It's a very long story but I will try to keep it shortened. I am now 49 just about to turn 50 but this has been going on for years. i remember the yrs of itching skin like ants crawling and biting, then suddenly it disappeared and i didn't think of it again. It started in 2013 I had been getting severe electric like shocks in the top/ back of my head, so painful my legs sometimes buckled. it was fleeting so i never saw a Dr. then started to get a numbness in my left ear which would also disappear. The head shock hit hard one afternoon and again gone. i went to bed that night and woke with a completely dead left arm, feeling came back but it was never the same. i went to the drs i had CT scans, nothing. I was referred to a neurologist. while waiting. I was hit with severe neck pain, body pain, numbness and burning on the left side of my face and arm. then i was hit with severe hot flushes that were more like waves of fire, none stop. Then i was hit with what felt like a severe ongoing UTI (no infection) Migraines, vertigo, burning mouth, anxiety through the roof, insomnia... I was and am in so much pain but Drs weren't listening to me. eventually i was put on HRT and hot flashes settled but nothing else. I had MRI blood tests etc for MS, Lupus etc results came up nothing... so i have been treated like a mental patient. I am sorry to say that i fulfilled their assumptions of me when i could take no more and overdosed. I was in hospital for 5-6wks. Since then i have been put on Carbamazepine to stop the burning sensations which it has, in combination with duloxetine for anxiety and pain and metazepine for insomnia and combo for pain plus pain relief panadiene forte as well as the HRT. My Dr has told me flat out perimenopause and menopause do not cause pain (Dr is male) i have no other dr to go to in my town. I feel very alone as no one i know not even family members have or are suffering as I am. Is there anyone out there like me? or am i truly alone in this?
I am suffering quite badly today with anxiety. Ive always had it but it is ramped up with peri... i didnt sleep well last night and anxiety is sky high today. it is a real thing. I work in nhs and the menopause policy was emailed to staff this week. i didn't know they had one! It is not you x
I am suffering quite badly today with anxiety. Ive always had it but it is ramped up with peri... i didnt sleep well last night and anxiety is sky high today. it is a real thing. I work in nhs and the menopause policy was emailed to staff this week. i didn't know they had one! It is not you x
I am suffering quite badly today with anxiety. Ive always had it but it is ramped up with peri... i didnt sleep well last night and anxiety is sky high today. it is a real thing. I work in nhs and the menopause policy was emailed to staff this week. i didn't know they had one! It is not you x
Hi, you are not alone! My life crashed August of 2016. I was soooo bad, ended up being put in the hospital and underwent every test imaginable. The only thing they could find was a sludgy gall bladder so had that removed. It made no difference, I was still so sick. I tried different drugs but never for long. I was too scared to start some or stay on others. I saw so many specialists, only my GyN said perimeno and threw BCP's my way. Nope. I finally went to see a psychiatrist who the rheumatologist recommended. At this point I started worrying maybe I was crazy after being made to feel that way in the medical community. The psychiatrist was wonderful, my age, with a fan on her desk for hot flashes. She told me that I wasn't suffering from anxiety or depression and it sounded like hormones and a virus like EBV. What? All those doctors and it takes the psychiatrist to diagnose me? And she was right! Anyway, that's my shortened story. I really thought at times I wasn't going going to make it, but 2 1/2 years later I'm still here. Have stayed off all drugs and now being consistent with VIT D, B12, B9, and multivitamins. You aren't alone. You're in the elite 25% club of super sufferers and have found a family here. I'm so sorry for all you've been thru!
Hi alison91416 Thank you for you're reply and for letting me know it's not just me. I'm sorry you're suffering with anxiety today. i hope you find something calming to help you through. I know how difficult it can be xxx
Hi suzanne54870
Thank you for you're reply and letting me know that i'm not alone. I have felt so alone in this for such a long time. I'm sorry to hear that you too have suffered not just physically but through the so called medical profession. I am finding so many that are not up to date on these issues and it's beyond frustrating. Tonight is a very bad night for me, the pain in my neck, head and left arm are incredibly nauseating. it seems to be this way during a hormonal fluctuation. I can not survive without the HRT or medication despite the fact i fought for yrs to stay medication free. I am terrified I am going to be this way for the rest of my life. so much pain, even my fingers hurt, especially my thumbs but i don't have arthritis, they tested. I don't know what to do anymore, no matter what's happening i don't go to my Dr, there doesn't seem a point if he doesn't believe in perimenopause being anything more than hot flushes, anxiety and headaches.
I am a frequent visitor to this forum. I am 56 still going thru Peri. I have had all symptoms the WORST being the anxiety. I used to have situational anxiety, now I have it pretty much all the time GYN wanted me to start HRT or an antidepressant. I was NOT doing HRT and the antidepressant I had to think long about. I have 2 different ones available to me and have NOT started either. I cannot have this chemical regulate me because I feel I will not know if I am getting better on my own. I am seeing a therapist to try to help.
You are not alone. I too suffer from the same stuff you do. It's awful. My latest is I have weak and trembly feeling hands, arms and chest. This vamps up my anxiety. Lotsa pain everywhere. I too have had lots of tests, scans etc and nothing shows up. I do, however, have arthritis and fybromyalgia.
Sending a big air hug!!!
menapause policy?? oh wow.. so they know that around this age ppl may take a leave of absence during this time. That's great that they know it's a real thing.
Just wanted to share that a pool might help you if you live near one. I'm in a water fitness class and when I go, I do feel better. There are several ppl in the group with arthritis (I think we all have that) But also a couple ppl with fybromyalgia.. They are in pain BUT feel so much better in the water.
Funny you mention the pool. We are actually having one built right now with an attached spa. It will be completed in 10 more weeks.
I am 6 years into menopause at 50 years old. I can barely eat, can't walk unaided, have migraines so bad I can't leave the house. I wake up in the morning afraid to open my eyes because sometimes I am blind, sometimes everything is blue for hours. My life as it was is over and I don't like this new one at all. Thankfully my doctors get it. They support me as best they can. My neurologist says I have functional neurological disorder from the stress put on my body for so long.
I too have fibromyalgia which apparently is worse during menopause.
Please try deep breathing. you can search for "pranayama" on youtube for several tutorials. it takes time, but will surely help in some way with anxiety and overall feeling of wellbeing. if you can include some walking and basic yoga poses, that will further help in many ways. Above all, eating healthy home cooked food and drinking plenty of water and getting adequate rest. all this does not cost money but only needs your time. if u do this persistently, there is no doubt in seeing some kind of progress in mental and physical health. I would say, just give it a sincere attempt for 3 months. you can thank me later! :p I am 47, in peri and been thru many symptoms. i have done the above and its helped me a lot. hence my suggestions. i still get them on some days, but, nothing that i cannot manage.
I love you ladies! I'm a feeling like hell today today. I already had bad PTSD from childhood and I thought it was finally gone in my mid 30s but now peri has made it return with a vengance. Afraid to leave home, dissociation. And yesterday I started having heart palpitations, dizziness and bad stomach upset. I'm afraid to eat today, trying a salad. I already know I have gallstones and previously had appendicitis at 40 so always terrified of that as they left it in. And I eat SUPER healthy, paleo and gluten-free since I was 18!!! When no one used the words. I am 47 now and in the US there is no menopause or maternity leave. I don't know how we do it ladies, but we need to speak up and get doctors to take the severity of peri and menopause SERIOUSLY and design treatments that truly work, even if it means indefinitely delaying the change. We don't need to necessarily be able to have children like men in their 70s, just to function and feel and look well.
Oh you poor thing, I COMPLETELY empathise with you, this menopause nightmare gives me the bloody pip too!
The last four years have been truly horrid, nearly every part of my body has been affected by some pain or weirdness....to the point you do begin to think you are going crazy or that there is something seriously wrong! I have seen my doctor on a regular basis because of so many different symptoms, so much so he greets me like an old friend now! unreal!...as I hardly ever went to a doc before menopause took over my body! He is a lovely doc and is trying to help me but I am embarrassed and I apologise every time saying "I'm back because....." something else is wrong!!!
My latest issues are constant wanting to wee, uncomfortable feeling & pressure in my lower abdomen, like its the start of a urine infection but its not as I got it checked! Also dizziness, unsteadiness, pins & needles up and down my left arm and weird numbness sensation all on my left side plus pain in my left foot which runs up my lower leg with numbness on top of my big toe!! Feel totally knackered in the morning and have constant post nasal drip!!!
I have resisted HRT but gave in the end of last year and was put on Duavive, which helped my asthma/post nasal drip/constant coughing and throat issues, and the hot flushes vanished almost immediately! but after a while I began to feel pressure building up in my hands (horrible) and also I found out it was made from horse pee!!!(poor horses!) so I stopped ....but after a few weeks all my symptoms came back. I am just starting on Body Identical HRT and hoping this will help me, fingers crossed.
Best wishes to you Shylee, you are not alone on this menopause journey, I hope it all passes soon for us xx
Hi Nanc,
I understand perfectly your hesitation to use medication and if you're able to do it medication free or on natural therapies that's great. I wish i had been able to go that way myself. i had resisted any kind of medication for 12 yrs but unfortunately this has been so bad for me that without it I am unable to function in any capacity. I could not walk because of the pain in my bladder (HRT) has helped alleviate that. The burning face and head and tongue and throat and left arm stopped me from writing. i was crying and panicking all the time especially at night with horrific nightmares, Migraines jaw and facial pain and the list goes on. I had no quality of life so the medication has allowed me to get up and do things but it hasnt stopped everything unfortunately and as for the long term risks of HRT i will cross that bridge if i come to it as having no function now was more important to me. I do hope you find help with your therapist and things ease for you soon.
Thank you Nettie, I am so sorry you are suffering also. It really is awful and i have to say i am really confused. If there are so many women suffering and displaying similar and often the same pain symptoms etc then why are Dr's so behind and have no clue. As i said in my initial post my Dr argued with me literally started to yell at me and tell me perimenopause and menopause DO NOT cause pain at all. Yes the weakness is an awful feeling, it often makes me nauseous. Today i am fighting a severe ongoing headache that i know is going to turn into another migraine. I hope your pain eases. Air hugs back :)
Hi Kelly, That is a good idea, i do live near the river and the beach and there is a pool unfortunately I am pretty much a loner so the pool is out for me. If i had a spear i might walk in the water at the beach (terrible fear of sharks lol) I guess motivation is a tricky one when i feel so depressed and the energy has been sucked out of me constantly battling pain that all i feel like doing is hiding in my house.