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[lesley998]

....I'm glad you can identify dee, and don't feel so alone with this horrible symptom! I didn't have the anxiety for five years btw.  It was really bad for a few months, now I only get it now and again.  I also get this really restless feeling with it, jittery, like I want to 'get outside'  of myself. Akathisia or something, it's called.   I wake up in the morning and have this urge to move my legs and my feet. Sounds so silly....urge to move my feet....but it's really horrible. Like an itch you can't reach.

[Dee46]

Yes lesley998 I can identify this is don't feel so alone knowing that lots of women suffer from this but I have had panic attacks almost everyday for 20 months thanks to the gp the antidepressants added to the panic attacks I was already getting, I am hoping myou anxiety will leave me soon  I get the jittery feeling like I need to get away from everyone & don't know what to do with myself, doesn't sound silly about the itch we all have weird things going on in guess on the horrid journey? Are or were you on hrt? And dI'd you take am AD? 

[jorainbow]

I just said to my husband I have this odd itchy tingly sensation in my head and body. I also get the leg thing. It's crap. On the plus side I won some money on the National!!!

[Lostit]

Hi ladies, I have realised that i am not going to get much help from the Dr's as anxiety doesn't seem to be on most of their radars as a symptom of menopause.   I think that is why so many of us feel so low at this time
Maybe if when we first present with the anxiety and dread, the gp said oh it's menopause , it would be easier to deal with and nip it in the bud. Anxiety feeds anxiety and not knowing what is wrong with you feeds other health concerns.
I have found that magnesium, valerian, vitamin d have been beneficial. Also deep breathing when stressed. I can't stress how helpful exercise is and feel my best when I have been to the gym for an hour. Upwards and onwards
😉

[jorainbow]

I couldn't agree more lostit. Also if you've suffered before I think it's easier as the obvious is oh it's just your anxiety back again though for me it feels very different. For me that awful spaced out feeling just makes it worse along with the insomnia. I was told HRT isn't proven to help with anxiety which caused a ripple of cross ladies on here when I posted!!! 

[Tempest]

Exercise does help, hugely!

In my opinion one of the ladies with the most balanced view of how to deal with the menopause is Dancinggirl. She always advocates brisk walking, balanced diet, mindfulness etc. and she should know - she had POF in her 30's and has been dealing with this a long time!

I always worry when ladies ignore this very sage advice and lob all their faith in HRT only - I've done this myself in the past! It didn't help my situation one bit - in fact, I just became more and more desperate and anxious as it wasn't fixing the things I wanted it to. It's not a miracle (in fact, it's a pretty crude attempt at replicating the wonderful and at some times dreadful ebb and flow of our natural hormones). Nothing will ever replace that, sadly! Some ladies get lucky and are happy with the results of the HRT, but quite a few here are left disillusioned and struggling when they realise it's limitations.

I also worry when ladies are told 'you need HRT, not antidepressants'. Fair enough - give HRT a good go but if you're starting to really slide and are falling into major depression you may well need medical help with this too. Anxiety and depression are common bedfellows - if it's disrupting your life, you need to seek help before it becomes too much.

I think EVERYTHING needs to be on the table to help us get through this very difficult time!

[babyjane]

 

[jorainbow]

Thanks Tempest. I'm resisting sertraline at the moment as all I hear is how awful the start up effects are and I definitely don't want to feel worse even in the short term. As you said before I may go back and ask for venlafaxine as they worked last time but again I remember being like a zombie for a couple of weeks which when I'm due on holiday and then starting a new job i would rather not be!!!!! I am a bugger for ooh I'll meditate. Try it twice. Oh feel better now and it gets forgotten. I've been like that for years so I need to haul myself up by the hootenanis and focus on helping myself with this journey. Quick fix it isn't going to be 😉😉

[GypsyRoseLee]

Tempest - I'm a bit confused about the relationship between oestrogen and your adrenals. Is it that once your adrenals start making oestrogen, this also causes them to make more adrenaline too?

[Tempest]

Hi, GRL!

It's when the production of estrogen (and other sex hormones) shifts primarily from the ovaries over to the   
adrenals as the function of the ovaries declines. The wee article I linked to explains it pretty well.

This is why I firmly believe that we need to support our adrenal health during the 'transition' - this is what I also firmly believe defines the menopause, that whole 'shift', and why we feel so dreadful the more stress we have in our lives at this time and why we can't tolerate stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol and sugar as we once did (so many of us talk about getting 'the jitters' when we overindulge in any of these things).

I believe the 'anxiety' we feel is due to these adrenal surges, and the release of epinephrine  (adrenaline) and cortisol  (stress hormone) that inevitably accompanies this. We get the whole shebang and as we all know, these feelings are like a total nervous system overload!

If you think about it, if it were just about the ovaries then why would we ladies who have been oopherectomised have these symptoms of 'fluctuations'  too if it wasn't about the adrenals? As I type, I sit here now having a mighty attack of the jitters and feelings of unease (I'm off HRT at the moment) - these come on totally randomly (im just calmly trying to watch the golf on tv at the moment), just as they do with you lovely ladies who still have your ovaries. I was chatting to another lady of 62 the other week who has also experienced the same after her oopherectomy when she was 42 (thankfully it has all now settled - she just has a very few 'warm moments' now very rarely).


I hope this explains - I really do think we need to give ourselves a whole lot of TLC during this time and to try to keep our stress down as much as possible. It's so important! Your adrenals will certainly thank you. Hugs! xxxxxx

[babyjane]

It all makes perfect sense and thank you for clarifying it so clearly 

[nearly50]

That all makes sense Tempest, thanks for that.

there's nothing worse than feeling that fight or flight adrenaline rush, but feeling that it's your own body you have to get away from. Don't know if that makes sense, but that's the way I feel sometimes.

[GypsyRoseLee]

Thank you tempest, it does make sense.

If I recall your adrenal glands are located just below your kidneys? And, when I get the anxious dreads I get this nasty ****ly (almost like pins and needles) tingling, running from inside my buttock muscles and down the backs of my legs.

I have experienced this since being a girl, when I'm feeling stressed, or nervous about something. I wonder if the specific location of these 'anxiety ****les' is actually caused by the physical release of adrenaline from my adrenal glands (which are situated just above your bum)?