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[DaisyB]

Me again;(


Ok so Mirena, sandrena x 2 and testosterone daily seemed to eventually do the trick after some very distressing months earlier this year.  I thought that a really good sign was the fact that I wasn't on here all day long asking for help!


Then I noticed pain creeping back in joints etc and anxiety starting to increase at the same rate. This week has been a repeat of pre HRT😢


GP prescribed AA meds and a referral to private counsellor. But I feel so angry - it's  a roller coaster - and I can't seem to gain steady ground for any length of time.


Very reluctant to take meds as it's not going to eradicate but just plaster over the cracks - as well as bringing a new set of side effects.


Exercise seems to irritate back/joint pain rather than help and also increases fatigue. Restarted restorative yoga but that only gives temporary relief!


This week I feel like I've no fight left in me. The anxiety is debilitating and so is the effort to put a nice face on to the rest of the world.


I think I've run out of ideas


Anyone in the same boat?


DaisyB xx

[Roadrunner]

Hello DaisyB

Sorry you're having a rough time. Couldn't read and run because you're posting at 2am.

I'm also using Sandrena and Utro. Are your sachets 0.5mg or 1.0mg? Just interested because I've had to go up to 1.5mg to get on top of the night sweats. 1.0mg wasn't enough. I'm absolutely no expert but that's my experience - might help you to increase the Sandrena?

The anxiety associated with perimenopause is a weird thing. I haven't had anxiety before - I'm a worrier by nature but it's a different feeling somehow. For me I think some of it is hormones but also I wonder if for me some of it is just not knowing what's going to happen next and not having control of my body anymore. I think I've cracked it with exercise and sleep and diet etc and I can do the same thing two days running and still get weird and different symptoms!! Aarghh!!

Perimenopause is a mysterious thing!

Hope thou have a better day today and that someone with more expert  knowledge comes along. 

RR xx

[DaisyB]

Thank you RR


0.5 sachets. I've increased to 1.5 daily from yesterday. I don't like the idea of the Mirena and my plan was that if all was well I'd change to utro after 12 months.


I think I need to start walking daily to introduce exercise - rather than one or two bursts a week.


I'm a natural worrier but this is something that is beyond explanation- I am convinced that I am dying and the scanning of my body for new aches or pains has returned.


I will say that most of the other symptoms have dissipated- and so I am left with this anxiety that I can't seem to gain any significant ground with 😢


DaisyB xx

[CLKD]

Oh worry, anxiety and depression are totally different issues.  I can worry for the UK but anxiety will floor me.  Appropriate medication for the appropriate symptoms?

[Hurdity]

Hi DaisyB - I agree with Roadrunner. Your oestrogen dose could well be too low! The standard starting and post-meno dose of gel is 2 pumps of estrogel which is 1.5 mg, so 1 mg is  only 2/3 of this dose. Because Sandrena comes in two doses and sachets with a certain amount - women seem to be prescribed less. Maybe as it is more concentrated it is absorbed better - but still I would defo go for the 1.5 mg for several weeks and see how you feel and maybe even higher dose (can you get the 1 mg sachets?). It seems women absorb from the different methods differently.

Also if the increased gel dose (even eg up to the equivalent of 3 pumps estrogel = 2.25 mg) then have you tried patches - in case you have absorption problems with the gel?

Yes increased exercise and in the open air should help - and hopefully you will feel better once your increased dose has stabilised. Also could some of the symptoms be due to the Mirena ( the prog released)? I know some women don't get on with this - but maybe you know you are OK with it from earlier in your life?

Maybe you are further along the post-meno road so noticing the effects of reduced oestrogen (which drops for two years approx following last period/ovulation and then stabilises at low level with the odd minor fluctuation).

I agree it is better to get the HRT right before taking ADs - as you say there are side effects from these too. Also they are known to depress libido. No point in taking medication to sort out something hormonal if tweaking your HRT can help and especially if your anxiety has no obvious cause. In the meantime are there behavioural techniques you can try eg mindfulness, meditation, CBT type self-help exercises. Try nomorepanic website for ideas ( other than meds).

Let us know how you respond to the increased dose - I am sure others will be very interested, and hoping you feel better very soon

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

I have never suffered with depressed libedo  with Anti-depressants: but hormonal upset certainly caused my sex drive to disappear completely [17 months after my marriage]  - but GPs insisted that I was depressed whereas I knew it was hormonal because at certain times of the month  .......

Depression however can cause lack of sex drive .........

Daisy B - even if your symptoms are caused by hormones, how would you know exactly?  Regardless, if anxiety is getting you down enough to make comment then discuss appropriate anti-anxiety treatment with your practitioner.

[DaisyB]

Thank you hurdity


I've incrased from yesterday to 1.5 - will see how that goes x

[Hurdity]

Keep it up for a few weeks and see how you feel - I do hope it has a positive effect

Hurdity x

[Sharon C]

Hi;

I'm new to this forum & have been suffering with depression/anxiety for a year now & I can honestly say I've not had more than 2 wks without anxiety at some point. This is so frustrating & such a struggle as I'm also struggling with perimenopause. My periods are every other wk or every other month & I don't know whether I'm coming or going.
I take citalopram 40 mg daily & pay privately for counselling as I couldn't connect with the counsellor & to be honest he just didn't get it.
My husband doesn't understand the anxiety which isn't his fault.

I could scream - all I want is to feel me again all the time not such some of the time xx

[Yammy1]

Hi Sharon, I'm surprised the citalopram is nit helping your anxiety. Ive only recently started with 10mg and am hopeful the will start to Orkney soon. I also take a Xanax now and again when anxiety gets really bad and I find this works

[Hurdity]

Hi Sharon C

 

Sorry to hear about your depression and anxiety as well as your peri-menopausal symptoms. In fact if the depression and anxiety are new for you ( coming at approx the same time as periods going awry) and if there is no particular reason for you to experience them, then these are also symptoms of menopause - due to hormonal fluctuations and also low oestrogen. Are you also suffering flushes and sweats or have these not arrived yet (maybe you will escape them)?

If you started peri-menopause at the same time as the depression/anxiety in fact HRT is the first line of treatment and anti-depressants are not supposed to be prescribed any more (except of course in extreme cases or for residual anxiety not treatable by other means. This was enshrined in the latest NICE Guidelines and recommended by all the gynaes and menopause societies.

Have you thought of taking this (HRT) - or maybe you have a medical reasom why you cannot take it?  If not, then do consider it. You haven't said how old you are but if less than the average age of menopause of 51/52 then it is advisable to help protect heart and bones. It may well give your your life back - and if it works and you get the right combo, then hopefully you will gradually be able to stop the Citalopram, but continue with the counselling and any talking/self-help therapies.

Here is an article on peri-menopause which you might find interesting:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/magazine/pdf/Article%20-%20Perils%20of%20the%20Perimenopause.pdf

Also do direct your husband to the Man Shed so he can understand about menopause:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/manshed.php

And finally - why not introduce yourself in the New Members area of the forum so that more members will see your introductory post and welcome you.

Good luck and come back to us with any questions you have about anything, for support, or a chat or if you want to knpow more about HRT - and read all the info on the main website ( top tabs pale green banner!).

Hope this helps

Hurdity x

[Sharon C]

Hi, thank you so much for your replies.
I have suffered with depression/anxiety before so this is what it felt like a year ago when the symptoms came as my periods were changing a little but not as bad as they are now.
I'm 46 but feel & look older, well I have this past year.
I do have hot flushes mainly at night time. Last week my husband & I went to NY & I felt great then Monday I started feeling symptoms coming on & yesterday I came on my period & anxiety etc set in. My last period was 2 wks ago. I'm waiting to go back for another US scan as I have a cyst & fibroids on my ovaries.
Nobody has ever mentioned HRT - I work at a GP surgery but to be honest I only thought women went on it after periods had stopped or after hysterectomy.xxx

[DaisyB]

Hi, thank you so much for your replies.
I have suffered with depression/anxiety before so this is what it felt like a year ago when the symptoms came as my periods were changing a little but not as bad as they are now.
I'm 46 but feel & look older, well I have this past year.
I do have hot flushes mainly at night time. Last week my husband & I went to NY & I felt great then Monday I started feeling symptoms coming on & yesterday I came on my period & anxiety etc set in. My last period was 2 wks ago. I'm waiting to go back for another US scan as I have a cyst & fibroids on my ovaries.
Nobody has ever mentioned HRT - I work at a GP surgery but to be honest I only thought women went on it after periods had stopped or after hysterectomy.xxx

Hi Sharon

Sorry I've been off the forum for a few days so just reading this today. Hurdity has given you some great practical advice. I'd like to add that what you are experiencing is more common than we think - for those in peri menopause. Like you, anxiety has been my worst symptom. I am now on HRT which stopped the erratic periods and is most definitely steering me in a better and healthier direction. I'm still figuring out my combo so still dealing with residual anxiety, aches in joints etc but the good news is that there is hope! This forum and women like Hurdity have given me so much help and reassurance this year - I don't know how I would have managed without them all. I still dip in and out every other week when I get anxious or experience odd pains that trigger the anxiety. I've opted for a private counsellor who specialises in menopause - and HRT - I also added in supplements like ashwaghanda- CKLD always recommends a food/mood/symptom diary - and finally that message has struck me as really important especially in longer term management. I'm sending a you big hug and hope you get as much out of this forum as I have x

[CLKD]

Yammy - predictive text  + 

Sharon - Stick with the Citalopram, it's for depression.  Anything that helps at this time year ........ even if you don't feel benefit, I would recommend not changing anything until the New Year  . At age 46 do look at the Daisy web-site as well as reading the green banner 'treatments' above.

>wave< DaisyB
 

[aspie65]

I was on cipralex (escitalopram) and I had to up and up this dosage to cope as my menopause progressed.  To this I added HRT but still the anxiety would overwhelm me.  In the end I got prescribed pregabalin and am doing so much better.  Pregabalin is great for anxiety and helps you sleep which is first to go when my anxiety levels rocket.  I've had no real side effects and have even lowered my HRT with no increase in my anxiety.