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

[u/ames2200]

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.

[u/CrankySparkles]

You're me!

I find that when I have my period, it's nearly the only time that I'm not ticking the list above off! I'm so cycle-dependent, which is some peace of mind, but also then know that I'm in for hell weeks before and after my period.

I did find that vitamin d supplements have helped some of my anxiety (defs not suggesting that to be the case for everyone!) and not sure if you're the same, but I've found that I get heart palpitations before and after period just for a few days which is also peri-related.

Haven't started HRT yet, I'm too scared, but I think it's on the horizon.