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[4meSons]

I'm having an awful time of this peri and I'm tying myself in knots looking for an answer to my anxiety. I had a good couple of days with it just in background but the last 2 have seen it come back with a vengeance. I have just finished my utro and started bleeding so I'm blaming that and I'm now questioning if maybe I'm not far enough into peri for hrt and by adding hormones to my own hormones im making me worse ?  Maybe I should wait a while until my own hormones decrease even more and are more stable before adding hrt? I've read that the pill is better for peri but I don't think I can take it. So anyway I have decided to stop until I see specialist in April and see if they have an answer. X

[CLKD]

One really has to try HRT for 3-4 months to allow the body to take up the hormones.  The body doesn't get where it is suddenly so takes a while for HRT to make any difference.

Do you keep a mood/food/symptom diary?  If the anxiety is over-whelming your GP can prescribe appropriate treatment, i.e. an anti-anxiety medication 'as necessary', or Betablockas every day to ease those early morning surges or an anti-depressant as some do help with anxiety.  Regardless whether anxiety is caused by hormones or every day problems, this can be addressed often quicker than waiting for the effects of HRT.

Stopping and staring though won't allow your body to adjust, so you won't know if you are flying a bike or riding a kite 

[Dancinggirl]

CKLD - has jumped in before me with good advice but here are my thoughts:
OK - so this is classic overthinking - something we are all prone to. The peri stage is tricky, hormones will be fluctuating so ups and down are normal.  If you have only recently started HRT then it may take some time for things to settle.  All progesterones will give some side effects, whether HRT or a PCB - I'm afraid it is UNREASONABLE TO EXPECT TO BE FEELING GOOD EVERYDAY.

If your anxiety is hormonal, then it will take at least 3-6 months for the HRT to bring about some positive change. Dealing with menopausal anxiety takes a variety of strategies and HRT is just one of the strategies needed.  CBT, Mindfulness, good diet and exercise and often small lifestyle changes can make a big difference. Many women do need an AD/SSRI alongside the HRT to really sort the anxiety.

In the short term perhaps keep a mood diary so you can discuss this with the specialist when you see them - this may help to identify more what is needed. Chopping and changing things, in the hope there will be a quick fix, is simply not going to happen - you need to stick with things for long enough to really see if it is helping or not. DG x

[4meSons]

I know I over think I can't help it and it drives me crazy. I then panic and act on impulse. I just want to feel 'normal or should I say 'functionable ' cos at the moment I spend the majority of my time in my bedroom too scared of life and feeling I can't cope it's awful. I'm already on meds and beta blockers for anxiety so there's nothing else I can take. I've recently started a diary and I'm giving my anxiety a score out of 10. Now I'm thinking I should stick the patch back on as I've only been on the 100mcg for 10 days. Oh my days ladies I'm driving myself insane 

[Dotty]

10 days isn’t long enough to say it’s not working . You need to give it 3 months. I know that’s hard when you are not feeling gd but it’s the only way to do it.

[Mary G]

4meSons, I definitely would not stop using the oestrogen patch.  You are probably feeling particularly bad at the moment because you have just had a course of the dreaded Utrogestan and believe me, the last thing you need right now is for your oestrogen levels to go through the floor. 

I saw on the other thread you have an appointment with a menopause specialist which is good.  I think you need specialist help and if you are suffering from hormonal anxiety then it requires a specific, targetted treatment during perimenopause and you probably need to aim at overriding your cycle.  The contraceptive pill might be an option for you otherwise you need high levels of oestrogen which should be easy to achieve using Oestrogel. 

If you feel really low and can't wait until April for the appointment, can you try and see a specialist privately?

[4meSons]

I've stuck my patch back on this morning after an awful night. Couldn't sleep properly because of heart palpitations and that awful nervous stomach. I dread to think what I would be like without my meds ! So another anxious day ahead. How long does utro stay in your system ? I'm clinging on to the hope that calmer days are ahead once my period finishes. It's hard to believe this time last week I managed an appointment and to go shopping alone, I now just want to hide in bed and tremble.
Thank God for this forum as it's like a life line for me when the anxiety is heightened x

[paisley]

I can totally relate to the anxiety. Last night I woke at 5 am tossing & turning with churning stomach & waves of panic. Before I had a hysterectomy the progesterone part was always the worst for me too but it did pass & so will yours, Just hard to see that when you are in the midst of it. I take Valerian which takes the edge of it a bit for me

[Hurdity]

Hi 4mesons

Your bad days after stopping the utro could just be progesterone withdrawal - which is like normal pms and as Dancinggirl says you can't expect to feel good every day - but hopefully better more of the time than not eh? I usually feel rough for a couple of days and then also as the bleed is starting, but after a few more days my head clears and I am fine again and reaping the benefits of oestrogren only - hopefully it will be the same for you?

As for the other meds - maybe you are taking too many - I mean HRT, beta-blockers and other medication. Is all of this necessary and did you start the others around the time of peri-menopause ie to cope with hormonal problems? Maybe see if you can wean yourself off the other meds and concentrate on getting the HRT right - you may find that you don't need anything else, especially as Dancinggirl says, if you make lifestyle changes and the power of the mind to cope with residual anxiety - which should not necessarily need medication except in extreme cases!

I agree don't stop and start the patches - the HRT is more important than the other meds if you are peri-menopausal and your periods had started going haywire before you started HRT?

Hope things improve for you soon

Hurdity x

[4meSons]

I'm sticking to the patch until I see the specialist. I should be grateful that I never suffered pms type symptoms until the utro, how some ladies put up with that each month deserve a medal.
Yes Hurdity I started the meds around the time peri started but I didn't recognise it as that at the time and not one of the professionals I saw connected the dots. I had not even heard of peri before. I'm hoping to get more stable on hrt then look at reducing meds.
Had a better day today thank heavens I managed to leave the house and coped with a few problems that the past 2 days would of had me reaching for the diazepam. X

[Hurdity]

Hey there 4mesons - sounds like a plan and glad you are doing better already! Let us know anyway how you get on with the specialist and how you do generally. Hope you have more good days

Hurdity x