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[sweettooth]

Hello dear ladies,

Hoping I can get some positive advice or positive stories.  I went on estrogen only beginning of this year, I had to go privately as I had a history of estrogen positive breast cancer thankfully a early one.  Anyway I had horrendous adrenaline/anxiety  whilst trying to get my levels up, my blood pressure also started to rise a lot so I stopped after 4 months and the withdrawal was 10 times worse!  My bp went back down and after about 10 weeks off estrogen & I felt great, just a dull headache every morning.

Now my headaches are improving but I have this awful anxiety which I know for sure is hormonal and sometimes when I get flushes or a headache the anxiety will lift.  I am on ADs but I’m wondering if there is anything else I could suggest to GP to get me through this bad spell? 

Please give me positive feedback as I’m quite vulnerable at mo.

I def cannot try hrt again.

I’m now 60 xx

[CLKD]

Hi. Ask your GP for a dedicated anti-anxiety medication.  Some ADs can help ease symptoms but initially 1 should be prescribed something suitable for the problem.

Flushes can come after anxiety surges.

Deep breathing can help.  Also doing tense/relax exercises: i.e. laying down, starting at the feet tense toes, hold, relax.  Working all the way up the muscles groups, usually be knees I'm asleep. 

Betablockas helped me a lot if you don't want to go down the valium route.  Let us know how you get on.

[sweettooth]

Aw thanks Clkd, did u find this went eventually?

[Alicess]

Hi Sweettooth,

HRT also raised my bloodpressure and gave me a lot of other symptoms like anxiety and headaches. Although I stopped HRT I still have most of the symptoms. My GP send me to an endocrinologist and if appears my cortisol levels are to high. Maybe worth looking into? High cortisol can give a host of symptoms besides anxiety, even flushing.

I'm sorry you have to go through this and I hope you will find a answer.

Alicess x

[sweettooth]

Hi Alicess
That’s very interesting!  I have thought of seeing an endocrinologist thank you. 

Can I ask were you prescribed anything by him?

[Sparrow]

My son was diagnosed with this.  He was given a one off steroid treatment that is supposed to shock your adrenal gland.

It was semi successful.  He did improve after but it took a while, on a low dose anxiety medication, to get him back to normal.

Not all GPs acknowledge adrenal gland fatigue as a problem, so not easy to get diagnosed and treated.

[CLKD]

Which anti-anxiety medication was recommended?

Cortisol - the waking hormone - used to disturb me anytime after 3.30 a.m. and leave me terrified  .  A betablocka helped ease those surges.

[Sparrow]

Escitolopram.

Not sure if that spelt correctly.

[Alicess]

I'm not prescribed anything yet, they are still trying to figure out whats causing the high cortisol levels. I have a dna- test and a dexa- scan shortly.

Alicess

[CLKD]

Tnx Shadyglade - that's what I take.  5mg in the morning, 10mg at night.  I stopped the betablocka in March this year due to background headaches on waking. 

[Wrensong]

Hi sweettooth.  I'm sorry to hear you are feeling unwell in a difficult situation.  Glad to see you have had some good advice from the other ladies.  Have sent you a PM.
Wx

[sweettooth]

Thanks to you all for your kind and helpful messages.  I definitely think meditation & relaxation would help so I will start that for sure! I do eat well, take magnesium etc.  I am going to mention endocrinologist, it won’t do any harm.

Thanx xx

[racjen]

Hi sweettooth

in my experience that awful morning anxiety is by far the worst symptom of menopause. Mine seems to be associated with progesterone, in the sense that it started when I started taking progesterone after several months of feeling better on high-dose estrogen alone. I've been through every anti-depressant in the book, plus beta-blockers, pregabalin, herbal remedies etc. and in the end it got so extreme I took an overdose. Right now I'm on two psychiatric medications - quetiapine, which is an anti-psychotic but functions as a mood stabiliser at low doses, and duloxetine, which is an AD and the first one I've been able to tolerate. Feeling a lot better but now trying to wean myself off diazepam, which I've been on for several years. I really wouldn't recommend you go down that route - short term they work well but it's just too easy to become dependant on them and that brings all sorts of extra problems....

[sweettooth]

You’ve been thru the mill Rachel I’m glad u found something helping!  It seems to be quite a common symptom x

[CLKD]

Exercise helps some people: jogging, swimming, horse riding.  Or taking up art but when I'm anxious I can't make appts to go horse riding nor can I sit still enough to paint  .  I think people who jog have the ability to switch off? 

Let us know how you get on?