Hi, I'm a 40 y/o who has actually been in perimenopause for over a year now. It started at 39 when I missed a period one month, then had a very heavy period the following month and from then on the irregular periods and symptoms all began. I get the hot flushes often where my face only becomes very hot and my cheeks bright red. These can last for hours when they happen. But most recently I've been having these weird head sensations, it's very hard to describe. I feel off balance, but not dizzy per se. The back of my head feels tight and sometimes like pins and needles. No headaches or pain at all. Just an off balance pressure like feeling. Almost like my head isn't sending the signals to my body fast enough kind of off balance. Hope that makes sense. Anyone else experience this? And I can have this feeling last all day long without subsiding at all. Also, I've noticed I can actually feel my heart beating when I lay down. It beats very hard, not fast. Is this normal? I have been to Dr who finds no other causes but says perimenopause symptoms can very and come and go as our hormones fluctuate all the time. Can't help but be scared when I feel like I'm going to fall over or my heart is going to explode. Any help out they?
i lie down and heart beating fast ... take many things to sleep its all a nightmare messes with your mind !
hiya it sounds very menopausal lovely. ive been getting all the symptoms u describe apart from pins and needles. heavy head, off balance, head ache etc. i regularly have the heartbeat throbbing in my ear/head especially when I lie down. doctor says its meno related and recommended meditation which,for me, has been amazing. I havent had a period since January but hot flushes, mood swings, thinning hair, irritability, weight gain and headaches/dizzy spells seem to rule my day! Meditation has really really helped me though and im feeling better than I have for years. i have just picked up HrT from the doctor comprising Estriol foam and progestrerone tablets. ive not started it yet as im trying to just use diet and meditation but at least i have it if i get really bad symptoms. i have two weeks of relative normality but the swoop down into a real bad trough of every meno symptom going. Grrrr!
anyway lovely, you are not alone and im sure youll get lots of helpful replies to your post. The ladies on here are truly amazing. i hope you find relief and restfullness soon - just try and be kind to yourself and keep in touch with the forum as its so helpful. take care xxx
Hi McKul6,
I also started this madness at age 39 right after my daughter was born. I had always had terrible periods. Then I had to have one of my ovaries removed at age 26. The doctor said that I would go into menopause early with just the one ovary. I didn't have my kids until much later. But after I had my first born at 35 I noticed that I was having some symptoms then. I would get hot flashes, dizziness, digestive changes, constipation, blood pressure changes, feelings of dread like I was going to die. It was terrible! Then when my daughter was born I went straight from post partum into peri menopause. I get the symptoms you described and more. This journey is a scary and rocky ride. And you will discover that you know more about your body as it relates to hormonal changes than the doctors do. I have had some clueless idiots for doctors. I could tell you some stories. But you have come to the right place. I thank God for this forum. Before I found it I thought I was going crazy or was dying of some dreadful disease. But rest assured whatever symptoms you are having, someone on here can relate if not all of us. Take care. Xx
Hello! I started very bad symptoms last year at 40 after my former Dr suggested I stop my BCP use. Hormones tanked, irregular and missed periods ever since. I believe I started peri at 38, but pill masked symptoms. Heart palps sent me running to the ER several times last year, all clear ( dad died at 42 of heart attack, so I was scared!). Turned out to be GERD.
Then, migraines kicked in, 3-5 per month. Then terrible vertigo since December 2017! So bad, that I could not drive or leave the house for a month. Feels like walking on a boat and swaying. Like you said...as if eyes, brain and legs are not in sync. I get a pulling feeling too. Front of head and heels of my feet. My primary dr thought it was anxiety and BPPV....I tried Lexapro for 3 mo, it was terrible and made my vertigo worse...so in my case it is not anxiety. Mine is from the migraines which came from erratic hormones in peri. I am on a med to manage the migraines. Also, found a wonderful obgyn and she put me back on BCP. I am almost a week on and so far so good...I am 41 now.
Hi mckul6, yes I get all of this , the off balance the head tightness, pins and needles , numbness, I call these my neurological symptoms, I get the numb face and arms weak jelly legs with it, these symptoms always come and go every single month like clockwork... Start writing your symptoms down every day to see if you have the same pattern of symptoms, it will help ease your mind, and you'll be able to detect, what's coming and how long they will last and what triggers a specific symptom and what you can do to keep that symptom from escalating that month.. For me these particular symptoms with the numbness pins and needles off balance wavy vision is all migraines, they start and lead up to that bad monthly migraine, can be silent for days leading up to the big painful 3 day long migraine.. Its on the 66 list of perimenopause symptoms, look it up migraines/silent migraines.. Also look up MAV migraine should settle once hormones settle, which can be a long time, uggh...keep checking in here we all share the same ugly menopause symptoms, and that helps, and as long as you've been all checked out and doctors find nothing wrong , and keep telling you its anxiety, than chances are your entering your perimenopause faze of life, and it can be quite debilitating for some time, lots and lots of crazy up and down symptoms it gets annoying and tiresome but should get better and ease up for you after a while,,
this is also my story although my periods haven't stopped. thank god i stumbled upon this. ive been so worried had all imaginable test. thought i was going mad. x
Hi, I'm so glad I saw your post tonight. I'm 50 and I track my periods. Around every 6 months for the past 4 years, I get a late period 35-40 days. The Symptoms get worse with each late one. My symptoms are very similar to yours. I've had them before but in very short waves but this time I've had them for over a week. I've had a hot face all day and after watching my son swim this afternoon I looked like a Beetroot! No sweating just a hot face, aching neck, shoulders, upper back. weird pressure at back of head and waves of dizziness but when I'm sat down. Almost feels like the room is moving. Only lasts a few minutes. Also very weepy which I hate!
I hope you're feeling better. I'm hoping to return to a Yoga class as it helped in the past. I think taking time out and doing breathing exercises definitely helped.
I'm dodging the docs at the moment due to the Coronavirus as my son's Asthmatic. A bit of Anxiety thrown in there too I think. lol.
yes to both head stuff for 4 years now and heart races off and on all the time its scary and tiring hang in there
Thank you Pamela. you too. x
Wow ,yes me to. Who would think menopause can feel like an invasion . I always used to laugh at my poor mum when she quietly complained of simptoms of menopause. I have the tightness at back of my head tingling to. saw my doctor she was patient and kind did blood tests for loads of stuff they were all fine she came to conclusion menopause it all made sense then! why dont we get told ?It can be very scary . What helps me is eating alot of root veg seems to ground me avoiding coffee and sugar . Also doing a breathing meditation where you breath in deeply then hold the breath breathly at the heart chakra then breath out deeply. It really helps bring my feelings down to my heart and take away that heady feeling. It does really test me at times when it comes over me I literally have to ground myself . I also find its worse when I use my iphone ect so mainly I use a basic phone lol and just use i[phone for whatsapp
Aww Terri yes I feel for you I have been experiencing similar symptoms.EEk! Its horrid forinstance I was going shopping and the wave came over me just as I was enjoying a clear sparkerly head then the cotton wool tingles stiff tight back of head and fear. I went to the Doctor and it was empty not a peep of a person maybe everyone has same fear of going. It was also very kindly set up so know risk of catching it but yes I understand why you stayed away. I find meditation really helps honest just focus on the breath but mainly holding the breath at the heart chakra .I know it sounds obvious but I find the simple things help the most also Lemon balm tea really helps calm me down .
everyday 24/7 with the head stuff and yea to feeling my heartbeat as well the hot face drives me nuts last hours and days sometimes i pray everyday it never stops going on five years of the head stuff but Peri for almost 10 years
wow Pamela thats awful. Have you tried meditation? I find it worse at night .
Hi, I too had one ovary removed- me at 27. I have had symptoms from the age of 35. Everyone thinks I am crazy! :( I also have no thyroid. I am 39 now bit feel so much older sometimes! The symptoms are countless and scary! I know how you feel and just wanted to say I am sorry you went through all this! and still are going. It is very similar to my situation.
I can relate. What you describe happens to me. I keep trying to explain it isn't exactly dizziness but that weird feeling of dissociated body ends. It is very odd and hard to describe. I am sorry you are going through this. I am 39, and believe peri started around 35. Periods still on the clock but feel weird and sometimes last longer. I don't know what to say....but, I am sad that so many women go through this craziness.
Thank you. With God's help, we'll all survive this.
Yes! I'm going to be 48 soon, but for the last few months I've noticed this woozy, off-balance feeling. Actually as I type this I'm experiencing it! There have been times I have gone to run an errand and had to turn the car around and go home because I started feeling awful. I am still getting periods every month but I notice about a week after my period ends this lightheaded, off balance feeling hits me. Sometimes my hands get a tingly feeling too. I went and had CBC lab work done which was normal, so now my doctor is sending me for more blood work, including checking my hormone levels. She prescribed Prozac for me to take 2 weeks every month leading up to my period but I haven't started those yet. She is thinking some of these symptoms may be related to PMDD but who knows. I hate feeling like this. I did start taking a multivitamin and increased my water intake. I love walking as a form of exercise, but some days I set out for a walk and have to turn around as I feel like my legs are wobbly. Last night I felt great, went for my walk and today I couldn't do it :-( Reading others posts on this forum can be helpful and make me feel like I'm not alone!
Hi Pamela Just wondering how your getting on with the head stuff as i have seen from your posts that you suffer with this symptom quite a lot. I have it every day all day and it is draining me I feel so anxious all the time. Have you found anything that helped with the dizziness.
its been a long hard road ive found nothing to help i still struggle everyday all day long, its basically taken my life from me i dont drive no more ive became distance from everyone nobody really gets how much i struggle. its with me 24/7 gets worse two weeks out of the month on cycle and ovulation week. ive found nothing that helps alot of praying and crying daily. its like the groundhogs day over and over again.im sorry you are dealing with this symptom i dont wish this on anyone.