Hormones and anxiety

[MargaretHale]

Hello all, I've been lurking for a few months but decided to take the plunge today and join.

My problems started a year ago with panic attacks and general anxiety. But as I started to keep a diary a pattern emerged that my worst times are during and shortly after my period are the worst. I feel panicky, mildly agoraphobic and very mentally 'foggy'.

I've spoken to my GP, she was completely dismissive and wants me to take Citalopram. She won't test me or help me other than taking the tablets. I'm quite 'forthright' and even when I said 'look I know my body' she just wrote the prescription and shoved it across the desk.
'Come back at the end of March'

Help. Anyone else? I know there are some threads on this but I wondered if anyone had any recent experience?
M

[ktg123]

Hi Margarethale I suffer with bad anxiety,panic attacks and health anxiety everyday and have done for years but I too get a lot worse during and just before my period so I assume that hormones can increase anxiety infact these are the only days i can convince myself that nothing is wrong and that its just my nerves as it happens everymonth.
Take Care

[jen2503]

Hormones can play a massive part in anxiety, i am just about anxiety free now but still every month a week before my period is due i get anxious and the two days around ovulation, i can always tell im due on when im anxious!!

its perfectly normal with anxiety fro women though, thats why pregnant women can find anxiety to be a big problem, most people have slight anxiety because of hormones so an anxiety sufferer will most definitly feel it each month x

[judipat]

Hi

Gosh! I'm glad I dont have your doctor - sorry, but I find that quite shocking. Oh course hormones can play a part in ones anxiety/panic, whether this is pysiologically or psychologically.
I have suffered anxiety for many years and I found it returned with a vengence when I started to go through the menapause - and many women on this site and elsewhere had experienced the same too. As the menapause is all about hormones, I think this would back up your theory.
Take a look at a site called "powersurge" which is primarily a site for menapause but has a lot of good info on it.

Best wishes

Judi

[blueangel]

I'd recommend PowerSurge as well - I found it really useful when I started to get really bad menopausal symptoms.

[bloxy]

My anxiety rockets about a week before my period and doesn't really get any better until it arrives. I discussed this with my therapist and she said that hormones can affect anxiety levels.

[MargaretHale]

Thank you all, I was pretty shocked by her attitude. I think for someone who is still waiting for therapy, who has never taken anything more than anti-biotics to be presecribed is just terrifying. Going to take a look at Powersurge now. Thank you all again,
M

[Zee]

Hi Margaret..definately hormones and anxiety link.
Some years ago I suddenly became very anxious( first time ever), it got really bad but my GP said No..this isnt your hormones.. I struggled on for a month or so but gut feeling was telling me, plus some subtle changes that my hormones were involved.
He reluctantly agreed to a test and hey presto...I proved him wrong.
I recovered from the anxiety with just the odd down day over the years..Then it struck again meno...As you will read on power surge,anxiety is very common with hormones.