Question about hormonal connection to anxiety
Hello, I'm new here and would like to introduce myself. I just recently discovered that I have a problem with anxiety. I've always known I was a worrier, but I didn't realize the obsessive, negative thoughts, constant guilt and personal put-downs were abnormal. Of course my story is a long one, but I'll try to condense. My journey to anxiety discovery began with an extreme reaction to a Mirena IUD that I had for 7 months last year. The first side effect that I noticed was anxiety. I now know that it's always been there, but I think the IUD exacerbated it and made it more prominent. I also developed migraines, vertigo, dizziness, vision problems, numbness & tingling, heart palpitations, weird, electrical-like sensations and insomnia. Once I got the IUD removed, everything went away except for the anxiety. My cycles are still not normal, which makes me think my hormones are still off balance, which is contributing to the high level of anxiety. Do you think my anxiety issues could be hormonal? Will the Lucinda Bassett program help me if the anxiety is directly related to my hormone issues and I'm still off balance? Any input/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Guest
My psychiatrist felt that my anxiety and depression was related somewhat to my hormones as well. Not to negate all the other reasons. There are several tests your GP can do to determine this however, many times its more related to the fluctuations of your hormones versus the baseline level. So, multiple times of taking the tests is important. I have not seen this addressed directly related to hormones however, dealing with the anxiety no matter there reason I think the approach would be the same. Many people find out they have hormonal issues but, choose to do nothing with them in regards to taking medications so, it would be very important to learn the tools that are provided within this program. Best of luck to you...
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Hello happiness
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:00 pm
Hello Dutchmom,
I came down with anxiety last April. My situation sounds a lot like yours. I experienced an enourmous amount of health issues and fatigue that brought on the anxiety. Since April, I have been around the mulberry bush looking for the precise "root" of my anxiety/panic. My story is also long and I tend to start babbling when I talk about this, so forgive me if I go on. I hope my story might offer you some insight to help you find answers for yourself.
I also have had a life time of negative thinking and abusive people around me. Lucinda's program has been extremely helpful in guiding me to change those bad habits. Over the past seven years, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, GERD/Reflux, and also had other issues that I thought were related to these diagnosis'. I had been living with pain and difficulty and unhappiness for well over 15 years. I thought the diagnosis explained it all.
Then after this past Christmas, I went through some serious life changes and health issues. The stress of the life changes (financial, housing, etc.) and the pain of the health issues (calcified tendonitis and then serious tooth trouble) brought on my anxiety/panic. The pain from the tooth was soooo intense that the doc gave me pain meds for it, but then ran me around in circles trying to find what to do about the tooth. By the time I found an endodontist to give me a root canal and stop the pain, I had been taking 4 vicodin and 12 advil every day for four weeks! When the pain stopped, I stopped taking the pain meds, but my body was still in fight/flight mode.
At this point, I knew my adrenaline was out of control (adrenaline is a hormone). But my doc diagnosed me with anxiety and gave me anxiety meds. That was a huge mistake! The last thing I needed was more meds! It drove me further into anxiety as my body went further into fight/flight! I stopped the meds and found an herbalist who began to treat my thyroid (the mother of all hormone activity) and he also began to work on my GERD/reflux, fibromyalgia, and PMS/hormones as well. Before two days had passed, I was on the road to being myself again. It took a couple more months to dial in the herbs, but I finally was coming around. But I still was needing attention for something more. Although the herbs were working, it seemed like they needed to be fine tuned. So I went to a woman care ob/gyn that did the right blood test for my menstrual hormones and my thyroid and a few other items as well. As it turns out, my thyroid was too high and I am in peri-menopause. The herbalist was on the right track, he just needed some numbers to find tune the amounts of each that I took.
The day he had my blood work and fine tuned everything in, I was myself again and better. Like I was 20 years ago! One of the items he gives me is natural hormone cream and that seems to be the one item that takes away my anxiety. Because I am in perimenopause, the hormone cream dials my hormones in to a balanced place and life is great!
I still need to work on my negative thinking, etc. with Lucinda's program because my life has been filled with awful people/experiences. But the physical part of my anxiety is in check.
You might consider finding a women care doc that will get the right tests necessary to check your hormone levels and thyroid. Check out this web site: <A HREF="http://www.womentowomen.com" TARGET=_blank>www.womentowomen.com</A>. Great info here. And I will always recommend herbal therapy over meds. Even for the hormones. I don't even take advil anymore. I just had oral surgery last week and they extracted the tooth that was giving me the trouble because it had a crack in it and was causing further infection. I didn't have to take any pain meds for this. The herbs handled it all. If you decide to try herbal therapy, it is best to find a professional naturopathic physician for this. They can address your specific issues rather than you having to guess at the health food store which vitamin/herb is best to take. Keep up with Lucinda's program too. There is a lot of really helpful guidance here. Definitely a necessity in my life.
I hope this is helpful for you. Sorry again for rambling. I hope you can find some answers. I will keep you in my prayers.
Eileen
I came down with anxiety last April. My situation sounds a lot like yours. I experienced an enourmous amount of health issues and fatigue that brought on the anxiety. Since April, I have been around the mulberry bush looking for the precise "root" of my anxiety/panic. My story is also long and I tend to start babbling when I talk about this, so forgive me if I go on. I hope my story might offer you some insight to help you find answers for yourself.
I also have had a life time of negative thinking and abusive people around me. Lucinda's program has been extremely helpful in guiding me to change those bad habits. Over the past seven years, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, GERD/Reflux, and also had other issues that I thought were related to these diagnosis'. I had been living with pain and difficulty and unhappiness for well over 15 years. I thought the diagnosis explained it all.
Then after this past Christmas, I went through some serious life changes and health issues. The stress of the life changes (financial, housing, etc.) and the pain of the health issues (calcified tendonitis and then serious tooth trouble) brought on my anxiety/panic. The pain from the tooth was soooo intense that the doc gave me pain meds for it, but then ran me around in circles trying to find what to do about the tooth. By the time I found an endodontist to give me a root canal and stop the pain, I had been taking 4 vicodin and 12 advil every day for four weeks! When the pain stopped, I stopped taking the pain meds, but my body was still in fight/flight mode.
At this point, I knew my adrenaline was out of control (adrenaline is a hormone). But my doc diagnosed me with anxiety and gave me anxiety meds. That was a huge mistake! The last thing I needed was more meds! It drove me further into anxiety as my body went further into fight/flight! I stopped the meds and found an herbalist who began to treat my thyroid (the mother of all hormone activity) and he also began to work on my GERD/reflux, fibromyalgia, and PMS/hormones as well. Before two days had passed, I was on the road to being myself again. It took a couple more months to dial in the herbs, but I finally was coming around. But I still was needing attention for something more. Although the herbs were working, it seemed like they needed to be fine tuned. So I went to a woman care ob/gyn that did the right blood test for my menstrual hormones and my thyroid and a few other items as well. As it turns out, my thyroid was too high and I am in peri-menopause. The herbalist was on the right track, he just needed some numbers to find tune the amounts of each that I took.
The day he had my blood work and fine tuned everything in, I was myself again and better. Like I was 20 years ago! One of the items he gives me is natural hormone cream and that seems to be the one item that takes away my anxiety. Because I am in perimenopause, the hormone cream dials my hormones in to a balanced place and life is great!
I still need to work on my negative thinking, etc. with Lucinda's program because my life has been filled with awful people/experiences. But the physical part of my anxiety is in check.
You might consider finding a women care doc that will get the right tests necessary to check your hormone levels and thyroid. Check out this web site: <A HREF="http://www.womentowomen.com" TARGET=_blank>www.womentowomen.com</A>. Great info here. And I will always recommend herbal therapy over meds. Even for the hormones. I don't even take advil anymore. I just had oral surgery last week and they extracted the tooth that was giving me the trouble because it had a crack in it and was causing further infection. I didn't have to take any pain meds for this. The herbs handled it all. If you decide to try herbal therapy, it is best to find a professional naturopathic physician for this. They can address your specific issues rather than you having to guess at the health food store which vitamin/herb is best to take. Keep up with Lucinda's program too. There is a lot of really helpful guidance here. Definitely a necessity in my life.
I hope this is helpful for you. Sorry again for rambling. I hope you can find some answers. I will keep you in my prayers.
Eileen
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Guest
Eileen, I wanted to ask if you did the program from women to women ?. I thought my anxiety might be related to hormones. So I have been on their program for about 7 weeks now and havn't noticed an improvement. I found a place online that does saliva testing and am waiting to try that. I was thinking it might also be thyroid. I have had 2 test so far and they have come back normal. I have heard that sometimes they come back normal when it isn't. That is why I want to do the saliva testing. Hopefully that will tell me something for sure.
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had enough
- Posts: 45
- Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:39 pm
Hello guys!I'm having the same problem.Especially around that time of month.My anxiety gets real bad.I get dizzy around that time too.I almost can't take it anymore!I tell my Dr. but he says that it's normal for the anxiety to become more intense around the the time of month.I've also have had blood work done and that came back fine.I haven't had my hormones checked though.My husband wouldn't let me.He's not supportive.I don't know what to do.My thyroid checks out ok but I wonder if something isn't causing all this besides just my thinking because I'll be doing good and improving using the skills and then it just starts creeping in around my period time.Usually it goes away after my cycle but this time I'm still struggling and it's been a few days sense my period ended.Go figure?I don't get this at all.Any advice would be great!Take care and God bless!
Remember, an Eagle never has the same air under its wings.
So it is with life, there is something different each day.
So it is with life, there is something different each day.
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Guest
Hello Recon,
No I have not done the program at Womentowomen.com. I use their web site and others as a resource for information. Before I found that site, I had already begun my herbal therapy with my doctor in nutrition whose office is close to where I live. So I was already finding the help I needed here, but I still like to keep myself informed from other sources. You might be interested in some other good web sites for info:
<A HREF="http://www.drnorthrup.com/index.php" TARGET=_blank>http://www.drnorthrup.com/index.php</A>
<A HREF="http://www.power-surge.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.power-surge.com/</A>
<A HREF="http://healthjourneys.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://healthjourneys.com/</A>
Recon and Fear Not,
I also had been to my doc and had some thyroid and other tests done and they always came back normal. After reading about the more extensive testing that is necessary for more accurate results, I began to look for someone that might offer that testing. I have found that most medical docs will not go outside their typical routine testing and that I had to find someone that would. I found a woman who is an OB/GYN who specializes in all aspects of womens health. She has been through much of this problem herself and know the tests required to get the right answers. If you can find someone that does more extensive testing for thyroid and hormones, you may find some results that might more accurately explain and help some or all of your symptoms. Ask friends and family if they know of someone who is a professional naturopathic physician that can help you. Check the phone book in your area. Here is a web site of a lab testing company that the womentowomen web site talks about that they use.
<A HREF="http://www.genovadiagnostics.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.genovadiagnostics.com/</A>
When I couldn't find a medical doc to help me, I called this company and asked if they could give me the name and contact info of someone in my area that uses their services. And they gave me the name of someone that not only uses their services, but who also is a prof. naturopath who works with herbs, etc. I actually had a friend recommend the woman doc that I went to and that worked out for me. But if it hadn't worked, I would have gone to the Naturopath that this company referred me to.
Yes, my anxiety is centered around my cycle as well. Being in perimenopause, my hormones are bouncing around, but I still have my cycle. I'm not full menopause yet, but it's on its way. Having the blood work helped me to understand how to use my hormone cream. More around my cycle and less at other times. The herbs are taking care of my thyroid and everything else. I don't need to change/monitor those. They just do their magic and as I recover, my herbal doc adjusts them as necessary at each appointment.
Here is one other web site of a place in my area that uses natural methods to work with hormone issues.
<A HREF="http://sloaging.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://sloaging.com/</A>
It might be worth reading the info there as another source of help. They use "Bio-identical replacement hormone therapy" (BHRT). Much safer and healthier than what most medical docs use for "Hormone Replacement Therapy" (HRT). This is something worth being informed about.
I hope this info is helpful for you. Sorry again for rambling. Good luck and I will keep you in my prayers.
Eileen
No I have not done the program at Womentowomen.com. I use their web site and others as a resource for information. Before I found that site, I had already begun my herbal therapy with my doctor in nutrition whose office is close to where I live. So I was already finding the help I needed here, but I still like to keep myself informed from other sources. You might be interested in some other good web sites for info:
<A HREF="http://www.drnorthrup.com/index.php" TARGET=_blank>http://www.drnorthrup.com/index.php</A>
<A HREF="http://www.power-surge.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.power-surge.com/</A>
<A HREF="http://healthjourneys.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://healthjourneys.com/</A>
Recon and Fear Not,
I also had been to my doc and had some thyroid and other tests done and they always came back normal. After reading about the more extensive testing that is necessary for more accurate results, I began to look for someone that might offer that testing. I have found that most medical docs will not go outside their typical routine testing and that I had to find someone that would. I found a woman who is an OB/GYN who specializes in all aspects of womens health. She has been through much of this problem herself and know the tests required to get the right answers. If you can find someone that does more extensive testing for thyroid and hormones, you may find some results that might more accurately explain and help some or all of your symptoms. Ask friends and family if they know of someone who is a professional naturopathic physician that can help you. Check the phone book in your area. Here is a web site of a lab testing company that the womentowomen web site talks about that they use.
<A HREF="http://www.genovadiagnostics.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.genovadiagnostics.com/</A>
When I couldn't find a medical doc to help me, I called this company and asked if they could give me the name and contact info of someone in my area that uses their services. And they gave me the name of someone that not only uses their services, but who also is a prof. naturopath who works with herbs, etc. I actually had a friend recommend the woman doc that I went to and that worked out for me. But if it hadn't worked, I would have gone to the Naturopath that this company referred me to.
Yes, my anxiety is centered around my cycle as well. Being in perimenopause, my hormones are bouncing around, but I still have my cycle. I'm not full menopause yet, but it's on its way. Having the blood work helped me to understand how to use my hormone cream. More around my cycle and less at other times. The herbs are taking care of my thyroid and everything else. I don't need to change/monitor those. They just do their magic and as I recover, my herbal doc adjusts them as necessary at each appointment.
Here is one other web site of a place in my area that uses natural methods to work with hormone issues.
<A HREF="http://sloaging.com/" TARGET=_blank>http://sloaging.com/</A>
It might be worth reading the info there as another source of help. They use "Bio-identical replacement hormone therapy" (BHRT). Much safer and healthier than what most medical docs use for "Hormone Replacement Therapy" (HRT). This is something worth being informed about.
I hope this info is helpful for you. Sorry again for rambling.
Good luck and I will keep you in my prayers. Eileen
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Guest
Hi Dutchmom,
Well, you are the first person that has had almost the same situation adn timeline associated with physical symptoms and anxiety! Wow! about 1 1/2 years ago, i got the Mirena IUD, and my anxiety started getting obsessive adn worse ever since. a few months after the insertion , i got a full blown panic attack. I have also stopped gettign my period which is annoying bc i don't know what time of my cycle i am in with hormones and stuff. But the most unbelievable thing is that starting in March, I have gotten teh SAME EXACT list of physical symptoms. I just completed teh program and i am better. But really, some of the vertigo adn off-balance feelings still plague me, adn it is concerning and frustrating. I also had vision changes, a cyst on my retina and a little blurry. I have recently thought to myself that maybe it is the IUD messing with my hormones, but it is not in the side effect portion of the brochure. I have an appointment with my OB to discuss in a couple weeks, and i think i may take the Mirena out too. Let me know what you think!
Well, you are the first person that has had almost the same situation adn timeline associated with physical symptoms and anxiety! Wow! about 1 1/2 years ago, i got the Mirena IUD, and my anxiety started getting obsessive adn worse ever since. a few months after the insertion , i got a full blown panic attack. I have also stopped gettign my period which is annoying bc i don't know what time of my cycle i am in with hormones and stuff. But the most unbelievable thing is that starting in March, I have gotten teh SAME EXACT list of physical symptoms. I just completed teh program and i am better. But really, some of the vertigo adn off-balance feelings still plague me, adn it is concerning and frustrating. I also had vision changes, a cyst on my retina and a little blurry. I have recently thought to myself that maybe it is the IUD messing with my hormones, but it is not in the side effect portion of the brochure. I have an appointment with my OB to discuss in a couple weeks, and i think i may take the Mirena out too. Let me know what you think!
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Guest
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Guest