SEVERE ANXIETY & MENOPAUSE

[pauli50]

Looking for a bit of advice. I have suffered from periods of quite severe anxiety over my life-I have just turned 50. In the last 4 weeks I have had quite a bad spell. It starts when I can't sleep and then all the catastrophic thinking starts. I continue to work but I have felt the anxiety and panic attacks are so bad that I have felt suicidal. I have been put on Citalopram- 4th week but I have been reading a lot about menopause and anxiety. I have hot flushes, nausea, irregular and very heavy periods. My self confidence is gone and I am beginning to wonder if anxiety is being exacerbated by the menopause.

Really sorry to hear this but if I had a £1 for every time I've posted this here, I'd be a billionaire.

You need HRT not ADs. This is the medical advice of NICE. You can read the Nice menopause guidelines yourself- online- just google- and look at the section diagnosis and managing short term symptoms. It states clearly that ADs have no place in treating anxiety in menopausal women. Also look at the website of dr Louise Newson (My Menopause Dr) and she has lots of info about this topic.

www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/menopause/women-need-hrt-not-antidepressants

www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/menopause/menopause-and-depression

Thanks so much-going to check the NICE guidelines. Its like a perfect storm-very ill elderly parents who live a distance away, life changes & I am frightened that this is the start of months of anxiety that I can't cope with.

Has anything helped in the past? Since this is life long. Is there anything you did in the past that helped that you're not doing now?

Whether medication or just time helped me through but to be honest I worry about the eventualities of life and the age I am and life changes both physically and emotional are affecting me.I have tried to keep going to the gym and lose some more weight as I had set a target of weight loss this year.

So you took lots of medication in the past?

Please listen to Jingling. You need HRT.

OP - please visit your GP, you sound like you would benefit from HRT. Horrific anxiety coupled with catastrophic thoughts are most definitely part of peri menopause. Have a look at the menopause doctor on Instagram. X

Sorry OP just realised that @JinglingHellsBells posted about the menopause doctor (Louise Newson). You'll get sound advice from her. Try not to get so overwhelmed. There is lots of help out there. Keep talking about it too - that helps.