PMS / Anxiety.

[lynnsee]

can pms bring on anxiety before, during or after having your menstrual cycle?

[lynnsee]

I appreciate your advice to the fullest. I know where you're coming from and understand you completely. I even feel the same to some point. no need to apologize. thank you so much for your input.

hearts -Lynnsee c:

[catmint]

I think it would be best if you just followed other people's advice from this point on. I'm sorry.

I wish you the very best and hope you feel better soon.
catmint

[lynnsee]

ah yes. i used to feel the same exact way. my mom kept telling me that i was depressed but i thought it was just anxiety. then i realized that constantly feeling scared and thinking i would never feel better just brought me down to the point that i'd cry at the drop of a pen and at past memories. i'd cry uncontrollably because i just hated feeling the way i did. i was also very mush against meds. i tried Zoloft once before and quit after 4 days because it just scared me so much that i was taking something so serious. but then i told myself i needed to get over this anxiety one way or another and if it meant meds then so be it. i do really want to get off of meds completely one i get control of my anxiety/depression. i was also diagnosed as having mdd as well which scared me even more because i thought i was just going to fall apart. but i do feel like the depression came AFTER or BECAUSE OF my anxiety. do you know anything about taking magnesium for anxiety?

and what do you mean by "The kickback from Zoloft is bigger than Ativan. I would NOT advise asking him about THAT!"

[lynnsee]

yea, sorry i forgot to put that it was 50mg of Zoloft lol my bad. i been meaning to look for a therapist but i just been so caught up in other things and money is kind of tight at the moment.

[catmint]

nursegirl said it was most likely an anxiety issue and I agree with her. You state you have panic disorder and your're taking 50mg of "something." Do you mind if I ask what it is you're taking?

I personally think your experience last night was anxiety driven and you should not be overly concerned about it.

What you may want to consider is getting into therapy to deal with the underlying cause of your panic disorder. Medicating it will help you live a "normal" life, day to day, but for those of us with this disorder, our goal is figure out why we have, face it and fix it.  

[lynnsee]

ah yea. i forgot to put Zoloft. i just been so busy lately, getting ready for school and such, i haven't really looked into a therapist. my anxiety isn't that consistent. its more around that time of the month that i notice little peaks of it. i hope to eventually get of the meds all together once i get my anxiety completely under control. i read somewhere that magnesium also helps with anxiety. i read that for some women, it completely rids them of their symptoms. any opinion on that?

[nursegirl6572]

Okay, now I remember!  :0)  Thanks for the reminder.

I personally wouldn't be worried about it.  It sounds either like the sleep/wake lines were blurred causing some weird sensations/emotions, or maybe even some derealization mixed in, secondary to the anxiety.  

I'm glad to hear you're on the medication (Zoloft?), but I would also recommend therapy. That's truly where you make the most progress.  The meds are great in helping address the symptoms (decreasing anxiety), but therapy teaches you things to do in the moment to help deal with your anxiety.  It really is important.  If you can, find a therapist well versed in CBT.

Also, you may need a higher dose of your medication.  At 3 months, you have allowed enough time to adjust to the meds.  My experience with meds was that they decreased my anxiety to almost non existant, so I think it's fair to expect a little better results.  Everyone does differently of course, but if you're still having moderate levels of anxiety, and it's frequent, I would talk to your doc about your med and maybe increasing it.

Keep us updated!

[lynnsee]

its ok for not remembering. i have panic disorder. i was prescribed 50mg and been taking it for about 3 months. it has helped a lot but i still look out for things and like my original question addressed, i think i may be pmsing, which is making my anxiety come out. i haven't been to a therapist so i don't really know any coping mechanisms but when i notice my anxiety, i just surround myself with my family and try to get my mind off of it.

so as far as the weird feeling i had last night, is it something serious or was it just because i was more than half asleep and should i be worried or is just my anxiety?

[nursegirl6572]

Just remember that when we're experiencing higher levels of anxiety, the littlest things will affect us and upset us.  If you hadn't already been anxious, you would have likely just written that whole experience off.  Us anxious people tend to dwell on things, and things that aren't a big deal stick with us, or in the least, upset us more.

Are you normally anxious?  Do you have a history of anxiety?  If so, what kinds of things have you done to address it?  Learning coping mechanisms is a great idea, because you can use them anytime you're noticing a spike in your anxiety, for whatever reason.

I didn't look at your posting history, but I think I can recall a history of anxiety?  I apologize for not remembering, it's hard to keep everyone straight!  :0)

[lynnsee]

thanks. its tolerable, just noticeable enough that I don't like it. another thing, last night, i'm not sure exactly what time it was, but in the middle of the night I woke up and didn't even realize that I had fallen asleep. I felt like I was still dreaming. it just felt weird/wrong. like I didn't know what day it was or that I was even in my own bed because last thing I remembered in my dream was I was in a car I think. then I quickly just went right back to sleep when I realized that I remembered going to sleep and everything made sense. I woke up feeling fine in the morning, but i felt a little worried about why i felt that way in the middle of the night and it kind of triggered my anxiety because i felt like something was wrong. should i be worried or was it just because i was kind of in and out of my sleep/dreams?

[nursegirl6572]

Most definitely.  Hormonal surges/changes can affect us emotionally, adding to feelings of depression or anxiety.  Some women have more severe shifts in their moods than others.

Definitely talk with your doctor if the symptoms are hard to tolerate, or becoming worse.