Anxiety and hormones

[clc951]

I am in Menopause and I have been on hormones for the past year or so.  I stopped taking the hormones, mostly because I ran out and thought perhaps I didn't need them anymore.  Dumb I guess.  No one ever told me how to get off hormones, rather gradually or all at once.  The very next month I was driving and all of a sudden I got faint.  A few weeks later I had my first (and only so far) panic attack.  Once again I was driving when it happened.  I went back on the hormones right away thinking that it might have had something to do with it.  Now I have anxiety daily, but what concerns me most is driving and having more faint feelings.  Does anyone know if you get your hormones back in check, that the anxiety will go away?    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[marshmallow]

Hi Peggy
You said you have thyroid related anxiety and I also have a thyroid nodule tha tis hyperactive and has caused anxiety and a fast hearbeat. I will have surgery byt he endo fNovebmer. But int hemeantime, how are you coping with the anxiety? My doctor gave me Ativan to take as necessary.But I was thinking of going toa naturopath but am scared to right now, don't know how it would affect the thyroid.
Also I started the pre-menopause a tthe same time that they discovered that my thyroid was hyperactive, so they think it affected my periods and ut me into pre-menopause

Sophie

[peggy64]

I was reading that borage oil helps with womens issues and this anxiety that goes along with it. I am trying it out now, as I have thyroid related anxiety. And possibly female hormone related as they all seem to be interconnected. When one goes kaput, it seems they all follow suit.

So much fun...

[Rite760]

You hit the nail on the head! If someone could just tell us it goes away completely after the meno is finished I think I could feel more control. I often think, what if it's still there after the meno, but then I think, well it wasn't there before it! But I wish we had that hope as more of a certainty.

[clc951]

I think the biggest part of getting through this anxiety / panic attacks is knowing that other have gone through the same thing. As much I as hate living with it, it gives some peace to hear others sharing their experience.  Now if someone would just be able to tell us that it goes away ( completely ).  So far, I haven't heard that.  This forum has given me so many answers.  Sure it doesn't replace a doctor, but it gives you the insight so you can ask questions.  Doctors tend to pass it off to anxiety alone.  But when one day you are normal, and the next day you are freaking out for no reason, you expect to answers and a solution.   I, too, when right back on the hormones thinking it would make it go away.  It didn't.   I only have one fear, I fear passing out when I get  lightheaded driving. Other than that I am winning my battle.  I take xanax only when I drive on the freeway.  Perhaps when I take the pill I am just telling myself that I not suppose to be anxious, or perhaps they do work and block the attack.  I've only had one panic attack, but I am constantly thinking about it when I drive.  I look forward to the day that a drive in the car is a peaceful again.   Thank you for sharing.

[Rite760]

Hi, I have been in your position so exactly! I have been on a premature menopause for 3 yrs which has nearly killed me. Last year I decided to just stop my HRT and let it end on its own once and for all. Within a week I was having acute anxiety and unbearable panic attacks like I've never had in my life. So I went straight back on HRT like you assuming it would make everything right again. Only it didn't. And a year on I'm still confused as to why it all happened this way. Then last month my endo decided to stop the HRT again to see if the menopause had ended for good coz I was still having periods on it, and to see if it was the HRT that was making me so panicky, and it terrified me. Although I have never stopped feeling anxious since last year I hadn't been quite as bad as when I first stopped it. Anyway, 6 weeks on and I'm still surviving. I haven't had a period either thank god. It's difficult to say if it's better or worse, but at the moment I'm thinking it might be a little bit better. To be honest if I had my time again I would never have ever gone on it in the first place and let everything happen naturally. I have been told that whether I'm on it or off it, what causes the panic is the swing in hormones from high to low or vice versa. When you are on HRT you have higher swings because you have the oestrogen from the HRT and then on some days, you have a burst of your own on top of it. I'm beginning to think that's what does it, but to this day I'm still confused. And am back in the situation of having to decide whether to go back on it again as I've just found out i'm on the way to osteoporosis. I'm sorry this answer is so long, but I just wanted you to understand that I know how you feel, but it is very hard getting other people to understand especially the docs, some of whom just label you as nervous. But it is a known fact that panic attacks are a part of the menopause so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I just hope and pray that it all ends as quickly as possible because I've had enough! Hope this helps to know you are not alone. Wish I could tell you if it's better on or off HRT but I'm still trying to figure that one out myself! Good luck.