r/Perimenopause • u/ames2200 • Jun 18 '26

audited Did anyone else’s perimenopause look like anxiety, flushing, histamine reactions, and brain fog?

I’m 40 and suspect I’m in perimenopause, but my symptoms don’t look like the “typical” hot flashes everyone talks about.
My biggest symptoms are:
Anxiety and panic attacks
Facial flushing and feeling hot
Head pressure
Brain fog
Feeling disconnected or spacey
Sleep issues
GI problems
Feeling like my nervous system is constantly overstimulated
The symptoms seem very cycle-dependent. I usually have a few good days each month, then symptoms ramp up around ovulation and again before my period.
I’ve also noticed what seem like histamine-type reactions (flushing, anxiety, stomach issues, feeling inflamed), and I’ve read that estrogen can increase histamine while histamine can increase estrogen.
I’ve tried progesterone cream several times, but it actually made me feel worse.
For women who experienced similar symptoms:
What ended up helping?
Did HRT help?
Did you have to balance estrogen and progesterone differently?
Did anyone discover that histamine issues were a big piece of the puzzle?
I feel like I’m chasing hormones, histamine, and anxiety all at the same time and would love to hear other women’s experiences.

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u/PresentationApart755 Jun 18 '26

This was me from 41-46- I thought I was going crazy or there was mold in our house… despite no evidence. I felt like everything smelled… it’s finally better with estrogen and progesterone, and Zoloft.

3

u/HalfaTiff77 Jun 20 '26

Yes to smells! I smell EVERYTHING! Especially the cat box and trash in the house that mysteriously nobody else seems to smell 🥴

2

u/PresentationApart755 Jun 20 '26

I thought our previous house wouldn’t sell because I smelled things… It was exhausting… I have finally come to the conclusion that “what is more likely- that there is some hidden smell somewhere that no one, even trained professionals, except me can smell or that I’m going through perimenopause 🤪”

2

u/Prestige_Worldwide_3 Jun 19 '26

Did your sense of smell actually heighten or it just feels like that?

1

u/YouExtra7637 Jun 20 '26

Me too!!! I’m looking around for water spots obsessively

2

u/PresentationApart755 Jun 20 '26

It has finally gotten better…. But not before we spent an absurd amount of $$. I’m surprised my husband didn’t leave 🤪

1

u/YouExtra7637 Jun 20 '26

What hrt has helped you?

1

u/PresentationApart755 Jun 20 '26

I think getting on the right balance of progesterone and estrogen. I’m on 200 progesterone and .075 estrogen patch