Hi, this is my first ever post and I'm hopping that someone can help me, reassure me a little
I'm 43 and symptoms for approximately 7 months now have been:
Fatigue
Weakness (even cleaning teeth is too much sometimes)
Overall lack of energy
Brain fog, very forgetful
Dizzy spells, lack of coordination, I have to run my hands along the walls at home to steady myself and 'feel' where I am
Pins and needles and coldness of extremities
Loss/reduction of libido
Palpitations
Jittery/anxiety/shaky
Insomnia
I have been feeling worse these last few days, so in addition to all of the above I am also experiencing skin numbness around my face and lips, my vision has been getting a bit blurry and my feet are getting number and number. I guess this could be down to anxiety however making things worse?
I wouldn't say that I feel depressed but my quality of life has
changed massively for the worst and I can see it's affecting my family too
I've had lots of tests.
Ferratin and b12 were low but are on the up with supplements
Neurological disorders ruled out (MS etc)
Thyroid good
ME/CFS has been mooted as a possibility by my GP but consultant not convinced.
Hormone levels were tested as my mum went through an early menopause and have come back showing an
FSH level of 19 and
oestradiol level of 68 (day 4/5 of follicular phase)
Consultant says I have insipient prem ovarian failure and wants me to start HRT. He believes that my symptoms could all be down to premenopause (especially as other things have been ruled out)
I'm not sure what my question is really but do these symptoms sound menopausal? If you experienced similar, did HRT improve things?
I have an appointment next week with GP and I know that this sounds really odd but I am now
desperate for this to be hormone related because the alternative of CFS or ME just really scares me. As far as I'm aware, there is no test or treatment for CFS/ME and it feels like one of those diagnosis where you are just 'dumped' by the medical profession. If all of my symptoms are due to the menopause however then at least there seems to be a ray of hope that we can improve things with HRT.
So my question is, do my symptoms seem as if they could be down to the menopause? To me, it seems a little extreme that it could be making me feel this unwell and debilitated. Have any of you experienced similar?
Also, is it worth asking for testosterone levels to be checked as I have heard that low levels in women can cause many similar side effects.
Thank you so much for reading this far