Scared

thank you for replying its so scary ive had a meltdown three times today all this is just too much to deal with it's getting to be a constant thing with the numbness feeling in my head and face. last night was a very bad episode i got this pressure intense no headache and numbness was intense and very lightheaded floaty lasted hours but never has went completely away. i was going to go back to ER but they arent much of a help like my dr which im in the process of finding a new one. it scares me i was scares stroke but no headache and no weakness on one side and no face drooping. the numbness isnt where its completely numb i still have feeling in the areas just feels numb. god how do we do all this

hi Gypsy & Pamela - i am exactly the same as both of you, except i am 62, 7 years post, but my crazy symptoms started about 3 years ago - i totally understand how you feel about being the only one experiencing these symptoms - i even had my best friend say to me the other day...do you think your symptoms might be psych somatic? code for all in your head - nobody believes me, nobody gets it except this forum - my labs are all fine - i find it interesting Gypsy that you tested positive for RA, does that mean you tested positive for ANA? i had tested positive for ANA, but after going to Rheumatologist & getting more bloodwork, he said i dont have auto immune, but will always test positive for it - its weird that you & i have all these weird neurological issues - mine are tingling, burning, electric shock etc. even though my thyroid checks out, i wonder if i have hypothyroidism - its all a friggin mystery - i just want to live a normal life again without this suffering -

Just to add that I am so happy to see that I am not the only one who started developing worse symptoms several years after period stopped. Not that I am happy that you have all this, debra16694, not at all. But it is good to know one is not alone in this suffering. Yes: tingling, numbness, electric zapping like shocks in my head, weird hot flashes, and yes, all this 4 years after last period. Also, blood work normal. I am trying to wait the damned thing out.

hi lana - no, you are not alone - there have been few "post meno" girls on here, but some have left the forum which i take as good news since their symptoms must have improved - the only explanation i have for experiencing this so late in the game is because i am chubby & am considered "estrogen dominant" - might also explain my incredibly achy joints, tendons & ligaments - yes, i have the weirdest hot flashes too - so over it all really -

do you think its just anxiety cause it can cause all thise symptoms as well maybe yiur worrying and not realizing how much which brings it on yiu said u had bloodwork and it was all fine did they test all yiur hormones cause low estrogen and low progesterone can cause those things it is all connected

this isnt anxiety induced symptoms this is why im dr hunting, but it brings anxiety on. not everything is anxiety ive had anxiety basically my whole life and not ever has it effected me this way and ive had some pretty bad panic attacks through the years.

what kind of doctor have you been going to when i went to an endocronologist they tested everything unlike regular physician and gynecologist and she definitely told me i was in perimenopause so i would check it out if unhavent already

Nearly every post I read of yours I could write myself. I have all this off and on as well. It feels like right before your leg or arm falls asleep except I get it in head/scalp, neck, arms , places on legs, etc. And my limbs have been going numb a lot overnight while sleeping. It's absurd.

The pressure thing you describe, I get it now too. It's like someone is choking me cutting off circulation and feels like my head will pop off.

Do you sweat alot when you exercise? I don't and was thinking this pressure thing could be my version of a hot flash.

I installed the Clue period tracker app and it seems to be the worst when I am supposed to be ovulating and the few days before I expect my period. Not sure what is causing it though, I am only ever told testosterone is low but scared to treat it because I already get a beard and am shedding hair like crazy.

I never had anxiety in my life but have always been a bit OCD and very in tune with the environment around me. Maybe we just notice everything too much and then focus on it? I don't know but at this point I have had about 50 of the 66 perimenopause symptoms and am not even 43 yet and regular periods. I don't know how long I can go on.

yea the pressure is just like you described all of this is just so bizarre i never would have imagined feeling any of this in my life, ive become very in tuned to my body when perimenopause hit me. but its hard not to focus on your body not functioning properly when its 24/7 non stop. in the beginning of all this symptoms came and went right before cycle that i could handle feeling hot pee'in alot sore boobs hairs growing on the chin adult acne i could go on and on those symptoms is easy to accept. but when it gets 24/7 non stop scary things thats hard to ignore. im sorry your suffering too god help us all and give us

Hi debra and Pamela, I agree it all is such a mystery .. Very weird neurological symptoms that are scary everytime they occur.. I feel weird head brain sensations whenever I'm near fluorescent lighting or blue lighting or different electronics maybe because of the buzzing Wi-Fi not sure, and near new tv's my old tv ( I hope never goes out) but the new tv's bother me bad, I bought a huge tv for the family room right around the time all this started and watched it one time and it gave me such weird symptoms felt like my brain was being tugged at.. instant dizziness and numbness and then it caused a migraine, so I tried to adjust the settings they say for people who are sensitive to their tvs who get motion sickness but nothing helped so I don't watch ever!!! I can't... Also computers tablets all give me bad symptoms.. My phone is the only device that I can tolerate without getting numb and dizzy and nausea only because I have an app filter on it, and I dim the screen, helps alot.. After all we never had any of this technology to long ago so not sure maybe my brain and going through all this I'm just overly sensitive, but definitely not ANXIETY this is real with real physical symptoms feels like a seizure or stroke .. How its described because never had either.. and its awful just want to be normal again.. Debra for RA its the rheumatoid factor that is always high for me.. Its suppose to be under 13 and its in the 300s and the thyroid antibodies are 48000 just insanely high which is consistent with hashimotos , diet helps control both a lot but I miss eating fun stuff just can't do it or I suffer with extreme joint pain from the inflammation.. Truly hoping that I at least can feel somewhat symptom free and normal again once hormones settle , but really think this is the new me now just getting by can't go far.. eat much constantly have to ask myself is that ok can I do that or can I have this or go here.. Not anyway of living it makes me sad 😢

Bizarre indeed. I find it strange that no one talks about it or if you ask Doctors about any symptoms besides the obvious like hot flashes, "that's not a menopause symptom ". Or they do not believe the body may prepare for it years ahead, I am always told I am too young.

Do you have children? I do not but have read it can be worse for women that haven't given birth. I don't know why, maybe because we didn't go thru the hormonal roller coaster of pregnancy.

I am so grateful for this site, before I found it I thought I was dying of some rare condition all labwork missed. I still think that on bad days lol.

yes i have three kids two grown son is 16 i have two granddaughters that i cant even enjoy doing anything with. i never had symptoms of puberty and not even with my pregnancies sailed through no problems. but this part of life is literally kickin my a** my whole body is going through so much scary intense symptoms im scared it will never end and i cant except this. i cry all day everyday doesn't help my symptoms but i cant help it im defeated being kicked repeatedly while down its like im drowning and no lifesaver. i cry beg plead pray for help and peace that just doesn't come. all i can say is women are soldiers warriors to have to be tormented daily 24/7 like this. and all this suffering and not taking seriously Drs are useless oh labs is normal its anxiety thats bullsh** i know this may be wrong but i hope the Dr i had gets this 10 x worse then me. might sound mean and hateful but at this point i dont even care I'm fed up. cause if she does i want to tell her walk it off its anxiety suck it up buttercup. sorry im done venting praying for us all

I was diagnosed with anxiety after three days in the hospital because male doctors well that’s what they do and they can’t figure st out. Anxiety is a symptom except him I was diagnosed with anxiety after three days in the hospital because male doctors well that’s what they do and they can’t figure st out. Anxiety is a symptom that all postmenopausal women have. it’s good to know that I’m not crazy thanks to all the women on this forum. They think they came out positive was pre-diabetes but of course they didn’t do a fasting diabetes so I don’t know what a high glucose would mean after food so how can you say I’m prediabetes. If you can get to the endocrinologist that specializes in possible menopause Please try to do that because I’ve had some really bizarre symptoms like seizures convulsing losing feeling in my legs and not being able to speak of course all the test came out negative

@pamela2016 and @debra16694, I too have high ANA (1:320) and I saw a rheumatologist about a year ago -- she simply said she doesn't think I have "connective tissue disease" and sent me on my way. (This was before all my twitching started about 4.5 months ago.) I asked my family doctor if I could get a referral to return to the rheumatologist now that these new symptoms have appeared, and she actually said no because she didn't think my issues are autoimmune-related. She did give me referral to a neurologist to check out the twitching -- saw him yesterday and he didn't ask any questions or order any tests; just briefly checked my reflexes and resistance strength in his office and said he thinks it's Benign Fasciculation Syndrome and sent me off. I didn't have a chance to mention all the pain I have and other symptoms.

As I mentioned in another post, I think the doctor situation in Toronto, Canada is an absolute joke -- it's like it's going to cost them personally if they order diagnostics for you. (And I hear in fact the Ontario government does penalize doctors who order "too many" tests.) I find it hard to believe all my pain, fatigue, stiffness and now daily twitching are normal. So sorry to hear of others' suffering but it is a comfort to know I'm not alone with this. I'm grateful to all who share their stories.

hi Stella - well, i am not sure what additional blood work your Rheumatologist ordered, if any, but did you know that 20% of the population could test positive for ANA & never have auto immune - Also, after extensive bloodwork from Rheumatologist, he said i do not have auto immune & never will, but will always test positive for it - i just think it is too coincidental that all these woman on this forum have these same neurological issues & nobody (drs) dont even consider that it could menopause related - my own girlfriend who has bad nerve pain, tells me its from her sciatic & will not even listen to me about the menopause/low hormone rap - the whole healthcare situation whether in Canada or US is ridiculous - what is that syndrone your neurologist thinks you have? its a new one on me - btw, if you have nerve pain on both sides of your body it is not caused by a pinch nerve like my GP kept telling me i had...rheumatologist verified that for me -

Hi Debra,

The rheumatologist did twice order a panel of blood tests and the high ANA (1:320) showed up on both panels, and some marker of anti-thyroid but she said that people with high ANA may have random other markers that come and go.

You're right about a percentage of the healthy population having positive ANA in their results, but apparently this is at level 1:80 and below. If it's higher than 1:160, it is almost certainly a warning that there is autoimmune activity going on (and/or going to get worse). I think there's something like a 1-3% chance of someone having ANA of 1:320 and no disease -- maybe I'm among those, although I have so many aches and pains and other symptoms that I feel like something is up. I mean how many more symptoms do I have to have before a doctor acknowledges I have a problem here? Even if they want to call it fibromyalgia -- something -- anything instead of the "nope, nothing to see here" without any exploration. I think it's bonkers.

The neurologist said he thinks it's "Benign Fasciculation Syndrome" (BFS), which I had already read a lot about when all this twitching started. Heads up: I don't recommend Googling this too much because it's a virtual gateway into a burning hell of reading about other conditions that are quite horrific. BFS basically means a person has twitches (and other similar symptoms) due to an unknown cause and it's not leading to anything terrible. Honestly I intend not to go Google that stuff again.

I totally agree about the weirdness of so many women describing these similar symptoms (including twitching) and no discussion of it in medical circles (as far as we know). It would be great to know if this pattern generally subsides after menopause is all done and over with for a few years -- maybe things generally calm down? We can hope so. 😃

stella - thats all very interesting - my dr did not describe my results quite like how you are describing them - also, he did a Sed Rate blood test to test for fibromyalgia & i did not test positive for that either - but i feel like i have it - i dont have twitching, but more nerve tingling, sparking, jolting & burning - ugh!

Hi Debra, okay, a normal sedimentation rate is good news. Sorry to hear about all the tingling, sparkling, burning etc -- I have all those same things coming and going (although right now it's quite mild). My cousin (who is studying natural medicine) and my rheumatologist both told me that as women's hormones drop in peri/menopause, they are more likely to feel pain since estrogen has been a pain modulator throughout the woman's life and now it's falling -- but I don't think this explains the nerve-type pains. I guess there could be a complex connection there. I just keep hoping it's a long phase that will pass!

hi Stella - Who knew that our hormones were so amazing & all the things they are & were capable of - all i know is, i wish i had them back - hah!

Debra, I am chubby too. I lost about 30lbs last year and my symptoms went into overdrive. I believe I am estrogen dominant as well. Those 30lbs really flipped the hormone switch.