Perimenopause or Anxiety or ???

Hi there. I have been reading this forum with great interest over the last few weeks. This is the first time I have posted. Katttlyne1 I'm 50 now but about 4 or 5 years ago I developed terrible anxiety with exactly the symptoms you described. It got so bad that I went from a very calm, fun loving person to someone who was frightened to leave the house. At the time I thought I was going completely mad, as did everyone else around me, and didn't realise it could be the perimenopause.  My doctor put me on antidepressants, which really helped with the anxiety.  I also had CBT. I put quite a lot of weight on with the ad's so decided to come off them after 18 months.  Since then I have been taking B vitamins and Magnesium and Calcium with Vit D3.  This worked for a while but about 6 months ago the anxiety started to creep back. I tried other supplements which didn't work, then about a month ago I started taking Menopace Plus which has been absolutely brilliant. I go to the gym 3 times a week and also do Pilates and Yoga which really helps. In answer to your question, what you are experiencing is definitely Peri. I just wanted to reassure you that you are not alone and if you need to take ad's for a while, don't beat yourself up about it, or try different supplements and see how you get on. I can highly recommend Menopace Plus xxx

Thank you so much, Julia! It brought tears to my eyes as I read your reply because i do so feel helplessly alone right now! I have a doctor's appt with a new doctor on Monday ( to get my blood pressure lined out) and now I'm fearing that appt as if I'm facing the guillotine!! (This fear stems in part to my newly developed fear of having my blood pressure checked. I've found that when I'm really scared it shoots up to 190/110!) Plus, I'm afraid to admit the level of my anxiety. I am afraid they will think I am crazy! (I find myself fearing I'm going crazy too)! But I know I need help. I've never really had to go to the doctor much in the past. and don't have a regular doctor. How is the best way to explain to him what's going on? Of course, I'm probably going to have a panic attack and then he will see for himself how bad my anxiety has gotten lately! I have a 7 year old daughter at home and I'm not married...so I try to hide my emotions as much as I can. I appreciate your advice and taking time to "talk" with me!

Hi Kattlyne. So sorry to hear you're having a difficult time at the moment. I too have had the anxiety, feeling s of doom, not wanting to go out and now lots of aches and pains, dizziness etc. it really is very debilitating. Every time I go to the doctor I get anxious and try to put on a brave face whereas really I should be showing him exactly how I feel. So, I really do understand what you mean. It's so difficult trying to remain strong in front of others( kids , family etc ) when you feel so awful. I have never been to the Dr much and feel these days that I need a block booking! I think you really need to find a Dr you feel comfortable with and that may mean trying out a few until you find the one you can relate to, and pour out exactly how you are feeling. It's not easy but when you get going it gets easier. Don't feel alone,. The ladies on here are all lovely and really supportive. I've got loads of good tips of things to try and you can see what suits you and give it a go. Hoping you start to feel better really soon. Xxx

Thank you so much, Mooma!! Ift feels so good to be able to be open and honest with you ladies!! I'm currently on break at work and am using my computer here to post as my computer at home crashed completely about a month ago...so I can only read and post periodically right now.

I'm very sorry to hear your going through tough times too! I pray that we will all recover very soon and will then be able to help others that go thru it too! Much love and hugs to you! PS--even tho I'm scared to go to the doctor..I am going to force myself. I will let you know how it went! God bless! 

Good luck.xxxx

Hi Kattlyne1, how did you get on at the doctors?  Sorry I didn't get back to you after you replied to me. I hope you managed to tell him how you have been feeling x

Hi Kattlyne yes it sounds like peri alright...

take some Vit B6 .... my doc gave me that years ago early on in peri..

i have posted lots of info about the help it gives you in peri ... Jayxx

Hi Aussie,

Listen......your 40's are truly years of transformation. I had a break down at around 45. I literally could not leave my home. I had a daughter just beginning high school so I would take a nibble of an anti anxiety med and drive to get her. An anti depressant truly changed my life. A chemical imbalance is real. Serotonin depletion is real. Perimenopause can begin very early. Read up on the path to menopause. In the meantime treat your depression. Lexapro is the best that's out there. Just my opinion. I'm not a doctor but I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and work with an amazing psychiatrist. If you decide to try Lexapro or Celexa, you must give it a minimum of 3 months. 

Don't give up. I've been there and know exactly what you're going through. 

thank you andrea ahh thisis my issue i dont want too take anti depressants there must be some other way to deal with this yes apparently i have early menopause im hoping it will finish soon

hi nancy you have the menopause stage yet yes strange it calms towards end of day least you know you wll get a break though i just find its all too much 

OMG campervanqueen i really do feel for you and know exactly what your going through, my doctor really doesnt want to know so i feel i dont want to see him again unless i really have too. He just dismisses anything i've said and is always running late so will say i havent got much time so what is it?? which makes me more anxious and i feel like crying.  I've been through the thoughts of thinking OMG is this for 10 years i cant do it but i've recently told myself that this is how its going to be so i have to make the best of it and when i have a good day i really appreciate it but they are far and few between.  I really beleive the GPs dont know what to do with us, mine looks at me as if i'm making my symptoms up.  I never used to go to the doctors only for my smear but when all this started and i didn't know what the heck was happening to me i went several times obviously thinking i would get some answers and support but oh no he just printed me a sheet off with info on HRT. My bloods have often been normal but i was so starting peri.  fancy telling you your anxiety will calm when he is most likely making you feel worse.  I too nearly fall asleep at my computer i do say i get indents of keyboard on my face.  I was on for 35 days then off for 6 days and now on again, my stomach is killing, i feel i've gone back to when i used to suffer as a teenager.  i don'r have back and shoulder pain but i do get neck pain. Try not to get low it realy wont help you, I find having a lovely warm bubble bath for an hour helps me and just try to think of nice things or have an ipod on.  I hate to think of you been low and would love to just give you a hug and say it will all be ok.  Yours so young to be going through this. I hope you get a good nights sleep tonight and feel much better tomorrow.  take care and sending you a comforting hug x

Oh anxiousface, thank you for your words, they do comfort me I felt like saying to him, grow a womb and see if you can handle it love lol (maybe I should have kicked him in his b*lls)!!!  I'm not one to moan about pain, I had my children naturally with gas and air (OMG that was the best stuff) but I don't think it's fair that we are fobbed off as we are I really think your coping so very well with bleeding for that long. I think it gets to the stage where you just feel, oh goodness, I know what's coming... You can feel and sense it can't you? It's never ending but I am still thankful that I have had the chance to give birth to my three wonderful boys and I couldn't have done it without that part of my body I now want an eject button for xxx hugs to you too and I really hope you get some respite from your bleeding and pain xxx

oh ladies i think the female doc is needed the men are arrogant and dont care well my aussie doc is like this ahh its damn unfair that we have to cop this im so over it 

hello all you lovely ladies..

i havent been on here for a few days so catching up with the posts...

OMG I read this and it seems No Doc really helps us ... so we must not get low, we are all on here and can support and help each other..

I had the aches and pains last week, and abit of energy probs and also a dam shoulder / neck pain, must of pulled it or cricked it but my lord it lasted days... anyway the aches have passed... ( it has to be the PMT ) for me as its patterns each month... and then goes.. ( had no period since Aug 13 ) and in year 9 of peri, so experienced the job lot 😢 .... 

keep positive all of you.... Jay xx

hello jay, hope your ok today, I too have not been on the site much has had days of bad headaches.  Today i just dont know how i got through work as my heads really tight and my eyes feel like their going to pop out my head and i keep having the shivers, its making me feel dizzy and i feel i'm not in this world (very strange) i hope i'm not going back to 2012 when this all started and things were really bad then.  I'm so glad to be hope where i feel safe.  I have this dreadful feeling of just being found dead at work cos i feel i will juts calapse and never wake up.  Am i being pathetic or does this make sence to anyone. .  Hope all you ladies are having a better day than me.  Good to hear from you jay.  Whats happened to madcow?? her posts used to make me smile.  hugs xx

hi campervanqueen, Your so right male GP's have no undersatanding of what were going through and they only seem to concentrate on the more common symptoms of hot flushes etc not all the many other symptoms.  Yes you should of kicked him were it hurts or poked him in the eyes. By the way i'm not bleeding today (mistery) but i'm really dizzy and still look 4 months pregnant but so glad to be home from work were i feel safe. I know what you mean about being grateful to our wombs cos life just wouldn't be the same without my son.  hugs x

Hi anxious face... oh bless ya chick, so you were eager to get home after your Durham visit... well thats normal, we all like our own bed dont we.. I know I do 😐

I am okay at the mo, last week had the aches alot, and alot of flushes again, and approaching my year 9 of peri I thought the hot flushes had gone, but I am having three or more a day 😏 ( mind you it is 29 degrees here today) 

sorry you have the headaches, oh they are the worst... again my aches etc are about a month after my last ones, so another PMT sorta thing and no period 😦 ... had to drive to the city airport this morning as my daughter been over and my partner and they flew back on same flight... OMG I was so worried about driving back alone that I had an upset stomach twice this morning... so weird all this your not alone worrying about stuff... I made myself stop half way at a garden centre to take my mind off it and chill for 10 mins and bought a pretty plant, seemed to do the trick, then I was pleased I did it and got home okay.... isnt it odd who this peri makes you so scared and anxious all the time when your alone... 😮  jay xx

hi..

male doctors dont have a clue... maybe the odd one does, but generally nope, yes their testicles are as close as they will get to ovaries and just as delicate and painful, so yes you should of told him you had a peri foot problem ' it just rears up like this' and kicks male doctors in the non understanding nuts... 😆

Sorry to hear about your headaches. I have a horrendous one today. My head feels so tight it's going to burst and I feel dizzy and a little sick. Got pain all over my head, neck and left face😞my eyes too feel uncomfortable and strange so I completely get where you are coming from. I find a warm wheat bag or towel on the back of my head eases it a little. Xx

oh mooma dont take this the wrong way but i'm so releived to hear you feel the same way i do but also sorry you are doing. I was really getting worried there is something wrong with my head but as you have all the same symptoms its sort of a relief for me. The dizziness is really quite scary at times.  As i'm just at the end of a period do you think its to do with that (hormonal) i do hope we feel better tomorrow. I will be having a lovely warm bubble bath later hich always makes me feel better but i do have a wheat bag so i will try your was too.  Take care mooma xx

Thanks anxious face😊 I know it really helps to know you're not alone doesn't it? It sometimes feels like I am the only person in the world with this awful head pain. The dizziness is very disorientating isn't it? The only way I can describe it is a feeling of unsteadiness and feeling a bit apart from the situation as if you are outside looking in. Sorry sounds a bit weird I know. I am on day 3.of my period so maybe it's connected , do you think.? Do you get any head pain/ discomfort at any other times of the month. Mine is always there but just to greater and lesser degrees from day to day. I might try the warm bath thing, I've heard that Epsom salts in the bath are good, help with relaxation but I've yet to try that. Here's to a better day tomorrow. Take care. Xx

hello again mooma yes you have discribed it exactly i feel unsteady and apart from the situation, someone can be talking to me and its as if there talking to someone else and i'm not understanding what their saying.  I was driving home from work and i felt as if i was the passenger and the car was unfamiliar but somehow i got home and into the garage as usual. I get headaches most days but these are different there more intense.  yes heres to a better day tomorrow, i really do hope so cos i'm on my own at work on a wednesday which makes me more anxious. take care too x

hi anxiousface and mooma...

oh girls, i do feel for you... anxious face, I would say the headaches are deffo hormonal, mine certainly are.. I get the odd headache now and then but.... the last period i had ( Aug 13) my lord, I will never forget those headaches ... 4 days constant banging, day and night... and the same in march 13 the period before Aug... thats how I now know I actually am going to have one, the headaches start and no forgiving with them, and the overwhelming feeling of nausia, and cant eat as feel so sick... and breast tenderness as well...

now though I get symptoms that are abit different each month, mainly achey and tearful ( no tender breasts) but no period either, the breast tenderness is my obvious clue now and the crippling heads, then I know a period is coming,  if they are as bad as mine were you need more than an over the counter painkiller for the head ache, its more like a migraine ... and hormonal for sure... its no fun, I know its a natural process this menopause and not life threatening, but its so knocks you back doesnt it .... take care Jay xx

Hi. Just thought id share this. I had that horrendous headache yesterday and a friend suggested I put a tiny spot of lavender oil on my temples. It certainly helped it . I then had a bath in Epsom salts with a few drops of lavender oil and put the back of my head and neck into the water too, it was so much better during the evening. Also I slept so well last night and for the first time in ages I woke with no lower back pain. Will definitely be doing this again tonight although my hair is a sight to behold this morning. Haha.xx

Hi Mooma

thats brill... Lavender is excellent, and you can get drops and little lavender pillows its very relaxing and calming...  i have never used it myself, i know people who swear by it.. I may get a little bottle... I have some lavender in the garden and i often pull a sprig and smell it as its so relaxing..

I seem to be losing more weight at the mo, for some reason, but I eat healthy, have chopped salad every day from fresh (not a bag of ready made salad) I have it with tuna or cheese or ham, ( only cuz its hot here) and since me taking B6 its certainly seems to be making me lose weight as it breaks up carbs etc.. but I dont need to lose weight 😏 so will see what happens there... B6 is fab for peri weight gain as well as lots of other things  my little bit of peri tummy I did have has gone ... I seemed to change shape slightly round the middle during peri ... but gone now 😑 mind you I do take 150mg daily of B6 and 300mg daily of Vit B1 ... I halved the B6 they are 300mg to start and think I will stay at that for now... have a great day ladies, I have a very busy one today .... Jay xx

 

mooma i hope your feeling ok today, i've had a terrible week i've had a sinus type headache and face pain since tuesday, today i've come home from work as can't function properly. I can't get a GP appointment as per usual so asked the chemist and she gave me sudofed tabs but not worked yet.  I feel like a block of ice, i keep shivering from head to toe and my stomach feels like its in knots, any of you lovely ladies ever felt this way or am i on my own with my odd symptoms. love to all x

Hi anxiousface,

I hope you are feeling brighter.  I suffer with sinus problems and have found a tablet (which you can buy over the counter at a chemist) called Acifed and is really good for headaches cold type symptoms as well as sinus.  If you take them at night they can make you drowsey but are really good. Good luck at the doctors. xxxJoyxxx

Hi anxious face., sorry to hear you've had a difficult week. I can really sympathise with the head and face pain, I have that too as I type, so debilitating. I don't have the shivers etc. so I wonder if perhaps that may be something else that is just adding to the problems. I'm looking into a problem with my jaw joint at the moment which may be causing the pains in my face, head etc. worth considering , maybe have a chat to the dentist. Xx

hello snatchpiece thank you for your kind words, sorry i didnt reply yesderday but my head and face felt like they were about to explode. I eventually got an appointment to the GPs and appears i have sinusitus so have been given some penicilin tabs, i dont seem as bad today but will need some parocetomol soon. thanks for the tip on Acifed i will get some from the chemist when this is over. I dont really get colds its just the sinus headaches and face pain.  Havent we got eneough to cope without this.  Hope your ok today x

Hi Anxious face..

so glad you know what it is, and have anti biotics, they will take a few days to get a hold and kick in, but all good that you have the medication..

have a relaxing weekend ... chill out and look after yourself, everyhing else will wait... big hugs Jay x

Hi Mooma sorry i didnt get back to you yesterday but my head and face pain got worse so eventually got to see a GP who said i had sinusitus so i have some penacilin tabs. Funny you should mention your jaw i have noticed mine has started to click on one side and i do get some discomfort there, let me know how you get on with that.  Yes i too fine it so debilitating i find i cant function at work when im like this.  I fel i cant think straight, are you like this mooma.  hope your ok today and your heads giving you a rest.  sending love x

Yes, mine has started to click on the opposite side to the pain. Had a horrible day today. Pain and dizziness, left sided as usual. My jaw area really hurts and it seems to radiate from there. I sometimes find it so difficult to function. Fed up with taking painkillers. I'm glad you have found a reason for yours, it makes such a difference. Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend. Xx

Hya...ha ha ....awwwww iv been reading through all these posts and it did make me smile when you said everything went tits up...ooooooooooh...iv had ups and downs since 40...irregular periods up to 47ish..havnt had one for 14 months now..im 50 this year..been on anti ds once...back on them again...i am,well was a gym goer,swimming,all the active stuff...a bit of a tom boy..now,well aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrhhhh im not the same,but...all i can say is,your not on your own,keep posting on here,do whats right for you at the time...love and well wishes sent xxx