menopause/anxiety

[helenclaire]

Hi,
I have been recently diagnosed as being menopausal, i have been getting alot of dizzyness and lightheadedness and the doctor has put this down to the menopause, but i cannot understand how the menopause could cause this.
I have just had to sit down, as i went really lightheaded and thought i was going to collapse, it passed quite quickly but now i feel shaky and weak.
Previously when i had this, it was put down to anxiety, so which is it?
Of course now i am thinking its neither and am worrying its something more serious, but if i go back to the doctors i will be told its the menopause or anxiety.
I do not know how long i am supposed to put up with it, i know the menopause can go on for years, but this dizzyness is getting me down as i am scared to go anywhere.
Would appreciate any feed back from anyone going through this or has been through this.

Many Thanks
Helen

[Venus Calling]

Yup! The perimenopause can last for up to 15 years. I'm 45 and my anxiety and PA's came out of the blue. It had been pinned on the fact I'd just been made redundant and that I was worrying about that but I knew I wasn't I'd been looking forward to the event for ages! In the last four months I have had lightheadedness, strange burning sensations and just a general weird feeling in my head that comes and goes. These things all happened suddenly. My doctor just said 'it could be' and prescribed anti depressants which I won't take because I'm not depressed. The counsellor she made me see has said I have all the classic symptoms of perimenopause. I'm going to ask for blood tests which apparently, at this stage may not show anything but no one else has suggested anything.

I'm currently reading The Hormone Survival Guide for Perimenopause by Nisha Jackson - it's very imformative and will put your mind at rest that these awful things you are feeling are 'normal'! I've started taking some supplements and am hoping these will help in the long term.

Good luck! :D

[lorac]

Hi Helen

I know how you feel coz I am going through the same as you. I am definately going through the menopause and I am definately suffering with anxiety but what is causing what I don't know. I too get the dizziness and then I get really anxious about that and it goes around in a circle. I have been told that the menopause can cause anxiety so I guess it is all connected.

I have been to the doctors in the past so many times with this problem and some say it is an age thing and some say it's anxiety so I really don't know but I thought you might like to know you are not alone with this one.

My Mum, who doesn't suffer from anxiety, had the dizzy spells when she was going through the menopause so I think it is a natural thing.

Hope things improve for you soon Helen.

Carol

[Allye]

I do not think it is just menpausal although when I had IVF I know how horrible it can be as IVF initially and rapidly puts you in menopause.

My GAD worsens considerably just before my period. I cope with it by saying it is just hormones rather than GAD

[helenclaire]

Thanks for your replies,

This menopause thing is new to me so i do not know how i am supposed to be feeling.
I was starting to get worried about the dizziness, but it would appear this is quite a common symptom.
I think i need to get more information about what to expect, the doctor just says its prob the menopause and thats it, she did suggest trying some herbal remedies, so i may try this, i am wary about trying new things, but if it helps i think i will have to bite the bullet and try it, it has to be better than feeling like this.

Thanks again
Helen:)

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Helen,

I started menopause at 35, yikes, I know! I did get dizzy for some reason at night, probably because that is when I got the night sweats. Your hormones are up and down and crazy during this time and yes my anxiety was at its worst. I personally did not take any hormones so that probably did not help my own situation. The one thing that is good about it is that it does end! You need to figure out what works for you. For instance, I had such terrible night sweats I layed on towels at night on the bed, and had 3 changes of pj's for me to change into when I would wake up soaked. The good side of this was I never had hot flashes. Everyone is different! I got dizzy when I would try and walk around getting things so I would get everything ahead of time so I didn't even have to get out of bed! If you want please pm and perhaps I can give you some suggestions.

Take care,

Laura

[Wenjoy]

Hi there
like southern bell e- I started my menopause at 38 and am now 48 and on HRT I dont have the night sweats any more but I get dizzy. very very drained of energy and anxious and headacey as well. My dr said we are buzzing with hormones and our body has to adjust - 10 years on I still feel like it but my mum told me it took 15 years for her menopause and that I am probably just perimenopausal going into the menopause. Whatever it is - it sucks and I dont like feeling up and down, crying, happy, dizzy, anxious, hot and flustered etc etc. Men have got it easy!!! Wenjoy x

[Veronica H]

Hi All
I am 49 and my hormones have recently started to change. This coincided with my first panic attacks. My Dr says that for those suffering with anxiety this is a common time for the nerves to 'tip over'. I have also noticed that although I have been getting to grips with the panic attacks (thanks the the brilliant DR Claire Weekes books) the day before they start -which recently has been every 19 days precisely, I have had a few dreadful flashes of panic and dizzy spells out of the blue. So Helen, I think this could be a bit of both. My Dr says it should settle down over the next two years! I would go back to your GP though if your symptoms are so bad that they are stopping you from going out.
Best wishes
Veronica H

[Goodlife]

Hi
I was just wondering if you had all been diagnosed as pre menopausal/menopausal by your doctor.
I asked mine if that could be a reason for some of my symptoms and she said at my age (44) and with regular periods it was highly unlikely. She didn't seem to want to pursue it any further.
However, in a vain attempt to put find a cause for all my problems I've just sent off for a home testing kit from the internet thats supposed to indicate if you're pre-menpoausal, apparently 98% accurate.
Has anyone else used these tests I wonder ?
Best wishes
Goodlife

[Cathy V]

Hormones have alot to answer to for women. What with hormone imbalance at puberty, pregnancy, just before our periods and then with the onset of the menopause and beyond....its no wonder we suffer anxiety for most of our lives! Hormone imbalance an produce horrendous physical symptoms, and an highlight any problems we had anway, such as migraine and anx/depression etc. also aches and pains can show up more. Menopause can also affect bp....when we have a hot flush our heart rate increases and so does our blood pressure.

Im convinced there are alot of women of a certain age on this forum who maybe wouldnt be here if not for the menopause. :) xxxx

[lesleya]

Oh my......the joys of being a woman.
I had over 8 years of being panic/anxiety free...then wham! the menopause. and back to anxiety again, hot flushes, migraines, dizzy spells, aches n pains etc.
I swear if men went through this theyd have found a cure years ago....lol.
Hope your gp can give you some help hun, but please dont feel your alone with this were here to help you if we can.
Take care
xxx

[Wenjoy]

I agree with Cathy - but I reckon we women are brill coz we dont moan , we carry on regardless- taking kids to school, doing the tea, housework etc etc and coping - well done ladies!!! Wenjoy x

[mary8]

Hi Helen, I too am going through peri menopause, I recommend you visit http://www.power-surge.com/php/forums/index.php it has been so helpful for me and you will see for yourself how many different symptoms there are, including feeling dizzy and light headed. Take care.

[Purple Fish]

Hi,

My anxiety started due to post traumatic stress about a year and a half ago. The worst symptom for me is the light headed feeling although mine comes and goes and only lasts a couple of seconds. It is definately worse two weeks before my period but the Prozac has helped a lot. I asked my GP if I could be peri-menopausal and he said no, due to my age of 35. I do think hormones have a big part to play. I get the odd migraine now, about 4 times a year which I never used to. I hadn`t had a migraine since I was 13 when I first started my periods.

Hang on in there, it does get better!

Purple fish xx:winks:

[helenclaire]

Thankyou all for replying,

An interesting thing has happened, yesterday i started a period, this is the first one in 6 months, and i have just realised i have not had the dizziness since it started, so now i am thinking this really could be due to hormones, i have definately felt worse in the 6 months of not having periods.
I guess i will just to have to wait and see what happens now and make the most of being dizzy free and hope it lasts, but somehow i do not think it will.
It could just be a coincidence but listening to others it seems our hormones have a big part to play in how we feel.
Take care
Helen:)

[Venus Calling]

Goodlife: I bought one of those tests (a couple really!) and it showed positive toward the perimenopause. My doctor refuses to do any blood tests but I needed to know I wasn't going mad - she just puts all my symptons down to being depressed and I'm not in the slightest but she still gave me anti-depressants although I'm not that I'm taking them.

[petmad]

Hi
I am 38 and really suffer from hormones and PMT before during and after!
I have been getting a lot of sweats and can't sleep at night, I am so confused to know what to do.
I get anxious and headaches and worry about everything, it changes on a daily basis.
I have not been diagnosed with being pre-menopausal but I can't help thinking a lot of my probs are due to hormones. Always had hormones probs for years and contraception stuff made me worse.
I am taking some natural hormone pill but that doesn't seem to work. They will probably put me on antidepressants next, I would love it if they worked but cannot believe they will.
Just would love to feel normal again, and be able to sleep and not get flaming hormones!!

xx

[HeatherMc]

hiya

Definitely agree with you all definitely some sort of hormonal things going on here, Lesley you have hit the nail on the head, if this was a male thing, it would have been well sorted,

Love Heather

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[ElizabethJane]

This is an interesting discussion and I'm joining it at the tail end. I am forty seven and eighteen months ago I had a hysterectomy.I kept my ovaries. I felt sure that I might be tipped into an early menopause. This wasn't the case and I have continued to have PMT and sore breasts but no periods. Whether I have an early menopause is doubtful now because of my age. My sister who is eighteen months older than me is already showing signs of peri menopause and has had a blood test to check her hormone levels. I think that it is wrong to suffer if our hormones are linked in some way to panic and anxiety. For me I have been suffering for a long time since a teenager so I can't really say that one thing or another triggered my illness. It is probably a combination of all of them.