So is it the menopause or depression brought on by it?

same here. I'm 51. suddenly 5 months ago dizzy spells, sore throat, pain in middle of back, I feel a strange sensation there when I cough and swallow food....it feels like pressure, Very vivid dreams nightly, some scary some not, multiple dreams per night. I feel like I'm watching a home movie because I know everyone in the dreams. mostly family members and friends, so odd. I did go to Dr because the sore throat wouldn't go away. she says anxiety. I say menopause! feel better soon hun💙

Its true! We feel like we are going insane most of the time cause all of these symptoms are completely real and awful but drs or therapists just look at you and say "i dont see anything in a medical journal that says menopause causes nausea, dizziness amd so on"...when my therapist said that to me the other day i blew up at her! I said "why is it ok and normal to be nauseated and dizzy during your period from hormones but menopause isnt allowed ro cause it?" i was so furious, the only reason i am in therapy is to try to learn how to live with the changes menopause has brought and come to find out shes like the drs and thinks im just mental and hormones play no role in it. All i know is im living a completely normal healthy life, had three pregnancies, then once i hit 37 years old i was hijacked out of my normal existence and thrown into a never ending hell where i dont recognize myself and i long fir the life i once lived. Im now almost 42 years old and i know that life is never coming back....i have some days where all the sudden i feel ok and i get excited thinking maybe its over, but then i go to bed and wake up the next morning to find the hell has returned. Im glad i have all of you strong ladies who understand at least.

hello brandy, Iv seen several GP's at my local surgery over the last 8 years with almost the same list of symptoms. The first dr said i was perimenopausal which id never heard of before but obviously now im an expert, the other gp's have just fobbed me off over the years but my latest appointment i got was with a lady doctor who was in her late 40's so i though she would maybe understand what i was going through and took my list to her. She was a cold as a fish, she looked at my list and said she couldn't think of anything and as id been in several times over the years and its not done me any harm i just need to get on with it. DONE ME ANY HARM can you believe it. I came out and went to my car and just cried. So no support from the cold fish faced gp. I now feel i never want to go back there again.They just dont appear to have any knowledge of some of the horrendous symptoms that comes along with peri and menopause and how to deal with us. Its been 8 yrs since this hormonal roller coaster has taken my normal life from me and turned me into a shadow of myself. im scared of everything.

I totally understand how you feel! Im the exact same way. I used not to be afraid to go anywhere! I would just jump in my car and travel the 30 mins to go shopping ir to appts but now just thinking about going any place i freak out before i even leave the house! Most days i get myself so worked up i just cant leave. My whole insides just ho crazy! I will feel very sick, trembling and get hit with a huge case of vertigo. And dont even get me started on drs, i havent met one who seems to care or even listen and they have all been women! Nothing more scary than feeling so terrible but never being able to find out whats truly wrong. 😦

brandy im just the same as you about going out and this has got worse this years. Even meeting my sister for a coffee which iv done for years gets me all anxious and dizzy then it upsets my stomach and were as she enjoys a cake im too nauseas to eat and just want to get back home in my safe haven.. i used to be so independent at did everything on my own as my husband works long hrs but now i dont go too far and can only manage a couple of shops as they send my dizzy. WHATS WRONG WITH US. I keep saying to myself tomorrow is a new day and im going to do something nice BUT that day has never come , its my birthday on tuesday and im not the slightest interested in it.

sending you a comforting hug, i know how you feel x

I could have written those sane words myself!! I pray this ends for us. Sending you hugs back!

I also feel like this all started after I had my second child at 38. For the first year after his birth I kept telling myself that it was just because I was sleep deprived that my heart raced, I felt lightheaded and awful. Then once I stopped nursing, I told myself it was just my hormones re-balancing. But truly I have never felt the same and it has been nearly 9 years. It has definitely gotten worse in the last 3 or 4, with new symptoms popping up such as frequent migraines, panic like episodes, bad stomach, super foggy brained, etc, etc. I think the thing for us all to remind ourselves is that hormones DO have a tremendous impact on your body. And that everyone experiences it differently, just like pregnancy. Some people sail through pregnancy feeling great, and others are bed ridden. For doctors to think there is a "one size fits all" explanation to peri/menopause is incredibly ignorant. You have to keep searching for a doctor who says YES, what you are feeling is REAL, and here are some things that might help. Also check out some of the podcasts about perimenopause and menopause that are out there. They will assure you that others are experiencing similar things, as well as give you resources and ideas on how to deal with some of the symptoms. Wishing all of you good health and peace of mind. xo

Thank you...yes it seems to get tougher every month....i keep praying things will change, they do but its always for the worse not better. Please keep me updated!