Burning skin sensation /perimenapause

Hi Julee, well you are either not losing your mind or we are all losing our minds! haha!!!

Indeed OMG, I have been backwards and forwards to the doctors for 1 1/2 years with burning skin on fronts of lower legs, itching and rashes all over plus jaw and mouth pain and reflux like symptoms. To say this is a nightmare is an understatement and this all started after i got lymes disease when i went camping and only got treated for that because i went to A&E after 11 weeks of feeling so ill and no one was listening plus i had photos of the tick bite but still ignored, anyway i got treatment and all was sort of ok but was left with itching on my legs for nearly a year then got chest infection and it went down hill from there had more antibiotics for helocobacter pylori and still after all this time with blood tests, mri, nerve conduction tests you name it I'm left with burning skin itching the lot. a blood test did confirm i was going through menopause even though i had to buy a test first to show my doctor , is there and end to all of this i wonder

Hello Julie,

Can I ask, if you don't mind... you mention in your post above you suffer from jaw and mouth pain, would you mind giving a bit more detail on that please? I too am suffering from jaw and mouth problems but can't make up my mind if it's Meno related or something separate? I've had nerve problems for one year now in my face, and burning mouth syndrome for almost one year. Just wondered if you were suffering from the same symptoms as myself?

Thank you.

Pam

Hi pam, nice to hear from you, the pain in my jaw is more like a dull ache and i get earache alot too plus i have some teeth missing at the back both sides but the mouth pain is like a toothache on teeth that are not there like phantom pain, the back of my throat burns and sometimes the tip of my tongue, in order to keep the burning at bay i have sugar free fruit gum in my mouth all the time not chewing but sitting there. Maybe i still have some reflux but if i take ppi meds it makes the problem worse. I have had burning mouth syndrome years ago when younger and it just seems different. The most unusual thing though is when i get these pains the skin on the front of my legs burn even more, weird i know. I hope i have explained in more detail for you and it helps

thanks Julie

Hello Julie,

Thank you for writing back to me, it certainly does help. I have similar symptoms, apart from the phantom tooth ache I guess, it's so strange that we all seem to have similar issues!

My face pain is deep, boring pain mostly on the left side but I get it on the right side too. Jaw pain, earache, around the eye socket, headaches, etc... as for the burning mouth, I guess I don't need to describe that to you but I can safely say it's the worst thing I've ever had. I do hope to get rid of it at some point!

The leg burning in conjunction with the face pain is very weird indeed. I had extreme heat through my whole body last year, the worst burning was in the soles of my feet. I had to go on HRT and it helped with the body burning, not so much in the mouth though ;o( I tried cutting the patch in half a couple of weeks ago to see if I could come off the HRT and within a day the intense heat through my whole body came back, so I'm on the HRT for now.

And I hold chewing gum in my mouth too, to ease the burning! Funny, I'm glad I'm not the only one out there going through the face/mouth thing, you do feel alone sometimes in all of this.

Fingers crossed we get relief from all these weird symptoms soon ;o)

Take care x

Hello Pam, I'm so glad about the chewing gum thing because whenever I mention it to anyone even professional they look at me like I'm weird 😁, I think I will consider some estrogen hrt (as I had hysterectomy about 20 years ago), was in my very early 30s. I do hope you find some relief from your burning mouth syndrome and hopefully in the near future come off of the hrt, if I find any miracle cures I will let you know. It has been nice to talk to someone that understands.

you take care also xx

hi pam

I too have the jaw and teeth pain and burning sensations in upper body , the burning started 3 yrs ago

Hi annette, can u describe the upper body burning sensations?

Thank you

Hi ling

Yes I can, it's in my upper back, chest, it also moves up and down from my chest to my stomach, it's also in my face. It's a feeling of inbetween burning and soreness, at first my dr said it was acid reflux, I had a blood test for a bacteria called Hpylori which is something most of us have in our gut but can sometimes cause things like reflux, it came back borderline so they treat me with antibiotics, anyway it did nothing for the burning, I did keep saying that I thought it was to do with a condition I have, ankylosing spondylitis which causes inflammation anywhere in the body, but I was put on ppi's even though I said it didn't follow the same pattern of heartburn, whatever food I eat never causes it to be worse. It's still the same after three years, so since discovering this forum I am now wondering if it's the menopause or my AS, the burning in mu back is worse with pressure and it's worse when I focus on it.

hi annette & ling - i might add to this conversation that i primarily experience my burning sensations at night, usually starts around 2:00 am, so i was thinking it had some correlation to metabolic or cortisol levels. i get my burning sensation primarily in upper back, middle back, chest, front of lower legs, tops of feet, a little on forearms & often feel tingling on my left chin. I AM 7 YEARS POST MENOPAUSE!!! GO FIGURE! I might add that i was in a very stressful situation when i stopped menstruatiing & really didnt start having symptoms until maybe 3-4 years ago - it just shows how different everyones journey is - peri started @ 52, i am 62 - i do sufffer from anxiety also.

hi ling & annette - oh, & i wanted to add that i think this burning sensation has to be related to menopause, just look at all the women on this forum who have experienced it - its too coincidental & the only common denominator is menopause -

hi debra

I was just thinking today and wondering if men get the burning sensation as well, but then the burning can come from other things as well. My burning has no time zone, but stress and anxiety makes mine worse and it's worse if I've been lifting and moving heavy items. I don't have any tingling in my chin, but I get it in my cheeks and some times in my ears.

I'd say my symptoms started before my last period 10 yrs ago, and I've gained others over the years, some I've put down to AS.

oh dear lord annette...you have been dealing with the burning sensation for over 10 years? My heart just sank...i was hoping & praying that this was a short lived occurance during this transition time, apparently its going to be our "new normal" OMG!

oh no Debra the burning only started three years ago!! sorry for the confusion haha 😃

Hi annette, many thanks for sharing!

Would a cold water bath help? When I have a severe attack, I find it offers some temporary relief and when I'm lucky, it breaks the attack.

I think your thinking is likely correct. The spondylitis causing inflammation, coupled with the menopause onset, are likely culprits of the burning sensation. I take comfort from Pam's info that HRT has helped her burning. It shows clearly a cause for the burning!

I really thank everyone here for their inputs. May we continue to share here and help each other with living with this thing!

Hi Debra, two years ago I happened to come under the care of a very good GP for a short time. I asked him if hot flashes stop over time, and he said no.

My current attack follows a 2-month stressful period. All other symptoms have largely subsided but the burning remains. It's freaky especially when it's very bad as the extreme heat can disturb how the heart beats.

I noticed that when I am more active like say out for walks, the burning subsides.

Eating soya bean products also helps.

Hi ling

I am thinking that your burning is probably worse than mine in that mine just seems to be underlying, but then I expect there are different degrees to it. Mine is worse during and after lifting and moving heavy objects about for a few hours which makes me think that it's the AS but who knows? It's like being in a quagmire at times trying to work out what symptoms come from where!!

I'm not surprised about the hot flushes, I have had them for at least 12 years, they started before my periods stopped, I feel as if I'm stuck with them though I can say that they have become less both day and night.

I have never been on HRT, always a bit scared of it if I'm being honest, but then that is me in general in that I won't take medication unless I need to, the only thing I take is VitD, VitB Complex, a menopause supplement and I swear by Evening Primrose Oil.

Yes, when it's a very bad attack.

I am not keen on HRT, but am wondering if I have a choice judging from the way this current episode is g out???

When u say hot flushes, do u mean with the sweating?

Which menopause supplement are u on?

Hot flushes for me are a wave of heat that I can feel build up that makes me want to take my top or coat off, but I just ride with it till it fades away, I only sweat with the night time ones if I've slept thorough it and not been able to throw the quilt off until it subsides, I always call them heatwaves because that best describes them for me haha

The menopause supplement is one of those over the counter womens health ones with lots of vitamins and minerals in.

Boy does that sound familiar : )

Did u ever consult a gynaecologist?

Has the supplement helped?

Hi ling

No never consulted anyone about the menopause, been in it for about 12 years and have just ridden it out, but since reading through the posts on this forum I am realising that I have probably been suffering more symptoms but putting it down to other things, anxiety is one of the worst for me, it makes for such irrational thinking but yet I still can't conquer it!!

I've worried about mispronouncing and jumbling words etc... but have also realised that it's a common thing, brain fog has more facets to it than what we think!!

I think the supplement is helping, but have only been taking it for about three weeks, I bought it months ago but was scared to take it because I avoid medication like the plague haha but I have found an improvement in the tingling in my face. I swear by the Primrose, been taking it for about 30 years, I came off it twice, once when I had pneumonia and was too ill to think about taking it and a few years ago when I thought I didn't need it because I was no longer having periods, on both occasions I noticed that my anxiety was going through the roof, going back on primrose calmed it down again on both occasions.

Hi annette, sorry for the late reply. Had another bad attack. Realised something this time. It's all starting in the tummy?! And then migrating upwards triggering the burning episodes etc. Feel it's something to do with the vagal nerve, otherwise why is it coming up from the tummy??

Re anxiety. Yes I'm sure that figures big in this whole thing. For me it's a trigger that sets the whole thing off, and even when I no longer am anxious or stressed, the deleterious effects continue to wreak havoc, dragging on for months, necessitating that I sometimes stop work completely to let IT hopefully work itself out. Increasingly, it's disruptive and now even becoming harmful with cardiovascular symptoms. I'm sure this one has its roots, in part, in the Graves

Happy to hear that the face tingling is better. Will have to seriously consider supplementing.