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[Vicky81]

Hi all....

Just interested to know how many of you ladies have had a GP/Gynaecologist try to tell you that you have mental health problems, and that your issues are simply not hormonal?

I have had this (not by all) but by a couple over the last month.

All i can say, and i say to them is - How can this be when my life was/is good. Loving partner, good job, family all ok, friendships good....never ever suffered from anxiety before, crying - ha - never been a crier...until all this started....i was sociable/always out....not right now. Nails breaking off, night sweats, low mood, no interest in anything......Why do they put the "mental health...we think you need to see someone" thing on us? x

[Flossieteacake]

When I first suspected perimenopause I spoke to a GP who burst out laughing and said I am too young. I tried to tell him how my mood is very low and he replied 'that is because you have a mental health problem'. I am not sure if I am in the same situation as you as I do have mental illness but it still felt dismissive.

[Sheri]

I was told my problems were covid related! Being told to shield was why i was having bad anxiety. Truth be told, it did impact my health but i felt different before covid hit, i just didn't realise it was hormone related.
Tbf, i didn't really know about peri. Thought it was straight into menopause & it was just hot flushes & anger lol
Thank goodness i came across Louise Newsome on This morning, otherwise I'd be still thinking i only had mental health problems when in reality, my peri is the main cause of my anxiety, low libido, aches & low mood.
Btw, will i evee get my loss if libido back on HRT? Lol

[Vicky81]

Thanks both, interesting!

Yes terrible when they just wont have it! I have had it said when i have told them the patch was making me dizzy etc....

[Nas]

That's really sad that some professionals don't take hormonal imbalance seriously. I have never been told it's MH rather than hormone deficiency.

I am now under an excellent specialist in Liverpool. Prior to that, a London clinic and prior to that, a clinic in Chester. All have taken my issues 100% seriously!

What DID cause MH issues, was my crap Gp, saying I should be grateful to have survived breast cancer and did I want to cause a new cancer by taking hormones!

WTF!!  My body, my choice etc.

Anyway, we must fight for what we need.
Obviously if there are MH issues in the mix, these need to be addressed to.

[Dotty]

Yes….I was constantly told I was depressed and needed anti depressants. I kept arguing that I wasn’t depressed and that I was fed up because I felt so ill.

I finally saw a private doctor who said that I should give the hrt time to work before adding in anti depressants as if I took everything at once then I wouldn’t know which one was helping me. One month later I went back to see him and I was doing really well. I never took anti depressants and proved that I didn’t need them.

This is just my case….I understand that antidepressants are needed for some ladies. x

[Paula1966]

I have been on anti depressants for years due to anxiety and depression but after Christmas I decided to come off them as I was certain it was due to being peri- menopausal.  I tracked my moods and yes the low mood and anxiety was prominent during the second half of my cycle.

So I am hoping once my hrt kicks in this will be greatly reduced

[CherrySG]

I was of the generation that didn't know anxiety was perimenopause-related, and was put on antidepressants by GP at age 47 when very stressed and tearful.

It was only when aged 55 I went on HRT gor severe VA/gynae issues and my anxiety disappeared that I realised it was hormonal.

Am very upset to have considered myself mentally ill for the last 10 years. But that was just the way GPs thought in those days. On Tibolone at the moment but hair falling out  Mental health better though).

[joziel]

The thing is, having any kind of health condition which has multiple symptoms and is bewildering or complex is naturally going to generate anxiety. Is that pathological or abnormal!?!? No. We have to stop labelling it in this way and accept that it is normal for scary things to cause anxiety. That doesn't mean that it is pleasant or desirable or that we don't need to treat it somehow - but it also doesn't mean that it's all in your head....

When I first had endometriosis, I had: A weird sensation in my bladder when urinating. A pain in the left ovary area. Lower back pain. Night sweats. A pain below my navel. I was very anxious about what was causing these pains (which I think is understandable) and there seemed to be a new one every week. From anxiety, I began to get palpitations, and runny poops - no matter what I ate, food just seemed to go through me. I struggled to keep weight on. Of course, unexplained weight loss is another scary symptom....

I had a very shit female GP who was about as empathic as a teaspoon. She said to me after my 3rd appointment, 'let's face it, the real problem here, is your anxiety, isn't it?'. I refused to see the situation in that light but she typed away on her computer and I could see her diagnosing me with generalised anxiety disorder. I've never taken any meds for anxiety because, whilst I know I do worry and get anxious, it's in response to events and things in the external world and it passes when they resolve.

I wanted to say to her - YOU try having a different incomprehensible physical pain every week, and we'll see how long it takes before YOU get anxious about it.

After my lap, I went on Cerazette which suppressed the endo and the pains went and so did the anxiety and I lived happily and with almost no doctors' appointments for the next 9 years. Until I hit peri-menopause. Which is another story.

But it's all to say - anxiety is a NORMAL response to some experiences in life. Doctors need to stop pathologising it, slapping a label on people and sending them away. It just sits there like some indigestible label which doesn't help the person at all. That person's anxiety is (in most situations) a normal response to what they're going through.

[Flossieteacake]

The thing is, having any kind of health condition which has multiple symptoms and is bewildering or complex is naturally going to generate anxiety. Is that pathological or abnormal!?!? No. We have to stop labelling it in this way and accept that it is normal for scary things to cause anxiety. That doesn't mean that it is pleasant or desirable or that we don't need to treat it somehow - but it also doesn't mean that it's all in your head....

When I first had endometriosis, I had: A weird sensation in my bladder when urinating. A pain in the left ovary area. Lower back pain. Night sweats. A pain below my navel. I was very anxious about what was causing these pains (which I think is understandable) and there seemed to be a new one every week. From anxiety, I began to get palpitations, and runny poops - no matter what I ate, food just seemed to go through me. I struggled to keep weight on. Of course, unexplained weight loss is another scary symptom....

I had a very shit female GP who was about as empathic as a teaspoon. She said to me after my 3rd appointment, 'let's face it, the real problem here, is your anxiety, isn't it?'. I refused to see the situation in that light but she typed away on her computer and I could see her diagnosing me with generalised anxiety disorder. I've never taken any meds for anxiety because, whilst I know I do worry and get anxious, it's in response to events and things in the external world and it passes when they resolve.

I wanted to say to her - YOU try having a different incomprehensible physical pain every week, and we'll see how long it takes before YOU get anxious about it.

After my lap, I went on Cerazette which suppressed the endo and the pains went and so did the anxiety and I lived happily and with almost no doctors' appointments for the next 9 years. Until I hit peri-menopause. Which is another story.

But it's all to say - anxiety is a NORMAL response to some experiences in life. Doctors need to stop pathologising it, slapping a label on people and sending them away. It just sits there like some indigestible label which doesn't help the person at all. That person's anxiety is (in most situations) a normal response to what they're going through.

You are so right. My friend has endo and had to fight for years to get it diagnosed. Shame on your GP for being so cold!

[CLKD]

Well; mine is a slightly different story, though hormonally linked.  In the 1970s my sex drive disappeared, except in the 2/3 days prior to a period.  Knowing this I consulted 2 GPs and a Gynaecologist, all told me that I was depressed.  Nope, I was fed up with not being sexually interested all month round 

GPs can get a mind set which won't be altered, however many NICE leaflets they read 

[Louise2010]

The thing is, having any kind of health condition which has multiple symptoms and is bewildering or complex is naturally going to generate anxiety. Is that pathological or abnormal!?!? No. We have to stop labelling it in this way and accept that it is normal for scary things to cause anxiety. That doesn't mean that it is pleasant or desirable or that we don't need to treat it somehow - but it also doesn't mean that it's all in your head....

When I first had endometriosis, I had: A weird sensation in my bladder when urinating. A pain in the left ovary area. Lower back pain. Night sweats. A pain below my navel. I was very anxious about what was causing these pains (which I think is understandable) and there seemed to be a new one every week. From anxiety, I began to get palpitations, and runny poops - no matter what I ate, food just seemed to go through me. I struggled to keep weight on. Of course, unexplained weight loss is another scary symptom....

I had a very shit female GP who was about as empathic as a teaspoon. She said to me after my 3rd appointment, 'let's face it, the real problem here, is your anxiety, isn't it?'. I refused to see the situation in that light but she typed away on her computer and I could see her diagnosing me with generalised anxiety disorder. I've never taken any meds for anxiety because, whilst I know I do worry and get anxious, it's in response to events and things in the external world and it passes when they resolve.

I wanted to say to her - YOU try having a different incomprehensible physical pain every week, and we'll see how long it takes before YOU get anxious about it.

After my lap, I went on Cerazette which suppressed the endo and the pains went and so did the anxiety and I lived happily and with almost no doctors' appointments for the next 9 years. Until I hit peri-menopause. Which is another story.

But it's all to say - anxiety is a NORMAL response to some experiences in life. Doctors need to stop pathologising it, slapping a label on people and sending them away. It just sits there like some indigestible label which doesn't help the person at all. That person's anxiety is (in most situations) a normal response to what they're going through.

Couldn’t agree more. I also think a 10 minute appointment is bonkers when you need someone to listen to you. GPs do have a tough job now and the patient rapport building is impossible in 10 minutes but I think the GP system is old fashioned and not fit to serve the world we live in which is seeing a massive increase in behaviour & reaction to the difficult times we live in  - that’s about being human and not a robot. Mental wellness education needs to be taught in schools like PE is - physical education.
Menopause misdiagnosed as anxiety maybe about GPs not having enough time or up to date education. I’ve been there. It’s easier and quicker to go down that route I’m sure in some cases. It’s soul destroying and humiliating to feel labelled just because you feel things keenly, weren’t taught how to regulate emotions or have the cognative skills to be resilient.
My GP at the moment has been incredibly helpful but I still make it my business to educate myself because had I not I wouldn’t have insisted my then GP prescribe me oestrogel after being fobbed off many times with it’s a “manifestation of your depression.” Shameful.

[Clarella]

Having been through all that when I was hypothyroid as a 20 yr old I haven’t mentioned mental health aside inability to concentrate and brain fog.

They’re funded to give ads so are in the habit of doing that first.

I was addicted to seroxat and getting more unwell before someone thought to do a blood test and found I was hypo.

[Shell babes]

My GP tried for 2 years to push me down the psychiatric route but I always knew it was hormonal but no one would listen. I had PND 18 years ago and my GP was adamant that I was a psychiatrist case. HRT came to the rescue once I was on the right dose which took 3 years to establish. I don’t know how I’m still here as I was made to feel like a basket case. I’ve never really gotten over how I was made to feel like I was losing my mind.

[ElkWarning]

Well, the thing is, the mind isn't a different part of the body, it's all the same body, and this idea that you can just fix something in the brain while ignoring the rest of the hulking mass is totally ridiculous.  But, I would say, alongside this, the idea that you can just fix something in the body while ignoring what's going on in people's heads also doesn't sit well with me.

In the end that's why I don't really get on that well with your average quackery, I mean medicine, because it's all still entrenched in this brain / body split - except for niche disciplines like biological psychiatry.