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[Helen57]

Hi ladies. I finally found a GP who listened to me. She has prescribed eostrogel 0.06% (start at 1- 2 pumps) and Gepretix 100mg (2 at night for 14 days). The problem is I am now petrified to take them 😑. I have been suffering really debilitating anxiety, panic and ocd since April, I couldn't function at all for weeks, I lost 3 stone since then because my appetite is basically non existent. I am on venlafaxine 150mg (antidepressant) which has helped and I am functioning now, but everyday is still hard with anxiety and intrusive thoughts, I feel no joy in anything, feel disconnected from my children and husband, just hardly any feelings (I was like this before the anti-depressant, so I know it's not that). I want to be happy again. The thing is, I have read some ladies stories on the balance app and on here, where their anxiety has gotten worse on the HRT and some have become suicidal on it... I am so scared of that happening, I couldn't cope. I know the only way is to try it, but I'm petrified. I feel like a child with this fear but I can't stop it. Some ladies even said they were still more anxious than before the HRT even after they stopped it. Any advice would be gratefully received ladies. Thank you for reading my rant.
P.s I'm 42 and believe it's  perimenopause.. still having monthly periods but they have become only 1 day of light bleeding, then a day of spotting, then nothing. No blood tests to confirm peri, but I've heard they don't really tell anyway because of the fluctuating hormones. My mom was 42 and went post- menopause and my sister was 44 when she went post- menopause.

[Amers78]

I don't have much advice but I just wanted to say that you're not alone on your journey. Health anxiety is an awful thing and can be crippling at times. I had no idea just how crippling.

This forum has been a life saver for me, knowing there are others feeling how I am at times I don't feel so alone. I'm sending you the biggest hugs, xx

[Helen57]

Amers78 Thank you so much for replying, it does make me feel less alone. It really is horrible isn't it?! It hit me like a ton of bricks in April, although looking back there has probably been some signs if peri for a few years, I just didn't take much notice. Hope you are doing well. Thank you for the hug and sending you a big one back  .

[CLKD]

MayB ask your practitioner for a dedicate anti-anxiety medication to take alongside the venlafaxine .......... mine prescribed a betablocka to take at night to ease early morning anxiety surges.  I now have an emergency tablet when anxiety floors me.

One can try too much at once though in terms of various alternatives ....... how would an app help?

[sheila99]

The way I see it things can hardly get worse and very likely will get better. My anxiety was completely cured by hrt. If it doesn't work out you can always stop. Perhaps keep a diary so you can connect time of month etc to symptoms. Thousands of women are happy with the first hrt they're prescribed.

[Dotty]

Just want to reassure that in my case HRT cleared all my horrific symptoms. It took a few months but it gave me back my life. Remember that there are thousands of ladies happily using HRT and they don’t come on these forums. x

[Helen57]

Thank you everyone. I've decided to give it a go, as I can't stay feeling the way I am, so worth a try. Thank you for your advice.  :

[Emmia49]

Hi Helen57!

Here is my experience.

It hit me too in April this year.
I'm 49 and still have the same periods as you.

Before that, I noticed changes for about a year, same as you, I didn't pay much attention to it.

Then April came and it hit me like a bolt of lightning. I didn't sleep for 2 months, because I was woken up every night by night sweats, anxiety appeared, after 3 weeks I fell into severe depression. I didn't eat anything, I couldn't get up anymore. My GP prescribed me HRT - lanzetto spray 2 pumps and 200mg utrogestran for 12 days. Lanzetto unfortunately increased my anxiety to the point where I thought I was going to die, and utrogestan pushed me into depression.

I persevered for 2 months and just prayed every night that I would die, it was so bad.

I then stopped the HRT and after 2 weeks asked my GP to prescribe the anitidepressant mirtazapine as I was not sleeping at all.

The night sweats have stopped, the anxiety has subsided, the depression is gone. I've been taking Ad for a month and a half now and the anxiety is still not completely gone and I'm not as happy as I was before.  But I am functioning.

But you have to wait at least 2 to 3 months for ad to start working.

Unfortunately, my experience with HRT was very bad. I talked to my GP about other types of HRT, but they all have the possible side effect of anxiety and depression.

Unfortunately, I've found that hormones just aren't for me and I sincerely hope that ad will help me through this terrible transition into postmenopause.

Unfortunately, HRT is not an instant cure, it has to be tried and it can take months. But once you're in such a mess, only AD can help you.

Maybe later when I'm stabilized I'll try some form of HRT, but for now I'm just as scared of HRT as you are.

I am mad at the health care system that doesn't warn about the side effects of HRT on our mental health, they always talk about the benefits, but unfortunately HRT can cause anxiety and depression and if you already have it, it can only make it worse.

This is just my experience and I'm not trying to convince anyone to try something or not.

I'm sending you a big hug because it's amazing that we're in the exact same situation. You are NOT ALONE!!!!

Good luck!

[bombsh3ll]

Unless you try it, you won't know.

From a biological perspective, it is difficult to see how hormones you have had in your body since adolescence could suddenly turn on you and cause hideous side effects if you tolerated them fine all through your menstruating years.

Whilst the scientific evidence is clear that the loss of reproductive hormones, especially if sudden, early or turbulent, can cause significant mental health difficulties, I also believe that there is a lot of both over expectations about what hormone therapy can achieve - it's only your own hormones and should simply make you feel like you, five years ago, yet some people seem disappointed when it doesn't act like a line of cocaine as well - and blaming of symptoms like anxiety on hormone therapy once started or increased.

In the latter case there is often a clear history of mental health difficulties predating the hormone therapy.

If you have ever been pregnant, your levels of estradiol and progesterone would have been sky high then, and if you were fine with that there's no reason to fear the very low doses of the same that you have been prescribed.

[K45]

Hi Helen57,
I can understand being scared to start HRT. The worst that can happen is it's not helpful and needs adjusting or replacing with another approach. At the beginning of this year I thought I was relapsing into depression/anxiety as I've been severely unwell years ago. Thankfully my GP was excellent and recommended HRT. Within about 6 weeks I felt significantly better and so many horrible physical and mental symptoms went away. The first month I felt a bit dizzy and initially rather bloated but this was temporary and now I'm not noticing any negative side effects apart from on the utrogestan part I have zero alcohol tolerance although my husband now has a cheaper date when  we eat out! It's perfectly natural to be nervous as it's a completely new regime but I hope that you will find like me that it helps get you feeling like yourself again x

[AngelaH]

Unfortunately, HRT is not an instant cure,

When hormones start failing they do not necessarily stay balanced and if it happens meno symptoms appear, most women don’t have any symptoms or their symptoms are very mild because during transition period their bodies still manage to maintain the right balance, hormonal levels may be low, but they are properly balanced. Using HRT does not guarantee right balance for everyone, because NHS doses are standard, an average woman will find them suitable for herself, but you always can find someone, who is not an average and NHS doses will not work in this case. I also don’t know why NHS doctors believe that every woman needs estrogen in peri, in fact not every woman loses estrogen faster, than progesterone, so prescribing estrogen in this case will make things worse. From my own experience, my peri symptoms were much worse and severe than meno symptoms. My estrogen level in peri was fine, but that was low progesterone level, which caused severe meno symptoms. This is why to give to everyone the same standard doses of HRT and expect the same good results is not possible.