Hi gwyllion,
Are you on any meds right now? Certain antidepressants can make you feel that way. When I was on Wellbutrin, I seemed to have a few minutes of rage every afternoon.
I'm sure alot of it might be perimenopause. Alot of it could also be from sleep deprivation since you're not sleeping well.
Try to eat well......lots of veggies and protein. Try to cut back on sugar and other carbs.
Try to get some good exercise everyday.......like walking. Be sure to get sun every day too.
Make sure you're taking a good multivitamin.
Are there ways you can relax? .......like music, meditation, quiet walks, etc.?
Some women say that supplements like black cohosh and the OTC "Estroven" help with the rough parts of menopause.
You might want to take a B complex vitamin too.
Avoid foods and caffeine which seem to make hot flashes worse.
Try to develop good "sleep hygiene"....which means going to bed at the same time every night, not doing anything too stimulating right before bed, not eating alot before bed, etc.
Are your periods irregular yet?
This can be a really rough time for some of us! Hang in there.

gwyllion, I have experienced the same rage twice in the past few months. Went completely out of control yelling and screaming over something very minor and insignificant but at the time it was basically a breaking point and mentally I couldn't handle the anxiety anylonger...so...an explosion ensued. It's no fun. Yes, afterwards you feel like a huge idiot and I'm lucky that both times no ones feelings got hurt or someone's neck broken.

I experience high levels of anxiety often and it presents in a meanness and nastiness that I sometimes have difficulty controlling. Days that I know I'm having alot of trouble I don't go anywhere if I can help it because I don't want an explosion in a public place. The smallest things upset me greatly when I'm in a very anxious state. I know that, I try to keep a perspective during those days but it's very difficult.

Last week I was making motel reservation's. I wanted adjoining rooms but guy on the phone was telling me that they can't guarantee that at all, and I could just feel my blood start to boil in my veins. It wasn't his fault it was just that I was now having to deal with a situation that was going to cause me alot of screwing around the weekend we go away and when I'm having a high anxiety day anyway, it's this kind of 'little' stuff that will set me off. Anyway, I knew I had to get off the phone before I ripped into this poor guy so I just told him, I have to hang up now, I'll call back later. Click. But it wasn't over because now I was MAD and I had to get rid of that anger or it would just keep festering. My heart was racing I was just about to lose complete control again. I went outside and walked, very very quickly, up and down our driveway until I could get myself calmed down.

And all this over the fact that you can't reserve adjoining rooms anymore!!

But once my anger is heightened I have a hard time bringing it back down. That day in particular, for the rest of the day I was just prickly. Crabbing at my kids, DH, every little thing just p*ssed me off all day long.

Physically and emotionally it absolutely wears me out. When I've had a day or two with a high level of anxiety I am wiped out and then the following couple of days I have no energy at all.

It helped me alot once I realized that my anger/anxiety was a perimenopause symptom and not me in the process of a breakdown. Some days are really hard but when I feel myself starting to lose a grip on reality I just keep telling myself it's hormone's and nothing more and I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill and I need to calm myself down.

It stinks. But we'll get through it. And hopefully still be married!

Went cold turkey off birth control pills a few months ago, Couldn't take the rage/mood swings/suicidal thoughts/sleeplessness and night sweats and started HRT (Activilla) it has alleviated those problems. I will try to get off it asap, but just 4 days after starting I was myself again. Diet and exercise was not helping me. Of course, I have no contraindications for HRT at this time, not everyone can take it.

Hi Alexis. It's wonderful that you have found something that helps you. I see my doctor again in a couple of weeks so we'll see what she thinks. I know my anxiety this past month has been the worst yet and I can't continue on like this. I'm just useless when I'm in that 'funk'.

I've actually felt really good today. Don't know if it's from taking away the caffeine and sugar or just getting a lucky break. The previous two days I had a head thumping headache all day and night. No amount of over-the-counter medication touched it. Woke up today feeling good. Got alot of undone chores taken care of so feel more human again.

This roller coaster of emotion is awful but we'll get through it. : )

hgtvme......could your headache be from caffeine withdrawal? Caffeine is definitely a drug and you go through detox when stopping it. Its good to do it over a month or 2, to avoid the fatigue and headaches.
I have fibromyalgia and tons of fatigue. The only way I could have energy for the day was to have a coke in the morning. But I started getting too many irregular heartbeats and had to stop it. But....I started having a little in the mornings again a few days ago, and my muscles and joints are hurting alot again. I had suspected that the caffeine was involved with the pain, but wasn't sure. But now that the pain is back after I started drinking it again, I'm sure its the culprit.
I think caffeine affects us more than we know. You can get depressed and angry when the caffeine starts to wear off too.
Its sort of freaky to think that this whole nation is addicted to it!
Even having started drinking just a half glass a day again, I can feel myself wanting more, more more! Strange drug! I get so energized by it, too bad it has side-effects!
And I'm sure it can bring on hot flashes too.