Tremors, insomnia, depression, anxiety - menopause?
ByI am 51 years old and have been trying to "get my life back" for three years now. I have tried many medications that either make me too fat or too drowsy. I am currently trying Zoloft again, going into my third week at 100 mg. I’m totally frustrated. I shake like crazy, have horrible anxiety, wake up at least three times every night. Either Zoloft isn’t working for me or I haven’t given it enough time. But, I would love to have my life back. And, of course, because I feel so horrible, the depression kicks in. I have done some of my own research and found lots of women get this from menopause, but my OB/GYN says no way. I have been to a neurologist, had a CT scan,MRI, blood work, everything is normal. Any advice from anyone?
Menopause comes in stages. Perimenopause is a transition into meno-pause (pause of menstruation for at leat one year). There can be many, many signs and symptoms, they are not the same for everyone.
Some women experience mood swings, irritability or increased depression during perimenopause, but the cause of these symptoms may be sleep disruption, often caused by hot flashes. Mood changes may also be caused by factors not related to the hormonal changes or perimenopause.
Fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone can cause a whole host of symptoms, but tremors and anxiety are not usually listed.
You could be experiencing symptoms of withdrawal (discontinuation syndrome) from other medications. Withdrawal from antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and other psych meds can cause tremors and anxiety, rebound anxiety and depression, and many other uncomfortable symptoms. Some symptoms can last up to a year, or more, but prozac should end those symptoms.
Prozac (fluoxetine) takes 4 weeks to get to a therapeutic level. You won’t feel the full benefits until then.
Perimenopause and menopause (no period for at least 12 months) can be difficult and the signs and symptoms last years. Some women require treatment and some don’t. Hormone therapy can help but it increases the risk of cancer.
3 Comments
February 5th, 2012 at 4:09 am
I can’t speak from experience because I had a hysterectomy which doctors loved to do in those days. However, I googled symptoms and depression and insomnia are just two of the symptoms.
http://www.34-menopause-symptoms.com/
I also saw online that the average woman has menopause between 45 and 55 years old. Sounds to me like that could be your problem. If I were you I would definitely seek a second opinion. One time I had to see 3 doctors before a problem I had was correctly diagnosed. And you should not have to go through what you going through now.
References :
Senior citizen
February 5th, 2012 at 4:17 am
Menopause comes in stages. Perimenopause is a transition into meno-pause (pause of menstruation for at leat one year). There can be many, many signs and symptoms, they are not the same for everyone.
Some women experience mood swings, irritability or increased depression during perimenopause, but the cause of these symptoms may be sleep disruption, often caused by hot flashes. Mood changes may also be caused by factors not related to the hormonal changes or perimenopause.
Fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone can cause a whole host of symptoms, but tremors and anxiety are not usually listed.
You could be experiencing symptoms of withdrawal (discontinuation syndrome) from other medications. Withdrawal from antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and other psych meds can cause tremors and anxiety, rebound anxiety and depression, and many other uncomfortable symptoms. Some symptoms can last up to a year, or more, but prozac should end those symptoms.
Prozac (fluoxetine) takes 4 weeks to get to a therapeutic level. You won’t feel the full benefits until then.
Perimenopause and menopause (no period for at least 12 months) can be difficult and the signs and symptoms last years. Some women require treatment and some don’t. Hormone therapy can help but it increases the risk of cancer.
References :
http://www.mayonclinic.com/health/perimenopause_symptoms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prozac
February 5th, 2012 at 5:04 am
Ugh, your ob/gyn pisses me off. What you’re experiencing is quite common in menopause. Go try some estrogen and progesterone–use the estrogen patch. See if that helps. It’s up to you whether you want to use that or not, but it can be helpful to get you through the early years of menopause. Try to find a doc in your area who specializes in menopause. You can look on this web page and get a list of docs in all areas of US and Canada who specialize in it: http://www.menopause.org/
References :