Am I going mad

[SarfEasticated]

I am 44, my period is a week late, and for that week I have had terrible PMT, feeling a bit paranoid, jittery, emotional and generally a bit out of control tbh. It's a bit scary, as I feel on the verge of furious outbursts and then tears. Not very nice for the rest of the family.
Is it menopause? Is it mental illness? Am i going to be like this for ever and what can i do about it.

PMT gets worse in the peri meno.

Not sure what to suggest but there is lots of info on the web about diet and supplements that might help.

I'm nearly 46, and have been going through the menopause for about four years now. My worse symptom has been anxiety - jittery is a really good description- and it is VERY scary. My Dr gave me anti-d's which I'm still on and have really helped me. I was still having periods, although extremely heavy and irregular, getting run down, iron deficient and tired. I finally have had a Mirena coil fitted at the end of January which has significantly reduced the bleeding. I take a HRT patch for extra oestrogen, and generally feel on an "even keel". If you have a Meno Clinic near you then it's worth enquiring about as you don't have to have actually stopped your periods to take HRT. You could go on for years feeling anxious etc, and it could all be down to oestrogen depletion taking place in your body. Menopause Matters and this forum are all excellent sources of information, but the main thing is knowing there are other women going through the same and you are not going insane!!

Ahh frazzle, that's really interesting. So that feeling of anxiety is menopause related. I wonder how many other woman feel that way but don't know the cause. It is pretty scary. I will go and see my doc if it happens again next month, see if he can refer me. Your advice has been really useful thanks. :)

Oh wow, i'm so pleased someone else is experiencing the anxiety. Well, not pleased obviously, probably mean relieved.
I've been having hot flushes and various things for about 5 years now. Not had a period for 18 months and still getting the sweats but it's the anxiety that's really getting me down now.
It is the worst feeling ever and it comes on so suddenly and feels so scary. It disappears for a while but creeps back with no warning.
Keep thinking i should visit the doctor. I know i can't have HRT cos my sis had breast cancer. Wondering about Prozac or something cos i have taken that in the past for PMT. This is so much worse though.

I've had Sertraline anti-depressants and they have really helped me. It's good for anxiety. What I think is so horrible is the feeling of doom without really knowing why you feel like it. I've always been worse late afternoon, and in the middle of the night when I used to wake up a lot. The AD's have helped me to sleep too. I still get night sweats, restless legs and other lovely menopausal symptoms, but it's the anxiety I can't live with ....

When I went through the menopause I felt very touchy about everything and felt quite negative. I didn't want to go down the HRT route so took Black Cohosh which worked well for me.