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Thyroid, menopause and anxiety???

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tammy76379
tammy76379

Hi there, in brief, I'm back on name brand Effexor XR 75 after a several several years and a brief stint with Lexapro. Recently o found out that I was on too high of a dude of Synthroid. I'm also 53 and blood week proves that I'm in full blown menopause.

I have a dilemma.... My husband who is a doctor and one of his partners is my doctor and the three of us have agreed that I should wait to see if the lower dose of Synthroid calms my anxiety (might see a difference in another 2-4 weeks) and that I should stay on the 75 mg of Effexor XR.Meanwhile after researching menopause, serotonin decreases during this time as well.... My anxiety is consistently low right now, but always present. Has ANYONE experienced any of this at the same time? I'm just tired of living like this. Every day is a struggle, but bearable. Uggg

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Bassilli
    Bassilli tammy76379

    Posted

    Hi Tammy. How does your anxiety manifest? I have sweaty palms, wake with pounding heart and breathlessness and obsessive thoughts
    • tammy76379
      tammy76379 Bassilli

      Posted

      Hi. I wake up feeling a bit anxious. But a few months ago, it was horrible. Couldn't sleep, eat, everyday stuff was paralyzing. When I have hot flashes, I instantly get an anxiety attack.

      The intrusive thoughts aren't as bad anymore....through therapy, prayer, and plain old convincing myself that it's just a thought that isn't fact. It's been an education.

      Recently been exercising more, and started a vitamin that helps with serotonin. Eating more turkey and protein that naturally contains triptaphan, which converts into serotonin. So that's what I'm doing. Just wanted to see if anyone has a similar condition and/or symptoms.

      How are you feeling??

  • Bassilli
    Bassilli tammy76379

    Posted

    What vitamin do you take? The racing thoughts are the worse for me. I'm alone which makes it worse. I have had an awful 2 weeks.

  • jacqueline59683
    jacqueline59683 tammy76379

    Posted

    I'm also all over the place, the only way I can describe it is I am not myself. I get these worry thoughts about adult children, husband, myself. The only way to take a rest is if I do exhaustive physical work...like painting, yard work...otherwise I'm super anxious. Somehow every event I witness, my mind twists it to be a worry.

    I'm exercising, no caffeine, sugar, st. John's work...but I want this to end. I even feel guilty feeling so frustrated over thoughts...

    My period should come next week and I'm 55....ugh so over this.

    • tammy76379
      tammy76379 jacqueline59683

      Posted

      You sound just like me.... I'm constantly in the yard pulling weeds digging up something transplanting something throwing to the dog walking the dog, you name it. I don't know how to relax. My way of relaxing is to just fall asleep. But I wake up in the middle of the night several times, feeling rather anxious. The intrusive thoughts were at their highest a few weeks ago. I'm learning with my therapist's help to control them and decide fact or fiction. 99% of those thoughts that I'm sure you have too are fiction.... One leads to another and then another and before you know it, the world is about to end.

      It takes a lot of practice to rid yourself off the first one though.

      I had a hysterectomy January 2017. Had some issues, but all fine now. Still have the ovaries and recent bloodwork showed in definitely I'm menopause. I wish there was a test to tell me how long it will take 😟😤😢??😩

      I'm doing the no caffeine out sugar thing, waking or riding my bike. Which by the way, VIGOROUS exercise boosts serotonin and that helps with anxiety. And you can Google foods and supplements for serotonin increase. Turkey is the best I'm finding. But I'm taking a vitamin that has everything recommended for this....by Garden of life...mykind organics for women 55+.

      It's going to be okay, and I feel a lot better being proactive in my own care outside of my doctor's advice, which is good. God bless you. Let's keep in touch!

  • FemaleBrain
    FemaleBrain tammy76379

    Posted

    Hi there, from what I understand, anxiety is a side effect of too much TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone. So to my way of thinking, if you lower the dose of Synthroid, the anxiety should decrease in severity. And I think it's a good idea to keep your other meds the same for now, to see how your body reacts to the Synthroid change.

    • tammy76379
      tammy76379 FemaleBrain

      Posted

      Thank you! Yes, I was taking 150 mcg, and for the past week, I've been on 137. It doesn't seem like a big difference, but my husband assures me that it is and that it will take some time to realize that difference...."4-6 weeks." Honestly, lately, that's how I've been measuring my life, in 4-6 weeks increments. Uggg, well, I'm at least learning patience.

  • deedee63350
    deedee63350 tammy76379

    Posted

    Hi! Yes ! I was on 200 mcg of synthroid and my anxiety was awful sometimes I would feel ok but I couldn’t even drink coffee. I had radiation to my thyroid and over the years that dose is too high. They moved me down to 175 and I’m doing better I think they may have to move me down more. I’m on Zoloft before they up my dosage they want me to get my thyroid levels normal . I think your doing the right thing . Thyroid meds are tricky especially if your hyper you can have anxiety racing thoughts sweating all that can mimic menopause symptoms. My doc said menapaus does cause those symptoms so it’s tricky but we are focusing on my thyroid dosage first . Good luck! Let us know how it goes 
    • tammy76379
      tammy76379 deedee63350

      Posted

      Thank you Dee Dee! I heard terrible menopause stories all of my life from my aunts and cousins, but they all looked like they were doing fine. Never did I thought I'd be going through this but I'm getting through it and I'm surviving and still living my life, albeit, some days are not easy.

      I'm definitely in menopause, bloodwork proved it a week as the thyroid issue. The worst thing for me right now is waking up with mild anxiety in the morning, and the hot flashes....I get an instant anxiety attack when one comes on.... And it's not mild. If this is the worst that it gets, I can deal with it. The hot flashes by themselves are crazy, but i could 10000000% do without the anxiety.

      I'm trying to really control this with diet and exercise, too. It helps!!

      Be well, and God bless you!!!

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