Hi everyone,
I recently joined this, my first ever forum, in the hope of gaining knowledge and sharing experiences on the strange symptoms I have been experiencing the last few weeks.
My first post focused on Anxiety and the possibility of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It has recently been brought to my attention, there is a possibility my symptoms could be hormone related. Something I never actually considered.
Brief list of symptoms...
Fatigue (groggy and heavy type tiredness)
Brain Fog
Feeling detached and 'spaced out'
Weak and Shaky
Jelly Legs
Weak Fingers and Toes
Sensitive to light and sound
Sometimes feels like I have flu or a bad virus (even though I know I don't)
Light Headed
Light Dizziness
Easily tired out
Occasional Palpitations
Frequent urination (occasionally)
Anxious (more so than usual)
Brief History...
I have had anxiety issues, on and off, for many years and also hormone induced migraines. This year the migraines are definitely worse and so too is the anxiety. I had an 8 day brutal migraine early/mid September, followed by 8 days of severe brain fog/dull fuzzy head. I haven't been the same since. I'm also wondering if my symptoms are migraine related? I've had 2 full blood tests done and 2 urine samples taken. All came back normal/clear and healthy. I've also been to see an ENT consultant who ruled out an inner ear virus. He also checked my throat and balance. I had a full eye examination last week and my eyes are in great shape. I have an MRI booked next week and also an appointment to get an ECG recorder fitted for 48 hours.
My symptoms are so broad and general, it could be a number of things... I have even considered CFS. Now I'm thinking it could be hormone related? I feel more anxious not knowing what this is!
Is anybody experiencing anything similar?
Any replies/advice would be greatly appreciated x
Hello carlacupcake,
Reading your list I'v ticked off everything except the frequent urination
I'v felt really odd and off balance for over 20 months now but think i may of started perimenopause 2 years ago. I have had every test known to man and are all clear except i was found to be hypoglycaemic (low blood sugar) and have to eat something every 3 hrs to keep my levels even but its very hard when you have no appetite and continually nauseas. The brain frog is very hard at work and mu balance is really frightening me and now dont go out to far on my own. The anxiety is debilitating and i'm so sick of feeling like this, i used to be such an independent person but that has gone. Sorry i'v not helped you at all but just wanted you to know your not alone with these horrid symptoms i really feel for you. saty in touch. sending you a hug x
Hello guys no ur definatly not alone. I have been the same for about 20 months now and only just had it confirmed I'm perimenopausal I have all the same symptoms. I appeared on Alan titchmarsh programe on wed regarding the,menopause and one of the things I was given was a ladycare magnet u wear just inside,the top of ur,knickets its a magnetic device that's designed to help,in the,menopause. I,have worn it for 2 days now day and night and I haven't had one hot flush at all. And was having upto 20 sum days. U can buy from boots they are definatly worth trying. Hope this helps xx
Hi anxiousface (feels wrong calling you that :-D)
Thank you very much for your reply. I am really sorry you are also going through the same awful symptoms! I was beginning to think I was perhaps the only one! It has really helped knowing I am not alone or going mad! I'm totally with you on how much these symptoms effect your quality of life... I often feel I am trapped inside somebody else's mind and body. What happened? Where did I go? Yes, the anxiety and brain fog are debilitating and I would not wish either on anyone.
What coping strategies are you using just now? Silly question perhaps, but have you had your hormone and vitamin levels checked? Have you considered alternative therapies?
Do keep in touch and let me know how you are getting on. I hear you and I am here for you!
Sending a hug to you too x
Hi Julie,
Thank you for your reply too. Much appreciated! So you can also identify with all these weird symptoms?
Did you also go through a series of tests etc... before finally being diagnosed?
My female GP is saying it is Anxiety. Hormonal changes have not yet been discussed. Since a couple people recently brought to my attention it could be hormone related, I have booked an app with the nurse next week, to have bloods done and hormone levels checked. I was also informed a few tests would need to be carried out as hormones fluctuate so much. Do you mind me asking why they took so long to confirm you were perimenopausal?
I didn't see the show yesterday and am wondering if I could watch it on catch up or youtube? If I am perimenopausal, I'd really like to try the product. Glad to hear it is working for you and your symptoms have settled. I don't actually get the hot flushes. Yet!
Thanks again for your helpful reply x
I thought I was going crazy until someone suggested maybe I am perimenopausal....headaches, extreme anxiety, foggyness, dizziness, you name it........
Has anyone tried HRT - does it work?????
Hi because the anxiety just came on so suddenly I was just diagnosed with this. I did have a hormone test a few months into it which actualy confirmed I was not perimenopausal.but 10th months later they re took the test which this time told me i was !! I still have good and bad days re the anxiety. I also suffer from a foggy head and a general feeling of bein unwell. Tbh I'm sick of feeling ill
Hello Julie,
Sorry your having a bad time, i completely know what your going through, I think my anxiety started when i got ill last year, i kept feeling i was going to faint which panicked me. I had all tests you could imagine but had to wait for them for months upon months and in the meantime became worse and i feel developed anxiety. Know i feel it was all part of perimenopausal symptoms being 51 now but this hasn't been confirmed yet. I go the my consultant on 7th Nov and will ask for my blood hormone level although i believe should have several tests as hormones fluctuate. If she says my hormone level is stable then i don't know what's happening to me. I feel so unbalanced most days which is very unnerving. I seem to get in a bit of a panic just trying to make a meal when iv come home from work perhaps because im so tired. I get nervous at work if anyone comes in and i have to stand with them as i feel i could faint but must say i haven't actually fainted cos i quickly sit down. The foggy head feeling is so weird its hard to describe and like you i generally feel weak and unwell every single day. Its so not far iv always has period problem and hormonal problem and now this, my sister who's 4 years older than me have not had a single symptom. We must tell ourselves we'll get through it even when times are hard. Stay calm and take care of yourself x
Hi hun thanks for ur reply. We sound exactly the same infact in bed now as felt dizzy all day. I just wish I could find something that will help. Just trying the ladycare magnet which has taken my hot flushes away completly but felt I had palpatations and feel dizzy and sick . We will get through it tho. Just didn't realise it was so difficult best wishes x
This is really for Tanya because it's about HRT but it's also for anyone going into the menopause because all these anxiety states and general fogginess is totally like going into the menopause. I had loads of problems and had not really considered being menopausal but I probably was. However, I had a hysterectomy in 2007 after it was realised I had massive fibroids which were causing problems, - that's a long story but not really relevant to this discussion thread. I had previously been told I was probably menopausal and that I couldn't have the hysterectomy as the fibroids would shrink once my oestrogen level went down, but new circumstances changed that and I did have the surgery. A few months before that I had started to have very severe COLD sweating, not hot sweats like any normal woman, but as this continued up to the hysterectomy I immediately begged them to put me on HRT in the hope that this miserable symptom would disappear. Within 2 weeks they had stopped!! I was and still am delighted that I had the support of the hospital in prescribing HRT immediately I'd had the surgery. I started on the lowest dose but was still getting the cold sweats when I went to the gym, I would be exercising and instead of getting hotter I was freezing through and through and sweating buckets, so I went to my GP and asked for the higher dose of HRT which I have taken ever since, with no side effects at all. HRT gets a mixed press but what matters is how YOU feel about taking it, and whether YOU have any problems with taking it. We're all different, I have a friend who can hardly take any medication at all without severe side effects, whereas I can take anything with no trouble at all. I hope this helps a few people with some of the many concerns that have been expressed in this discussion. All the best, Alison
Hey everyone... Anxiousface, Julie, Tanya & Alison.
How are you all doing? I had a good appointment with my nutritional naturopath yesterday and am about to completely change my diet and add various supplements to my diet too. These changes should, we are hopeful, alleviate some of the awful symptoms. I haven't had perimenopause confirmed yet and have an app with the nurse this Friday, to have bloods done for a hormone level check (a few of these needed I think) However, one thing is for sure, the debilitating anxiety I've had on and off for a long time, has quite possibly caused adrenal fatigue and depleted many essential nutrients in the process. I still feel perimenopause is a big player here, but anxiety as a separate entity is enough to cause or exacerbate the following... Fatigue, feeling weak and shaky, dizziness, brain fog, fuzzy head, spaced out, feeling faint, jelly legs and generally feeling ill and just not right. I'm so tired of feeling like this and the anxiety is overwhelming at times, I am willing to give anything a go! I'm told approx. 4 weeks into treatment and I should start to feel positive changes! Sending you all positive energy... x
Hey Carla,
Good luck with your treatment - let us know how it works for you ..... it already helps a lot knowing I am not alone in this..thanks to all for sharing and caring
Hi carlacupcake,
How are you today?
I have such a bad day yesterday i had to come home from work, it started with a thudding headache that kept waking me up then eased a bit at work then i suddenly went into a shivering coldness and felt i could pass out, i couldn't think straight so came home and lay down. I'm taking a day off today as i'm shattered from feeling ill and still got that thudding head. Is this something you have experienced?, I rang the GPs earlier to see if they do a series of blood test to see what my hormones are doing but the receptionist didn't know and will get the nurse to ring me back. I'm so fed up with being ill. sorry for the miserable post today. hugs x
Hi Guys, it is so reassuring to find that I am not alone in feeling all these symptoms, it really makes you feel as if you are going mad and I really don't think anyone can understand unless they've been there. The worst part of this peri menopause for me (I'm about 18 months in now) is the agitation/anxiety, followed closely by the crying (I hadn't cried in years before this all started) Some days I feel just on top of it but sometimes it overwhelms me and it's quite frightening. I've recently gone to a naturopath (tried HRT and wasn't keen) so i'm hopeful that the change in diet (gluten free, lactose free and sugar free!! but anything is worth a try) will help. I feel ok at the moment but then I do have a week or so of ok and then WHAM, back it all comes. I have daily headaches and light headed spells, the hot flushes aren't so bad for me. I was also struggling with sleeping but what has helped me is Quiet Life tablets (natural). Doctors try to help but I think only doctors who have been through this themselves would truly be able to help, I had no idea that going through the menopause was so complicated!
Hello Flops, OMG whats happening to us? Good to hear from you it just makes me feel this is not all in my head. Like you i have all of a sudden developed anxiety, i get really dizzy and feel off balance most days. I don't know how far i'm in perimenopause as i didn't know about all these horrendous symptoms until i started to research so much myself as i got ill last year and any tests doctors have done came back ok except for the hypoglycemia and i blood pressure keeps dipping to low. I really relate to carlacupcakes list as i experience everything except frequent urination. I have not had the crying like you although i do feel like doing it many times (poor you its not nice).
I agree that no one understands unless they have been through this, my sister who's 4 years older than me has no gone through anything, her periods just stopped one day, She just says you've got to get on with your life and ignore it but as we know that's not possible our hormones dominate and dictate how we feel. I just can't believe how tired i get and no energy, i used to have my housework, shopping and washing done all on a Saturday but these days i take forever. I've not had a hot flush (yet) but like you i have a headache every day. let me know how the diet goes. take care and hope we get through this horrid time in our life. sending you a hug x
Hi anxiousface, thank you so much for your kind words and consideration. I'll let you know how the diet goes, i'm going in to the 3rd week and i'm hopeful as I do feel a little better and I've had a really good day today, but I've had good weeks before and then gone back to all the horrid symptoms. As I said before I don't think anyone understands unless they've actually experienced it, I am getting on with my life but when it's at it's worst it practically makes me immobile, even going to say something to someone and I literally can't talk or it comes out gobbildigook - bizarre. And it's not funny at work when your brain goes numb!! I get flushes sometimes but they are mild and don't worry me much. Walking helps with the agitation/anxiety (the worst symptom for me), I walk for a mile, have a really good cry (!!) and then feel much better, the dogs don't mind 
. As you say, hopefully one day soon we can look back at this horrible/weird time and wonder what it was all about, and we will always understand those who have yet to go through it. I always thought my periods would stop one day and that would be it!! I hope you find some relief soon, I guess it's just finding what works for us. Hug back to you xxx
You could be me, have all them symptoms......its a shame that they cannot find a drug or something that will help during this time, my kids all doing their own thing, should be a good time for me and my husband, but instead im a moany anxious sweaty mess most of the time and the only movement in the bedroom is me throwing the duvet of frequently lol, im blessed to have him but still think he deserves a medal sometimes
Hello andrea66776
Welcome and good to hear from you, its such a horrid time, no one warned me about this and anyone I've spoken to just flew through the menopause so look at me as if i'm mad. I've just been out Christmas shopping with my husband as i don't go anywhere on my own any more and i did want to go but was so dizzy and anxious when i got there i had to come home so i'll have to go on line this year which isn't the same. I totally know what you mean about our husbands, mine is such a trouper and understanding so far but i've only been like this for maybe two year and i read it could last ten. Like you my son has left home and life should of easier but with this perimenopause i feel trapped and just want my life back. I so envy everyone who can do normal things. Sorry i'll stop moaning now. What i should be saying is we can fight this and we will come through it. take care of your self. sending you a hug x