Constant Peri symptoms - heavy tired blurry eyes, dizzy, neck pain
Posted , 18 users are following.
I am a newby here and just wanted to find out if other women are suffering from any symptoms that are constant? This is probably my health anxiety talking, but I seem to have a few head issues which are all the time these days and I just can't believe that they can be attributed to hormones. I have the symptoms that come and go, like fatigue, insomnia, palpitations, tingling in extremities, jelly legs, burning tongue, dry eyes, headaches, light sensitivity, overheating, bloating, spotting, lighter periods, tummy issues and crushing anxiety. But I also have symptoms that are EVERY DAY! Like spacey vision, dizziness/off balance (this has recently become constant), achy/pressure and tired eyes and neck pain. I have had SO many tests like brain MRI's & MRA, spinal MRI sinus CT, chest xray, dental xrays, ophthalmologist testing, vaginal ultrasounds and nothing has been found. Am I the only one having these constant symptoms and can they really be attributed to all of this hormonal craziness?
6 likes, 35 replies
lexie41068 Guest
Posted
My dearest jenjen you are not alone I have been through them all and currently experiencing the vision dizziness off balance headaches random pain it just doesn't stop I can get a break for a few weeks and a brand new symptom pops up out of nowhere .
Hang in there.
Guest lexie41068
Posted
Thanks Lexie, it really helps to know there are others out there who are experiencing the same issues as me, though I wish none of us were. I've had symptoms for nearly 2 years now, so I hope I am not one of the ones who suffers for 10 years or more!
Guest Guest
Edited
Hi Jen,
That is a huge YES!!
And I agree, it's hard to believe hormones can create so much havoc. It's torturous.
I had all those tests as well, so now, when I have all these crazy symptoms I just tell myself to stop worrying, I know what it is.
Lately I've been having vision stuff going on daily. The other day I even thought I saw the lawn shifting. It was bazaar. I still see the silver glitter rain from time to time. I have trouble focusing. My left eye is constantly twitching. So annoying.
Make sure you aren't looking down alot at your phone or computer, that might help with your neck issues.
XO
Guest Guest
Posted
Definitely torturous is a good way to describe all of this! Thanks for the message, it is great to know I am not alone in this x
debra16694 Guest
Edited
hi jen jen - i have all those symptoms & then some & i am 61. i only had night sweats, insomnia & flooding in peri, but these freight train of symptoms have hit me almost 4 1/2 years adter losing my period - i almost wish these "bad" symptoms would of hit me when i was younger, because i feel like i have less coping skills now than i would have before - i truly think your body tanks at different times for different reasons. i just went into William Sonoma to pick up a few things for XMAS & i had to leave because it was so crowded, the mulling spices were making me sick & the lighting was making my vision blurry...not quite the holiday cheer i was expecting - plus my head felt like someone vacuumed out my brains. i just dont get why this goes on & on for me -
Guest debra16694
Posted
Oh my gosh, I know what you mean. I just came from the shops and the term you used to explain your head feelings was spot on, I felt like someone was sucking my brains out too! And the lights are terrible, I have to wear my sunglasses into a lot of shops now, otherwise I feel so lightheaded and my vision is so blurry and its quite scary. I get anxious going to the shops these days, seems so silly. I'm sorry you are dealing with these symptoms at 61, that is just not fair, but I think you are right we all peak at different ages and tip over the threshold depending on what your body has been through and genetics. My mum was in full menopause by 44 without her period for 12 months and had most of her symptoms in her late 30's. I am 43, so not surprised that I have been having symptoms since about 38 too. I hope there is an end to this for us soon. Take care.
debra16694 Guest
Posted
i know....all i want for XMAS is my mind, body, & energy back minus the achy, sunburned/tingling body parts & brain fog/anxiety...is that too much to ask?
Nettie261962 Guest
Posted
I have all of the above. It''s just awful. Sending a big air hug!
Guest Nettie261962
Posted
Thanks so much, right back at you!
sharcerv52408 Guest
Posted
No unfortunately we are all in the same boat. These all are familiar nemesis to me
claire71812 Guest
Edited
i have the dizzyness, dry eye syndrome, migraines, insomnia, dreadful anxiety ( there are so many symptoms i can't list them all). its like the hormonal changes have sent my body and mind into meltdown. i am sure i have aged 10 years in the last 2 1/2 years! stress makes everything much worse.
Guest claire71812
Posted
Yes, I feel I have aged prematurely because the last 2 years have been so draining and stressful. Im only 43 and have just noticed grey hairs appearing! All these health issues along with the extreme health anxiety have taken their toll on me too.
staci88515 Guest
Edited
Hi JenJen,
I am a newbie here too. What brought me to this forum is my vision. I know I have replied to you in other posts, but I want to make sure anyone new searching about vision, sees these conversations because it has made all the difference to me to know I am not alone. Suddenly and out of the blue, my eyesight went blurry two months ago. It is by far, my most distressing symptom. It is constant 24/7...no relief. Some days are better than others, but never what I would consider normal or good. I don't know if I read it on this forum or another, but I once heard someone describe it as, "fishbowl eyes." I kinda agree!!!
I also have terrible light sensitivity, Stores are a nightmare. I wear a hat all the time now. I have trouble with after images too. If I look at something bright and look away, I see it over and over and over again until finally it fades away. Sometimes when I am in a store, I will look in the distance at shelves and they look wavy. I have to immediately focus on something close up to make it stop. High contrast patterns look ad though they jump. As if my eyes can't decide whether to focus on one color or the other. I also have strange periphery too. It's as if I have more periphery vision, which constantly bugs me because its darkish and distracting. Sometimes, it sees like everything is covered in static. Oh, and occasionally I will have flashes of light. If I close my eyes, it feels like I am standing in a lightning storm or on the red carpet with hundreds of paparazzi.
There are other strange and worrisome visual disturbances that are hard to put in words. I saw drawing once of someone with a migraine. It had bubbles and swirls and stars and lightning bolts....I thought to myself that is what I see. How we see is our perception of the world. When that perception is weird and strange, it creates such fear and uneasiness.
I have the anxiety, panic attacks, and palpitations too. But, I think I could handle them if my vision was normal. The vision part keeps me from driving or working. It has made me life incredibly small and oh-so-sad. I am on the cusp of losing my job and my livelihood. It's not enough that perimenopause has taken my sanity, but now I will homeless?!?! What hurts the most is that I care for my 76 year old mother who has cancer. I had such big plans to make her life great and now I am useless. If anything happens before I get better (if I get better), I will have SO many regrets.
So, JenJen...you are not alone. I am suffering and afraid too.
P.S. I won't even mention the migraine auras, which left me with PTSD.
Guest staci88515
Posted
Staci, I really feel for you and completely understand where you are at. Unfortunately, I also experience the blurry vision 24/7 and despite the extensive testing of my eyes and even my brain, there is nothing that shows up. I have had this ongoing symptom for nearly 2 years now. I have been diagnosed with a form of chronic migraine which I believe is like a MAV variant (migraine associated vertigo) and chronic daily headache (mainly tension). I don't suffer from vertigo but rather a dizziness that seems to stem from my vision issues. I would highly recommend you checking out mvertigo. org which is another really good forum for people who suffer with migraine variants. I believe that my migraines have been brought on by peri and a multitude of other hormonal symptoms too. Peri appears to have tipped me over a threshold and has got me stuck in this viscous cycle of constantly recurring migraine. When mine first started I remember reaching out to as many people as I could to make sure that the things that I was suffering from were also experienced by others. There certainly was some comfort in that. I have recently had fairly major surgery and this has set me back again with my chronic migraine. I also tried botox and this amplified all of my symptoms, so I am hoping that it wears off soon. I have upped my medication (45mg nortriptyline) to help me through this rough period, as at present I am struggling to function at a 7 or 8/10 each day, but previous to the surgery and botox I was having some 4/10 but mainly 5 or 6/10 days. So it is really depressing to go backwards but I believe this is what this condition does, it has its peaks and troughs. I am sure that stress on the body and mind makes all of this so much worse so I have started doing meditation at night before bed. I would suggest if you are not already, to start a migraine diary and note your symptoms each day, rate it out of 10, note your medications, track your periods etc. This is a great resource to look back on so that you can see any patterns and whether meds are working or not. You should be able to find a diary proforma on the web. I wrote my down for 18 months, but now I use a period app on my phone and note all of my symptoms and med info on there. Please take comfort in the fact that you are not alone in this. If you go onto the site I mentioned above you will find MANY people who have the blurry vision along with the visual auras that you experience every day, some even have a constant visual snow like the static on the TV. You will begin to be able to manage better as time goes on and with time, your condition will settle and hopefully go away altogether. I am hoping mine goes after meno when there are no constant fluctuations in hormones. Please take care 😃
Guest Guest
Posted
hey jenjen, we are in the same boat with the BM/MAV...over a year for me too. I just increased the nortripyline 3 nights ago from 10 to 20mg...were you twice as off balanced, spacey and soooo tired when you increased? How long did it last? I assume it is side effects...also had my period too which makes my dizzies worse. This is slow torture, I can only hope it goes away with meno. I agree...mvertigo is a good site to search around on! This is very common in peri...tons of women discuss it on there...that is where I started getting clues about my issues.
Guest
Edited
ok, so that should have said VM not BM 😃
Guest Guest
Posted
Hi again Lou 😃 We are definitely in the same boat with our MAV/VM variants and it seriously sucks!!! The mvertigo is a good forum, there is a lady named Helen who often writes in and seems to be very knowledgeable, she attributes much of hers to menopausal issues too and she has done much research and spoken to many people. There definitely seems to be many women on this forum with such similar headache and migraine symptoms. And it just cannot be ignored that so many are women who suffer these issues, really pointing towards hormones as the underlying issue in most cases I'm sure. As for the nortriptyline, yes I definitely suffer for a good 5-6 days when I change the dosage and I know of people who have said it can take 2 weeks to stabilise. I have been on it for 18 months up and down, so I think my body is quite used to it now, so not as severe side effects these days. I do remember the dizziness and spacey head definitely worsening for a good week or so though. So hang in there! I find that it helps with my head and jaw pains, it also helps my dizziness but unfortunately not my blurry vision. The main side effects I find are constipation and dry eyes/mouth, but I just up my water intake to 2-3 litres per day and I find that helps. It does help me sleep too and also helps with my anxiety at this higher dose. Many on the mvertigo say that you should take 2-3 meds to help with each different symptom, but I'm quite sensitive to meds, so find this too hard in terms of side effects. I have tried proprananol, verapamil, pitzofen whilst being on the nort and none have helped, in fact they each had side effects I could not tolerate well. The nort has been the best med for me and seems to be the most tolerable. I did try amitriptyline in the early days but I was SO tired on it and felt like a zombie.
Guest Guest
Posted
thanks a million! I would not be able to deal with a med cocktail either. proprananol for was a disaster for me, my BP runs on the lower end and I felt dead on it. I will tough it out on the nort...I survived 3 months on lexapro before...that was waaay worse. My neck pain was not too bad today. Yes to the dry mouth and constipation. Love finally sleeping more than 2 hours a night too! Luckily, my kids christmas break is in a couple days. I dread driving with my head whirling, but I tough it out...I just think about rainbows and puppies while white knuckling the wheel! Thanks for chatting, it helps me so much! 😃
lexie95632 staci88515
Posted
Hello staci, I know its been a while since you post this, are you all right?
pamela2016 staci88515
Posted
you just described my vision issues to the T its scary 24/7 i have a eye appointment on Oct 1st praying its all just hormones. have you found anything that helps at all?