HI everyone, I am new to this site and have found it to be the most informative, realistic place. I first off sympathise with everyone going through all of this dreaded crap and have a long story to tell and hope it isn't too long winded.

I am 35, soon to be 36 and for 2 years have been in a living nightmare. When I say I have every single symptom anyone has ever written about on here I am not exagerating one bit.

About 2 yeras ago I was in a very stressfull time of my life, I was working 2 ful time jobs, we were having financial difficulties, had to file bankruptcy, my husband had an affair, my mother was ill and passed away suddenly of a heart attack at 51 years old and on top of it all all of this crap had already started for me but I just blew it off because I had no time to deal with any of my own problems. Needless to say, after all of this I had a real surge and increase in all of my maladies. My symptoms are as follows and I warn you it is a long list:
migraines, mostly with aura but sometimes just a constant headache localized to one side of my head
my period which was 28 days consistently since I was 10 started becoming 24, 31, 26 etc days, flooding, cramps, clots you name it and severe pain in pelvic region.
visual distubances which have been chalked up to optical migraines but are with me the majority of the day, all day
dry eye syndrome
internal trembling, shakes, muscles jumping around, spasms over body
sleep starts, stomach dropping feeling with a tingling of head, face and neck
incoordination, arms and legs feel heavy and weak at time
anxiety and panic attacks, pretty frequent, sent me to the er twice thinking it was a stroke
palpitations
hands and feet freezing
no stamina
depression
cant concentrate
cant stand bright lighting, fluorescent lights, ie wal mart syndrome
dizzy, dizzy, dizzy and oh did i say dizzy? like a boat rocking or I'm walking sideways, even feel it when I'm laying down
tinnitus, pulse in ear, hear my own voice in my head
intolerance to heat
muslce aches, neck and back of head hurt something terrible all day most days
pulse o the back of my head and sometimes feel pulse if I have pressure on a limb, ie sitting down in butt, back of legs
I forgot to mention that around the time all of this began I had 2 car accidents within 3 months of each other and suffered what my chiro says is a severe whiplash, still have all of this stuff 3 years later?

I think you all probably get the picture, so now what I have done about it, To start, I am an RN, which goes against me I think because I am a hypochondriac now, I do imagine I have every life threatening disease out there and google the hell out of all of my symptoms sending me into a frenzy. I have had an mri of head and neck, there was one spot in my right parietal area that was ruled to be migraine associated, have had thyroid checked at least 3 times, all blood work, lyme tests, all is normal, not hypoglycemic etc, saw a neurologist, a neurootologist specializing in vestibular disorders, an endocrinologist(all hormones were normal at the time 2 years ago), had eng of upper arms, normal, see a chiro for massage and mild manipulation but wont let him "crack" my neck as I worry about a stroke, my general md says panic/anxiety(of course) have tried various anti depressants which make me deathly ill and am now only on xanax 2 times a day which I take because I would'nt be able to function if I didn't.

I have no tolerance to motion, cant stant to read anymore, no attention span, light sensitivity so bad I wear sunglasses indoors, eye doctor finds nothing wrong, the saga goes on and on with no end. I have no way of knowing if this is hereditary because my mom had a hyster at 28 but I feel for sure it is hormonally related.

I just had my hormones checked again from a new gyne, a woman who is 45 and did validate that peri can cause some major problems like I am experiencing. At least someone feel that way. I am still waiting for the results 1 week later. I wake up every morning with the same off balance, shakey feeling, have cut out caffeine, all artificial sweeteners etc. What all of this boils down to is this, could all of the stress I was under 2 years ago have put me into this? As it stands right now, my husband and I have worked things out, although I dont condone any of his actions, I love him and have found a way to forgive, he was also having issues as both of his parents died near each other and I know its no excuse as he does too but thats another story, I have a great new job, which I am not enjoying what so every due to these symptoms, we have pulled ourselves out of financial ruin and I should be happy. We take trips, enjoy each others company and have gotten over what has happened, as to my mothers death, I realize she is probably in a better place as she was severly depressed and miserable which created alot of stress for me. Does anyone have an opinion on all of this? I really appreciate it and could go on and on, I am not sure any of what I have written even makes any sense but I hope someone can commiserate with me or give me an opinion whether it be good, bad or indifferent

Thanks in advance and bless each and everyone of you going through this torturous time.

Kim

Hi Kim,

First off let me say that im glad your here and welcome! Im sure you've already begun to realize how Power surge can be a slice of sanity!

I can totally relate to what you are saying...Ive been "Off balance",Tilted, Whoosey...feel like im walking on a bed or in a plane...24/7 for over a yr now.

Ive had what i call the "elevator"...LOl where you feel as if your in an elevator going up or down really fast!! Or as you refer to sleep starts...Whooooooooosh...As if being taken away!

I can tell you Kim that it does get better...Ive been Peri for 5 yrs now and when all of this ( internal tremors/buzzing, Burning skin ,brain fog, weird tingling Etc....) First started it was intense!!!...Now its watered down somewhat. Its not completely gone but its allot more tolerable.

Ive learned and so will you from reading and posting here on Power surge that hormones WILL do very strange things!!

Kim im so sorry your going through this I know how disruptive theses symptoms can be...Not to mention how scary it is....I had myself dieing several times...But hang in there.You have all of our support here and as you read more you too will see,there are LOTS of women on here with the same symptoms!

Be well Kim...Feel free to PM me anytime...(((((((Hugs))))))),

Lynda

Linda,

Thanks so much for responding, I am sitting here waiting for anyone to say something!!!! I hope as you say I can cope with all of this, I find it hard to believe that this can cause all of this crazy stuff 24/7 but as everyone on here says it definitly can. I am going to a psychiatrist but cant get in till July 25. I feel at least discussin it all with someone face to face may help with the constant dwelling on all of my bodies symtpoms.

My eye doctor put it to me this way and it makes sense. When I asked, why do I see the flashes, floaters etc he said most people do but I have taken it to an extreme and dwell on it where others who dont have this problem just blow it off and dont think about it anymore. It made sense but of course didn't stop it from happening. I just took a shower and feel like I have been on a drunk, shaking, woozy, etc and the funny thing is I haven't had a drop of alcohol in over a year.

Thanks for your kindness and I wish you a healthy, happy day.
Kim

Hi Kim!!

Welcome to PS

It doesnt help being 'in the know' does it - I am a nurse - and I worried about all my weird and wonderful symptoms - similar list to yours - until I got here to PS - then suddenly it all made sense!!!

I have been through all the medics and tests - the only one that came back high for me was my FSH/LH - but still my Drs didnt want to say the symptoms I was having were peri - derrrr??? I was also very unwell and suicidal on ADs - will NEVER touch them again in my life - and had Xanax for a while - only take now if I really reall really cant relax.......most of the tablets they gave me for my symptoms of course didnt treat the cause - so mostly made me worse cos had side-effects - now I dont take anything (I did try synthetic HRT but after 4 months i was just as bad AND had hot flashes which I hadnt had beforee - so stopped it)

Sleep starts - electric lights - I have bells and zaps in my head - I though I was going MAD or had a brain tiumour - no-one could tell me what the heck was going on - my relief was overwhelming when I got here and read of other women going through EXACTLY the same symtpoms - all those medics - a year of tests - and I find my answers in a website hosted on the other side of the planet!!! What a crazy world? What a wonderful world!!!

I have had the year from hell - but I am still here and kicking ass - I can offer you tons of advice on what I have done - my life is SO much better than it was EVEN though I still feel crud most days.....here are the basics
1 Balance - I started juggling and doing exercises which made me dizzy - cos that way my brain is learning to cope better - it has got better - they are called Cawthorne exercises for vertigo
2 Sleep - not sorted this yet - BUT I do relax big time before I even try to sleep and now even if I dont sleep all night I remain calm and dont panic - I relax and meditate and chill - I have not had over 5 hours in a night for 9 months....sleeping tablets helped a bit - now they dont work - so instead of taking higher dose I am chilling it out....
3 Diet - totally healthy - cut out wheat and dairy (eat oats and goats milk) - sugar additives yeast - etc - and eat fruit vegetables and fish and whute meat only - drink tons -- green tea as a treat!!! Have added various supplments to diet - multivit, magnesium, calcium, omega oils, glucosamine and chronditin....
4 No hormones for me - I see a medical herbalist who is a holistic healer - I take chasteberry and borage and lost of lovely herbs in a tincture he makes up for me - for my hormones and my nerves - it has made a big difference
5 Exercise - I do some everyday - cycling one day - yoga the next - and some dumbells for upper body - building up gradually
6 I have started focusing on the positives in my life - I write a gratefulness diary every day and am building up my positive views of the world in order to lessen the neg effects peri was having on my psychy

OK - on seeing a psychiatrist - it didnt help me one bit - in fact I ended up worse - your body is doing strange things and like me you have started to monitor it - you have to break that habit - that is tough - BUT start to TRUST that your body knows what it is doing - it is trying desperately to balance itself out - like a ship on a choppy ocean - it will not sink but it is heaving from side to side and being thrown about - this is a natural process and our bodies will get there - some quicker - some slower but the better input they get from us - phyiscally (diet and exercise) and mentally (meditation and positive thought) - I am sure the easier they will get there.

My first step was big deep slow tummy breaths - on and on and on and on till my body slowed down - it does work. Then I did progressive muscle relaxation - and that does work too

ALL your symptoms can be explained by your hormones - you are NOT GOING MAD!!!!!

Blimey - what a ramble - I do hope that is not too much and some of it wil help - do let me know if I can help you in any way - cos I felt exactly as you did about 4 months ago .....

Hugs - not spell checked ...hope it is legible

Mele in UK

Dear Mele,
Thank you, all you have said is so great, I want to try to go the naturpathic route if at all possible as i react terribly to meds of any type. The worse part of this is that I just got a return call from my gyno who said my hormones are perfect. HUH???? I was like sad to hear this as I hoped it would be blatantly obvious and I could go on from there. I do realise that the hormones are fluctuating so viciously that they might have been "good" at that minute but certainly not all of the time. I love you people here with all of your positive help, it relaxes me to read that others are having similar circumstances although I dont wish it on my worse enemy. I am skeptical about the psych too because they are typically pill pushers and I will not go that route. Mine is a complicated thing and now I have a neuro appt to look forward to again coming up because all of this stuff does not make sense. If it were just fleeting syptoms I could live with it but not for 24/7 as it has been. I would like to see a naturopath but I dont think insurance covers it and I dont want to strap us financially through all of this. The funny thing is that I am rational enough to know that when I take a xanax the majority of the symptoms go away or subside greatly so anxiety is the culprit but from what ? That is the 64, 000 dollar question. I will take all of your suggestions and try to incorporate them into my life as best I can. I do relaxattion, grean tea already but maybe its time to start reevaluating some other aspects of my life. If you have the time could you lef me know of any vitamins, herbs etc that might be of help? Thank you again, all of the support I have received so far has been terrific and it is the first time I have felt any hope in a long long time.

Hi All-

I am 48 and have had many peri symptoms. Anxiety, mood swings, depression, insomnia, anger, dizzy, sensitive to light, migranes etc. My worst is the 24/7 (almost) anxiety. Did not have this before peri but it started at 45. I had no life issues. Life was good and still is. Had my hormones tested via the blood (all normal). Via saliva low progesterone and low estrogen. Recently higher progesterone and low estrogen.

I supplemented with sublingual progesterone only for almost three years and now I am using a bit of estrogen too. All of this is bio-identical. This is the only thing that has helped at all. Did the natural route, the vitamins, tincures, exercise, CBT.... Nothing could erase the anxiety but the hormone therapy.

Have you looked into this? It is worth a try. I would have loved to go the natural route i.e. healthy food, vitamiins and nothing more but my body was not responding and I got tired of feeling like crap every single day.

I would give this a try. Perhaps it can bring you some relief.

Sandy

Kim -

I'm sorry I didn't see your post earlier or I would have responded. I am in similar state right down to trying the ADs to no avail and sticking with the xanax to get through the day. Yes, I believe the stress you experienced could have set this off. I also believe the reason you are concentrating on your symptoms,
(as I do) is because THEY ARE THERE ALL THE TIME. When one wakes with anxiety etc. all of sudden after a lifetime of feeling "normal" it is natural to look for the source of the symptoms. While your age is quite young, you do say your mom had hysterectomy at 28. Do you know why? The only link I have heard re meno is that we tend to be like our mothers. So yes, it is very likely this is hormonal. The question you
ask is the same one I do, why the anxiety? Even if xanax works for a while, it all comes back everyday.
I"m getting my hormones tested via saliva right now because I don't know what else to do. Others on PS have posted me that it has made all the difference to them. I'm talking about bioidenticals, not bcp.

If your stresses have passed, it could be that your adrenals have been affected and this has upset the whole
balance of hormones. I think this is the case with me. I am doing an adrenal saliva test and female hormonal panel to test progesterone and estrogen. I have no idea if it will help, but I can tell you this has
gone on for over a year as I have gotten worse and worse. Even my psychiatrist agreed it was a good idea
to look into hormones as he has no clue what to do if I don't want to take ADS. You are not alone Kim.
This whole thing has brought me to my knees and it pains me to see the scenario playing out again in
younger women like you.



I am 48 and have had many peri symptoms. Anxiety, mood swings, depression, insomnia, anger, dizzy, sensitive to light, migranes etc. My worst is the 24/7 (almost) anxiety. Did not have this before peri but it started at 45. I had no life issues. Life was good and still is. Had my hormones tested via the blood (all normal). Via saliva low progesterone and low estrogen. Recently higher progesterone and low estrogen.

I supplemented with sublingual progesterone only for almost three years and now I am using a bit of estrogen too. All of this is bio-identical. This is the only thing that has helped at all. Did the natural route, the vitamins, tincures, exercise, CBT.... Nothing could erase the anxiety but the hormone therapy.

Have you looked into this? It is worth a try. I would have loved to go the natural route i.e. healthy food, vitamiins and nothing more but my body was not responding and I got tired of feeling like crap every single day.

I would give this a try. Perhaps it can bring you some relief.

Sandy
[/quote]

HI

You could try saliva testing which Sandy has had done - it is much more accurate and quicker result - also if you are having 24/7 symptoms you may find bioidentical hrt the way to go

For me the Xanax was the ONLY instant cure I have found for the crippling anxiety - I dont take it cos it is addictive - otherwise I would be tempted to down the stuff like it was water - quick fixes are never that simple are they??? Tablets like Xanax - give us that break to get back in control and they wear off - they are not permanent fixes.

I have done lots of study on my relaxation techniques and spent tons of time finding out about my body and mind and how they work together and how I can influence both by what I do and how I act. But I do have 24/7 symptoms and brain fog and insomnia - BUT I am more able to get through it cos I am able to control the anxiety better....I have far fewer bad days than I did - they still come and that is OK - I just get through them better than I did

I think a lot of us also have adrenal exhaustion - is this caused by the hormonal fluctuations of peri - perhaps?? It must put a strain on all the endocrine system and esp the adrenal glands - so not surprising we are all exhibiting signs of extreme stress response.

Sandy - did you get tested for adrenals??

Mele

Kim,

I just wanted to tell you that all this started for me as well, over a year after my mom passed away of a heart attack at the age of 62. I had alot of financial stress and was/is a single mom working full time when all this started for me. I too can't tell meds, react horribly to AD's and HRT/NHRT doens't work for me at all.
I'm a TOTAL hypochondriac, as everyone on PS already knows. I'm totally freaked ALL the time by all the 50 ( not 34) symptoms that I have. I've been dealing with this for years and I've had many calls to the pshych ward.

I haven't felt this bad in all my life. I worry constantly about my health or that I will drop dead like my mom did.

I'm not trying to make you feel worse Kim..LOL..just trying to validate that you are not alone, that it's not all in your head and that it does get better bit by bit.

I'm glad you found us on PowerSurge, we are all in the same boat.

Please come and chat with us


Hugs,


Moozie
xoxoxoxo

Sportster, I can relate to going through a stressful time and wondering if that started peri. I am 40, and five years ago I was going to school full-time and working full-time, and I got burned out. I was exhausted and had to quit my job...haven't worked since. They tell me it was a major depressive episode due to stress, but I sometimes wonder if it was the beginning of peri, which reduced my ability to handle stress. (See what Mele said above.)

I can also relate to the "can't stand bright lighting, fluorescent lights, ie wal mart syndrome"! I don't turn on the light in the bathroom at night, I just use the night light. I also don't care too much for sunny days, prefer instead cloudy skies. I don't like going to other people's homes in the evenings because their lighting is always too bright!

I have been going to therapy (CBT) and have found it helpful for dealing with the anxiety and not wanting to leave the house. It's nice to talk to someone about all my strange thoughts and feelings and have them listen without judging.

Glad you found Power Surge!

Hi Everyone

I am going through this anxiety thing too. I don’t normally open up and discuss my feelings too much but this website, which has so many supportive women has encouraged me to do just that.

I’ve been going through peri for over a year now and initially only experienced hot flushes. I had been on the pill for many years and when I got to 49 I thought I’d take a break. I didn’t have a period for several months then WHAM I got one! I’ve only had two in just over a year, my last one was in December.

My anxiety/panic attacks started in January this year and I haven’t felt like my old self since. I think my personal circumstances in addition to being peri have definitely had a major effect. I have been going through all sorts of upheaval and emotions. In the last six months I have given up my job, moved house and location, tried to find work, but the most upsetting thing was that my father was diagnosed with lung cancer in January. I went with him to the hospital when he was told the terrible news and I cannot explain how I really felt apart from feeling totally numb. I am an only child so there’s really only me and my mum, my partner has been brilliant though.

Since then I have been having extreme anxiety and panic attacks. I went through a period of not eating for two weeks and was told by my GP that if it continued I would be in hospital on a drip. I had one huge panic attack a few months ago and I just couldn’t breath, it was very frightening. I have had lots of tests because I was and still am getting all sorts of pain and strange feelings in different parts of my body…the problem is that I think I have got cancer. It’s all too much sometimes and there are times when I think that perhaps I am going mad. I am now waiting for an MRI because of the headaches and light headedness I keep getting. I know being peri is definitely a contributory factor, but Drs don’t seem to recognise this, which doesn’t help. I don’t want to take tablets and am just trying to sort this out myself, but it’s not easy.

Sorry if I went on a bit too much there but thanks for listening.

Seaside Lynne

Hi Kim

Just checking up on you - are you doing OK?????

Everyone who has replied to you - has been there - I know cos I have read their posts on other threads........they know where of they speak!!! We are all there with you and we hope we can help to support you through this

However many times I say this on this board it is worth saying again - cos I have just read Lynnes message - and it makes me so sad and cross - I am AMAZED that we have to go through all this and Drs dont recognise this as peri or even hormonal - I have had an AWFUL year - I cant believe so many women are out there in panic and terror - I just want to reach out and catch them before they get to where we have been - and where you are Kim

Crazy in this world of such quick communications - what is the medical profession up to?

Kim - be well - and keep in touch with us - hugs to you from across the seas

Mele