hi! i haven't posted on this website in a while, but I feel like i need to hear from others and I don't know who else to turn to. My behavior from today and the past few days is giving me a LOT of stress and I don't know what to do to get reassurance or to calm down. So, about 3-4 days ago, my period started. It wasn't a big deal at the time since I can normally handle my periods well even if they start to get bothersome. Often my symptoms will differ each time too, so I think my body likes to play tricks on me during my period. Oh well. This time, however, I've had some of the worst symptoms I ever had on my period, and they're proving extremely hard to overcome and I'm getting worried. On wednesday, my period started to get at it's worst, and came with the usual signs, cramps and lots of bleeding. I went to work after taking medicine for cramping (this was the first time I took anything for period pain, at all) but on the way there, I swore I started to feel nauseous and light-headed. I felt like I needed to call out, but I kept going anyways, despite my body screaming at me not to. I was only there for an hour before telling other staff that I wasn't feeling well, and left to go home again. I didn't actually vomit the whole day, which made me think that it was a feeling that was only in my head because of massive fear. I also felt like I experienced light-headedness and general weakness and figured it was from a combination of anemia and, again, immense fear. The next day I felt the same way for most of the day, until evening time, when I started feeling like myself again, and the morning after, I felt pretty good, thinking that I was over my symptoms and was well enough to go to work again. Except on the way there, the sick feeling returned (or so I think it did, anxiety made it worse on me anyways) and I ended up feeling like crap at work all day too. It didn't help that I was outside in 95+ degree F weather, of course. I had to force myself to eat little bites during my breaks because I was otherwise repulsed at the thought of eating anything. I went home still feeling weak, still feeling light-headed but at least thought I was slowly recovering. I made dinner that night, and began with eating, but only ate 1/3rd of it before I suddenly grew afraid to eat again, and fell into an intense panic attack. I was sobbing, hyperventilating, my chest began to feel tight and i went to my mom to ask if she had any sleep medication because the pain was getting so unbearable. She gave me muscle relaxer to help with my physical tension and made tea to help me to sleep. After slowly calming down again, i returned to my room and laid down until I fell asleep. I got quite a lot of sleep, and woke up this morning feeling weak (probably still from not eating enough dinner), and had coffee and some breakfast. But because of how I feel, I keep panicking. I called out of work for today so that I could rest at home, but I keep getting fears that I'll never recover from these recurring symptoms. That I'm going to die, or am about to. I often become aware of my own heartbeat, and I've taken extremely deep breaths all day feeling like I need to, and I feel like my chest is tight. I still feel weak, my appetite is still nonexistant and I still have to force myself to eat, and I'm shaking a little. My hands and feet often feel cold. Whenever I walk around or move, I feel like I'm floating and I don't feel like my usual self, at all. Keep in mind that I've otherwise proven to be okay. I kept down everything I ate, never actually vomited, never fainted, and none of this started at all before my period happened this week. In fact I felt really good before it did. The amount I'm bleeding seems normal for my periods. And when I'm not letting these thoughts get to me, I can still sort of get through my day despite some feelings of weakness. I'm almost 23 years old and I've also had unusual cycles for years now. my period skips from 1 to 3 months at a time on average, so I'm already aware that I have some kind of endocrine/hormonal disorder and it's possible that I inherited a condition from my mother. My problem is that I never experienced a period like THIS before, and because of that, I guess it's blown my anxiety out of proportion too. I could really use some reassurance that this will go away with time and that I can recover. Has anyone else experienced PMS or period symptoms like this? I'm aware that I should seek medical attention for these things since this is proving to get in the way of my life, but when I'm not panicking, it's easier to tolerate. I would just like to hear from others... Thanks a lot for reading! ><
Yes I've had period symptoms that come with a side order of panic attack before. Your hormones are fluctuating and can cause anxiety. I know that in my case if I feel even a tiny bit sick or light-headed I panic which makes me feel more sick and lightheaded and the beautiful cycle continues. I have Xanax which helps a lot with my panic attacks. Even if I don't use it knowing it's there if my panic gets too bad is super helpful. Also birth control has made my period more regular, shorter, and less painful. I can't make you go to the doctor but if you can you should to get relief from your symptoms. You deserve to be happy.
Thank you for replying! I'm definitely going to a doctor after this week if this doesn't stop or lighten up. I want to believe it's just my period and that it'll go away the same time my period itself does. Having no health insurance will make it an obstacle so I don't want things to come to that, but I wish I had answers too.. it's a day later now and my symptoms haven't quite stopped, I still feel weak, short of breath, light-headed and a little shaky. I'm trying not to freak out about it. But yes, it's my goal to soon get actual treatment for my irregularities as soon as my household can afford it more easily.
Not quite to the same extent, but another anecdata vote in favor of "yes my anxiety gets hella worse when I'm on my period". Brain chemistry fluctuation's a pain, ain't just you.
I'm on the depo shot specifically to stop my periods, and part of the reason for that is that my mental health--anxiety included--goes to shit when I'm menstruating or PMSing. It's not unheard of by a long shot (in fact, there's actually a known condition called premenstrual dysphoric disorder that sounds pretty similar to your symptoms), but it's definitely something to discuss with a doctor--especially because there's quite a lot you can do for shitty periods.
First, thank you for your replies, i really appreciate hearing that it's a struggle many of us face :') Second, some updates since my last post. I ended up going to the ER later the same day of my last post due to me panicking over my condition. It was scary and now I have lots of $$$ gone and some hefty bills weighing on me due to lack of insurance (fucking yay). It's been over a full week now since these symptoms began and my period has ended, however I still feel dizzy and nauseous, a lot. I'm starting to think it isn't period-related and that the poor timing just made me think it was. Or maybe it is linked somehow. Who knows! But I keep begging for answers because the constant dizzy feeling is so, so unbearable. It makes everything suddenly feel exhausting, including things that were previously simple for me, like eating and driving. I dreaded doing both in the past week and it's been really wrecking my life and I'm so afraid that it won't go away for a while. I looked up what the feeling could possibly be, and "vertigo" seems accurate. It's the illusion of motion when there isn't any, and it makes literally EVERYTHING feel "off". It's such a scary sensation that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Anyways, I'm hoping it will just.. magically go away, otherwise I'll need to make lots of changes of plans in my life, which is unfortunate. I would commute frequently to my job and to university in the fall and spring semesters in the past year, up to an hour to them and back. And now, all of a sudden I'm struggling with driving to the grocery store. I'm so scared of how much this could impair me if it persists for a long time... Thankfully, as of this moment, I don't feel as awful as I did earlier in the day, I feel like I can sort of enjoy my evening for once. But I'm scared of moving too much in case I trigger it all over again. Bleh. I expect more low blows to happen too, so I'm erring on the side of caution and not working for a while, giving away as many shifts as I can, etc. I already have a back-up plan if shit hits the fan and I don't recover in time for class to start. I'm considering looking for a job closer and switching to online classes to the best of my ability. I have no idea what the condition I'm actually experiencing is, I'll either have to wait or never find out. But I'm saddened that it had to occur out of the blue and disrupt my quality of life this much... at least I get some breaks here and there from how hellish it feels. But I don't like that I feel more useless now with being unable to handle most kinds of work lol (fuck)
I too have hell anxiety from time to time and have had cronic dizziness in the past as well(more than 3 months counts for cronic, woo hoo). I had at the same time a vitamin D deficiency and taking a supplement did seem to help with that. Other physical symptoms like feeling my heart beating and tingly hands didn't really chill out until I got put on a beta blocker. That had always been a problem but ramped up to eleven when I came off my SSRI cold turkey cause I had a falling out with my doctor, do not recommend.
Goodness, that's a long time :( I'm not sure if it will become chronic in my case, it's too early to tell obviously. But this whole situation's opened my eyes more on how hard illnesses are on people, especially for those who suffer chronically. You all are strong for getting through your hard times..
