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Menopause

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Original poster

Dread- menopause related?

15 replies

PollyPollyPollyPolly · 12/04/2022 14:59

This might sound odd but I know that the menopause can cause emotional changes.

I've had a few nights recently where I've been dropping off to sleep or woken from sleep to a feeling of absolute dread and horror, so strong it's almost physical. It's not the same thing as ordinary night time worries but something more like the very physical freezing in fear that comes with a nightmare and a real crushing feeling of hopelessness and despair. Once I've got back to sleep (which can take a while) I then feel fine.

Anyone had similar? I don't have any MH issues and am generally happy and have no reason to feel like this- it really feels like something physically-based despite it being something I feel, if that makes any sense. I'm 45, on Cerazette, just started using Ovestin, no other menopause symptoms except occasionally feeling a bit doddery.

OP posts:

Chikapu · 13/04/2022 16:20

I had a horrible feeling of dread for about six weeks last year that was attributed to menopause, I could feel my heart pounding and my stomach dropping for absolutely no reason. I'd burst into tears and sob at the drop of a hat and couldn't explain why, it was awful. It did go away after I started taking a vitamin B12 supplement, though I'm not sure if it's really connected.
I hope you feel better soon.

Ohhhthepain · 13/04/2022 16:34

It was definitely a symptom for me, I’m on HRT now but if I miss a day or so the dread creeps back. It did take about 5 months to get the hormone balance right for me.

user1498572889 · 13/04/2022 16:45

It was a symptom for me for a few months then came the anxiousness. Luckily all the menopause symptoms only lasted about a year. I do find I get anxious easier now when I never did before.

SierpinskiSquare · 13/04/2022 20:19

It's a definite thing. I was shocked by it as I'd always been level headed and content person. It disappeared when the hrt kicked it. I also caught myself feeling irrationally angry and anxious. It's amazing how hormones can make you feel.

I wonder if it was amplified by the Covid pandemic.

DidgeDoolittle · 13/04/2022 20:24

Yup, I had this every morning when I went through the menopause. It didn't last long but it was truly awful whilst it lasted. Even knowing it would pass after a few minutes didn't make it much easier. Several of my friends had it as well. It will stop eventually.

EarringsandLipstick · 13/04/2022 20:33

Absolutely. One of the worst symptoms I had.

HRT thankfully mostly removed it.

Furryfeet · 14/04/2022 14:05

Hi - I am glad I found this thread as I came on today to ask about this very thing! This has been bothering me for a few months and affects my sleep (although that could be hot flashes, never sure what exactly wakes me up). At first I thought the knot in my stomach was to do with lockdown/work stress/homeworking/family issues, each time I notch it up to something different but it is like the feeling that I get when I'm sitting at the top of a rollercoaster waiting to plummet. I have just switched HRT after 8 weeks on Elleste 1mg and no change. Sometimes I wonder if I have just developed a mh condition as it is there so much. I used to be great at taking things a day at a time but physical dread really gets in the way. I've started taking 5-htp to see if that helps. Hope these posts help to put your feelings in some sort of context.

Iheartmysmart · 14/04/2022 14:10

That was the main reason I started HRT. An uncontrollable feeling of dread followed by being absolutely freezing cold no matter what the weather and bizarrely really achy legs . I was expecting hot flushes but not that!

Furryfeet · 14/04/2022 15:04

@Iheartmysmart

That was the main reason I started HRT. An uncontrollable feeling of dread followed by being absolutely freezing cold no matter what the weather and bizarrely really achy legs

. I was expecting hot flushes but not that!

Did you have a good GP? It must have taken some considerable skill to recognise those as hormonal symptoms. All the GP's at my practice seem insistent that if you're not regularly soaked in sweat then you're just imagining it

Iheartmysmart · 14/04/2022 15:12

Weirdly she’s not usually that great but seemed very open to the idea that if hormone fluctuations could cause hot flushes then it was perfectly reasonable they could cause cold ones too. They have all gone since I started HRT.

Words · 14/04/2022 15:16

Yes, I had that. Awful.

Furryfeet · 14/04/2022 15:53

I find it interesting that on this thread a distinction has been drawn between dread and anxiety. I really identify with this. I also find that recent months I have moments of feeling more 'afraid' than anything, but I can't really put my finger what the difference is between these emotions. I totally get what you mean too Pollyx4 about it being almost physical

Abra1d1 · 14/04/2022 16:03

I had this every night just as I was falling asleep. It is caused by falling oestrogen dropping.

Movinghouseatlast · 15/04/2022 16:18

Yes, I have had this. I wish zi had started HRT earlier instead of trying to treat it myself with natural remedies! However, St John's Wort and 5htp did take the edge off for me.

Shirtyllama · 16/04/2022 20:53

I had this too, a dread that was definitely different from feeling down or a bit depressed or anxious. And now I think about it, since I started taking HRT a few months ago, dread and joint pain have both gone (hope I'm not jinxing this!). Still sometimes anxious or down, which is fairly common for me, but the dread, which was new, has quietened. V glad about that!

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