Panic Attacks with Menopause

Panic attacks with menopause - this is a very frequent symptom, which can be a manifestation of the beginning of menopause. Changes in the body of a woman with menopause are not only changes at the level of internal genital organs, but changes in the whole organism also occur. Panic attacks can be of varying degrees of manifestation, but in any case they require correction. The combination of panic attacks with organic changes in internal organs is an indication for hormone replacement therapy.

[1], [2]

Causes of the panic attacks with menopause

Climax is a period in a woman's life, when there are various changes not only with internal sexual organs, but also with other systems of the body. This is the physiological process of changes in the female reproductive system, in which involutive processes occur in the body. The hormonal background of the female body is very diverse and provides not only the functioning of the female genital organs, but also affects the metabolism, the muscle tone of the vessels, the blood pressure, the regulation of nervous activity. Thanks to this phenomenon, the nervous system of a woman is very labile, and any hormonal disorders contribute to a change in nervous regulation. Therefore, along with violations of menstrual function in menopause, there is a violation of mental perception of what is happening. Violation of nerve conduction is also accompanied by an emotional factor in the realization that the female body is aging, which is why there are often panic attacks.

The climacteric period is conditionally divided:

1. premenopause - the period from 45 years to the onset of menopause;
2. Menopause is the period of the last menstruation, the average age is about fifty years;
3. Postmenopause - the period from the last menstruation to the end of a woman's life.

All these periods are characterized by consistent changes in the body and if there are no violations, then the nervous system works normally and gradually adapts to the change in the hormonal background. If there is a rapid transition from stage to stage, then there are various violations, including in the form of panic attacks. Therefore, a direct cause of the development of panic attacks in menopause can be considered a sharp hormonal imbalance in the female body, which entails and a violation of the normal robots of the central and peripheral nervous system.

If we talk about the pathogenesis of panic attacks in menopause, then one should know about hormonal changes that disrupt the metabolic processes in the cerebral cortex.

Premenopause is characterized by hormonal disorders, which are primarily central. There is an involution of the higher regulatory center - the hypothalamus, which is characterized by a gradual decrease in the sensitivity of the hypothalamus to the effect of estrogens, which violates its regulatory function by the principle of reverse regulation. As a consequence of all these processes - there is not enough concentration of hormones and their alternation for normal regulation of the nervous system. Thus, in the cerebral cortex the principle of the main dominant, i.e., menstrual function is violated, it is with the lability of the psyche, such a violation and can cause the emergence of panic attacks. If all these changes occur also against the background of violations of the nerve impulse, then attacks of panic attacks are maintained and intensified. As is known, progesterone and estrogens ensure the normal conduct of a nerve impulse through the cell, and also in a broader sense they regulate the tone of the autonomic nervous system. The vegetative or autonomic nervous system is divided according to the principle of action into a sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system provides active processes in the body, which are accompanied by energy expenditure, and the parasympathetic department of the autonomic nervous system ensures the accumulation of energy. Such regulation occurs at the level of all internal organs and ensures their normal functioning. In the case of violations of the level of hormones, the parasympathetic nervous system can not inhibit sympathetic activity, so panic attacks are accompanied by other vegetative symptoms.

Also, an additional pathogenetic mechanism for the onset of panic attacks is the central principle, which consists in disturbing the processes of inhibition and excitation in the main brain, and this also breaks the conductivity along nerve fibers and further deepens the changes. At the same time, extrarenal foci of hormone synthesis are activated as a protective mechanism, and this facilitates the release of a large number of catecholamines, which significantly exacerbate and stimulate the development of symptoms of panic attacks in menopause.

This is the main causes and mechanisms of the development of violations in menopause in the form of panic attacks, which requires correction to prevent the development of complications.

Symptoms of the panic attacks with menopause

Panic attacks are seizures of varying severity that are accompanied by mental and vegetative manifestations, and there may also be symptoms of other abnormalities that correspond to the climacteric period.

Symptoms of panic attacks in menopause can develop as gradually, so they can be sudden and under themselves can hide other pathologies. Also, the danger of panic attacks is that the development of the clinical picture is sometimes so pronounced that one can think of a serious illness on the part of the woman's psychic sphere, and this only functional changes are provoked by hormonal imbalance. This also shows that it is necessary to urgently treat this pathology, because it disrupts the normal life of a woman.

The severity of symptoms may be different. As a rule, women are concerned about this condition in the mornings and not every day. The brightest clinical picture can be accompanied by a sharp awakening in the morning, a sensation of a hot flush to the face, a strong tachycardia, a feeling of shaking the entire body, anxiety, a sense of fear of death, a headache, dyspeptic phenomena in the form of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. All these symptoms can be at the same time, then it is a question of severe panic attacks up to a neurosis. When the symptoms are not all expressed, then this is a more favorable option.

The first signs of a panic attack in menopause are a sudden onset of an attack of fear, deep excitement or emotional lability with anxiety. This causes a woman to panic and even more leads to a difficult situation. If the climax begins with a panic attack, then it's about a moderate climax and not a very favorable prognosis, so you should immediately talk about hormonal replacement therapy.

Symptoms of panic attacks are very often not limited to the emotional and volitional sphere and are accompanied by vegetative manifestations. The woman is concerned about irritability, mood swings, depression, decreased sexual desire, fatigue. Also, vegetative manifestations often can be attacks of sweating, fever, headache and palpitations, increased fatigue, sleep disorders such as insomnia or drowsiness, impaired functioning and daily activity. Often a panic attack ends with a woman's dream, after which all the symptoms pass and she feels better, there may be only residual effects in the form of a headache. Expressed a decrease in sexual desire and vasomotor manifestations. All these clinical signs accompany and aggravate attacks of panic attacks.

Depression, as a manifestation of menopause, along with panic attacks occurs quite often and these two symptoms can replace each other. Panic attacks do not occur every day, and in their absence, a woman can wake up with a depressed mood. This is explained just by the violation of the processes of excitation and inhibition in the cerebral cortex.

Other symptoms that accompany panic attacks are also associated with hormonal imbalance and its attendant pathologies. Often during a panic attack, there is pain in the region of the heart, which is not associated with the load, but occurs in itself during an attack. Such heart pains can occur abruptly and are accompanied by hot flashes to the face, a palpitation or a heart failure. Also, panic attacks are often accompanied by a lability of blood pressure. This causes symptoms of low blood pressure in the form of headache, dizziness, nausea, as well as symptoms of hypertension in the form of bursting headaches, nausea, palpitations, dizziness, flashing of flies before the eyes. This is due to the fact that the regulation of vascular tone is disturbed, which contributes to spasm of peripheral vessels, increased peripheral resistance and increased blood pressure. Also, hypertension is promoted by sodium and water retention and increased circulating blood volume. All this during a panic attack is a very serious symptom and requires parallel antihypertensive therapy to prevent complications.

It often happens that panic attacks are accompanied by symptoms from the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, there are diarrhea, flatulence, bloating, violation of intestinal motility. All this also occurs against the background of the disturbance of nervous activity and the regulation of the gastrointestinal tract.

Headaches are often characteristic of a panic attack and they are debilitating, react poorly to pain medications, and sometimes require serious medication. They can be during an attack, or appear after its termination.

Speaking about the symptoms of panic attacks in menopause, it should be noted that they can be very diverse. Often everything starts with simple emotional disturbances, which eventually develops into serious symptoms. Therefore, it is necessary to notice the clinical manifestations of climax in time, because panic attacks are a very serious manifestation.

Complications and consequences

The consequence of panic attacks in menopause is a violation of the normal life of a woman. This is a very serious problem, because the symptoms of this pathology are very pronounced and are observed throughout the time. Very often the working capacity of a woman decreases, the general mental state worsens and a vicious circle arises. Complications of panic attacks in menopause are possible complications from other organs and systems due to concomitant hypertension, tachycardia. Therefore, a panic attack can be accompanied by an increase in blood pressure to a level where there is a lesion of target organs in hypertensive crisis.

[3], [4],

Diagnostics of the panic attacks with menopause

It is very important to correctly diagnose a panic attack in time and timely treatment of pathology. It is necessary to clearly differentiate the changes in the psyche of a functional nature against the background of menopause and serious mental disorders.

Often women do not know what to associate with their condition, so you need to be careful about this issue and not exclude any symptoms, like the manifestation of the climacteric period. First of all, you need to start the diagnosis with a careful history. It is necessary to find out when these symptoms first appeared and whether it is associated with a delay in menstrualnyh.Nuzhno find out what kind of attacks now, how the symptoms varied depending on the situation, as well as detail the complaints of the patient.

If a routine examination at a gynecologist, then you need to examine the woman on the chair, and then to determine the level of the main female hormones in the blood. If a panic attack relationship is established with a climax, then even in this case, a psychiatrist consultation is needed, since an integrated approach is required in the treatment.

Analyzes that are necessary to clarify the diagnosis are general clinical and special. General - a blood test, a biochemical blood test with a lipidogram and indicators of kidney function, urine analysis. This is necessary to eliminate somatic pathology and control the patient's condition. Special tests are the determination of the level of female sex hormones.

Instrumental diagnostics of the IRR in menopause has a wide use for the purpose of not only diagnosis, but also differential diagnosis. Carry out mandatory methods of research - this is electrocardiography, which allows you to exclude cardiac pathology in the case of concomitant symptoms from the heart.

It is also necessary to conduct echoencephalography to study the features of cerebral circulation and exclude cerebral ischemia. This method involves the registration of echoes, which allow you to establish blood supply to the hemispheres of the brain, and also allows you to judge the difference in intracranial pressure. This examination allows you to determine the possible organic pathology and conduct differential diagnosis with involuntary changes in the brain.

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Differential diagnosis

Differential diagnosis of panic attacks in menopause should be carried out with pathologies that are accompanied by similar symptoms - it is vegetative-vascular dystonia, acute neurosis, hypertensive crisis, as well as a number of cardiac pathologies in the form of myocardial infarction, angina pectoris.

Vegeto-vascular dystonia is a functional disease characterized by the same vasomotor and emotional-psychic manifestations. It is very important to differentiate these two states. With VSD, the symptomatology is less pronounced and it is constant due to stress, whereas panic attacks have the nature of attacks and the psychological side of the clinical course is very pronounced.

Hypertensive illness with aggravation in the form of a crisis can also be accompanied by cardiac symptoms with a headache and a fit of fear. The main diagnostic feature in this case is high blood pressure in hypertensive disease.

It is very important to conduct differential diagnosis of panic attacks in menopause with psychiatric pathology, since the severity of the manifestations can be so great that it is difficult to differentiate these two states. Therefore, in this case, a consultation of a psychiatrist is necessary. But there are some diagnostic features. Acute neurosis, as a rule, develops under the influence of certain mental trauma or prolonged mental stress. Moreover, a situationally unrelated occurrence of a sense of anxiety is observed in a woman, accompanied by palpitation, chest pain, tremor, dry mouth, dizziness and lasts for several minutes. These symptoms are also accompanied by affective instability outside the attack and an increased level of anxiety. Panic attacks with menopause occur without the stimulus, as a rule, in the mornings and in the period between attacks, the general condition does not change.

Clear diagnostic tactics and careful differential diagnostics make it possible to detect panic attacks in time during the menopause and differentiate this pathology from organic diseases and mental disorders with the purpose of timely treatment and improving the quality of life of the patient.

[6], [7], [8],

Treatment of the panic attacks with menopause

Given the fact that panic attacks with menopause are very pronounced and significantly affect the life of a woman, the treatment should be done immediately. There are medicamentous and non-medicamentous methods of treatment. Medical methods of treatment should be aimed not only at the correction of hormonal disorders, but taking into account the severity of clinical symptoms in some cases, psychotropic drugs are necessary for treatment. Non-drug treatment also uses herbal remedies, alternative remedies and homeopathic remedies, which are also aimed at normalizing the emotional state.

Regardless of the chosen method of treatment, the correct mode of the day and the nutrition of the woman in the menopause period are very important components of successful resolution of the disease.

1. Correction of the regime of the day with the normalization of the period of rest and work. It is necessary to establish exactly the rest regime after each labor. This will help the body correctly distribute forces and relieve tension while maintaining emotional stability.
2. Normalization of sleep by means of a rest - you need to go to bed at about the same time, sleep at least 8-9 hours a day. It is necessary to carry out hygiene measures in the room where the woman sleeps - wet cleaning, airing, fresh linen - all this contributes to the normalization of the brain and reduces episodes of panic attacks in the morning after awakening.
3. It is necessary to exclude stresses, strains, bad habits, which only contribute to changes in the normal regulation of the nervous system.
4. It is necessary to organize leisure activities with dosed physical loads in the form of easy jogging, swimming or simple walking. It has a tonic effect on nervous activity and detracts from daily exercise.
5. It is important to organize the right diet with dietary elements:
   • It is necessary to exclude fatty food, which loads internal organs;
   • it is necessary to organize frequent fractional meals in small portions with the exception of simple carbohydrates and the predominance of vegetable protein;
   • the daily volume of fruits and vegetables should be at least 300 grams;
   • should be observed drinking regime and drinking clean water at least 1.5 liters.

Drug therapy should be carried out in a complex way with other methods and panic attacks with menopause are an indication for the appointment of hormone replacement therapy. The prescription of drugs is made after hormonal screening, but in most cases it is necessary to carry out combined treatment using both estrogens and progesterone.

1. Triziston is a complex hormone replacement. The principle of action is to regulate the level of hormones, which in turn increases the tone of the nervous system with the normalization of the function of cortical structures and the reduction of episodes of sudden changes in the hormonal difference and panic attacks. This drug is produced in a pharmacological form of a three-color dragee, which are applied on a special schedule for three weeks, then break for a week. The course of treatment is not less than three to six months. Contraindications for the prescription of the drug are malignant formations of any localization, pathology of blood vessels in the form of thromboses in the anamnesis, hepatitises. It should be used with caution in diabetes, because the drug can change glucose tolerance, as well as with hypertension. Side effects can appear in the form of cholestasis, impaired liver function, embolism, as well as allergic and dyspeptic reactions.
2. Logest - a drug containing estradiol and gestagen in its composition, is a highly dosed drug, due to which its prophylactic role is manifested not only in the correction of the hormonal background, but also in the prevention of cancer of the female reproductive system. The drug contributes to the leveling of hormonal inconsistencies and due to this symptoms of disturbances in regulation of excitation and inhibition decrease. Logest is produced in the pharmacological form of capsules, containing 21 pieces per package. The reception must start from the first day of the cycle. You can begin to receive and the fifth day of the menstrual cycle in the case of menopause in women. The course of taking the drug is one capsule per day for three weeks, then a break for seven days, then you need to resume reception. Adverse events are possible on the part of the digestive tract in the form of a stool, nausea, a feeling of bitterness in the mouth, vomiting. There may also be asthenovegetative reactions, manifestations of hormonal treatment from the side of the breast in the form of engorgement of the breast, soreness, secretions, as well as an increase in the secretion of the vaginal secretion. Contraindication to the use of the drug for treatment - a problem with blood coagulability and a history of heart attack or a stroke, malignant neoplasms, liver dysfunction, pancreatic damage and diabetes.
3. Velaxin is an antidepressant, which is often used in the treatment of panic attacks with menopause. Such therapy is explained by the fact that often for the removal of anxiety and a sense of fear it is necessary to take these drugs in combination with hormonal drugs. This drug increases the number of molecules that are responsible for the transmission of the nerve signal, and the number of mediators that relieve the state of depression and fear increases. The drug is available in the form of capsules and tablets and as an initial dose is recommended taking 75 milligrams during meals. Side effects of the drug can be expressed in the form of changes from the nervous system - dizziness, drowsiness, increased excitability, as well as lack of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive sweating or dry mouth, palpitation and tremor of the extremities. Contraindicated taking the drug in the pathology of the liver and kidneys, increased sensitivity to the components of the drug, while treating monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

Operative treatment of panic attacks in menopause is not used, because there is no special indication for such an intervention.

Alternative treatment for panic attacks in menopause

The use of alternative therapies for panic attacks in menopause is used very widely, but such treatment should be conducted not in an acute period, as its effect is delayed. Such methods can be used in conjunction with medications. The medicines that are used are directed mainly to the correction of hormonal homeostasis and the soothing and anxiolytic effect. To do this, use alternative means and treatment with herbs. The main alternative methods are:

1. To normalize nervous excitement, it is necessary to take infusion of herb Leonurus and hawthorn, for taste, you can also add honey. To do this, take the leaves of the motherwort and hawthorn one tablespoon of each herb, pour it all over with boiling water and boil for several minutes. Infusion of these herbs used warm for half a cup on an empty stomach for three weeks.
2. An effective way to normalize the hormonal background is to use a shell of walnuts. Tincture of walnuts is prepared as follows: membranes or shells are cooked for about five minutes in hot water, then drain the water and fill half a cup of alcohol. This solution should be infused for about five to seven days, after which it can be taken one teaspoon twice a day, previously diluted with boiled water in the same proportion. The course of treatment is three weeks.
3. It very well calms the nervous system and reduces episodes of panic attacks with menopause, taking infusion of sedative herbs. To prepare this infusion it is necessary to take leaves of chamomile, mint, lemon balm, then pour it all over with two glasses of hot boiled water and insist in a dark place for three hours. In such a decoction you need to add a tablespoon of honey and drink instead of tea at least two times a day. Such a decoction regulates the activity of the nervous system.

Homeopathic remedies can not only correct the hormonal imbalance, but also they restore the normal state of the tone of the cortical structures of the brain, and reduce the severity of the symptoms during panic attacks during menopause.

1. Remens is a preparation of the homeopathic series that improves microcirculation in the vessels of the brain, regulates hormonal imbalance in menopause due to influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary zone, and also has protective properties on myocardial cells and vessels. The drug is available in the form of a solution and tablets. The medicine is applied on the first and second day in an increased dose - one tablet or ten drops eight times a day, and then for three months at the same dose, but only three times a day. There were no side effects. Contraindications to the admission of Remens - is hypersensitivity to the individual contents of the drug.
2. Climact-Hel is a homeopathic preparation that is an analogue of phytoestrogenic drugs and promotes the normalization of the hormonal background in menopause. The drug also reduces neurohormonal disorders with an improvement in the regulation of nervous activity. Applies Klimaktoplan in tablets one tablet before meals or an hour after it three times a day. The course of treatment with the drug is long - about two months. There were no side effects. Contraindications to the use of Climactoplane - is hypersensitivity to the components of the drug.
3. Sigetin - a drug that is a synthetic analogue of the natural hormone estrogen, and allows you to replenish its stock with menopause. It has properties as a tonic, soothing. It has a good effect on the psychosomatic manifestations of menopause, as well as on the vegetative and psychological symptoms of menopause.

[9], [10],

Prevention

Measures to prevent the occurrence of panic attacks in menopause and the progression of symptoms are in nonspecific ways. It is necessary to properly organize your daily routine with alternating periods of rest and work. You need to eat right with the exception of all harmful foods and the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Sleep is a necessary measure for health, its duration should be at least 8-9 hours. It is necessary to wake up with a positive attitude, this will help to set the rhythm of the day and prevent attacks of attacks in the morning. It is necessary to exclude stresses in life and to go in for sports even in a mode of walking. Also it is necessary to exclude bad habits and treat accompanying pathologies in the form of hypertensive disease, in fact control of arterial pressure is very important for the prevention of complications in a panic attack.

Panic attacks with menopause may appear at the beginning of menopause, but can also develop in the midst of this period. In any case, they are accompanied by unpleasant symptoms and require correction of the condition, both hormonal and medicamentous. It is necessary to diagnose this condition in a timely manner and to carry out a differential diagnosis correctly, therefore, for any such symptoms it is necessary to consult a doctor. Do not panic in the case of such manifestations, because everything can be adjusted and bring life back to normal.

[11], [12]

Forecast

The prognosis for recovery in case of manifestation of menopause in the form of panic attacks is favorable, but timely detection of symptoms and treatment aimed at correction of homeostasis of hormones in the body and soothing anxiolytic therapy are mandatory.

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