i,am always off an on thinking of being attack an eaten by lions, sometimes i think of so of my family members that way too, i,am taking Efferxoe XR for my hot flashes, an they tapered down alot, i read where its says day dreams of horrible things, might be one of the symptoms, do anyone else think that way?

well I have never had that thought particularly but anxiety does display itself in weird morbid thoughts sometimes, mine is a thought of going crazy and being all alone, or hurting some one and I am by no means violent , I don't even spank my kids...it is weird and very scary at times but than I remember it is just a thought and I let it go.Try and do the same and for God's sake woman stay away from the national geographic channel.

I agree with t_nikki! Sometimes the anxiety and hormonal crap we are dealing with can make us capture thoughts we would ordinarily not even recognize. Just let those thoughts go and move on. No dwelling there!!!

My worst times are laying in bed at night trying to go to sleep. My mind goes places that are so horrible, I have to force myself to stop thinking. Most involve being trapped somewhere, like a coffin. Sometimes I even cry. After the deaths of my parents a few years ago, it happened a lot. Terrible, terrible thoughts. It's getting better now though. I couldn't imagine going through that every night.

One thing I do now is thinking about some happy memories just before bed. It helps me.

Yeah, this is another wonderful symptom of hormonal changing....... these awful, weird thoughts are par for the course. .... the hormonal changing affects the brain naturally, and then, our thoughts go nuts! Also, like everyone here said, anxiety is a BIG BIG CULPRIT of those kind of thoughts .... A BIG ONE! I've had to deal with anxiety for years, and I know first hand how that affects my own thinking, and the horrible images that "pop" in there ...... and the dreams!!!!!!! UGH!

Don't fret.....you're not going insane ....... it's hormones!

seems like i can relate to everything on the boards tonite, i have morbid thoughts in the morning........like someone gave me a drug, i could not even congure up these things if i tried, and i am terrified every morning........then, it lasts thruougt the day, making it hard to want to go to bed tonite.
join the club, i don't know what or how to define it, yet, my imagination has taken a wild ride on the steven king side, or i should start thinking about being bound and forgotten in the "padded room"!
most seriously, this is an ongoing thing with me, and it causes panic and huge sweats........i hate it all, whatever is happening to me.
love you ladies, for telling the truth...a will also, and usually, it's not a good story.

I am having a hard time sleeping. my thoughts just go wild. i find myself getting all worked up that in the morning i feel depressed and insecure. anybody take AD for this and have felt better? i am on 10 mg of lexapro but i am not sure it is helping as much as i would like to. thank you

I wake up every morning with severe anxiety. It seems like it's getting earlier and more intense with racing thoughts. I don't know if it's just me but it's worse when I'm laying down. I go to bed just fine like myself so no problem there just early morning waking with anxiety I cannot control. I usually feel better inthe evening. I am constantly worrying about something. I cannot get out the negative thoughts. Anyways I take an AD and seems like it doesn't help for that. I keep praying this will go away.

chao, i will pray with you. did you have this before menopause? this feeling of impending doom is hard to deal with. i did not have this before menopause. i used to be so courageous and confident. now i feel vulnerable and insecure. anyway, it is nice to know we are not alone. thank you for sharing.

praia,
I've been post meno for 7 yrs now and I'm 46. I've always had some kind of anxiety in my life but was able to over come it. Never had any meno symptoms with peri that I can remember. Last yr had a post traumatic episode that just put me over the edge. I never recovered from that. I do have good moments but they just don't last. I feel fine in the evenings and can't wait to go to sleep. I just don't understand the early morning anxiety out of the blue.
Although I think this last couple of months have been so stressfull. My 23 yr old daughter was just dx with cancer (melanoma) when she was 8 months pregnant. It spread to her lympthnodes and is having surgery this week. Then the next 12 months of treatments. She has a 3 month baby girl that is going to need taking care of along with herself. I will be there for her as much as I can but still sooo much anxiety. I will be taking on alot of respondsabilities here and it frightens me. I need a lot of prayers along with her...

chao, i am so sorry about your daughter. you have plenty of reasons to feel anxious. my thoughts are with you and your family. hopefully someday this anxiety will disappear.

Hello Praia,
I know what you are talking about. I have turned into an insecure woman and could not understand the demons that started to possess me. Before starting on meds, I would just wake-up in sheer terror and would start crying thinking the world was ending and could not go back to sleep. I was dreading going to sleep and ended up not sleeping but the waking-up was awful. I was so exhauted and was not functioning well any longer so I went to my doctor and she recommended klonopin and effexor. I started with the klonopin (you cannot take it too long as it is addictive) but you take it at night and it has worked very well for me. I still wake up at night but fall right back to sleep and one night I even slept 8 hours on a row, which had not happened to me in many many months!!! I have started now on effexor and the anxiety is still here but is definitely not as strong. I have to increase the dosage of effexor every two weeks and wean off the klonopin, which now I do not take every night (So far, I have not had side effects to the meds). I know that taking meds like this is a hard decision and is not for everyone. I am not saying either it is the answer to menopausal symptoms as not everybody responds the same way to meds. It just feels good right now to be able to sleep and to resume somehow a normal (not really as normal as I felt before this hell-o-pause started) state of mind. I still have bad days but seem to cope with them better.
Just wanted to share my story and I am hoping that your bad nights will be very soon something of the past.
take care
Mrsbuff

Dear Chaotichar,
I was really sadden by your story. It is bad enough to go through anxiety. I am really sorry about your daughter and my thoughts are with you. I Hope you have close friends of family members to help you through this.
Take care
Mrs Buff

hi mrsbuff
i am takng 10 mg of lexapro which i think has been responsible for not sleeping well and for some anxiety. i have gotten better overall but i still obsess and have bad days. i am seeing the dr wednesday and i am wondering if i should ask to increase the dosage but then it could make me more anxious. i probably should ask for klonopin at night. i feel disappointed because i want lexapro to work. after a while i cant think straight and just go around and around in my thinking. thank you

Hi again,
I don't know much about lexapro but if it is similar to Effexor (( believe they are both use for depression and GAD but Effexor is a new generation of AD), my doctor told me to take it in the morning as it can cause insomnia and to take klonopin at night. So teh first two weeks, I took 37.5mg of effexor, now I take 75 mg of it but always with breakfast.
You could ask your doctor about effexor (called as well novo-venlafaxine xr). I don't know if lexapro is better taking in the morning but it could be the reason for your insomnia. It is worth inquiring. I have read as well on some posts that some women had tried different meds before finding the right one. Good luck.
take care
mrs Buff

Dear 'Mrsbuff'
I can relate exactly to what you have described and yes it is torturous, to say the least.
Meds. definitely have their place when we have reached the depths of despair and fell so anxious that even the thought of going to bed is a nightmare as we know we will just lie their obsessing.
I think 'Hell-o-Pause is a fantastic name for this stage in our lives.
thank God I got help when I did or I am not sure I would be here today.Prozac at 20mgs per day has saved my life and sanity.Yes I agree they help us to at least cope and that is very important.
God Bless
Elizabeth