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[Songbird]

Hi ladies
I’m really just curious about something. I have been taking sertraline for a few months now (for anxiety).  This definitely is helping me in this respect. 
I started on Evorel 25 patch and nightly progesterone a week ago for other yucky symptoms and already I’m feeling different (for the better). Can’t imagine it starts to have an effect this quickly but just wondered if anyone else has experienced this positive effect so quickly??
As a slight aside (and to hopefully make you ladies giggle) my lovely husband has come up with a new name for me.  As I am known as “Mo”, my name is now “GeroniMo” due to the “Apache” 
Isn’t he sweet??!! 

[Vicky81]

Sent you a private message x

[SJH48]

What were your other yucky symptoms? I'm going to speak to the GP about trying HRT again and I was thinking about trying patches, but I guess it also depends on where you live for what you can get. How long did it take for the Sertraline to work? I definitely have some anxiety, which I think may account for the majority of my symptoms to be honest. When I google anxiety it lists most of what I'm experiencing, which also are menopause symptoms, so I just wonder if I get the anxiety sorted out....boom, all sorted!! (I live in hope!) I'm continually trying to join the dots here and been trying to do without HRT and taking supplements, Bach flower remedies, exercise, Qi Gong, meditation etc... Some days are good, some a bit mehhh. I'm also very lucky in that I don't experience the really awful time that some ladies on here go through  I'm 50 with about 3 years of this menopause life under my belt. 

[Songbird]

Hi SJH48

I’m 57, 5 years “post-menopause” and have always suffered from anxiety.  I have, however, found my anxiety has ramped up in the last 2 years - no doubt in my mind now that the hormonal imbalance has been the culprit.  50mg sertraline per day is working for me - no more overthinking, fretting, thoughts running away with me etc. I feel alert and “with it” again. I would say I noticed a change for the better after 4 weeks.
My other symptoms which I have now realised require HRT are:

Vaginal Atrophy/recurrent UTIs - oestriol pessaries used. Also, sylk moisturiser and a sensitive wash.

Heat surges, itchy skin, thinning hair, disturbed sleep, wooziness, impatient/moody and brain fog. - estrogen patch and progesterone now being taken. Seeing some positive effects already, which amazes me 

Hope this helps 

[sheila99]

My main symptoms were anxiety and insomnia and they took 3 months. I just wanted to say that your anxiety may be due to oestrogen deficiency like mine so it might be worth reducing your sertraline in 3 months time and see if you're OK without it. If course there are other causes of anxiety so it may be that you need both.

[Songbird]

I think Sheila makes a good point about the causes of anxiety.
Anxiety not related to hormone imbalance can also cause excess sweating, palpitations, sleep problems, cognitive issues etc so I guess it can be a bit of a conundrum.
For me, I'm clear it's related to hormones (the thinning hair and unwanted hair elsewhere has confirmed that  ) 

[SJH48]

Thanks for replying, Songbird.

Yes that helped, I can relate to your symptoms, although I'm ok 'down below'.....for now!  Heat surges aren't as bad now that I'm taking soya isoflavones again (did stop getting them when I was on HRT) itchy, woozy, moody etc.....and my hair, well it's doing the weirdest things, I think it's really missing having estrogen!! I'm considering trying a collagen supplement for that! My anxiety doesn't sound as bad as what you were experiencing though, maybe it's HRT I do need, rather than Sertraline, if it's as Sheila says, and which I know it must be, low estrogen. My head's all fuzzy trying to figure it out. It's hard, isn't it! 

[Peana]

Oestogen helped me immediately - I was very surprised at the speed, but my hot flushes stopped there and then for the first 10 days, although I do still get the odd one.  My anxiety level before was awful (at one point I lost a stone in 3 weeks as I just couldn't eat), but this was massively helped by managing to sleep again, and I noticed an improvement after a week or so.  However, what I'm finding now is that without my constant background anxiety I'm getting increasingly angry, which is pretty unwelcome.  I've been doing CBT for about a year now and seeing a therapist once a month, and I know that has also helped, along with Mindful Self Compassion which I've been working on for the past month.  I suddenly realised on Friday that I'd made multiple phone calls without even thinking about it, or spending 20 mins in the loo before hand, or having to do breathing exercises, however, I was also getting enraged over silly little things.  I'm hoping that once I get used to feeling more like my old self again I'll calm down.  Before HRT I said I felt 'hijacked', but now I feel strangely detatched, which is also unwelcome (although I'm blaming Covid for that one and getting out of my usual pattern of socialising).

Good luck getting the right balance for you.

[Perinowpost]

Hi Songbird oestrogen helped me immediately and still does. Like Sheila99 my symptoms were due to falling oestrogen levels (I was in peri meno at the time), and I’ll never forget the sense of well-being within a couple of hours when I used my first patch.

I have struggled with the progesterone component of hrt, but even though I’m well post meno (57) now, I never want to give up oestrogen. Glad it’s working for you also x

[Songbird]

Thanks so much for your replies ladies.  I find this forum so helpful.  It’s almost like a form of therapy in itself …
SJH48 - think I would be inclined to focus on the HRT route if I were you. It does sound as if the anxiety is directly related to the fall in oestrogen. It’s interesting that we are all different in our own way and it seems to be a case of discovering what works for you (even though we are all suffering from similar symptoms). Weird 
Peana and Perinowpost - it’s really good to hear from you both too. I had thought to myself “surely it can’t have an effect so quickly”? But there you go…2 more ladies have experienced the same.  Long may it continue 
I really hope this website is used by GPs - it would be so informative for them..
Song 🎶 bird (AKA Geronimo  ) signing out xx