. I called those my clean out days lol. I could go up to 7-8 times a day. Im a little person only 5'2 - 105lbs and my husband would laugh and say where does that all come from inside you . I am in the stages of hardly any libido, very dry and I feel like the inside of my vaginal area just burns during sex. I also feel like I have alot of rashes or just stay very itchy and at times feel cut down there...sometimes so painful I have to put an ointment there. Im starting to get this dry eye thing in the morning. I cant hardly open my eyes, they are so dry at times.

The insomnia is horrible for me. I have days where I just want to sleep all day and I feel drugged and some days Ill go to bed at 3:30 am and be wide awake by 6am. I feel like I cant get days and nights back to normal. My doctor said to take melatonin...so basically Ive fallen apart ! Now Im trying to come back to life... still going to stick to being natural though.In your early stages was you able to take omega fish oils? I still cant take those and I did for years before peri just wondering if anyone else is like this...anyways I do alot of praying ...its my meditation time and I find comfort & peace there. 

Im giving b-6 a try a little longer and b complex every other day. Im also going to look for the Replens MD

thanks for all your help... Have a blessed day! 

Hi Blessed_mimi

yes sure try B6 but you must take it daily and stick with it, dont miss, I felt the difference in just a week... never would of believed it but it did work for me. my doc years ago sent me home with some my Doctor actually prescribed B6 beginning of peri 9 years ago, but forgot to tell me the benefits so I never bothered with it .. but now I wish I had its been great..

yes try Replens MD vaginal Moisturiser it helps no end.. and also i found that I too was very sensitive below, bladder, and also felt thrushy but it wasnt, all so sensitive in peri... 

Melatonin is okay but with me it gave me vivid dreams, mind you I did take 10mg at night.. got mine from Biovea web very good for B 6 and other things that site... My Doc has given me an emergency box of zopiclone for sleep, its not ideal and i only use it very rare when I am totally shattered and have to sleep, and only half a tab, but I am getting better now in the sleep dept, after nine years of hardly any..  also going back to libido there is a cream called senstra for women and thats also from biovea wow its good 😀 

i never took omega as didnt fancy it .. i take now Menapol Plus x 2 a day, Maca ( also good for peri and libido)  150mg B6, also B12, Vit B1 (but Vit B1 thats to stop mozzys biting me as I live in southern spain) it works too they hate it.., i take iron every other day, Natecal ( Calcium and Vit D3 mix) a must for bones, and Magnesium effervescant tabs  for flushes... 

so far so good... havent had period for 11 months ... 

good luck hun... Jay xx

 

Hi Jayneejay

Hmmm... your close to menopause, Im curious what thats like stepping out of peri into it. Please post all symtoms for me once you stop your period for a year. Ive read some people have peri from 2-8 or some 4-10. I hope mine is cut short. My recent most annoying is having trouble breathing like an asthma patient. My grandson has it and my son n law and they say I need to get checked but I still relate it to peri.

Im going to give senstra a try...does any of these creams enhance the libido or is this just so it doesnt hurt , like a ky jelly cream?? I cant afford anymore infections down there! lol I am so bothered by me feeling so old that Im considering breast augmentation. Youve had everything else lol you wouldnt happen to have those do you ??  Having 5 babies that breast fed and now me feeling so old with falling apart in peri... Im desperate. 

 I have to look up the effervescent magnesium. I could use those kind since Im so sensitive with everything. I havent had a whole lot of hot flashes but Im starting to get some in my sleep. 

Be Blessed !

Hi Jaynee, can I ask if the B6 helped with aches and pains at all? Considering giving it a go to help my stiff neck and headaches. Thanks. Xx

Hi mooma... 

for me personally, B6 helped in days.. and a couple of other ladiea on here tried it and said same...

I had anxiety from hell beginning of year, aches, ( felt like wanted new hips and knees) i had low feelings of doom, and wanted no company, felt like a waste of space... etc etc etc in April I started 150mg B6 daiily .. as in never miss ... and within a week I felt fab, in mind and soul and aches gone too..

I dont take HRT but B6 is also good for HRT users as is assists absorption.

Doctors can prescribe B6 or Biovea web sells it... good site ...

useful snippet reminder... 

During menopause, mood swings are inevitable with estrogen fluctuations as the body ends its reproductive years. Vitamin B6 may be one answer to alleviating increased agitation, depression and anger. B vitamins are responsible for mood stabilization by controlling hormone production in the brain and regulating hormone levels. B6 declines as menopause sets in and mood swings become evident. Increasing this vitamin may give women the added boost they need to enjoy the golden years with a better mindset.

Vitamin B6 plays several roles in the body. It is essential for red blood cell development and keeping the immune system at peak performance. It is also needed to help keep hormone production, such as with serotonin, in the brain stabilized. When the body lacks B6, mood suffers as proper chemical production declines. ****During perimenopause, stress and depression cause the body to lose this needed vitamin. This can make a woman in her menopausal state feel exhausted and irritable, according to Lark. Another factor in the decline of B6 in the body can be attributed to the rise of estrogen during perimenopausal spikes or hormone replacement therapies. This goes hand in hand with the aforementioned estrogen increase causing depression.

 

Supplementing with vitamin B6 is also a good option during menopause and can provide more rapid relief than diet alone. To avoid an imbalance that can result when one vitamin becomes deficient, use a supplement that contains a full complement of all members of the B-complex family.

Doses of 50 to 100 milligrams of B6 per day help promote general health and wellness.

*** However, during the stress of menopause, your requirements for B6 may increase to as much as 300 milligrams per day, says Lieberman.

Jay xx