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
laura19756 molly54321
Edited
As i read through your stories I'm feeling like I've actually found a little ray of hope. I'm 59 years old and have been in full menopause for at least 7 years. Up until recently, it seemed i was never going to have any unpleasant side effects at all! I can truthfully say that I've never experienced a single hot flash. Over the last 9 months, life has been a little different though. Around the time Covid started up I began having a lot of anxiety and something akin to mild panic attacks. At the time I blamed it on ... you guessed it - COVID stress. I've experienced irregular heart beat and heart racing to the point I've almost gone to the ER a few times. Let me pause here and say that I'm a nurse, and I'd need to be almost dead to go to the ER for something. Also I'm very prone to doing my own research as opposed to calling a doc. Which is how I found this forum! Back to symptoms .... My stress levels are now even higher as I'm expecting my first 2 grandchildren in the spring, one of whom has a birth defect (treatable). Being a neonatal ICU nurse, this is something that rarely leaves my head. About a week ago, I started having tingling & burning in my feet and to a lesser degree in my hands. (both sides of body). And for the last day or so I'm also having some strange creepy-crawly itchy feelings on other parts of my body. I dont think i would have been nearly as freaked out and worried about all this if I hadn't also gotten the Covid vaccine 9 days ago. That fact is what sent me running to the internet, convinced I'm developing GBS or CIPD or some other horribly scary autoimmune thing. Finding thus forum really gave me hope that it could be hormonal. I'll probably end up doing a lot of the same tests you've all mentioned having done. I do have a very slight weak feeling in my right leg occasionally but no difficulty walking or doing anything else i need to do, and it's definitely not getting worse. I have also had just horrible irritability. My poor husband! I will post about my progress. So in addition to my list of things to investigate (GBS, CIPD, shingles, thyroid, spinal issues, vitamins) I can now add hormonal imbalance!
Gabygabs molly54321
Posted
Hello Molly!
I'm experiencing the same thing as you!
so frustrating and scary!
This tingling or what feels as electrical shocks sometimes is keeping me awake.
my arms and legs "fall asleep" and have to keep switching positions, can't get comfortable no matter what.
The lack of sleep is affecting my life and haven"t felt myself in months!
I started taking hormone replacement a couple of weeks ago, my doctor told me that hormones not being balanced can cause neuropathy but taking the treatment should help...hope she is right because sometimes I feel hopeless.
I excercise everyday, try to eat healthy and drink lots of water hoping this also helps.
good luck to you and let's hope for a better, healthier year for all of us!
SunnyGirl54 Gabygabs
Posted
Dear Gaby,
Don't wait another minute. Call your doctor and ask her to prescribe Gabapentin. Gabapentin is routinely used for the treatment of neuropathy (same thing a parasthesia depending on who you talk to). The efficacy of Gabapentin only lasts 5-6 hours, so I take it 3x each day. And it works. And, it's cheap. I used my "Obamacare" insurance and paid around $5.00 per month for 180 capsules (2 capsules, 3x day times 30 days). I've been suffering with parasthesia for almost 4 years and understand what it feels like. Parasthesia has been described as a benign condition. BALONEY. It is painful, unnerving and scary.
PS, eating healthy, exercising and drinking lots of water is great, but it will not affect, solve, or cure parasthesia/neuropathy. It does help with mental health while you struggle with finding a cure for neuropathy.
SunnyGirl54 molly54321
Edited
I hope your parasthesia symptoms have been resolved by now. However, I would like to contribute to any blog that deals with parasthesia with unknown origin. The onset of parasthesia for me was at least 8 years post menopause. It's been almost FOUR YEARS since I first felt the unmistakable pins and needles up my left leg, from toes to knee. Within a month it had migrated up the left side from toes to neck. I searched the internet for answers and found plenty. I remember the day I read of a young woman who had been suffering for three months with parasthesia up her right arm and I cried and declared I could not endure this pain for another two + months. I also remember the day I woke up and the left side of my body was FREEZING! I kept layering on the clothing without getting any warmer. As for tests... blood work, physical from PCP, MRI from two neurologists, EEG, EMG (painful). The results of all the testing showed I am healthy as a horse except for this unexplained parasthesia. Within 6 months of the first symptoms, my entire body was constantly buzzing with the prickles, burning and sometimes stinging of parasthesia, both externally, and internally. Feeling my intestines buzz like I swallowed a phone on vibrate had me come completely unglued. I finally reached a point where the constant buzzing was so disruptive I could no longer sleep for more than a 15-20 minute stretch at night. My mental health was stretched to its limit. Can you imagine for just a minute, feeling like you have bugs crawling around inside your ears? Fleas biting the inside of your nose, inside your head? Knowing I can't sit down for any length of time because whatever my body made contact with acted like a conductor for pins and needles. I reached my breaking point several times before I was finally given medication. Gabapentin. Cheap, easy to get, and a life saver. I take 200 mg 3x daily and live my life ALMOST normally. Yes, I still feel the pins and needles but not like before. Not even close. Mostly, I feel it in my feet and the left side of my face. The numbness continues to be problematic but I have trained myself to sleep in different positions, to NOT cross my arms and legs when sitting and never sit in the same position for a long stretch of time (ie while watching a movie I get up and move frequently). Also, going on LONG brisk walks helps tremendously with my mental health. This is a challenging journey, and certainly an unwelcome one. I never thought my senior years would be spent dealing with something that has the ability to compromise my quality of life. Sometimes, I ponder what will I do when/if Gabapentin stops working and is no longer effective in curbing my symptoms, but I do NOT continue with that train of thought for long.
lesley98405 molly54321
Posted
hi all, im a 59 year old who stopped having periods six years ago. Last year i had a bleed, long story short, ive got endometrial hyperplasia. Am now using mirena coil to combat this but the achy legs, prickly soreness and pins and needles are driving me mad. Nobody tells you about it and you think youre going mad. Its uncomfortable and sometimes debilitating. Does anyone have any ideas to combat all this?
kaysh33286 molly54321
Posted
i love this thread, i am 53 years old and first time i had tingling and prickly skin symptoms started when i was 48. beginning of my perimenopause. it literally sent me to depth of mental hell. it took 3 mri's numerous doctors and anti depressants to get over it. i accepted that it was due to hormones and the symptoms mostly went away. fast forward to 1 week ago, it came back with vengeance. now I am starting to freak out again. anyone have had the skin sensation go away then come back again?
I am 99 % sure i hit menopause. I've had 1 period in last 2 years. i think less then 1 year ago.
kaysh33286 molly54321
Posted
i love this thread, i am 53 years old and first time i had tingling and prickly skin symptoms started when i was 48. beginning of my perimenopause. it literally sent me to depth of mental hell. it took 3 mri's numerous doctors and anti depressants to get over it. i accepted that it was due to hormones and the symptoms mostly went away. fast forward to 1 week ago, it came back with vengeance. now I am starting to freak out again. anyone have had the skin sensation go away then come back again?
I am 99 % sure i hit menopause. I've had 1 period in last 2 years. i think less then 1 year ago.
hanuda molly54321
Posted
I am glad I found this today. I was fearing the worst after taking g vaccine e a week ago. but indeed I am going through meno for 2 years now. Thanks
hanuda molly54321
Posted
I am glad I found this today. I was fearing the worst after taking g vaccine e a week ago. but indeed I am going through meno for 2 years now. Thanks
sharon17178 molly54321
Posted
Yes, tingling extremities is a synptom of
eve96245 molly54321
Posted
Molly,
What you are describing sounds EXACTLY what i have been dealing with! i have been dealing with this for 2 years and have gone through every test there is (MRI's, lumbar puncture, blood tests for everything possible, etc.) I've been to 3 different Neurologists and also the Mayo Clinic and all they say it is idiopathic neuropathy. My blood sugar was elevated at first and they said it may be pre diabetes causing it but i have since lost 30 lbs and watch what I eat and it still doesn't get better. I am 52 years old and and over the last 1 1/2 years the blood tests i have had for menopause keep showing fluctuations in my hormones . My Gynecologist doesn't think it's caused by perimenopause since this started when i was on the birth control pill but I'm not so sure. i have been off the pill for over a year and my period finally stopped three months ago and the tingling is worse and not letting up. I have tingling in my feet, legs, hands, face, scalp and sometimes stomach. i also get cold chills all the time and get chills that go down that back of my legs all the time. I've never had any hot flashes I am thinking of seeing an Endocrinologist or Gyno that specializes in Menopause as the Neurologists say its not a neurological issue and can't help. I was put on Cymbalta and that's not helping. UGH! So over it!
sof01245 molly54321
Posted
I'm getting tingling in my lower legs coming up and going, both feet and calves mainly but also hands. I'm in peri menopause but this really started straight after receiving my first jab of the Covid vaccine (astra zenica). I had a thyroidectomy 2 years ago and taking thyroxine replacement so this may have an impact too (hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can have an impact on nervous system) but i have been very stable and seems odd that it started straight after the vaccine. Not looking forward to the 2nd injection...
aliseanya sof01245
Posted
Even though I read this forum daily I never looked at this thread. I am so glad I looked now. I am not freaking out as bad.
I just got my first dose of Pfizer & my calf is numb, tingly, feels like a pulled muscle. It happened on Day 4 of my vaccine. I also started my period the day I got my vaccine. My hand is also numb on the same side. It really feels like a pinched nerve.
I have experienced this pain a few times since starting menopause but it comes and goes. With J&J vaccine being pulled the week I got Pfizer my mind went to the worst. I have no other of the scary DVT symptoms.
I am relieved to see this is a common peri & meno symptom. It sucks!
My husband is also experiencing similar symptoms & I know he's not in menopause. 😃 I am sure it's the vaccine side effect. I just get to have it worse I guess.
Thank you for this thread.. I say it every time I post I am so grateful for all of you who post.
Jony69 sof01245
Posted
yes my tingling came on after the astra zeneca too! After the first jab.It has happened to a lot of women going through the meno as well.Lets hope it subsides.
Ninergirl molly54321
Edited
hi ladies. I'm actually 10 years out from my last period. however, it ended abruptly. I had no symptoms whatsoever except for hot flashes. it wasn't until about 5 years ago that other symptoms started, ringing in my ears, dry skin, hair falling out, feeling like I'm not getting enough air in, off balance, anxiety, palpitations that sent me to ER, acid reflux, etc. I also have fibromyalgia, fibrosistic breasts ( which are always sore) and just within the past two days the pins and needles, all over my body, started. I feel as though I was late on my estrogen dropping and now I'm experiencing all the feels. I just recently moved to a new city and haven't been able to find new dr.s due to covid so this forum is extremely encouraging and supportive right now. I did finally get in to see a nurse practitioner and she is wonderful. I just don't feel comfortable dr hopping until I'm vaccinated. I'm going to put a call into her about the pins and needles but with all I'm reading i understand it to be hugely hormone related. I don't like Googling symptoms as it's all over the place and just makes me more anxious.
thank you for your input. we need this