For the last couple of weeks I've been waking up with morning anxiety. I wake up feeling woosie, anxious, nauseated, and just blah.

By noon most of these symptoms have subsided, then by evening I feel well again. This symptom appeared just a couple of weeks ago...and I'm trying to figure out if there's something that I can do to get rid of this.

Nothing has changed with my daily regiment...maybe I need to make some changes. I'm still using compounded progesterone, taking multivitamins, calcium, magnesium, omega oils and lecithin. I've drastically changed my diet this year and included more exercise.

Any suggestions? Has anyone else dealt with this and now feel better?

Thanks ladies!

yes i felt like that for four years, i would wake up and as soon as i open my eyes my whole body would tense up and then i would feel all day like that. I then started doing my owm research on the net and I came to the conclusion that it was my hormones, I have been on every type of meds and after speaking to a woman at my pharmacy she told my your hormones are at war with each other, PERIMENOPAUSE, and did more research on it and started taking supplements (herbal) and vitamins and i have`nt looked back since february this year, I can honestly say these vits have really helped me so far.

I agree. I look at it as the peri version of morning sickness. I coped better through this extremely anxious period by doing things in the afternoons, when I felt less like a rabbit caught in headlights!

Morning anxiety (and vibrating) is truly the worst symptom of all time for me. I used to get it quite frequently and my morning showers became my shower of dome. Now that I'm in month 4 without a period and I honestly say things have calmed down (but symptoms not entirely eliminated).

Monica4rd: You wrote that you followed a vitamin/herbal regimen to combat anxiety. Could you tell us what you take? Please?

Hi Girls,

Morning anxiety was one of my first symptoms 18 months ago. It has definitely improved since I now accept it is nothing in itself to fear (it can't kill me), but it is really unpleasant & I do still get it. I find that these days it is best to get up & do something small (ie make a hot drink or have a comforting bath (which acts like a big cuddle to me)) and not to dwell on it because the fear feeling gets worse if I do. These days the first thing I do in the morning is go on this site as it takes my mind off the fear. Then I have a bath, then I have a camomile tea or three before I do anything else.

Hope this helps someone. We are all struggling together. Dr laire Weekes book is great and mentions techniques for handling this type of anxiety.

love squiggle

Hi squiggle....


Morning anxiety is the worst for me also.....


Thanx for the advice maybe I might try that sometime....

{{{hugs}}}
Christina

Squiggle, this is exactly my thinking. Now that I know it's hormonal, I don't fear it. Besides morning anxiety, I often get a queasy or nauseous feeling. But as I start my day, it disappears without me really being aware of when it does. I try to get outside as soon as I can in the morning, and usually find myself in my garden or walking around the yard. Besides getting "physical", I think being out in nature helps.

RedFox

The best thing I found to combat this is Lemon balm tea. I went for a couple of months practically living on the tea before I started the bios. It was a real God-send. Now I just keep the box of it around for the one or 2 days before my period that I still wake up with that queasy stomach. It really works well! (It works pretty good for anxiety too as it is very calming.)

Mrsb76, I agree, lemon balm tea is a wonderful calming drink. It's so easy to grow too (it's a member of the mint family). I have some in my garden, and have to keep cutting it back because it wants to take over. The nice thing about it is, it's always there and always fresh.

RedFox

What a great idea! I assume it's a perennial? What do you do in the winter? Dry some? Though it is warmer where you are.

Yes, it is a perennial, Mrsb76, and I have dried it before too. Several years ago I bought a packet of seeds and planted them all in the garden. Wouldn't you know it, just one lonely seed sprouted. I nurtured and tended that tiny seedling, and wow, did it ever take off! I have lemon balm everywhere now! It's just like peppermint -- it will take over your property in no time! LOL! I always think, gee, look at what a little TLC can do!

I suppose you could plant it in a pot, but a friend of mine did that, and it didn't do too well. I think it wants to be in the ground. I wish I could give you some!

RedFox

I shouldn't have said it could "take over your property" -- a bit of an exaggeration -- but it would take over your garden. I just pull it out where I don't want it. Don't want you to think it's like kudzu, which has overtaken much of the South! RedFox

I've had the morning anxiety and nausea too. After a while I began to notice that it subsided within about 15 mins of (to put it crudely) having a crap. At its worst the anxiety was so great I was virtually climbing the walls. I seem to have got it cured for the time being, though whether it is due to one or a combination of the things I have been doing to help, or whether it would have improved anyway, who knows?

I've been taking magnesium for a few months now as I was very deficient in it (my muscles were very unstable, and my nervous system extremely unhappy), as well as a good general vitamin and mineral supplement. This improved the very worst of my general symptoms, though the nausea and anxiety remained. I wondered whether this was caused by a leaky gut with toxins passing back through into the blood stream, so have been taking prebiotics and probiotics which are supposed to help with leaky gut, and have been shown in properly controlled clinical trials to improve absorption of minerals (magnesium in particular).

I have also been seeing a herbalist, and have a concoction of herbs to help support the digestive system, the nervous system and balance the hormones. We've been tweaking the mixture, so I'm not sure what it now contains, but does include vervain, black cohosh, vitex agnus castus, St Johns Wort and I think also lemon balm. (Chamomile and oats don't suit me, but can be good.) I've got the menstrual pattern and symptoms of high oestrogen/low progesterone, but will need to wait a while before they are checked out and confirmed.

From the reading I have done on the perimenopause, a number of things could have caused my morning anxiety:

- cortisol is naturally high in the morning, (and it is raised if oestrogen is dominant), and reduces during the day

- high oestrogen blocks vit B synthesis, and this lowers the ability of the liver to break down oestrogen for excretion, so oestrogen is reabsorbed in its active form through the gut hence increased anxiety. (Herbs that support liver function may help - eg milk thistle)

- vit B is also needed for synthesis of dopamine (which gives a calming effect), so if low our ability to deal with stress is lessened

- magnesium deficiency leads to reduced dopamine also

- magnesium is needed for the production of progesterone, so as I was magnesium deficient but was ovulating regularly (suggesting fairly normal oestrogen levels), it may have made me progesterone deficient and therefore oestrogen dominant.

- oestrogen dominance causes raised cortisol, which is produced at the expense of progesterone, so creating a vicious cycle

- high oestrogen levels also reduces our ability to balance blood sugar levels, as does magnesium deficiency, leading to hypoglycaemia. And if our blood glucose levels are low, progesterone cannot bind properly to cell receptors - hence another vicious cycle

- and if we are anxious we lose magnesium rapidly from our system. Magnesium controls muscle relaxation (calcium controls the contraction), so we get muscles that tense without the counterbalancing relaxation, so we get very tense, muscle cramps, spasms, and a tight chest/tight breathing - and panic attacks - so we lose more magnesium - so another viscious cycle.

- High oestrogen and low magnesium both also raise histamine levels, causing increased sensitivity to foods, malabsorption and digestive problems, so yet another vicious cycle

- and magnesium is necessary for over 300 enzymes, so deficiency will adversely affect the digestive system and liver function also.

So no wonder we're in such a mess! And this is only if you're oestrogen dominant. So those of you who are oestrogen deficient, let me know your tips and info, so I can deal with it better when I get to that stage, as I haven't looked into it yet!

PS. Daily drinking of lemon balm is claimed by some very elderly people to account for their longevity, so seems like a good habit to get into!

Ellie J

Where can I get the Lemon Balm?

I have a tea that is put out by Celebration Herbals. I get it at a health food store. If you can't find it near you, they do have a website.

[Hi ellie

Thanks for all the useful info. I have Fibromyalgia so i think the magnesium connection is worth me looking into. I was getting confused between being oestrogen deficient and oestrogen dominant. I thought my oestrogen must be dropping now I am 41 so I couldn't be oestrogen dominant. My periods are still regular - probably a bit heavier - but I have anxiety for about five to ten days a month - feels like butterflies and by the end my chest muscles are in spasm. I hjave a great life - no stress- so I am sure this is hormonal. My psychiatrist says its Depression and Panic Disorder but I am usually happy and enthusiastic on my "normal days". i think I will look into the magnesium.

many thanks
mimi

Ellie J


Now, strangely, one of my anxiety symptoms was when I had to "go". I would feel very fearful and feel desperate to get off and away from the toilet. You think things like that only happen to potty-training tots.

How could that be explained away?

Oh, I knew I'd gone one step too far!

Oh Alice!!!!!