Hi everyone,
I am 40 years old and have been experiencing some very disturbing things lately. First off some history of myself. At 31 years old I was diagnosed with cancer. I underwent chemo and radiation and have been cancer free for the past 8 1/2 years. During my treatment I was given Lupron to protect my ovaries for future conception. Ironically I developed a heart condition from the chemo that didn't allow me to have children. In the mean time I was told that I would probably go through menopause earlier. I have had regular periods for the last 8 years. Now the problems. I went 41 days between periods this last time and then started experiencing some weird things. The first time this happened it scared me so bad. I was driving on the highway and felt as if I was going to pass out. It progressed into what I now know as a panic attack. These continued to happen and then other things started happening. Nausea, stomach bloating,sleep disturbances, dizziness, facial flushing and sometimes feeling like I could pass out. The anxiety and panic are the worse. I honestly thought I was going crazy. I spoke to my doctor who put me on an AD. This actually made the panic worse. We changed the med and it has gotten better. Today I was going to my car and noticed that I had a feeling throughout my entire body of tingling and that I was going to pass out. I got in my car (someone was with me) and I had to lie back and do some deep breathing (thinking this was another anxiety attack). Once I got through the worse of it my whole body felt extremely fatigued and I needed to sleep. Still not feeling "like myself" an hour later I took an ativan to try and relax myself. Sometimes my stomach feels as if it is doing flips and also my heart. This in turn gets me very anxious. I have not been eating well and have lost approx 10 pounds in the past month. I go to sleep pretty easily but wake up many times throughout the night, usually it's accompanied by an anxious feeling. Haven't really had the hot flashes yet, but do know what they feel like.( the Lupron caused some horrible inferno flashes!) I have just recently had a complete workup including a heart workup (echo) and enormous amounts of bloodwork. Everything is coming up as "normal". Someone mentioned that it could be perimenopause symptoms. I have been feeling absolutley horrible for the past 2 months. I just wanted to say hi, and tell my story. Thanks for reading . Lisa

Dear Lisa,

Welcome to Power Surge. I am so happy you have joined us.

It does sound like you are experiencing peri meno symptoms. I am so sorry you are having such a rough time. But you have found a wonderful supportive community. There are many posts here that relate to your symptoms. I hope that you will find the kind of help here that has been such a godsend to me.

Everyone seems to agree that the anxiety is the worst of the peri journey. I also take anti-anxiety medicine and an antidepressant. I have improved dramatically with that, great doctors, and the kinship here on PS.

Please let us know how things are going. I send you my very best.

Marcy

hi lisa,

welcome to power surge - a great site of information & resources & a wonderful source of support & encouragement.

i am sorry that you had to previously deal with such serious health issues at such a young age, but am glad to hear that you have continued to do well in that realm. sorry, too, that you are suffering from so many symptoms at once now. it is scary stuff & confusing, & can be hard to sort out & manage.

everything that you describe can certainly manifest in perimenopause. i have had pretty much all of the symptoms that you talk about at one time or another. even lost the same amount of weight right at the time that the sleep disturbances started (i was 42 then, am 44 now). all my tests/blood work have come out normal as well.

i hope you will get more responses that will help to ease your mind & give you some ideas for navigating through. my anxiety & panic issues are certainly there, but so many here deal with much more severe symptoms on a more consistent basis & may be able to give you better advice or suggestions.

i just wanted to say hello & to tell you that you are not alone. keep reading, keep holding on, & i look forward to seeing you on the forums.

best wishes,
ellen

Dear Lisa,
OH honey you really have been thru the ringer! You have come to the right place..Listen to Marcy she is right on! Everything your are describing is an indication that you are smack in the middle of the perilous peri ride.....and it sounds has if you have had to really hold on to your hat! Try to relax...I know, easier said that done, your best bet is to come here often and seek the advice of these wonderful women...Also, it is very helpful to read the articles listed on the main page here. Start with the 34 signs of Menopause and Dearest (our Founder) has also provided articles and tips and advice on every symptom you have described. It is such a relief to read them....and know you are not crazy! The guest lectures are also very enlightening...you will be impressed with the speakers! (also on the main page). Look around this site and come and chat with us below...we call it the nutbar! Take heart and take care!
Linda

Please allow me to join in and welcome you too! This site saved my sanity when I was having experiences just as you have described, I had NO IDEA that all those symptoms, particularly the anxiety, panic and dizziness, was part of the peri/meno process! It has been a godsend finding this site. You will find valuable information on the site as Crazy in Ca pointed out above, and the members are very supportive. If you have questions, concerns or just want to rant and rave....have at 'er!! We are all here to help as much as we can.

Here is a peri hug! (((hug!))) and welcome! the woman on this board are nothing but positive! Peri is like being on a bad, cheap carnival ride and you just have to wait till the ride stops to get off. All along, you are thinking, why in the world you are on this ride. There are good days, believe it or not! there are bad days too.
If you can get out and walk whenever you can outdoors. Get some sunshine to raise some of the brain chemicals. Especially this time of year!

It is raining non stop and I cannot walk today outdoors!

Oh yea, most drs dont understand why we dont like the carnival ride too. they think, "so its a ride: "Big deal"! Yea, big deal!

"Peri is like being on a bad, cheap carnival ride and you just have to wait till the ride stops to get off."

What a great way to put it... So perfect!

Thank you all for the welcome. I really am glad I found this site and knowing that I'm not alone! Lisa

I just had a panic situation last week, while driving. Very much as you described, but it was precipitated by a heart arrhythmia. All a part of peri-menopause, as my nurse told me. I'm glad you found this place, Lisa...it's amazing how many weird symptoms go along with peri-menopause. Just as a pre-caution, you might get your thyroid and potassium levels checked, just to rule out any other causes of your panic. Welcome aboard!

Thanks for the welcome. I have been on thyroid meds for 8 years now. This was a complication from my radiation treatment. Levels checked last week showed them being totally normal. Potassium also checked. Normal also. Thanks!

Lisa, I know exactly what you are going through! I went throught the same thing over a year ago. I am 40 now, will be 41 in July, and when I was 39 I had everything you are describing. I was so clueless as to what was happening to me that I ended up on an "inner ear disorders" message board for the long time, thinking I had some sort of "Labyrinthitis" condition. After months of researching more because I wasn't getting better, I ended up finding that migraines can occur frequently during permenopause and that migraines can cause a whole gammit of problems (dizziness, the feeling of passing out, anxiety, etc.).

I feel much better now but still have rough days. It will get better for you too. Just know that you are not going crazy (I thought the very same thing), and also know that the symptoms you are experiencing are indeed perimenopausal related. And do not believe the doctors when they tell you that it absolutely could NOT be hormones that are making you feel horrid. Most of the docs out there do not know much AT ALL about what we are experiencing!

Oh, and do not feel guilty about taking medication to help you through this tough time and especially the rough patches. I LIVED on Ativan for the first several months. I also used Compozine or Reglan when I felt sick to my stomach. I too lost about 15 pounds in the beginning of this all. I've gained it all back now (unfortunately) because I feel well enough to ear normally again.

Hang in there - you WILL get better! It may take a while to get used to it though.

OXOXOX

Sorry about that, I'm still new here and trying to figure how to do everything. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I have had all these symptoms anxiety, dizziness, panic. I have every test to find out if it is something serious and every thing came back fine. I am also on a AD for the panic. It can happen anywhere and I have struggled with it for years, however when I started peri it got alot worse. I too am 40 so now I am wondering if it starts off really bad and as peri progresses it gets a little better. Just a thought. I have been reading alot of forums and this one seems to be the one that describes that way I feel the best, however I have gotten alot of positive feedback from everyone.