I'm a complete mess and I need some help. I'm soon to be 37 years old and I'm losing my mind. I wonder if I am in perimenopause. My periods are now 21 days apart. I suffer SEVERE panic attacks days before I start(gee, what fun every 15 to 21 days a month). I usually have a dull headache during my period and seem to walk around in a fog. I noticed I get really cold and nauseated at times too. I forgot to mention tired a lot.
Last year I was having palpitations and was sent to get a stress test. After a false positive reading and a cardiac cath (my heart was fine), the palps went away. Now days before my period and a few days after I wake in the middle of the night with a racing heart. It scares me to no end. I am able to calm myself, breathing and a hand held solitare game help. What is this!?
My OB/GYN can't see me for two weeks and I'm sure my M.D. thinks I'm a complete nut case and I think he blows me off.
I'm just scared and feel so alone. I have three DD's that I need to be here for. Is this racing heart somehow related to my periods and maybe perimenopause? Why in the middle of the night when I am awakened?
I thank anyone for any kind of insight and reassurance that I might be okay. I've read this BB and think this is a wonderful place full of loving, caring and thoughtful women.
~Stephanie
Full Version: I need help
Stephanie,
Bless your heart - we know how you are feeling!
Every single one of these symptoms sounds like perimenopause to me! If you spend some time looking around the message boards, and also check out the excellent articles on Power-Surge, you'll see that all these feelings are common. There's lots of great advice here, along with a real Sisterhood.
Things will improve in time - keep reminding yourself. You'll find that there are other young women, in their 30's (even some in their 20's who've had hysterectomies), struggling with perimenopause.
Hope you find some comfort here.
Jacquie
Bless your heart - we know how you are feeling!
Every single one of these symptoms sounds like perimenopause to me! If you spend some time looking around the message boards, and also check out the excellent articles on Power-Surge, you'll see that all these feelings are common. There's lots of great advice here, along with a real Sisterhood.
Things will improve in time - keep reminding yourself. You'll find that there are other young women, in their 30's (even some in their 20's who've had hysterectomies), struggling with perimenopause.
Hope you find some comfort here.
Jacquie
Stephanie,
You've come to the right place! Many, many of us here have experience the exact same things you are.
I had the same experience two years ago when I was 41. Heart started pounding and racing in my sleep, it woke me up. I got the chills and became nauseated. I was pacing around the room, thinking that I was loosing my mind. Had an EKG the next morning, everything fine. It kept happening every once in a while. It was so bad that I was afraid to go to sleep. The Dr. told me to go to the ER next time it happened. Went to the ER one night, was monitored all night. No problems, just anxiety.
It's important to get thouroughly checked out, but it is probably anxiety related to perimenopause and hormones out of balance.
Good luck to you and welcome!
You've come to the right place! Many, many of us here have experience the exact same things you are.
I had the same experience two years ago when I was 41. Heart started pounding and racing in my sleep, it woke me up. I got the chills and became nauseated. I was pacing around the room, thinking that I was loosing my mind. Had an EKG the next morning, everything fine. It kept happening every once in a while. It was so bad that I was afraid to go to sleep. The Dr. told me to go to the ER next time it happened. Went to the ER one night, was monitored all night. No problems, just anxiety.
It's important to get thouroughly checked out, but it is probably anxiety related to perimenopause and hormones out of balance.
Good luck to you and welcome!
Hi Stephanie, Dianne, Jolie,
If you are able to find out what your mothers went through with meno, it can help you, because meno experiences are often hereditary. 37 sounds a bit young, Stephanie, but I guess it starts in our thirties sometimes. I had a pounding heart when I was about 47. It didn't wake me up during the night, but I had it when I was trying to get to sleep. I didn't understand why my heart was pounding so badly when I was lying in my comfortable bed and there was no reason for it. I later learned that declining estrogen levels do this, and it also affects your sleep in general. I had really bad insomnia at this time, either staying awake most of the night or waking up after two hours and lying there. I tried losing some weight for my heart, but it didn't really make any difference in the pounding. I tried deep breathing, or taking a deep breath and holding it. My heart would slow down for a minute or two, then start pounding again. I finally just learned to ignore it, because it really isn't serious as long as you are seeing a doctor and getting things checked out to be sure there isn't a problem.
All of my meno symptoms have gone away now. I'm over two years post meno, and everything has calmed down. My blood pressure had been really high in peri, when all of my life before that it was never high. I finally started taking some BP medication, and that seems to also have helped the pounding. My BP dropped way down to normal, too.
There really is post meno zest, because I have it now. I have energy and I usually get a good night's sleep. No more periods, but no problems, either. So hang in there....some day you will get to where I'm at, and it's smooth sailing, I'm here to tell you!
If you are able to find out what your mothers went through with meno, it can help you, because meno experiences are often hereditary. 37 sounds a bit young, Stephanie, but I guess it starts in our thirties sometimes. I had a pounding heart when I was about 47. It didn't wake me up during the night, but I had it when I was trying to get to sleep. I didn't understand why my heart was pounding so badly when I was lying in my comfortable bed and there was no reason for it. I later learned that declining estrogen levels do this, and it also affects your sleep in general. I had really bad insomnia at this time, either staying awake most of the night or waking up after two hours and lying there. I tried losing some weight for my heart, but it didn't really make any difference in the pounding. I tried deep breathing, or taking a deep breath and holding it. My heart would slow down for a minute or two, then start pounding again. I finally just learned to ignore it, because it really isn't serious as long as you are seeing a doctor and getting things checked out to be sure there isn't a problem.
All of my meno symptoms have gone away now. I'm over two years post meno, and everything has calmed down. My blood pressure had been really high in peri, when all of my life before that it was never high. I finally started taking some BP medication, and that seems to also have helped the pounding. My BP dropped way down to normal, too.
There really is post meno zest, because I have it now. I have energy and I usually get a good night's sleep. No more periods, but no problems, either. So hang in there....some day you will get to where I'm at, and it's smooth sailing, I'm here to tell you!
Thanks CSugar! My mom had a hysterectomy at 35, so there's no way of knowing when she would have gone through meno. I have no living female relatives either. I just assume that I'm perimenopausal right now at 43.
Hi Dianne,
Do you remember if your mom had any physical or emotional changes after her hysterectomy? If she took HRT, you are right that it might be hard to tell.
Another good way to tell if this is true (that you're in peri) is to check out the 34 symptoms of menopause and see how many you can truly say that you have. At one time, I had many of the 34 symptoms. Over the period of about two years, I had all 34 symptoms, but not all at once. They overlapped and some of them went away when new ones showed up! Those 34 symptoms appear in more than one place here on these PowerSurge message boards, and in the library articles as well. I just can't remember exactly where they are, but I'll look for them and let you know.
Do you remember if your mom had any physical or emotional changes after her hysterectomy? If she took HRT, you are right that it might be hard to tell.
Another good way to tell if this is true (that you're in peri) is to check out the 34 symptoms of menopause and see how many you can truly say that you have. At one time, I had many of the 34 symptoms. Over the period of about two years, I had all 34 symptoms, but not all at once. They overlapped and some of them went away when new ones showed up! Those 34 symptoms appear in more than one place here on these PowerSurge message boards, and in the library articles as well. I just can't remember exactly where they are, but I'll look for them and let you know.
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