Working and perimenopause - has anyone else not been able to cope?

[Frenchroots]

I am on HRT but still find the anxiety that work gives me means I can’t sleep and then a vicious cycle of exhaustion and anxiety makes work even harder. Has anyone else had to ditch their long-worked for career to do something low stress (with inevitably low pay)?

This is my ‘regime’. Started with HRT about 2 years ago when perimenopause kicked in and my anxiety and sleep were so poor I had to take 2 months off work sick and nearly quit my job. I thought I was having a breakdown. Horrendous time.,

HRT
Low dose antidepressant
High dose vitamin D, Vit B complex, iron supplements
Regular exercise - yoga, walking, weights
Ditch alcohol & limit caffeine

This combination has kept my anxiety at bay and my sleep decent since then. I’ll be damned if I’m giving up my career at 47 when my kids are nearly grown up and it’s just getting going seriously.

Yes, all of that resonates. 53, low paid job, but mentally tiring. In menopause, have secondary cancer, not allowed HRT because of this. I don't want to take an anti depressant, as my cancer drugs are enough poison! Anxiety, mood swings, dry body, no libido.. it's really really crap!! No clue what to do.

Just had 8 months off work for a hysterectomy and to deal with shite cancer. I've already dropped one day, so work 4 days a week. But even that is exhausting me. Ideally I don't want to work at all, but finances don't allow. I wouldn't even qualify for ill health retirement, as I can do my job, I am just shattered at the end of each day!

Maybe they will sack me instead!

Which anti depressant do you take?

I take fluoxetine (Prozac) 20mg daily.

Prozac got me through the anxiety period too - I was pulling into a supermarket car park near work for my morning panic attack and HRT wasn’t having any effect on it. A low dose of Prozac sorted it in a month, but I stayed on it for 9 months just to be sure it had settled and I had appropriate coping strategies in place.