Hi anne68
from me too.
Anxiety is such a common symptom of peri-menopause and is often caused by the fluctuations in hormone levels and long term by low oestrogen.
Unfortunately your doctor is now completely out of date in prescribing Anti-depressants such as Fluoxetine for anxiety brought on by menopause. Here is the relevant section:
Psychological symptoms
1.4.5 Consider HRT to alleviate low mood that arises as a result of the menopause.
1.4.6 Consider CBT to alleviate low mood or anxiety that arise as a result of the menopause.
1.4.7 Ensure that menopausal women and healthcare professionals involved in their care understand that there is no clear evidence for SSRIs or SNRIs to ease low mood in menopausal women who have not been diagnosed with depression (see the NICE guideline on depression in adults).https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Recommendations#managing-short-term-menopausal-symptomsSo - just because you may not yet be experiencing flushes and sweats does not mean the doctor cannot prescribe HRT - especially if you have no history of depression. Also from what I understand that is a difficult one to come off so perhaps better to see if you can stop these rather than wait 3 months - before you become acclimatised to them long term!
You have been given the wrong treatment and especially as you are only 46 - even though you are not at menopause yet, if you have not had a period for 3 months your oestrogen levels will have started to fall on average, and it is important to keep oestrogen levels up at least until the natural average age of menopause of 51/52.
I would strongly suggest you consider HRT and go back to your doc - in the meantime there are other self-help techniques and strategies which others have mentioned on other threads, that you can use to help with your anxiety if it is not debilitating and preventing you from leaving the house or doing normal activities?
Do read up about it as much as you can and let us know if we can help further
Hurdity x
