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[Balissymo]

Hi all hope your all ok, well I've been keeping a diary sort of and I've noticed my anxiety is so much worse when I'm tired does anyone else feel this??
It's so scary I sometimes wonder what the point is when I feel like this the dark thoughts are incredible please tell me some of you have dark scary thoughts or do I need sectioning 😞 I feel like I don't want to be around anyone Incase I explode in rage what would people think of me!! it's so horrible am I going off the edge or do any of you have this too HELP xx

[CLKD]

Remind me: how old are you and are you taking any form of HRT?

When I get tired: crashing fatigue: I can't think straight about anything and have to sleep: on the settee, in the car [not driving], when visiting family ......... does your tiredness occur at any particular 'time'?

[HopeAlone]

Hi balissymo
Trust me you are not alone and you defo do not need sectioning. I've had the dark thoughts believe me and they scared the life out of me. But remember they are just thoughts and it's all to do with to much adrenaline, at least that's what I was told by a mental health worker. I didn't know there was a connection between menopause and anxiety until recently. You know what helps me apart from medication? Knowledge, I like to understand the whýs and the how's. Also reading other people's experiences. I think I've read every body's story on here and umpteen anxiety books. It's still there but not quite as scary
X
 

[Balissymo]

Thanks guys and clkd I'm nearly 42 and not taking hrt still waiting to see my gp but can't get in I've been doing so well and then the last couple of days wham the tiredness just hit me I feel I'm sleeping all the time 😴 And that's started the anxiety again.
Hopealone like you I try and read all posts for knowledge and also to try and clarify I'm not a nut job 😬 I posted as I like to know what others can tell me xx

[CLKD]

If you're nutty then so am I  .........

How is your diet?  If the body is hungry then anxiety can surge so keeping to a regular eating pattern might help, i.e. every 3 hours even in the night if one wanders to the bathroom/back. 

[Balissymo]

My diet is not to bad try to eat healthy (ish) but don't normally eat in the day because of being at work but I have a good meal at night but yeah I have noticed if I'm hungry my symptoms worsened x

[CLKD]

You have answered your own question  - if the body needs sustenance it often gets anxious ......... you are allowed by LAW to have at least 30 mins. break for lunch as well as it is a legal requirement, for keyboard workers, to have 20 mins. away from the desk every 2 hours.  So you are your own worst enemy!

I still have to eat every 3 hours or I'm suicidal with anxiety 

[Balissymo]

Thanks CLKD I do need to look after myself more and I will I've even started eating fruit haha xx 

[CLKD]

It's also when you eat!  Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day. 

I have to hand: bananas, dried fruits and nuts, Rich Tea biscuits, fruit cake - 4 me it's about keeping the body from getting hungry to the point of nausea = anxiety.  Then I can't eat at all.   Pancake mix is a good stand-by.  I also have toast with hot Bovril from a mug.  I have to eat B4 I am hungry.

[Wrensong]

Hi Balyssimo, CLKD is absolutely right about eating regularly.  If you are going all day without food, your blood sugar will be falling too low which will make you both exhausted/weak & anxious - jittery & even panicky.  You mention fear of flying into a rage - becoming short tempered or irritable for no apparent reason can be a sure sign that you need to eat pdq! 

During perimenopause blood sugar control seems to become less stable & we really need to start to pay attention to eating regularly & nutritiously.  I found I could no longer get away with eating predominantly veggie meals & that a reasonable portion of good quality protein (lean meat, fish, beans, low fat cheese etc) became essential at every main meal.  This, together with complex carbs, slows down digestion so that energy levels stay more stable between meals, helping you to avoid yo-yoing blood sugar levels that can make you feel surprisingly dreadful.  Also, plenty of veg & some fresh fruit every day - a rainbow of colours to ensure a range of nutrients & healthy fibre, plus several portions of dairy if you can tolerate it.

Several smaller meals a day are easier to digest than 1 big one & as above, better for blood sugar stability.  If you have to go more than about 4 hours between main meals, a healthy snack (e.g. nuts, oatcakes, a small banana, high protein natural yoghurt - the Greek ones that have around 10% protein) should prevent a crash.  Sugary drinks & fruit juice, especially on an empty stomach, can also cause blood sugar to spike, then crash  , which is not pleasant! 

As CLKD says, a good breakfast is really important & missing lunch on work days will be disastrous for energy & mood stability!! 

I'm sure you knew all this already - but we tend to manage to get away better with neglecting our nutritional needs before perimenopause than we can once the body starts to struggle with fluctuating hormones.  If you can find a way to experiment with the way you eat, I'm sure this will go a long way to helping your energy levels & anxiety & if it does, you will not want to go back to the way you were before.  I hope all this doesn't sound preachy, but it's easy to waste years wondering what on earth is going on once everything begins to change at peri - I knew very little about blood sugar control beforehand & suffered more than I needed to because I was not eating in the right way for my body's new needs!  Hope you start to feel better soon  .

[Hurdity]

Great post from Wrensong - I also have problems with control of blood sugar if I'm not careful and especially if I don't eat a pretty substantial breakfast which includes at least an egg! This started before I was peri-menoipausal and especially in the second part of my cycle. Try to eat as little sugar/refined carbs as possible - including cutting out/down cakes sweets and biscuits, juice, sweetened drinks and alcohol.

Your body will thank you for it Balissymo! I couldn't exist without fruit - this (along with nuts) is my go-to snack!

Hurdity x

[Wrensong]

Oh yes an egg at breakfast for protein!  How could I forget to mention that ?!  Like Hurdity, I now have one every day (hardly ever ate them before peri) but vary what I have with it.  Some days thick whole rye toast - done on one side so it's lovely & suety - with fresh fruit salad & Greek Yoghurt thinned with milk & mixed till it looks & tastes like double cream!  Some days porridge, with something like stewed blackberry & apple, some days muesli with fresh fruit & yoghurt . . .  I could go on & on . . !  As breakfast tends to be a high carb meal for many of us, adding a good source of protein like the egg & some Greek yoghurt helps spread the glycaemic load.  I will shut up now!!

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

A very interesting topic and anything we can do to stabilise our hormones is helpful but I understand that the best diet for reversing type 2 diabetes is a vegan one which eliminates  the saturated fats that are found in animal products. I think this was demonstrated recently on a BBC programme where a woman cured her diabetes by eating plant based.  Worth looking into I think as obviously nobody wants a chronic and progressive disease to deal with in addition to the meno.

Wishing you all well.

K.

[CLKD]

A friend of mine lives in hot climes and has diabetes in their Summer which goes away when the weather cools  which hasn't yet been worked out by the Medics!

Eggs  unless in cakes or pancakes ........ the latter being a standby for me.  I have to eat B4 feeling hungry or my anxiety takes over so DH often has a pancake mix in the fridge for immediate use.  Add to that lots of lemon juice and white sugar - a Life Safer.  Since cutting out 'empty sugars' i.e. shop bought cakes, biscuits, exchanging for dried fruits and nuts; lots of ; I have in general felt less tired in the mid afternoon.  He's started eating an avocado daily but I'm still not sure if I like the texture    and of course, once I find something that I like, I 'go off' it.

Tnx Wrensong  .  It does me good to read similar threads 'cos I can so easily forget to eat well when I feel OK  and I NEVER share my emergency food pack with anyone ;-)

[Balissymo]

Wow thanks guys  it's funny the things you just take for granted but a simple good diet I ate breakfast today and lunch and dinner full of proteins veggies etc and I do feel less tired and stressed I just need to remember to do it haven't eaten breakfast or lunch for years!!
Thanks for the great advice  I really do appreciate it xx