Hormones and anxiety issues

[bmccartney]

Seems to me that my anxiety may have started with hormone problems. I sufferred severe hot flashes .. unrelenting brutal hotflashes Even though i swore i would never take hormones replacement "stuff" i was absolutely desperate . Was referred to doctor who specialized in bioidentical hormones ( apparrently a safer option) I have had anxiety issues since starting this treatment. Dr says estrogen and progesterone will calm anxiety.. not the other way around. I really find that hard to accept.. but i am not a doctor. Anyone have any experience with this or a comment. I would hate to be taking something that would cause this misery!

[ems43]

really interesting actually, as I feel that a lot of my problems are linked to my hormones. My CBT therapist and I did a timeline of my anxiety issues, and realised that it always coincided with a change in pill or some other hormonal change. My GP is now referring me to a gynocologist ( sorry think spelt wrong) who specialises in hormones and mood/ anxiety related problems. So don't know yet, but I'm sure there is a link. Will keep you posted? Did you have any tests done, eg, to find if you are low/ high in estrogen or progestorone? xx

[becky000]

I'm sure alot of it is due to hormonal imbalances.
I started with anxiety and panic attacks after I had my second child 18 years ago. I'm sure it was due to hormone problems as I also had night sweats. Unfortunately I was living in a rather isolated place so couldn't have tests done.
Although I haven't suffered continuously over the years I always found that when I had PMT I suffered from anxiety too and now that I'm in menopause it's become worse again.
I too am not happy about taking HRT so am trying to grin and bear it and hope it won't last too long. I've had hot flashes on and off for three years and now they're worse and my anxiety is too so it's probably linked.

[Ducky85]

HI, this is something i can relate to. I can almost work out when im going to have anxiety issues appearing, for the past 3/4 months they have come on in force directly before i get a period (usually the night before) then start to subside 2/3 days after i finish, every month like clockwork. I have PCOS so have hormone imbalance anyway but im just waiting to find out my blood test results taken at the height of my latest bout of anxiety... i take no contraceptive pills... in fact i take to medication at all, so it will be interesting to find out if it is actually linked to hormones... will keep posted of result if interested.
Sending best wishes to all,
Ducky x

[bmccartney]

thank you ladies for kind responses! I will keep you updated ( and want to hear about your experiences as well) I always had anxiety issues around my period... for a few days and then was gone. Now anxiety never Never goes away, and as you all know, it is awful. Bioindentical hormones that i have yaken since july totally got rid of hotflashes, but left me with high anxiety. You will have very current update because I do see this hormone doctor today and have a lsit of questions for him. I imagine he will do testing...he certainly better, Cannot say he is a very sensitive guy, so we shall see what happens. Also see dr later today for the paxil that is not helping either. Took the afternoon off work ...feel that desperate for answers to all this. I willpost later. thank you so much

[bmccartney]

so i went to doctors yesterday. 1st the hormone guy who was very reluctant to agree that estrogen created anxiety... but not impossible for some. ( you only have to google estrogen dominance to see anxiety symptoms) however, typically ladies in my age group ( menapause ) have low to no estrogen. that is why they replace it with estrogen. all i am saying is that the dose may be too high and i am getting too much. i have my period for the 1st time in over a year...so something is out of wack. and of course endless anxiety ( just like before you started you period ... only worse and stuck there) Have a whole wack of tests to do now..ultra sounds measures uterine thickness of uterine wall etc.. tells them something. He agreed to lower the estrogen in the mean while...so he must have believed what i was telling him. i will do all the tests and see where i land. Next saw the" Pill wizard" and he is a far more likeable guy. Paxil does NOTHING for me for anxiety. Maybe it keeps depression away...who knows... because despite all this...i have NO depression. He absolutely agreed that hormones that are out of balance are number 1 reason for anxiety and depression. (especially if they cannot find any physiologcal or mental issues)He has never really been able to figure me out because i do not have "typical" things. No excessive worry. no traumatic event, no history of anxiety and good solid marriage and employment and 100 other question i said no to. He felt i was looking in the right direction regarding hormone issues and often saw women who had hormonal based anxiety issues. I will slowly start to lower paxil and see him monthly. So 2 doctors... 2 stories. I wonder why we get confused? my intuition and my experiences of simply being female tells me that there is a hormonal issue. I also am the mother of 5 daughters...so, i do know a bit about hormones! I will post again... please comment

[Ducky85]

well... my hormone tests came back today.... normal. :/
as are my thyroid, anaemia, and electrolytes, my bloods are in a word.... fine.
She did however put me on a contraceptive pill Cerazette which is progesterone only... im a bit dubious as i have read its not ideal for women with pcos... which i have. i don't know what to do for the best. :/

[bmccartney]

sorry ducky... but what is pcos?

[ems43]

thats really interesting bmcartney, thank goodness you have found a doctor who agrees with you about it being hormonal. So have they prescribed anything? Have you considered seeing a homeopath... a friend of mine who works in mental health told me that she sees lots of women who present with severe anxiety pre menopause and told me that a lot of them respond very well to homeopathy. Just a thought x

[Ducky85]

PCOS is short for polycystic ovarian syndrome, basically the follicles on your ovaries which ripen to release eggs don't really function well so can result in underdeveloped or unreleased eggs. Pretty much due to hormonal imbalance, genetics can play a part etc Main signs are hirsuitism (excess hair growth), difficulty shedding weight, irregular periods, acne.... can be diagnosed with a simple ultra sound scan of tummy and blood tests. Not life threatening just a pain in the ass lol. hope that helps bmccartney :) And hope u are well x

[Ducky85]

oh, and some women can have all the symptoms of it but have no problem with their ovaries.... just to add. :)

[bmccartney]

I have seen a naturopath EMS43 and she gave me Gaba . Said i could take it with paxil but not with lorazapam. So i have not taken any yet because i am not confident that i can ditch the lorazapam yet ( i sound like a druggie) .. she was great and had lots of ideas .. but need to not mix too many drugs.

[pika79]

Hi have always been a worrier but my anxiety attacks only took hold properly after the birth of my 3 child ( i had 3 under 3!) so i had a lot of hormones running riot around my body but i noticed the difference most when i got the implant (implanon) This is a progesterone only contreceptive inplant i had it in for 3 years and then went back and got it again so in total had it in for 5 years . The anxiety i experienced in these years was extreme, at my worst i was having 10-15 attacks a night walking the house all night terrified to sleep ! I went to the doc and asked if it was possible that it was the implant and was told it was not possible !
In the end after a chance conversation with a friend about her experiences with contrception hormones i decided to have it removed and although i do still suffer with attacks ( mostly due to pmt and then again when i come on ! so only twice a month) they do not compare to what i did go through. I am now on the non hormonal coil and as i have said i only really suffer when i have a high level of hormone so i believe that for ME any extra hormone entering my body makes me MORE anxious. I really hope this helps .xxx

[kirstyt]

I have just been to the doctors myself about this!my anxiety is worse about 2wkz before my period is due.its starts with awful hot flushes!my doctor said i am definatly suffering from terrible pmt and cause my hormones r all over the place that it is triggering my anxiety.i am now half way thru my period and feel slightly calmer.but i know in two wks it will all start again.i am startin a course of homeopathic tablets nxt wk so se shall see what happens!!

[removed]

Seems to me that my anxiety may have started with hormone problems. I sufferred severe hot flashes .. unrelenting brutal hotflashes Even though i swore i would never take hormones replacement "stuff" i was absolutely desperate . Was referred to doctor who specialized in bioidentical hormones ( apparrently a safer option) I have had anxiety issues since starting this treatment. Dr says estrogen and progesterone will calm anxiety.. not the other way around. I really find that hard to accept.. but i am not a doctor. Anyone have any experience with this or a comment. I would hate to be taking something that would cause this misery!


Yes I have LOTS of experience!
I had a hormonally fuelled cancer five years ago and had to have a hysterectomy and my ovaries removed. I was already going through the menopause but this was something else! I suffered very badly at first and I was not allowed HRT for three years. In the end although I still had hot flushes I otherwise felt fine. My anxiety went completely and I had no more mood swings.
The trouble started when my cancer surgeon pronounced me cured after three years and put me on a low dose estradiol patch.
I had such intense anxiety that I kept cutting it smaller and smaller until I was using 1/16th of a patch. I could still not tolerate it, so I tried a different product. In one year I went through them all and made myself very ill. I ended up with depersonalisation which I had before many years ago and even though I am not taking anything now I am still not recovered.
I cannot give you any reassurance that you will feel better on HRT than without anything. I belong to a menopause site and although some do well on bioidenticals the majority feel terrible on them and give them up pretty fast. I therefore recommend riding it out if they don't help you. Hot flushes are bearable-all the anxiety is NOT.
I wish I had not listened to my surgeon because if I had I would not now be in this dreadful state!

janet c

[Zee]

Definately hormones and anxiety are related.
My first ever anxiety began at the time of hormone fluctuations.Everything went crazy and it took around 8 months for things to calm down.
Nine months ago almost exact same symptoms as before started up after a prolonged period of stress..I was told by GP that stress upsets the hormones and hormone imbalance can create anxiety.

[bmccartney]

thanks for all the comments...very interesting! i absolutely am convinced that hormones are causing this anxiety, maybe not all of it, but play a huge part. i need to get to the bottom of it in 2011 because who wants to live like this? i have had all the tests done and have app.t for results in jan. Oddly, Janet c struggled with the exact same hormone replacement (estradiol) that i am on!! ( need to know where this menapause site is please)Very odd doctors seem to insist that estrogen etc do not cause anxiety.. maybe they would like to live in my body for a week!