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November 22, 2015

Menopause and Anxiety (Revisited)

Published in: Anxiety, brain health, Depression, estrogen, Exercise, Memory, Memory Loss, Menopause, mental health, Midlife, Panic Attacks, perimenopause, Sleep, sleep disorders

DOES THIS SOUND VAGUELY FAMILIAR?

…”Crippling anxiety, sleep issues, panic attacks, lack of energy, weight gain, intense sweating, no sex drive dry hair and brittle nails.” – Just a few of the 219 comments expressed by women from around the globe in response to a 2011 blog I wrote titled, “Menopause and Anxiety” for HealthyWomen.org.

Menopause ahead shutterstock_243340372

It turns out anxiety is not the only thing about menopause plaguing the 6,000 U.S. women who reach menopause each day.

“I’M NOT BOTHERED BY MENOPAUSE”
…Says hardly anyone.

THE STORY

I’ve been blogging since 2009 (that’s a long time, in blogging years). Never has any one blog post ever gathered so many comments (and the comments continue to roll in four-plus years later).

SO, WHAT DO ALL THESE COMMENTS MEAN?
Women need other women
Women need a sense of community
Women need commiseration
Women need to feel heard
Women need to share and express themselves

WHAT WOMEN ARE SAYING

Basically, that menopause has ruined their lives. Or if not ruined them, changed them (and not for the better).
” I need help.”
“I have no patience.”
“I have crippling anxiety.”
“I get awful panic attacks.”
“I have sleep issues.”
“I feel sooo old.”
“I used to be energetic.”
“I’ve gained so much weight.”
“I have brittle nails and dry hair.”
“This is so much worse than PMS.”
“Who is the menopause expert?”
“Will it ever stop so I can be my old self again?”
“I’m tearful and afraid.”
“Brain fog…mood swings.. I’m worried about driving.”

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Hot Flashes: You may not be able to eliminate them, but you can get enough relief to make a difference in things like sleep and your sex drive. The North American Menopause Society suggests trying things like lifestyle changes, nonprescription remedies, hormone therapy (estrogen alone if you’ve had your uterus removed; if not, then estrogen plus progesterone is suggested) and non-hormonal prescription drugs. Click here to read more. And here are some via The Mayo Clinic

Mental Health: Indeed, menopause can wreak havoc on your psyche, confirms the brain & spine team over at Cleveland Clinic. It may start out as sleepless nights, feeling more tired than normal or being moody and short-tempered (what I like to call “prickly”). To help with these symptoms, many will choose to use products that can be found over on the Gold Bee website, as CBD is known to aid with sleep as well as improve your mood.

Oh, I almost forgot – there can also be problems with concentration and memory. The list of symptoms just keeps on growing.

In fact, so many women go on to experience anxiety and/or depression, which can be especially crippling if they can’t find relief. Read more about that here. (Yes, changing estrogen levels could affect your mental state. And no, it’s not all your imagination. That calls for a toast.)

WHO ELSE YOU CAN TURN TO

Many women complain that their current healthcare professionals are either poorly educated or uninterested in the subject of menopause and as a result, are ill equipped to offer helpful advice.

What to Ask When Seeking Help With Menopause…

Are you a NCMP or NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner? These are practitioners who are skilled at providing healthcare for women in perimenopause and beyond. The National Menopause Society has established this competency exam for all licensed healthcare providers; if they pass they are awarded with certification that they have expertise in the field.

WHAT ELSE?

Having personally been privy to a host of these discomforts, I’ll add my two cents. I MADE IT OUT ALIVE!

Since I’m a breast cancer survivor, taking hormones was a no-no. Fluoxetine, prescribed by my GYN, helped with my irritability. My hot flashes gradually subsided after about I-don’t-want-to-tell-you how-many seven years.

My Non-Drug Drug of Choice

Exercise. Yeah, I know, I think it can cure all ills. Well, not all, but many.

Whether it truly helped with my menopausal symptoms or just took my mind off them matters not. And it’s good for things that this so-called midlife puts you more at risk for, like osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, weakening bones, insomnia. Think I’m wrong? Just look at this study published in Archives of Internal Medicine. Even if you never exercised before, it’s not too late: being fit in middle may make you a healthier older adult.

And who doesn’t want that?

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carol Cassara says

    November 23, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    Don’t hate me–I’m not bothered by menopause. I had very few symptoms and those I did have were minor and I coped with them. I know I’m lucky.

  2. Stacia Friedman says

    November 23, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    When I suffered from all the symptoms mentioned in this posting, I refused to take just Premarin offered by my gynocologist. I had done my homework and knew that millions of women in Europe were getting much more relief by taking a combination of Estrogen and Testosterone. The American version is Estratest. It dramatically eliminated all my menopause symptons. No more night sweats. Not more fatigue. And my sex drive was back. My only regret? I stopped taking it because of a medical media scare suggesting that HRT was not cardio protective, even though there is no history of heart disease in my family. I miss my Estratest the same way I miss my libido, memory and collagen.

  3. Tam Warner Minton says

    November 23, 2015 at 2:57 pm

    The thing that I hated were the hot flashes which invariably came when we were out to dinner with friends, or at a movie. UGH. Other than that, I went through it really early, at 40, and it started when I had a MAJOR back surgery, so I didn’t notice it as much I would have otherwise.

  4. Cheryl Nicholl says

    November 23, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    Menopause is a bitch. There’s just no other way to define it. Mine started around 50 with me noticing that my feet and hands were on fire. Strange. Of course this was only the beginning. However, my experience was that it lasted about 6 years and has now gone away. For me the brain fog was the most unexpected. I couldn’t string a sentence together. I am currently back to normal.

  5. Irene S. Levine says

    November 23, 2015 at 5:10 pm

    Nice to be over that!

  6. Lois Alter Mark says

    November 23, 2015 at 7:31 pm

    This is great information. Menopause can make you feel crazy and, honestly, misery loves company!

  7. Roz Warren says

    November 23, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    I had an easy menopause and what you say inspires me to be grateful for that, and to be aware of what other women are going through. I still get hot flashes from time to time, but am able to ride them out. Thanks for the reminder of how how lucky I am.

  8. Lisa at Grandma's Briefs says

    November 23, 2015 at 10:16 pm

    I guess one advantage of having MS is I’m unsure if it’s menopause or the MS causing some of the crappy things that go on with my body and brain. 😀 Nothing too major, though, regardless. I hear horror stories all the time but have yet to experience much worse than minor hot flashes and a foggy brain. Thank you for the info!

  9. Kimberly says

    November 23, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    How lucky we are to now have the community of women on the internet to share our stories with. So very different than our grandmother’s world. Information is key and we have so much at our fingertips. Thanks for revisiting a topic of such broad interest.
    Kimberly

  10. Carolann says

    November 23, 2015 at 11:58 pm

    Oh yeah. It can be rough indeed. I can’t stand the hot flashes – for me, that’s the worst of it. Thankfully, they are leveling out. My hubby can actually feel them from a few feet away when we are sleeping lol. I always laugh when he says, uh-oh, she’s hot flashing lol.

  11. Lisa Froman says

    November 24, 2015 at 3:14 pm

    Yep, menopause has taken more than it has given. For sure. I like the way you wrote this!

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What’s this so-called midlife, anyway?

It’s a time of tremendous change, growth and opportunity. A time to re-evaluate our choices, our experiences and ourselves. A time to take what we’ve accumulated up until now and put it to work.

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A High School Student and Aspiring Writer from Australia Reaches Out…

I would love to hear a few things on the prospect from a first hand-perspective, and would be thrilled to learn more about it from you. Your advice is well valued and I’m very grateful to have such wise words from someone with such first hand experience.

I will be looking forward to reading more of your wonderful articles in the future!

Best wishes,

Mikayla

 
Sheryl Kraft
2017-01-17T13:37:55+00:00
I would love to hear a few things on the prospect from a first hand-perspective, and would be thrilled to learn more about it from you. Your advice is well valued and I’m very grateful to have such wise words from someone with such first hand experience. I will be looking forward to reading more of your wonderful articles in the future! Best wishes, Mikayla  
https://sherylkraft.com/testimonials/high-school-student-aspiring-writer-australia-reaches/

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On behalf of our entire organization, we'd like to thank you so much for featuring our product in last week’s Parade Magazine. Due to your article, traffic and sales have been great this past week.! We are a small business that prides ourselves on excellent product quality and customer service. We work hard to make quality products and market them effectively but then sometimes you get a gift like your article which really takes us to the next level. We will be eternally grateful to you for choosing us as one of your eye product recommendations.  
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I'm a young medical writer trying to get a foothold in the industry, so the portfolio you have on your website showcasing your accomplishments is something that I'm aiming to achieve.

I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I am hoping you can share some advice, tips, or guidance as I work on this, my lateral career change!

Thanks for taking the time to read this - I know you probably have much more exciting things to be doing, but just know that your work is inspiring me to continue down this writing path.

 
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I'm a young medical writer trying to get a foothold in the industry, so the portfolio you have on your website showcasing your accomplishments is something that I'm aiming to achieve. I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I am hoping you can share some advice, tips, or guidance as I work on this, my lateral career change! Thanks for taking the time to read this - I know you probably have much more exciting things to be doing, but just know that your work is inspiring me to continue down this writing path.  
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