Menopause and paresthesia?
Posted , 157 users are following.
I would love some input on my strange symptoms.
I'm 50 years old. For many years, my periods have been very close together, very long, and with 2-3 days of exceptionally heavy flow. I know this weird period stuff is normal in peri menopause. Then, after one of these "normal" (for me!) periods in April, I didn't have one for 60 days - and when I did it again, for the first time in years I didn't have the heavy days. That was over 60 days ago and so far I haven't had another one since.
My FSH level in a blood test two weeks ago was very high - 117.
I tell you all this just as a little background - I already know I'm obvioulsy in peri menopause and nearing actual menopause.
But here's the reason I'm posting. Starting mid-May, all of a sudden I started having very consistent paresthesia in my feet and legs - a mixture of tingling, pins and needles, slight burning, static sensation outside skin, pricking... no numbness. It has been with me every single day since then - 3 months now. It's worse at some times than others, but always present to some degree (and usually very annoying and concerning). It is definitely in BOTH legs and feet.
I'm slightly low in B12 and hoped that was the cause - however, after 10 B12 shots over 5 weeks, I have no improvement. I've had various other blood tests, all normal. I had an MRI of my spine (all 3 sections) yesterday and it showed nothing. No MS lesions, no transverse myelitis lesions, no compression/stenosis, no disc problems, no tumors. Now I need to get a brain MRI and of course I'm concerned this one could show MS. However, doctors have told me - and my research confirms this - it would be most unusal for MS to present with paresthesia equally on BOTH sides, stay around consistently for so long without going away even briefly, etc... And I have zero other MS sypmtoms.
So assuming (hopefully!) that's NOT what it is, then it's becoming a real mystery. I've done some reading that suggests these weird tingling sensations CAN be caused by menopause - due to extreme hormone imbalance. Also, my hormones could have been out of whack for a long time what with all my irregular periods, AND about 12 years ago I had my hormone levels checked and supposedly at that time I had the estrogen level of "a post-menopausal woman." At the time my doc said that was a little odd, but ok, no cause for concern. Anyway, I say all this as a way to say perhaps I've been a little bit of a unique case as far as my hormones.
Does anyone think these symptoms COULD actually be attributed to menopause? Or has anyone had something similar happen to them? I've asked my doctor a couple times and she immediately says no, menopause couldn't cause this. I realize it's not typical, but is it possible? So far I have no hot flashes or night sweats, thank heavens, but maybe this is my own personal type of menopause hell?!
Any insight would be so very much appreciated. Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but it DOES seem an interesting coincidence that all these issues have come up right as I'm going through this different timing in my periods, obvious continued hormone changes, etc...
Thanks in advance for any help people might be able to offer.
I think I'm going insane. If this could be blamed on menopause, I would be SO relieved and could deal with it!!!
12 likes, 501 replies
EntenteCordiale molly54321
Edited
its been a while since I posted here. I'm now officially in the menopause and all these symptoms have greatly reduced. I haven't had unexplained pins and needles for a long time and only had weakness in my fingers once in 12 months and that was mild. still get the tinnitus though.
i have no doubt that this was all triggered by the perimenopause and I believe due to surges of oestrogen triggering a surge of adrenalin. i also think it is the way physical anxiety shows itself for some going through it.
MarieLouise EntenteCordiale
Edited
Hi EntenteCordiale,
That's awesome! I also have been feeling much better now that I'm almost 3 years postmenopause. There's light at the end of this bloody tunnel. Cheers!
asummer410 EntenteCordiale
Posted
That gives me hope that things will get better one day!
Lkl2019 EntenteCordiale
Posted
thanks for coming back and sharing! we all need as much hope as we can possibly get!
samantha00106 molly54321
Posted
Hi I'm currently getting pin and needles in my legs and arms face it's so annoying had ecg and doppler test on legs.. I'm soo worried I'm currently still having periods but getting lighter I just want to find out what going on plus I suffer from endometriosis and cycts on my breasts would I be able to take hrt I'm from the UK 1.
tonya07725 molly54321
Posted
this is so interesting. i am 48. i havent had a period for almost a year, started having hot flashes also,. a few days ago i started menstruating out of the blue. Today at work i kept getting a hot flash that was immediately followed by my legs tingling. it felt like sparklers or fireworks all over them. it happened multiple times each time my body would get real hot like a flash .. scary!!
edith18590 molly54321
Posted
Hello, currently going through this situation. Have they found out why you're feeling this way ? I’m going through the same thing I was also thinking of menopause.
ROBIN051873 molly54321
Posted
honestly I am going through the exact same thing and I am terrified cause its all over my body. legs feet arms back you name it... with this Coronavirus stuff I have not made an appointment. but 4 months ago my Dr refused to do a hormonal check which my psychiatrist couldn't understand.
dianep61 molly54321
Edited
Hi,
I'm 59 and aged 50 my periods just stopped dead. I then started to get the hot flushes and went on HRT. The first real symptom I started to get was parasthesia in both my lower legs to the point where I just couldn't feel them. It was continuous for about 6 months. I eventually ended up at a Neurologist who almost laughed me out of his office. Maybe that was the cure I needed as I had been very anxious which probably didn't help. I stopped taking the HRT and within a couple of weeks I was back to normal. I've had hot flushes on and off for the last 9 years but have otherwise been OK.
In April this year I had a terrible headache (I write this because I've seen a couple of other posts about this). Since then I have had a stiff neck and the same feelings I used to have in my legs but confined completely to my head and face. Zapping pains, burning, waves of coldness rising from my neck up the back of my head. I have had blood tests (but not hormone levels) and have had a brain MRI. It did show a couple of spots and I have to go for another although the neurologist is reassuring me he doesn't think it's MS as I have no other symptoms. Of course, I'm very anxious but wondered if anyone else had the sensations in their face and head.
dale23303 dianep61
Edited
Hi- I just posted to the group for the first time today and just ran across your post. Your story sounds similar to mine in that you are also 9 years post menopause but still having these weird symptoms. I had a little bit of paresthesia during peri menopause years but it didn't get really bad until I was 58 (7 years after menopause). I have been trying to deal with it for 2 years.
I don't have sensations just in my face and head - my zapping pains and electric shocks are all over my body, but I did develop Burning Mouth Syndrome last year as well and one of the doctors I saw who was helpful also treats people with all kinds of head/face pain. She was an orofacial pain specialist. Maybe you could locate one of those.
I have been taking regular HRT but it really hasn't helped. It sounds like you took it and it made your problems worse. I am going to try BHRT next because I am just out of other options. I feel like it is all hormonal even though at this point my body should have adjusted to the new normal of having no estrogen.
Anyway, I wish you luck in figuring it out too!
Ninergirl dale23303
Posted
hi Dale. I posted below. like you, I am 10 years out and just started the pins and needles. it's so reassuring to know we have other women to lean on with all of the things we are unsure of and that our Dr. s just brush off. thank you for sharing your experience. it helps all of us who get terrified by all that is happening to us
Jony69 dianep61
Posted
yes I have had tingles on my face,numb nose,tingling felt in my forehead and electric flashes coming from the back of my head! Horrible
Harmony2020 molly54321
Posted
Thanks so much to everyone for posting! I'm sorry you're going through this, but it is so helpful to hear from others. I have this same issue, and it is getting worse by the day. I'm so scared of how far it will go. Right now, it's worked up to the point where it is hardly letting up, as far as tingling/coldness/ heat-y feeings in the hands/feet/arms/legs. It used to be that it would be occasional, then more frequently, and now, today, I'm hardly getting a break. There is also the "inner trembling" at times - usually only noticed when I'm lying in bed, though it may happen some other times. At the endocrinologist's office - first visit, of course, and right before I went in to see him - I had a weird kind of "quaking" where you couldn't see my body move, but it felt like the building was shaking, and my husband could see my dress moving back and forth! Please, if you don't mind, could you please share your best coping skills and remedies for this torture? Thank you in advance for your help, and I hope we all feel better soon! ❤️
SunnyGirl54 Harmony2020
Posted
Hi Harmony,
Ditto to everything you said. I found a neurologist who prescribed Gabapentin, a very low dose and it changed my life. It took about two months before it finally reached full effectiveness but now, I have days where I actually forget I suffer from parasthesia. I don't think it will ever go away so all I can do it abate the symptoms. Gabapentin has helped tremendously. Also, because it is generic, it is very reasonably priced. I had "Obamacare" insurance and paid about $5 a month for my prescription. Forget about coping skills, once my sleep had become compromised because of the constant pins and needles, I was more interested in retaining my sanity.
simone40652 molly54321
Posted
I'm grateful like many of you have stated to have found this thread. I am 35 and believe I am in perimenopause. I know that early menopause runs in my family, and was told my grandma was 39 when she reached (full menopause). I have symmetrical tingling in both my hands but not constant. I have a very physical job that requires handling boxes and product in equal measures. I believe carpal tunnel is very plausible at this point. I do, however, also have some minor tingling, buzzing, and muscle twitches in both feet and legs which seems unrelated to carpal in my hands. I also noticed two weeks ago I started having muscle soreness, joint pain, and random teeth pain. I have had an MRI of brain and spine and nothing red flagged from that. As many of you mentioned, the anxiety caused by these symptoms is no fun at all. I'm going to a naturopath doctor next week and hope she can hear me out and narrow some things down. I an thinking of you all because the stress of the unknown is challenging to say the least.