Thread: Panic attacks :(

So I am just 34.5 years old and beginning to see some signs of what is either a serious hormone imbalance or perimenopause. Going to see the Dr. tomorrow am to get to the bottom of what I've been battling now for about 3 months.

I know I am getting frustrated because I have found myself here, looking for advice,support and information from other woman who might be experiencing some similar symptoms about a week before they begin menstrating. Back in the day I would have a week of leg ache, back ache, headache, mood swings, emotional meltdowns, cystic acne breakouts and exhaustion/fatigue. Now this has all continued but with the added anxiety attaches and sudden feelings of overheating, nausea/stomach pain, diarreah and rapid heart beating. There are times when I actually can see and hear my heart pounding. It is very scary, like an attack and it comes out of know where!

Obviously this has had detrimental affects on my relationships and leads to a week of staying inside, little activity and feelings of depression and general anxiety about even leaving the house or being around people. But I am convinced it is hormonal because it only is for a week and then it goes away and i am a normal functioning person. I was laid off in March and so life has changed dramatically for me. No longer in the fast paced, stressful work environment, but in exchange, I spend a lot of time alone and don't have a huge network of people outside of my family to keep me active and socal. I have made special effort to get involved at church but even that has proven difficult as it is a very large church and it is easy to get lost amongst the 3000+ people who attend. So I started volunteering in the sunday school as a helper and also looking into a singles group, just to network and meet new people.

But anyway, my mom takes a low dose Xanax to help with keeping her blood pressure down and she has suggested I talk to my Dr. tomorrow about getting a prescription for this vs a birth control regime. I have had no luck with birth control in the past, as it makes me feel angry and irritable just like I was when I was pregnant. I am reading a lot about hormonal imbalance, perimenopause, estrogen dominance and just wondering if anyone else out there might be able to shed some light on what worked for them who suffers from these kinds of symptoms related to PMS.

Thanks for any feedback, support or information you might have.

Sheadlady

Yes, I heard about St. John's Wort and I like the idea of taking a natural supplement vs prescription drug, especially since I am now without health insurance!

Thanks for your helpful suggestion and I will discuss with my Dr.

SL