increased anxiety after menopause?

[CathyT]

Hi all,
I thought going through perimenopause for about 10 years with all its craziness and anxiety was really bad. Then I started feeling better for about a year. Now its all back again. Anyone else in menopause who had this happen?
I suppose our neurochemicals are getting lower and lower and lower....:(
Thanks.

[tic chick]

welcome cathy!*bunch

type in "anxiety and menopause" in google.com and you will get a bunch of articles on how all the chemicals interact with each other and how they change in menopause.

i think everybody is different.

for instance, i have tourette syndrome, a neurological tic disorder. i have had panic attacks although i haven't had many since i started taking klonopin about 20 yrs. ago. i also get seasonal affective disorder, often known as winter depression. it always comes on in november and leaves around march. the severity varies.

i officially hit menopause in january of 2007. the year before that, i had a major case of depression, probably due to the rapidly declining estrogen levels. i was on paxil for a year and am fine now. i still take the klonopin, so the anxiety is at bay.

one thing i did start to do was take care of my body better. cut down caffeine, which initiates anxiety, switched to whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, no red meat, just chicken and fish. i take fish oil and a general vitamin along with my personal combination of 7 other supplements. OH! and i exercise an hour 6 days a week.

i didn't have any hot flashes during menopause. i feel so good. i think its the better diet and exercise.

so, good luck in finding your own personal stress-less life. i garden and have 2 dogs. that keeps my anxiety down!

this is a great time in a woman's life. we know who we are, we know what we have accomplished and we are still vital members of our family and society!

rejoice,
jeannie

[CathyT]

Thanks jeannie,
I have fibromyalgia, which probably confuses the issue too.
I was doing pretty well with menopause, but about a month ago, I had something like a panic attack while I was working hard in the garden, and my anxiety level has been so high ever since. I've been using just a little caffeine each day for energy, but I think it really does worsen the anxiety. I'm used to going through this increased anxiety every so often and I've blamed it on my hormones. It would eventually go away, as I thought my estrogen level would go back up. But this time, it doesn't seem to be going back up.
Its not easy being a woman!
Thanks for your suggestions.

[tic chick]

cathy*smallrose,

are you on any meds that could cause anxiety? have you ever tried a med for anxiety? sometimes i do get like a "free-floating" anxiety that appears out of nowhere. i think sometimes it is due to stuff on my mind, things i don't have any control over.

are you on anything for the fibro? i drink a lot of green tea and flavored green tea. it has egcg in it, kind of a natural energizer. i know what you mean by taking caffeine to keep your energy up...it's probably the safest thing to do it with. there are egcg supplements also, if you don't like green tea, but that's my main drink, so i get a lot of it.

once you have something like a panic attack (i have had them in the past) it's hard not to feel afraid that you will have another one. you have to get over that fear and not over-analyze how anxious you feel; if it's going to lead to a panic attack...you know what i mean? it kind of sets you up to watch yourself too much...and that heightens your anxiety.

if you can walk a little every day, it might get rid of some of that excess edginess that precedes anxiety.

sometimes i take a benadryl (diphenhydramine hydrochloride) to help me relax a bit at night. it might make you a bit drowsy during the day, but it might take away that edge, also. a glass of wine helps, too.

keep posting and think about what's going on before you feel the anxiety. maybe we can find something to help?

jeannie

[CathyT]

Hi Jeannie,
Thanks for your help.
I guess you could call me "medication phobic". I have had so many weird sensations my whole life, and don't do well with meds. I suppose that makes me look like I don't want to feel better......but I do. Also with so many meds, I have such a hard time getting off them. If a drug develops unwanted side-effects and I want to come off it, I don't want to have to go through hell just getting off it. So I avoid drugs for the most part.
No, I'm not on any meds that would cause anxiety. I'm only taking Calcium, magnesium and some other vitamins and probiotics.

You're right about developing a fear of panic! Its crazy, but it happens.
I had such a rough trip through perimenopause and fibromyalgia, but was feeling better about a year ago. Actually, I started using a CPAP machine last year for sleep apnea. But something happened about 6 weeks ago, and now I have all these old symptoms back.........especially the anxiety and exhaustion. I've seen so many doctors over the years and had so many tests. They were all normal. So now, when I feel horrible, I just try to endure it and not run to the doctor's for every symptom.
My doctor wants me to go back on Toprol (a beta blocker I was on about 7 years ago for high BP and migraines). I got off it about 2 years ago because of the side effects (listelssness, extreme fatigue, eating constantly, and horrible brain fog).
I seem to have too much sympathetic stimulation again. I'm losing some weight, and trying to avoid stress, but I just have this constant knot in my stomach, along with strange sensations that make me feel like I'm dying.

I wish there was some natural way to calm my sympathetic system down. When I excercise, it seems to make my feelings worse.
Sorry to ramble. I just feel like I'm stuck in a bad place. I'm afraid of everything. I just don't know what happened several weeks ago to throw me into this again.