Help please!,

[BlitzenandMikey]

I’m 47 and have been experiencing menopausal symptoms for a while now. Last period was 5 months ago. Night sweats, anxiety, disturbed sleep and worst of all, anxiety whilst driving! I saw a GP in Jan reagarding a different issue and mentioned it then. I had breast cancer 10 years ago and GP said he would not be willing to prescribe HRT; but to speak to another GP who was more knowledgeable. I an going to do just that. Cannot tolerate this much more. I’ve tried sage and black cohosh ( not meant to) but to no avail. What can I do?

Thanks.

I suggest you ask your other GP for a referral to a menopause expert re, the HRT.

My consultant has said they prescribe certain types of HRT to women who have had BC as the risks with HRT vary quite lot depending on the type of HRT. And quality of life is also a consideration .

It depends hugely on the type of BC you had.

There is a new book out called Estrogen Matters by a dr in the US who is a cancer specialist. His wife and daughter have both had BC but are using HRT- he is convinced that estrogen does not cause BC.
He was interviewed on Woman's Hour a few months back- might be still on iPlayer.

Not saying you would be given HRT but you need a really good, up to date meno specialist to help you.

I don't know what else might help, but there is a bit of evidence that acupuncture might help flushes etc if that's an option?

Maybe Tibolone is an option. It is SERMs and considered safer than conventional hrt. You definitely need an expert who can cooperate with your oncologist.

clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/13/14/4185

Thanks both of you.
It was oestrogen positive cancer and am not under the oncologist any longer. However I do need something as I don’t feel myself at all. The anxiety part is the hardest to cope with; what is that about, does anyone know? I can’t not drive, yet I can’t have panic attack’s in the car either! Fed up.

You could try something like CBT for the anxiety- there are short courses online/ free and CBT exercises you can do (online.)

If you want to find a specialist in your area, there is a list here,

thebms.org.uk/find-a-menopause-specialist/

Many will accept self-referrals ( if they are private consultants) and you could if possible pay for your first appt then perhaps be referred back to the NHS.

I don't think many GPs will be able to help with this, being honest.

Hope you feel good soon! 💐

I am 48. Had the same issues.
I was prescribed anti depressants which I was reluctant to take. However they've worked wonders. The anxiety has gone. The first 2 weeks were awful though. I was nauseous but I'm glad to continue with them for now.

Thanks for all the info Jingles, much appreciated. Might give CBT a go! Thank you too Emerald :-)

Avintall which AD’ s were you prescribed if you don’t mind me asking? How nauseous were you? I may see if this is an option for me too.

Hi, it's sertraline, 50mg a day. Nausea was awful for almost 2 weeks but manageable and I feel so much better now that I'm glad I persevered. The anxiety I suffered (for no apparent reason) prior to taking them was far worse.
Good luck

Hi all
I have an appointment with a decent Gp next week. Going to discuss everything with her and really dont want to leave, unless I have a prescription for something to take away the flushes and anxiety.

For anyone who takes HRT or something else effective, how long did it take for the flushes to disappear?

Took about 4 days for my flushes to go but I had to get the dose right. I use Oestrogel. I started with 1 pump on consultant's advice, this stopped daytime flushes right up to 11pm but to sleep well and not get hot I had to increase to 2 pumps- that's 1.25mgs estrogen.

Hi all
Saw my GP yesterday. She isn’t happy to prescribe any type of HRT until she’s sought advice from the oncologist. I have emailed the oncologist myself, to get an opinion. GP has prescribed 20mg dose of fluoxetine. Anyone taken this? How did you get on? Did it reduce the hot flushes?
Quality of life is key to me. First I suffer on tamoxifen, now the menopause. It’s a no brainer, I want HRT yet it could be a no.

So glad to read about the driving anxiety. I had exactly the same, didn't compute it was anxiety, I would just feeling very odd and like I wasn't in full control. It did lead to a panic attack twice after I got to my destination, and once when I had to stop and to calm down before I could continue with my journey. I used to travel very early in the morning and that's when it was worse, and also worse in the winter in the dark.

I ended up working from home most days from home. At the time, I hadn't really linked it with the menopause. Once I realised that it was anxiety (also suffered from health anxiety) linked to the hormones, it got better. I tried hrt and it did help a bit with that but then made other symptoms worse so I stopped. I have been back to driving early morning to work for 6 months and I've been OK, no sense of anxiety driving for the last 6 months (did experienced it on a long walk 3 weeks ago though!)

I have found doing mindfulness/breathing exercise very helpful, mainly to accept it if I feel the mild symptoms so that they don't escalate to anything worse. I now almost laugh when it hits me, found I can talk about it with my OH in a 'oh here we go, anxiety banging on the door' and trust that it will go away soon so that I'm not scared of how I feel any longer.