Hi everyone,
Im new here and I was just wondering if anyone else has any thoughts on fear being a big factor in many of the symtems we experience ( obviously not all of them ). It just occured to me the other day, when I got a bit of a migraine headache. I have suffered with them for years, and just learnt to cope with them, as you do, anyway now that the meno thing has hit me every time I get a migraine now its suddenly not a migraine anymore but something much more sinister, of course then I begin going through all the awful list of maladys it could be, and wham I have them all and you can bet your life that by the end of the day I have developed all the other symtems that accompany them(even though they werent there to begin with, if you know what I mean). The thing is that I know worry and stress can actually create lots of the symtems that we all seem to suffer with ie: aches pains,headaches dizzyness, lightheadedness, stomache and gastric problems, shaking, hot flushes, nausia and the list goes on and on. Just listen to our conversations and you will see what I mean. " I felt sick to my stomache", thats a commen one. Or how about "I got all hot and bothered", "my blood ran cold", " my nerves were jangling", "shaking with fear",
" my insides were trembling", " I got butterflys", " my hair stood on end". Im sure you can think of loads more. What Im thinking is that maybe a lot of the symtems we experience are not actually symptoms brought on by the actual meno thing but a side effect of a symptom. Of course that doesnt make them any less unpleasent. What do the rest of you think?

i have headaches alot and have one real bad today....it's the top of my head it hurts and tingles, my ears are burning and so i do start to worry and feel myself getting worse i'm sure it just adds to all the other junk.....cause i start to feel really anxious.....i wish it would all stop....

Hunnybunny,
Welcome to power surge!
As you explore this site you will find many of us in this same situation! I have been to so many doctors, had so many tests over the last couple of years, my doctors are driving exotic sports cars.

I wrote a post about how much power we give fear,read it and you will see I believe fear and anxiety make all the peri symptoms worse.It is horrible that fear has power,but we have to stop giving power to fear.GOD bless.

I've wondered abou this as well. I'll bet if we were all analyzed, the women with the highest level of anxiety in their make-ups would be the ones with the worst meno symptoms. I don't mean this in an insulting or condescending way, and I certainly don't mean it's all in our heads. I put myself in this category. I've always been a nervous-type person, with more than my share of phobias and fears. And I seem to have every peri symptom there is. But I have friends who sailed through all this with nary a problem, and those friends are the ones who never seemed to be afraid or anxious about anything. If you think about it...if we weren't anxious, we wouldn't be on this site to begin with. We would just go "Oh, what is that sensation? Must be peri." and then move on with our lives.

I started a thread under the "Am I losing my mind?" forum months ago about my hypochondria. I've never been like this before, was never one to worry about my health. But right about the time my symptoms started my life spun totally out of control. I don't know if my hormones triggered the anxiety, or the anxiety from the chaos started the peri symptoms. I just know that every time I turn around, I'm having another cramp, stab or tingle that's convinced me that I'm dying of something horrible. I've probably been having all this stuff all along, but never noticed it before. I've been having anxiety attacks for two days because my brain is trying to convince me that I have either bone cancer, a brain tumor or am about to have a heart attack. Why? Because I'm having some weird tingley achy sensations in my face, head and jaw. Instead of just assuming that either it's either residual effects of the sinus infection I recently recovered from, the beginnings of a cavity, or something from working in the yard Friday and Saturday -- sunburn or tight neck muscles -- I've scared myself into thinking it's something deadly.

Well, it's all part of the same thing really, one feeds the other. However, there are a lot of women who have never experienced anxiety and depression until peri hit, and you will often hear that expression it hit me 'out of the blue'. I know when I had PNI (the closest thing I know to peri), it was just like that, out walking the dog one day and wham - panic attack and the start of a 2 year long nightmare. I think what happens is the underlying shift in hormones flicks the switch, the nervous overload, the trigger (whatever you want to call it), and then the anxiety kicks in, we feel unwell, become more anxious ... and suddenly we are caught in a vicious cycle of fear/anxiety/pain/symptoms, that it is difficult to escape from. It depletes us, exhausts our adrenal system, we lose sleep ... and before we know it, we are in big trouble.

The real problem is, that anxiety/fear can manifest itself in so many very real, very painful physical symptoms, and it seems impossible to believe that fear alone is the cause. It just has to be something more serious! There has to be something terribly wrong ... and that triggers more fear/anxiety which triggers more symptoms and we are trapped in this terrible downward spiral. Someone on here posted a list of the symptoms that can be caused by anxiety - it was unbelievable. My latest thing has been seeing things out of the corner of my eye. Lilke ghosts, or white butterflies flitting by, or flashes of light. Scares the hell out of me - this is a new one, never had this before, no one's written about this on Power Surge - OMG this has to be serious, maybe I'm being haunted by evil spirits or something lol?!?!? Lo and behold! It's there on that list as one of the symptoms of anxiety!

I remember my bad back after my daughter was born. Pain like you wouldn't believe. I couldn't stand up straight. I was convinced the epidural they gave me (I had a caesarian) had damaged my spine, or worse, I had cancer or some dreaded disease. When the doc told me it was anxiety I wanted to hit him! Impossible. Pain like that, that made me hobble like an old woman had to be something serious. I was put on ADs and as I slowly recovered from the anxiety/depression the backache disappeared. It had all been caused by the way I was holding myself. Every muscle tensed with the fight or flight response. There was nothing physical wrong with my back at all.

Claire Weekes and others advocate ignoring or floating above the symptoms when they hit. Yes. I feel dizzy like I am going to pass out ... but I know what it is, it's anxiety, bring it on...' That kind of approach. How it works is that it seems to lessen the power of the symptoms. 'I know what you are, and I'm not scared of you, do your worst ...' kind of thing. Maybe there are ladies out there who can do that naturally ... that's their approach to illness and life in general, and so they kind of rise above it all and consequently their symptoms are reduced to the extent that they are not bothered by them.

Sitting watching TV late last night I got shooting pains in my temple for no apparent reason, real bad, real scary. My first thought? Same as you - something terrible. Then I realised I was sitting there with my jaw clenched. Watching TV with my mouth and jaw tight and anxious and as soon as I relaxed the shooting pains disappeared.

The Claire Weekes approach works wonders. It requires work but it's worth it. If you haven't got her books already, I can't recommend them highly enough.

HI everyone,

Jenny, that was ME,,,LOL..I posted that list on the AM I STARTING PERIMENOPAUSE forum ... and yes, anxiety can cause unbelieveable symptoms....things you'd NEVER have thought possible!!! I know for myself, that anxiety and then FEAR can bring on some whacko things, anything from shaking, burning, vibrating, nausea, lightheadedness, sinus pain, head pain, temple pressure, on and on .... and then because you get so darn afraid, MORE bizzarre symptoms appear, and then you're SURE you're dying!
LOL! oh man, when this all started, i was PETRIFIED, convinced i was dying. Every pain, every sensation, every symptom was
frightening. I felt so alone! I never even dreamed it was peri in the first place, and even then, I was still convinced nobody had it like ME, and that I probably was the only one who was REALLY dying! LOL .... oh boy!

So, yeah, anxiety and fear are the "wonder twins", as far as making us loose what little minds we may still have left! I think my brain is on vacation right now, I don't think I'm thinking at all!!! But, then, thank God, there are the "good" days, when I seem to be a little more of myself. Also, just another thought, but, I noticed that when I would take a xanax, a lot of my symptoms would disappear, so my "commrades", tis true, anxiety may be the culprit!!!! (however, i do believe it's doubled if not tripled during peri)

sincerely, MyDarling

Hello: This is my first response to this board, and thank God for all of you !! I have had every symptom under the sun, and all of which you have just described on this thread. It is so frightening, every day, day-in-and-day-out. I can barely concentrate, do my job (part-time), talk to people, go anywhere, without panicking. I have terrible symptoms that make me feel like I'm going to pass out. I, too, have seen many docs and tried many supplements. All my tests are normal (blood work, CAT scans, x-rays, EKGs, echoes). I am trying SamE and L-trytophan now, as natural mood-boosters. I will have to let you know how they work in the next few weeks. Sometimes I wonder if I'll make it through the night. Mornings are the worst, when everyone leaves (my kids are older now, but live at home). My husband has been my rock, as have my girlfriends, but I hate to go on and on about the same fears !! I have got every book, every yoga manual, I pray, etc., and just keep hoping for some light at the end of the tunnel. This has been going on for about six months, and am afraid I have awhile to do, as I keep having periods. Does anyone else's symptoms change from hour-to-hour? It seems impossible that every day, no matter what, SO MANY symptoms happen? My worst fear is a terminal illness, and secondly, being put in a mental ward! Any words of advice will be appreciated. Thank you so much!!

Hi Newauntie and everyone!

This is my first post too and I am sooo happy to have found this place. I feel like I am going insane! I am 45 yrs old. Never had depression (had I hour bouts of the blues when i was pregnant - was this hormonal too?). BUT in the last 8 months since my period went haywire I have had panic attacks, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, hypochondria, nausea, feel weird, can't cope at times and i have three kids! Now im getting teary, just had a week off work coz i felt so low so sick (generalised), like i wasn't coping. Freaked the **** out of me! Im exhausted ALL the time. I don't smoke, rarely drink alcohol, have healthy diet. But i dont have time to exercise. Even writing this makes me feel panicked. How do people cope with this? I have gone through 2 years of dental work, titanium implants and root canal. Wonder if this has exacerbated it.
Im on St John's wort (4th day), vit C, L-lysine (constant coldsores), and for a while had B12 injections as i dont absorb it due to H Pylori in stomach. I have always given myself a hard time if i was sick, makes me feel 'weak'...I think this makes everything worse. Looking back at how many symptoms i have makes me feel a bit panicky, I need some help. My doc is sympathetic but baffled. All tests (hormonal, Ct on body ultrasound) normal. LOw iron, zinc.

Sorry so long. Have never put all this into words.

dear hunny bunny ,
as i write 2 u . iam still in tears from all day long . why , just as u said the fear thing . the same panic torments me all the time , my heart is going 2 stop , why is my heart racing then why is my pulse none existant . i have had severe gut problems 4 more than 1 yr . many test only neg . result was diseased gallbladder had it out in may no relief from my pain at all and the fear has gotten worse . the gut thing makes it hard 2 breath . i do not know what 2 tell u except i wish god would touch us all . i do not believe in ads or meds , sorry i had nothing but horrible things happen 2 me when i did try them . fear is in our brain and only feels real when in fact it is not , but i have not figured out how not 2 panic when the feelings start . yr not alone . we all new 2 b healed . bless u
mookiehantamom@yahoo.com (roxanne )

I can relate to all these posts. I'm 52 and almost over the other side.. I've gone to the light Even in the later stages I would do something one day, no fuss, gloat at how brave I was, then next day wake in total panic, even when nothing was`planned for the day!

I used to have feelings that I wanted to run away, but was too scared to leave the house and never wanted to commit to anything as I would feel trapped, even tho usually I'd have a great time when I was there. Because I was nervous I would have upset stomachs and also found that certain foods would upset my stomach. Even now dairy can set it off. I also got migraines, which I never had before.

Take heart that anxiety and these darned hormones are mixed up somehow and send your body the wrong messages, hence the panic.

I read the Claire Weekes books but found more comfort in books like Jerilyn Ross etc, because I felt I needed to read about people who felt like me. Heck I even bought those mind adjusting cd's but couldn't lay down to listen (trapped).

I felt better airing how I felt on this site (see how many posts I've made) as I couldn't bottle up how I felt and I began to think my family thought I was nuts, as half of the things we come up with aren't rational, except to the ladies here, who know exactly how you feel.

It really will get better for you, though it seems to go on forever at times. (((HUGS))) to all...

Out of all the emotions we humans face, I think fear is the worst. And the hard part is, it's inescapable. Philosphers have been writing about it for thousands of years; it's part of the human condition. I sometimes marvel at how we even get up and move about our lives, when in the back of our minds, we live knowing that things can change at any moment. And it's not just the physical things; the worry that cancer might strike, or we might have a heart attack...it's the WORLD. Earthquakes, tornadoes, bridges collapsing, terrorist attacks. Early humans experienced fear because it was necessary for daily survival...it helped keep him/her alert and vigilant. But what use is it now? Worrying about cancer won't keep me any safer. Fear of dying doesn't contribute to my survival.

It's perplexing and complicated. Sometimes I just 'let go.' I pretend that everything is fine, and nothing will happen to me, and I let myself soak in that delusion for a few hours. Like a mental vacation. I know I can take back the fear any time I want, and believe me, I do.

At this moment in my life there are so many things I can/should/am afraid of. I won't go into all the details of my personal situation--those who have been around PS for a while know what is happening to me---but I'm trying really hard not let the fear of what might happen hijack my life.

Fear is the opposite of living. The expression 'frozen with fear' comes to mind. Frozen--as in NO movement. As in death.

Sorry if I'm getting weird or preachy...this is a very interesting subject...I'd like to hear more from you ladies...

[font="Comic Sans MS"][/font] This is my very first post. I don't know what I would do if not for Power Surge. You guys have saved my life. Hearing your struggles makes me feel like I'm not isolated and not alone in this challenge. I can write this today because I'm having a fair day, with concentration. But many days I feel too panicked to do anything!
I am walking everyday now for about 1 1/2 hours in the morning. I have to. When I first wake up I feel as though a pall has been cast on me. For the first 20 minutes of walking, I am forcing myself to just keep moving forward, but then a funny thing happens as I pass that point--I start to feel better and enjoy the scenery, etc.
Having to work while this is happening and deal with customers since I'm in sales has really been challenging. Sometimes I just tell my customers what is happening because I don't want to be around anyone who is judgmental or condescending, which they might tend to be if I'm drifting off into panic world.
If not for the testimonials of women who have weathered this and come out on top, I think I would be a complete basket case, for to live my life like this would be a burden of unthinkable gloom.
It is a very vicious cycle of fear, anxiety, symptoms, and just plain not feeling well or right.
I'm hoping with my new interest in health and wellness, with the exercising and eating right that this was God's way of getting my attention, so I don't end up fat and sick from all the poor choices. I want energy and vibrance and gave those attributes up to snuggle with three muskateers and big macs. Health is the cornerstone of a good life. I'm going to try my best to regain it! And hopefully never again will I abuse this wonderful body God gave me.
Hang in there, as will I.

I am new to this message board, and found my way here reserching hair loss with perimeno. I turned 40 in January, and it seems all the symptoms started as soon as the candles were blown out. I can take the hot flashes, dizziness, temp insanity, insomnia, and mood swings (maybe my husband can't take them, but too bad) - but let me have my hair!! My hair is thinning in front, and I am sure it is related to PM. Any suggestions, magic spell ....