Please help ;(
Posted , 10 users are following.
I was doing better for a few months and actually told myself that the doctors were right. I'm not in perimenopause and my symptoms were 'viral. Then in September it all came back and I crashed!!! Insomnia, anxiety, bloating, weight loss, constipation, extreme breast pain, spotting...you name it. I am a mess. I just keep getting sent for ultrasounds and told I have IBS and anxiety. But it is so much worse. I am almost afraid to go to the NP at this point as she shoves so many anti-anxiety meds at me and calls me 'non-compliant' for not taking them. She tried to get me to take an anti-psychotic!!!. I'll be 46 this year - uni educated, successful family business, 3 high achieving kids, no history of psychosis...I've made it to this age successfully but the medical system assumes I'm suddenly psychotic and my hormones are fine. It's a nightmare.
?My bloating, constipation, shortness of breath, shakiness and insomnia have been awful for 2 weeks. If I don't sleep I think I will actually go crazy soon. I am afraid to take anything. Melatonin makes my insomnia worse. Chamomile and valerian don't even touch it. If I take a 50mg gravol I get about 4 hours. I have lavender capsules but am afraid to take one in case it does nothing and then I can't take a gravol. My health anxiety is so high and i'm scared of taking anything at this point. I'm using an alpha stim that was helping for a few months but now does nothing I was put on benzodiazepines and they were fresh hell. I tossed them all.
?I think it is really bad right now because I just started my period, so for the past couple weeks my estrogen has dropped to nothing. I've heard lavender is estrogenic so don't know if the capsule would help or hurt. My husband has taken them a few times and they knocked him out. I'm unable to even clean up around the house...I'm just an exhausted zombie. I've actually had to hire a girl to come and help a few times a week - like home care!! It's that bad. She starts tomorrow and is going to think she's working for a mad woman.
?Please let me know if anyone tried the lavender capsules and if they helped. And how long you can have insomnia before dying??
1 like, 20 replies
lynda20916 LindaJaney
Posted
I'm so sorry that you're going through this. You need to see someone who will take your symptoms seriously, and not throw meds at you. When was your last mammogram? At times, ultrasounds aren't the best diagnostic procedures. I would suggest you see a gastroenterologist and get a colonoscopy to explore the reason for your constipation and bloating--or you could see someone who specializes in internal medicine. You may be making an assumption that your problems are hormone related. There may be other causes for what's going on with you. When some doctors aren't truly interested in discovering what's going on with their patients, or if they have reached a diagnosis and what they give the patient to treat it doesn't work, they can lose interest and then label the patient as delusional or crazy. I think that might be what's going on with you. Best of luck! xx
LindaJaney lynda20916
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I had a mammogram in April and all was fine. But I still worry...daily. I have fibrocystic breasts so it's hard to confirm via mammogram that all is good. I'm afraid to go for colonoscopy...but I will work up the nerve
lynda20916 LindaJaney
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Glad that all was fine. I think that peri-menopause and menopause are cited as the reason for lots of symptoms that could be something else. My concern is that women try different hormones, etc. without knowing what's actually happening--and that what they're experiencing could have another physiological cause.
Not that this is what's happening to you, but a friend's wife had several symptoms for two years. Her doctor didn't check her out thoroughly, because he believed she was "too young" to have gotten what she had. By the time it was found, she fought it for another two years before she passed.
That's why doctors should take their patients' concerns seriously. Please let me know how you get on. xx
Guest LindaJaney
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My fibromyalgia cysts were so bad at one point the radiologist looked at the mammogram and ultrasound and said ‘something is really wrong with you, you should see a doctor’. This was after seeing like ten specialists! I was like, oh, what a great idea, wish I thought of that 🙄
I also had a breast MRI at that time. Was so worried. Everything was fine. Now when my breasts get bad I use some progesterone cream because I think it’s from soaring unopposed estrogen and this helps calm it down.
LindaJaney Guest
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I agree. And a lot of literature backs that up. When I asked my doctor at the time about that (I was 40 when diagnosed with fibrocystic breasts)...he said 'I don't believe in all that hormone stuff'. For real. He was maybe 27. Here we are...almost 6 years later and I think the estrogen has caused a ton of problems
aishling39060 LindaJaney
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Guest LindaJaney
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The only thing that got me over the sleeping issue was oral progesterone. 200mg and it zonked me. My friend will even take up to 400mg a night! Personally I think that’s too much. I would get mine compounded at a pharmacy which made me more comfortable than taking Pharmco ones. If you are really that bad from no sleep then I think you should give it a shot. I’m not taking it anymore, I can finally sleep again on my own.
Psychotic my arse, what a jerk doctor! Always amazing when it’s coming from a women doc to boot. All I can think is ‘karma’s a biotch’.
Hope you feel better soon, hope we all do!
❤️
LindaJaney Guest
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Good to know re: sleep! I'm going to ask the NP for progesterone on Monday.
LindaJaney
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Thank you ladies <3. It is so nice to have people in my corner when I feel overwhelmed by all of this
2chr2015 LindaJaney
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LindaJaney 2chr2015
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I've been using magnesium capsules, but I have a magnesium spray too that I'll use tonight. That's a good idea. Thank you. I can't believe how hard this is either.
beth12460 LindaJaney
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Vix72 LindaJaney
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Hi Linda,
I hear and and have almost the exact same story ( uni educated ( a scientist actually) successful business, high achieving kids etc etc, now its all falling apart more to drug interference than original issues. I found out that benzo's withdrawal ( which happens after just 2 weeks of using them, sometimes less depending on your chemistry) can increase anxiety, insomnia, shakiness etc especially in the morning when your cortisol levels are naturally high. So, what were you taking and for how long?
I did try the anti psychotics as they told me they were a sedative not what they really were and i was so far messed up by the benzo i agreed i needed something. then when that had the OPPOSITE effect and i was serioulsy depressed and in hell i agreed to another drug, an anti epileptic which horridly enough helped enough for me to wean off the benzos ( finished yesterday) and will now wean off that poison in 2 weeks. FRESH HELL!!
My advice - go natural. this will pass and while you are not taking anything you are aware of your own baseline, once we introduce hormones, chemicals etc then it becomes very difficult to shift out what is you and your body and what is medication effects/ side effects and withdrawal ( which can last weeks or months after you've stopped the drug and you may think its the original issue when in fact it isn't)
You got away easy i think...have a cuppa and rest happily in that knowledge and know that as you say - you got this far with no problems- this too shall pass.....
maria76995 LindaJaney
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maria76995 LindaJaney
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Hi lindajaney,me too the insomnia shortness of breath shakiness feeling sick in the mornings I do just like you can't seem to do nothing sometimes I wish I could feel good again I'm lying in bed typing this because I feel desperate..at home in the day I walk up and down for a while I guess I can't sit still when I'm shaking and my heart is racing and I feel worst
LindaJaney maria76995
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I'm so sorry Maria. I left you a comment about the asthma too. It sound like we are both going through the ringer
It's horrible and the way women get treated by doctors during all of this is twisted. My insomnia has been really bad too. Piece of advice - if your doctor gives you benzodiazepines for the anxiety and insomnia - be really careful with them. They often don't metabolize well during hormone issues and can cause major rebound anxiety and insomnia. It's tempting to use them because they help at first, and some women may be fine taking one now and then with no issues. But it's a roll of the dice to see if you're one of those women. I wasn't.
maria76995 LindaJaney
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Hi thanks for getting back to me..I try not to take anything for the menopause, my dr gave me antidepressents and I took 2 as she said and went to bed and I woken with fast heart rate and extreme dry mouth I was so scared I call the emergencies out but my heart was fine I know get racing heart but it made it worst I worried about meno playing with my lungs and hoping it don't interfer to mch with it..how your asthma and Anxiety do you your inhalers I have to take mine n the morning and night so I can breath freely this has been the worst thing I have ever went through and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
LindaJaney maria76995
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Hi Maria - I posted a response to you about the asthma on the first discussion thread I opened. If you don't see it there let me know and I'll post it here. If the hormones are affecting your asthma so badly that your hr is high - you should ask your doctor about hormone replacement. I know they are so hesitant with it - but I am going to push at my next appointment. The inhalers also raise hr - they are steroids. So it is so hard for us poor souls with major anxiety. if you take a lot of caffeine try and cut right back. And after using your inhaler - know that your heart will race for a good 20 minutes so try really hard to distract yourself with something on television. Don't be up moving around. Just sit it out and wait - and keep reminding yourself it's the inhaler. the inhaler will also cause dry mouth (are you rinsing with salt water after every puff? it's really important to get the lingering medication out of your mouth). I'm so sorry you are going through this.