Menopause :: Perimenopause Or Anxiety?
Oct 25, 2013
My first post focused on Anxiety and the possibility of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It has recently been brought to my attention, there is a possibility my symptoms could be hormone related. Something I never actually considered.
Brief list of symptoms...
Fatigue (groggy and heavy type tiredness)
Brain Fog
Feeling detached and 'spaced out'
Weak and Shaky
Jelly Legs
Weak Fingers and Toes
Sensitive to light and sound
Sometimes feels like I have flu or a bad virus (even though I know I don't)
Light Headed
Light Dizziness
Easily tired out
Occasional Palpitations
Frequent urination (occasionally)
Anxious (more so than usual)
Brief History...
I have had anxiety issues, on and off, for many years and also hormone induced migraines. This year the migraines are definitely worse and so too is the anxiety. I had an 8 day brutal migraine early/mid September, followed by 8 days of severe brain fog/dull fuzzy head. I haven't been the same since. I'm also wondering if my symptoms are migraine related? I've had 2 full blood tests done and 2 urine samples taken. All came back normal/clear and healthy. I've also been to see an ENT consultant who ruled out an inner ear virus. He also checked my throat and balance. I had a full eye examination last week and my eyes are in great shape. I have an MRI booked next week and also an appointment to get an ECG recorder fitted for 48 hours.
My symptoms are so broad and general, it could be a number of things... I have even considered CFS. Now I'm thinking it could be hormone related? I feel more anxious not knowing what this is.
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I am really suffering at the moment and I'm into day 35 of an anxiety/depression dip. I have been suffering this on and off for over ten years. The closer I get to the end the dips seem to be lasting longer and coming more frequent. I really don't know how much longer I can hang on. My quality of life at the moment is very very poor. I am starting to consider HRT as I've really had enough of this horrible roller coaster. I was hoping to hear from some ladies who have tried HRT and it has turned their lives around or offer experiences from other ladies. I have a doctor who will prescribe bioidentical hormones which I would prefer to the synthetic ones. I just have to make a decision. I so wish I didn't have to and wish I could sail through this like other ladies. Last year I had 7 periods and its 3 months since my last one. I'm just wondering if you can take HRT with this scenario.
I really need the strength to keep going.
Have cried all day today as it's all becoming to hard.
I would love to wake in the morning and it has lifted.
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I feel like my anxieties are getting worse at times. It seems when I am anxious my bowls leak out with me not even taking a bowl movement. When I was at the movie with my brothers wife and their kids and my boyfriend seeing Annie around 6pm I started feeling like my heart was racing again and feeling like I was going to pass out or just scream like the other day when I was ran up to someone in the building next door to our building screaming I'm scared my heart was racing then and I felt like I was going to pass out then I felt so weak and when the fire department came in with me to my Apartment I went to the bathroom and I wiped away some stool that leaked out. Could this be because of a heart problem or what because I feel like I am having flu like symptoms tonight or is this part of perimenopause would like to know i feel like putting myself in the hospital.
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I was already apprehensive or should I say anxious about my GP appointment today. I had a panic attack while I was there and just couldn't seem to calm down. He gave me a script for Ativan and said I need to relax. My anxiety this week has been through the roof. I've never had issues with anxiety but since all my other symptoms started I have been on edge. I can't focus on my health because i'm always thinking that something is going to happen to me. I know the numerous tests tell me I'm ok but I can't shake the doom and gloom feelings. They just come out of nowhere. Does anyone else ever feel like the doom and gloom and is this normal? I am starting to think I have generalized anxiety disorder where i'm just out of sorts all the time.
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This has been the worst 3 weeks of my life with these perimenopause symptoms. I'm soon to be 49. I thought my symptoms were getting better. Then on March 8th started having bad stomach cramps and low back pain which lasted 2 1/2 weeks. Then the terrible indigestion started with heart palpitations and then of course major anxiety. My period which has been about every 18 days since December is now late. I live each day in fear and terror of heart palpitations and anxiety. I seriously feel like I might die everyday. This is absolutely no way to live. I feel bad for my poor husband and daughter. I am no wife and mother at this time. My daughter is 21 but I still feel horrible about the state I'm in. Sorry for the vent. Feeling hopeless like this journey will never ever end.
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I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder last March, after suffering a panic attack while traveling for business. Since then, I've had a multitude of daily physical symptoms...dizziness/lightheadedness, body aches, headaches, insomnia, night sweats, increased body temperature, feeling weak in my limbs, general fatigue, shakiness....you name it, I've had it. I've just about worn out my welcome at my GP's office, I've been there so often....I've been to the emergency room four times, had an MRI, multiple ECGs, countless rounds of bloodwork, an upper endoscopy...everything comes back clear. So why do I feel so sick all the time? I did have my hormone levels checked, and my doctor confirmed that I'm at least perimenopausal (I'm 45 years old)....could all of these symptoms (and truly, they occur daily) be related to perimenopause? I've developed a serious issue with health anxiety due to all of this, because I can't accept that these symptoms are harmless...I'm convinced that something catastrophic is wrong with me.
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it has become so hard to see if i fit for peri-menopause as I do not have hot flashes at all but i seem to have all else creeping up on me. lots of women say if you don't have the hot flashes then it can not be peri...So really what is the best way to know that your entering that stage of life or not..i read alot of posts where all these woman have all these tell tale sign of menopause and instead of there doctor taking there age into consideration for menopause they all run to do all kinds of tests and this and that..is it really that difficult to decipher when in menopause or not? I'm so confused and since I'm 42 my doctor wont even talk to me about it regardless that my mother and her went into full menopause at 45 yrs old..i just hate to be running to the DR and getting all frustrated when some of my symptoms or all are peri-menopause related.
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I had an upper respiratory issue a few weeks back and am pretty much over it, but a week after the worst of it I started running a low grade fever almost every evening. My face and neck feels really hot like the heat is just radiating off it and I want to fan myself. I otherwise don't feel bad, not like I usually do when I have a low grade fever when sick, I just feel hot. My normal temps runs around 97.5 and I know that temps are lower in the mornings and can go up in the afternoons but I have never had it like this. It has been about 98.6, 98.8 and today it has been 99.3. But like I said, it isn't like a sick fever, and it is mostly my face and neck area that feels so hot. It starts every afternoon around 3pm.
Does anyone else experience anything like this? Could it be related to perimenopause? My cycle is really messed up right now.
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I'm a little worried as I have had a tension type headache for approx 5 days during my period ? Anyone else had this please ? Should I be worried ?
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Im 37 and have been experiencing almost every symptom of perimenopause. The worst ones being, anxiety, insomnia, night sweats, hot flushes, periods areso unpredictable. I have suffered with pcos but know how that affects my periods etc. My periods have never been this far apart.... Ever! They have also become lighter and shorter in duration. I have mood swings constantly and feel irritable but this could be due to the sleep deprivation. I have been backwards and forwards to my gp. He did some blood tests on my hormones which have came back within normal range.......am I right in saying that blood tests are normal during perimenopause??
My mum seems to think i'm heading for the menopause as she got similar symptoms, she was only 39 when her periods completely stopped.
I really don't know where to go from here. Cant seem to convince the drs this is hormones
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I am 54 years old mother of three and grandma. I am in perimenopause, symptoms bad depression where I wouldn't get out of bed. I was told years ago to have a hysterectomy because of fibroids but I haven't yet thinking I will get through this. I have a enlarged uterus due to fibroids and thickening wall of the uterus . I go in August for an sono and ultrasound to check uterine wall. This hormonal stuff is driving me crazy. I stay home, don't get out much and scared when my husband leaves to go to work.
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I feel like that batty cat lady from the Simpsons - I feel like I LOOK mad, and I am unravelling mentally and physically.
I'm 49 and have been going through the peri-menopause for a couple of years. First my periods were horribly clotty and heavy and every three weeks, now in the last six-nine months they've got further apart and lighter.
But it's how I feel that's so weird. I am shaky, anxious, when I'm talking to people I'm trying to think what expression I should be wearing on my face. I feel tired but not sleepy, like as if all my energy has been sucked out of me and all I want to do is sit down. Everything seems like too much effort and I am not enjoying life when I feel like this. Some days I feel great, but there are too many days like this now.
If anybody I know is going through a hard time, I've always been THE most supportive person, but lately it just makes me anxious because I feel I'm being sapped of what little strength I have left. I avoid people, especially high maintenance people.
I'm trying to force myself to take a shower now. I love being clean and having freshly washed hair, but even that's too much. My roots need doing but I can't be bothered. And I don't even feel human, let alone like a woman. I feel like I'm drifting away from friends, like I have nothing to bring to the table when it comes to being good company.
And I wonder if anybody has any experience of whether diet helps. I felt really good last week and I was eating well - could it be as simple as that? I've had a weekend of too many carbs and a curry this weekend.
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Amongst other things I have a terrible burning mouth,nose and tongue. It tastes metallic and sometimes it is hard to swallow. I also have a buzzing face and headaches with it.
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After exhausting all other possibilities I am now wondering if my 15 month bout with hair shedding is simply sudden onset Perimenopause?
I haven't had any other symptoms at 48 besides fibroids which I plan on removing.
Anyone experience sudden onset of prolonged hair shedding where your hair is popping out all day long and your hair volume drastically diminished?
I had a bout with anemia but my ferritin has been over 90 for 8 months and my hair shedding has not changed at all. I do have regrowth but it cannot keep up with the rate of shedding.
I lose about 250 on wash days (2x per week) and about 100 - 130 on now wash days. I know they "say" that is normal but it was never normal for me.
I would guess I lost 25 a day previously and maybe 70 on wash days.
I would love to hear about your perimenopausal experiences with hair loss and other.
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This is an embarrassing question; but I have had brown discharge for the last two days. I read this is one of the symptoms of "perimenopause" Has anyone had this? I am making a doctors appointment tomorrow. This is all new to me. I am going to be 42 in July. I'm healthy, no pain-just this.
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I am 44 and struggling with perimenopause. I am losing my hair and it is so much thinner....this is really upsetting me..
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I have been using magnesium and calcium for a while now, they work well together.. However i switched to calcium and Vit D ( Natecal ) chewable ..
no longer having the magnesium ...
then i started effervescant magnesium ... i always take this by dropping in a glass of water, they range from lemon - orange flavour etc..
what I want to share is, as I have been an insomniac all through peri etc, I have found that the effervescant form of magnesium, that you fizz and drink has totally relaxed me before sleep, i find myself in a lovely relaxed mood, and ready for slumber ...
Since this little difference, i have been researching magnesium and it also helps, tightened muscles, headaches, aches and pains..
worth a try ugh ? Drink it 30 mins before you go to bed ...
Magnesium has many benefits to good health, one of them being its action as an effective natural sleep aid. James F. Balch, M.D., author of Prescription for Nutritional Healing, writes: “A lack of the nutrients magnesium and calcium will cause you to wake up after a few hours and not be able to return to sleep.”
Chronic insomnia that occurs with frequent night time awakenings is one of the main symptoms of magnesium deficiency.
On the other hand, a high magnesium diet has been found to be associated with deeper, less interrupted sleep. This was proven in a study done by James Penland at the Human Nutrition Research Center in North Dakota.
Mildred Seelig, M.D., the leading medical researcher on magnesium says: “Many people needlessly suffer pain – including fibromyalgia, migraines and muscle cramps – because they don’t get enough magnesium.”
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center web site, inadequate magnesium also appears to reduce serotonin levels in the brain.
One study found that magnesium was just as effective as an antidepressant drug in treating depression. In addition, researchers at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute reported that for every 100 milligram increase in magnesium intake, the risk of developing type-2 diabetes decreased by 15 per cent.
Other studies have shown that people with migraine headaches have low concentrations of magnesium in their body.
i intend to post more magnesium finding as i find them
this I totally second this info above as I really noticed a difference after taking effervescent magnesium before bed , and my curiosity lead me to find out more ..
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I've never had a period since April last year and now I've have a one I've been on just over a week properly the pains did ease off but I'm still getting lower abdominal ache is this the perimenopause also anxiety is very bad at times yhd other day I just burst out crying me elbows me left hip hurt can't take no more.
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Perimenopausal or crazy? I am 42 years old & have never suffered from depression. Three years ago my family doctor prescribed Yaz. I thought I had lost my mind! Depressed, mopey, anxiety ridden you name it I felt it!! Doctor said here is some antidepressants & it will eventually leave your body. Fast forward to present for the last couple of months around period time I have been feeling super depressed. I cry about everything! I don't want to leave the house, talk to anyone & forget Facebook. I used to be a FB junkie now I go on & cry because everyone else is happy! Went to a ob/gyn she informed me I'm to young for hormone imbalance or menopause. Mind you both my mother & grandmother had a hysterectomies at 19 & 23. So what she was basing her theory that I was to young?? She prescribed me more birth control pills. Last thing I need! I took them for three weeks & of course around period time everything was 100% worse. I'm have two appointments with different ob/gyns hopefully someone can identify with my peri menopause & not just hand me birth control pills or antidepressants!
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My periods have been irregular and ridiculously heavy for about a year now. I work away from home a lot and often stay in hotels so this had become a real issue for me. I have suffered with bouts of anxiety and depression for about 20 years but had been symptom free for many years thanks to Citalopram (SSRI) .. however in november the stress of work, heavy periods and being away from home took its toll and I crashed into a frightening bout of hideous anxiety. I am used to the symptoms but this was something else.i felt so desperate at times I didn't know what I would do and I was scared. I am convinced my current anxiety is linked to my hormones and am now thinking I may be perimenopausal. I am desperate to find a solution as i've now been off work for 11 weeks and am dreading going back. I've had a few good days but then I crash again and it all feels so hopeless. I feel physically sick and am struggling to eat.i deliver training on mental health so feel really useless that I am struggling to manage my own. Is this all down to my age?
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I'm almost 42 and have not been feeling right great for a few months. I'm on the pill so can't say much about periods but waking up in night feeling roasting but my skin is cold except for face. Worst thing is mood swings... I feel irritable all the time. At night when I can't sleep and dog snoring for example drives me crazy. Bloated too which feels awful. And digestive issues. Also feel quite anxious which is odd because I haven't felt like that before and loss of libido.
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