Menopause Matters Forum
General Discussion => New Members => Topic started by: EmmaB on December 28, 2021, 12:36:25 PM
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Hi I am new to the forum and never used one Basi hopefully I am posting this in the correct section!
Just wondering if anyone has muscle twitches which I have been experiencing for the last few weeks. Mainly legs and buttocks. Then my eye for 2 days. If I google this symptom it comes up with the dreaded 3 words… MND. Thus then caused me extreme anxiety to the point where I could not cope and caused other symptoms.
So I started the conti patches 3 weeks ago which seemed to calm the anxiety but twitching still there. I hate it as it scares me. Also get small electric shocks in body.
Before the twitching I had constant pins and needles for 2 weeks. Which now I prefer to the twitching.
Doctor has referred me to a neurologist but this is a 6 month wait as she said my symptoms are non specific.
Anyone with the twitches?
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Yep. Usually my eye lids/lashes since about age 11. Usually put down to being over tired.
:welcomemm: I suspect that if your GP was concerned he/she would ask for a sooner appt.. As oestrogen levels drop so muscles may become lax = aches and pains. Etc.. Also the body may become dry: inside and out; deep in the ears, eyes, nostrils, skin, vagina ........ ::) It's The Change, does what it says on the tin.
Browse round. Make notes. Ask away, nothing is stupid or silly on here. We have threads on pets, books, travel etc.; we talk about menopause sometimes ;-).
Those electric zaps - are you on any other medication (no need to say) but my anti-depressants give me zaps across my head. I am used to them now.
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Hello thank you for replying.
No other medication. Hopefully nothing sinister and it is hormones as I read anxiety can cause the twitching. So anxiety brought on by my hormones then the side effects of the anxiety maybe?
However because my anxiety is very low atm I don’t understand why I would still have the twitching. When walking at shopping centre a few days ago my knees were on fire and were so sore. Came from no where then had a period the following morning. Is this what woman have to go through for the next few years!
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Emma B I have the twitching in buttocks and legs at night too. ::)
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That will be a hormone link then. Hot flushes in the knees, that's a little different ::)
Some find that keeping a mood/food/symptom diary of use.
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Could be just benign fasciculations (BFS). I've had them at rest all over the body for many years, with hindsight from around the time perimenopause symptoms began. Mine were diagnosed as BFS by a Neurologist, without progression to anything more serious. Hopefully Neurology will be able to put your mind at rest, but I agree when they first start they are unnerving. :hug:
They can be associated with imbalances of minerals such as magnesium & calcium & some deficiencies including Vit B12, so well worth ensuring your diet is healthy, which as you'll know is anyway a sensible step at this stage of life. Caffeine can make them worse too.
Wx
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Hi thank you to all.
Feel a bit better knowing I am not on my own with this symptom.
My B12 is high so I may try some magnesium supplements.
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I've had twitches for a few years now, been perimenopause for almost 6 year's, but the last few months has cranked up a gear so much so I had terrible anxiety and panic attacks , doctor put me on a low dose antidepressant but they gave me terrible tremors and the twitches were so bad I decided to come off them altogether, doctor put me on the mini pill to help with the perimenopause symptoms , that was six weeks ago and got a bleed after first month but hasn't gone away on day 17 now but I'll stick with it as I read this is common with the mini pill, as for the twitching it has calmed way down since coming off the antidepressants and don't bother me so much now xx
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Yes I also get them, randomly at different times of night and day as well in various parts of my body, also worried about it, but I think its some sort of deficiency in a mineral and was also thinking they may be due to stress, of which I had plenty in the past year or 2.
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Hi all it’s reassuring knowing it’s not just me. As I am sitting now they are all in legs particularly around knees and buttocks. My anxiety is very low at the moment which I thought would stop them. Then when they start I get a feeling of dread come over me.
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They can be associated with imbalances of minerals such as magnesium & calcium & some deficiencies including Vit B12, so well worth ensuring your diet is healthy, which as you'll know is anyway a sensible step at this stage of life. Caffeine can make them worse too.
Wx
I second this, for me eyes and muscle spasms has been fixed with a b complex and/or magnesium. I always have to take early in the day or they keep me awake.
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So Fed Up
Muscle twitching is back all over body. Scarring the life out of me.. it stopped for a few weeks and then started over a week ago. I hate it. Sitting here now moving my feet constantly so I cannot feel it. I am not stressed and it starts and then I start stressing. So it’s not the anxiety that starts it. It’s the other way around which is even more frustrating.
I even have it randomly in my arms, back, eye etc… Then this kicks off my anxiety. No one I know has it. My periods on time each month so am I peri menopausal? Who knows??? I am extremely dry down below, moods all over the place, itchy , dry eyes and the dreaded twitching which is the worst. Still taking conti patches and pessaries. I am now thinking the twitching started when I started the patches…
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The fact that it stopped for a while should reassure you, if it was something sinister, it would have gotten worse and worse, my also comes and goes, usually when I have been through a particularly stressful period.
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It sounds horrible EmmaB and l can imagine it’s scary, but l think it may feel so bad because you’re constantly thinking about it. I’ve had odd things like that too and try to stop my mind wandering to dark places, l go for a good, long walk, up hill and down dale! I try and go with someone as chatting away takes your mind off it and walking makes me stop worrying so much. As Cassie said, if it was anything nasty, it wouldn’t have gone away for a few weeks.
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Hi
I’ve just read your post re muscle twitching and I completely empathise. I’m 48 and in peri my muscle twitching started in October last year and it’s widespread …. It’s in my legs, arms, back, stomach, hands … you name it everywhere! I went to a neurologist in October as I was so concerned and he did all the neuro tests and all was fine. It’s now June and it’s still going on every day and trying to get on but it’s hard … anyway I think it’s bfs but reassuring to know others are in the same boat
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Hi . I just started to get muscle twitching. I though it was related to 2 cold sore i had and tingling stated in the nose now my bottom lip is twitching and both my calves. i have a blood test Thursday. i am 57 i do a lot of exersise and have not really had any menopause symptom. if this is a menopause symptom?
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Hi, did you muscle twitching stop?..mine is insane..all over body...
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Hi CathyCowey :welcomemm:
Sorry to hear you have them too. They can be unnerving at first for sure. 15+ years on from onset & now long postmenopause I still have them every day, but they have not progressed to anything more serious. As this is an old thread, if you don't get many responses, perhaps you'd like to start your own thread, tell us a little about yourself & ask any questions.
Good to have you with us, you will find lots of info & empathetic support on here.
Wx
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Could be just benign fasciculations (BFS). I've had them at rest all over the body for many years, with hindsight from around the time perimenopause symptoms began. Mine were diagnosed as BFS by a Neurologist, without progression to anything more serious. Hopefully Neurology will be able to put your mind at rest, but I agree when they first start they are unnerving. :hug:
They can be associated with imbalances of minerals such as magnesium & calcium & some deficiencies including Vit B12, so well worth ensuring your diet is healthy, which as you'll know is anyway a sensible step at this stage of life. Caffeine can make them worse too.
Wx
Hi Wrensong, I have had weird muscle twitching since November last year. It is mainly in my calf muscles and feet (all the time when i am resting my muscles) and random pops or thumpers in my shoulders, arms, thighs - anywhere really! I was recently diagnosed with benign fasciculations by a neurologist myself after nerve and muscle tests. It is a very stressful time and I guess only time can help make the anxiety less. I am 45 years old and wonder if perimenopause may have triggered this for me. My anxiety (both general and health anxiety) has been very debilitating since around 2021 and I do wonder if it is all connected to peri.
Does the twitching get less severe over time or have you found that you are not as bothered anymore? I take magnesium, B complex, and a good probiotic which haven't really helped yet, and I have been told by neurologist to try tonic water and energy drinks. He also said I need to get a good night's sleep -which is impossible these days. I have three small children (the youngest is almost 3) and they wake me every night without fail! ::)
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Hi katMB, yes I think you're probably right to put them down to onset of perimenopause. There have been quite a few members post about them over the 6+ years I've been on the forum, so it does seem to be a common stage for them to start & naturally they are worrying to begin with. Mine haven't reduced over time, but I don't worry about them now & accept that the Neurologist was probably right & that they are just due to BFS. Like you, I was told to try to improve my sleep, but that's still an ongoing project. Though well meant I know, I do find advice to get a good night's sleep frustrating as it's not something those of us who get too little usually have much choice over! I think magnesium does reduce mine, but I can't tolerate even 50mg doses these days as it makes me unwell in other ways. I hope you'll find yours improve in time, hopefully sooner rather than later.
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Thanks for your reply wrensong. Yes this is a very frustrating symptom, along with so many other symptoms that have appeared over the last couple of years. I just need to stop reassurance seeking as that is so addictive and causes more anxiety. I am certain my long term anxiety and depression has exacerbated my symptoms.
My neurologist did say that BFS has two parts to it - the physical twitching, but equally as important is the psychological side of it. He kept emphasizing that mindfulness is so important in order to cope with this. He recommended meditation and CBT therapy if the anxiety didn't get any less. He also suggested mild physical activity such as walking and yoga. Maybe I should take some of this advice.
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How are the twitches now? I’m assuming you weren’t diagnosed with MND and it was all hormone fluctuations?
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Had this for years, along with muscle cramps in my feet- I couldn't put them in certain positions without horrible cramps, and then I started getting them in my abdomen just bending over, and nerve tingling and pain that moved all over my body, and a bunch of other symptoms.
For me it is something to do with either B-12, B9, iron, D or all of those. I had a doctor test my homocysteine level and it was high- so I wasn't absorbing either B12 or folate, even though my blood levels were fine. I take injections now and supplement methylfolate and a multivitamin. My ferritin was low, so I take iron, and my D was low. All of those vitamins work together. I had anemia although it didn't show up through regular bloodwork.
Now, I have no more tingling and nerve pain, no more muscle cramps, no more twitching! If it starts to come back, I haven't been taking my vitamins. I also had all of my other symptoms mostly resolve, which included blurry vision, poor night vision, seeing flashes at night, hair loss, dry ridged nails, yellowing and breaking nails, bluish nail beds, pale inner eyelid, yellowing and pale skin, insomnia, headaches, general queasiness and no appetite, joint pain, bone pain, skin burning, always freezing, exhaustion and some others. I thought I must have MS or be slowly dying.
I think estrogen hrt helps too, but the vitamins have made the biggest difference. I had everything checked and no idea why I don't absorb them well but since correcting things I feel a world of difference.
Could be something like that in your case too- usually muscle twitching like this is not caused by a degenerative disease, so try not to conclude the worst, and check on your vitamins and electrolytes.
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Hi everyone, I hope you all are doing well.
I wanted to ask if anyone else here has experienced something similar. I am 46 years old soon to be 47 , and I am in perimenopause since i missed my period now for two months. For about 3 months now, I have been having symptoms like:
muscle twitching all over my body (arms, legs, back, face, abdomen ,)
sometimes buzzing or vibrating feelings
occasional body jerks when I try to sleep
some nights I cannot sleep well
sometimes I feel weak, but I am not sure if it is real or just anxiety
These symptoms are on and off — some days are better, some days are worse. I am trying to convince myself that all of this can be related to hormonal changes and perimenopause, but honestly, it has made me very anxious.
I would really appreciate hearing from you ladies , if any one havs/had or still have these symptoms during perimenopause:
-Do you think these symptoms are caused of hormonal fluctuations?
-Did it get better with time?
-How long did it last?
It would give me peace of mind to know that I am not alone and that this can be a normal part of the transition.
Thank you so much for reading and for any support or advice you can share 🤍
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Reading through this forum has been immensely helpful to me! I can echo what most people have shared - I started having involuntary twitches, first in my hands and feet and when lying down to rest or sleep - about mid August. It has gotten progressively worse, and as others described, shows up all over the body in rapid succession - small twitches moving around at a high speed. This usually happens for the first 10 - 15 minutes after I lie down, or right after waking up. However, it has gotten worse in the past few weeks and now happens at a lower frequency if I am sitting still. This includes twitches in my scalp and face. I have a neurology appointment tomorrow, and am hopeful that the MRI is clear (I'm afraid to look at the results without the doctor present) and that this is just BFS. I will say that two days ago I decided to try eliminating caffeine for a week to see if that makes a difference. I also added a vitamin B supplement, as I read online that that can help. Two days in I think I might notice a very slight improvement in the symptoms. Also I will occasionally have a slight tingling in an area of my body - very brief, but still disturbing. Yes, it is very difficult not to spiral into a panic over something like this. Thanks to everyone who has shared!