QUESTION:
Dear Dr. Heller,
I just turned 49 years old on Sept. 1st, 2000 and began having strange symptoms earlier this year.It all broke loose in January. Presently, I am in menopause and it seems that since this began I have been going downhill.I am now on progesterone 400mg 2X/day and the Climara Patch at 0.05mg (which I will have changed to the Estraderm Patch). I prefer to go with the 'naturals.'
I am experiencing being sucked into a dreamlike state of mind of adrenaline rushes that make me feel afraid that I won't come out of what I'm going into. I don't think I've had seizures, but, I almost feel like I'm going into small ones and right now. I am fighting a constant state of it. I believe this was stimulated by menopause. It all seemed to hit pretty hard.
I really want to go 'natural' with diet, meds, supplements as much as possible. I am afraid of Prozac and other meds. I do not know what SSRI's stand for or what they are. What do you think of the book Potatoes Not Prozac and the philosophy of it? I am not an addict but the physiological/biological aspect of it makes sense to me.
I have never been a depressed person. I'm usually full of life and joy and peace with my Christian life in God. But this is beyond me just thinking sad thoughts or anything like that. It seems as though these episodes come at any time without external stimulus or additional stress to my life. It's just something inside of me that happens at any time.
My vision seems like it is also affected by this. The ophthalmologist said it wasn't involved with my vision. He said he thought it was 'central?' . But it all began when my menopause kicked in full bore. I've only been on the estrogen patch for 1 ½ weeks now. Will a lot of this balance out when my hormones are balanced out? One week my Estrogen (estradiol) was at 133 and the next week it went to 34 then to 33 (the present level for this week).
It feels as though something out of my control is making me feel spaced out...kind of like not being here, but I know that I am. I seems that it feels like I'm going into a slight seizure mode and it's not going away. Can you help me, please? I have 'never' ever had symptoms like these in my life.
ANSWER:
Menopause can do all kind of things mentally, especially with widely fluctuating
estrogen levels. Estradiol levels should be around 160 or somewhat above that.
You could easily be getting depressed. There could be something neurological going on as
well such as MS. I highly recommend getting a thorough neurological evaluation, including
checking for thyroid levels and B12 levels.
What you're describing is much more than just menopause.
