Health anxiety in peri menopause?

[SnowOnStPatricksDay]

I've 45, and have been peri menopause for a couple of years - irregular periods, symptoms associated with hormone fluctuations etc.

Since then, I seem to have become hyper-aware of gynae symptoms - not helped by their fact that I spent a few years working in the gynae dept of a hospital so have read the horror stories (tumours the size of a grapefruit etc etc).

My GP doesn't fill me with confidence - when I had a spell of bleeding after sex, I went to the surgery (saw the nurse not a GP), only to be offered "the pill" - I had to insist on being referred for a scan, and the scan picked up a fibroid - although I've not been offered any treatment for that.

I'm currently experiencing symptoms that could indicate an ovarian problem - bloating, feeling full, change in bowel movements and a dragging dull pain in my lower abdomen. Rationally, I'm sure it's nothing more than a sedentary lifestyle and the impending menopause, and I know that if I try and get a GPs appointment, I'll 1) have to argue to get seen at all and 2) be offered the pill and have to insist on further tests and I'll end up more stressed and anxious than I am now.

I'm not generally prone to anxiety - but I do seem to be worrying about this more than is comfortable. I've even looked online and have found a local service that does CA125 blood testing privately - but it's not easily affordable.

Not sure why I'm posting tbh - just helps to put it in writing!

HA seems to be rife on MN. There must be lots of support boards somewhere.

All your symptoms sound familiar to me - I have had the same bloating, digestion problems and dragging pain. For me it seems to be down to hormonal imbalance and I keep a diary which helps me see that my symptoms are cyclical.

When was your abdominal scan? They would've checked your ovaries then. The dragging pain may well be from the fibroids so you could ask for a further scan if it was a while ago, or for blood tests. Try to take things one thing at a time, what I've found in peri is that I can catastrophise just about everything, which is really frustrating. Good luck and keep posting if it makes you feel better. Just knowing other people have experienced the same hopefully helps.

Perhaps ask your doctor for ca125. I had it done through gp last year along with ultrasound and had similar symptoms to you. Seems mine was related to fibroid.

I think one reason for health anxiety is the sudden feeling of lack of control over our bodies. We used have regular periods and were able to use that regularity to know if something wasn't right. Then all in a sudden, there is no sense of regularity any longer and loose control over what is normal and what isn't.

Add to this that we start to hear more scary stories and that we start to be more aware of the value of our health and more focus on it and we become more anxious when something doesn't feel right.

What I've found is that acknowledging that my concerns might be due to health anxiety has helped my relationship with my GP. I tried not to be defensive when he says that there is no cause for concern. I say that he is most likely right because he knows better than I but that having this or that investigation would put my mind at rest and this would help my health overall and he agrees.

Hi Snow! I think that the health anxiety in peri isn’t just psychological! It’s our body scream for estrogen that can helps it function again! For me is more a warning that our body can’t survive without estrogen and especially if there isn’t extra fat or is a younger body.