Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Unhinged on August 28, 2015, 06:17:34 PM
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Hello all menopausal ladies! I've been chatting to a few lovely ladies on another thread and we have been saying that it would be a good idea to have a list of some of the less well publicised symptoms of menopause - it's very well documented re flushes, crazy periods etc., but some of the symptoms we suffer are so weird and scary, that until we come across a post by chance where another lady has the same symptoms, well, we feel downright terrified and think we're the only one! Even when we approach the docs with them, unless you get lucky and have a doc who actually knows something about meno, they won't even accept that it's caused by hormones! But we know different don't we - of course some of us may have symptoms that are NOT due to menopause, but there's an awful lot of us in meno experiencing similar things.
I'd love to hear what your symptoms are if you get a spare minute, here are mine:
(I'm 54 and 4 years post meno, so no periods, just recently started HRT: Femoston Conti ultra low dose).
1). Day and night flushes.
2), Crippling anxiety which comes and goes.
3). Weak legs and arms, comes and goes, sometimes whole body weakness
4). Generally feeling rough like I could be starting a virus.
5). No energy - tiredness and sleepiness.
6). Heartburn/acid reflux.
7). Feeling overwhelmed, like I can't cope.
8) Lack of interest in anything.
9). Surging 'rushes' from chest upwards - adrenaline?
10). Feel pressure in head, like it's gripped in a vice but not strong headache.
11). Weird vision, not blurred, but sort of 'vague'.
12). Stomach upsets.
13). Weird jangling along jawbone and in salivary glands.
14). Flashes of irritability.
15). Sensitive to noise.
16). Can't always cope with a long conversation.
17). Bloating.
18). Feel of being off-centred, spaced out.
19). Excess mucus in throat, constantly clearing.
20). Often wake with right nostril blocked.
21). Sudden breathlessness; could be anxiety.
22). Bad obsessive thoughts.
23). Brain fog/can't think straight/forgetfulness.
24). Can't cope with pressure, ie work stress.
There will be more and I will add them if/when this current spell of brain fog clears!
I'd love to read your lists, it might really help someone else who feels they're going mad with some new weird symptom - and boy, some of them are REALLY not fun at all are they!
Unhinged xxx
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I dont get the mucas in throat (yet).
Up all night to wee, 5 or 6 times a night.
constant crying.
(and all the ones you both get)
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Thanks Sparkle and SadLynda, and you two encouraged me to start it, so thanks again for that and posting! This could work, you two have some symptoms that I don't get yet either, so it's working already, I can now know in advance that it's just damn hormones again if I do get them! xx P.S. I have no idea why my number 8 is showing with sunglasses on, and it won't let me change it, oh well!
Nearly crossed post, Sparkle, that's amazing, you're the first one I've heard of with that too - thankyou! x
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Ha ha, that's funny, and naughty again Sparkle tut tut hee hee, yes the weird right nostril club, I wonder if any more ladies have it? How exciting that I have a blocked nostril twin! x
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The main one for me is weird short term memory problems.
Our heating is on a timer which I override at this time of year. I turn it off...or on and ten minutes later I can't remember if I have or haven't. Drives me nuts as I have a really good memory for everything else.
Oh I have the blocked nostril thing. At one point I had to see a consultant for a recurrent ear infection and perforated ear drum . He told me I had a deviated septum....as most people do. I was told it was easily fixed and he would do it for me. I enquired as to how this would be done. He wanted to break my nose and reset it straight.....um no way ;D
If you get someone to look at your face behind you in a mirror they will be able to tell you if your nose is straight or not. If it's wonky then you have a deviated septum and that causes a stuffed up nose on one side. Unfortunately it's very common.
Honeybun
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Hi Unhinged
Some of those may not necessarily be menopause symptoms though unless you've had all of them since before you started HRT. I think I might have mentioned on another thread that if you are taking continuous progestogen you could get persistnet low grade adverse symptoms due to this.
I recognise some of these symptoms either when I have a migraine - or duirng the 3 days it lasts even if the headache is controlled, or when I am on the progesterone part of HRT - especially all the head and energy related ones ie 4, 5, 8, 10, 15 (high), 18, 23. I can see if you've only just started HRT though perhpas you've been experiencing these for a long time!
If some of them are recent do think about the cyclical HRT though which unfortunately would give a bleed...
I've solved your sunglasses problem. If you look at the smileys when you make a post you will see that when you clikc on the sunglasses one - in your draft post it comes up as an 8 with a close bracket like so 8)but I have done it without a space so you can see the number. If I just type the 8 then bracket like so 8) I will get the sunglasses smiley! I rather like it anyway - looks kind of ironic with the comment beside it!
Apart from the ones mentioned when on the prog ( sometimes) and when I get a migraine - I don't get any of them - not that cause any problem (for most of past 8 + years - on 50 mcg Estradot on long cycle with 200 mcg progesterone taken vaginally every 6-8 weeks). Started just before age 54 in late peri. :)
Hurdity x
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Thanks Honeybun & Hurdity!
That's a new one for me Honeybun, the short term memory problem. Eek, I don't like the sound of your nostril solution! x
Hurdity - thanks re the sunglasses, may try to edit, then again maybe not ha ha! Yes unfortunately all those symptoms are long term prior to HRT, but I have taken your advice from my other thread (thanks again!), am staying with the Femoston for 3 months, and I'm hoping some of these symptoms will decrease, actually, with HRT I find I am already getting a lessening of the weak legs problem x
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Forgot to list one of my regular symptoms!
25) Inner trembling/shakiness.
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Good thread
It is known that eustachian tubes can become narrowed with a change of hormones. Post nasal drip then becomes more noticeable. I have allergic rhinitis and occasional use of Beconase nasal spray helps.
Itchyness anyone: my insteps as soon as I get into the bath at night
Ichyness anyone - all over my back, I would love to have someone scratch gently several times a day ::) and of course, the itchy spots are where I can no longer reach!
Restless leg syndrome - eased by lots of bananas
Other symptoms can be: frozen shoulder/s - lack of oestrogen can cause laxity of muscles >:(. Both Mums and my paternal Grandma suffered.
As for forgetfulness - apparently it is GOOD that we remember that we forget - if we had a dementia-type illness then we would forget, end of ;) - I could write a thread on it's own about forgetting!
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But would you remember to start it ;D
Honeybun
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:lol: …….. :whist:
As for sore scalp - I find that if I don't wash my hair regularly my head hurts :-\
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Brill post CLKD! I had no idea that could happen with the Eustachian tubes, it's great to know that there is a logical hormonal reason, very reassuring, thankyou.
Itchyness, frozen shoulder - they would be another new one for me, so I will be watching out for that - but not looking forward to the itching! It may not happen of course but to know they're symptoms experienced by someone else means they're in the 'known symptoms drawer' ready.
Restless legs, I get that and forgot to put it on the list, drives me bananas sometimes - so I'm going to get some, thanks for the tip!
But will you remember to write the thread if you decide to? Hee hee x
(Honeybun you posted same time as me ha ha x)
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:na: now which thread was that ……… :neutral:
Symptoms will/not arrive - don't look for them though or you will be awake all night !
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Sparkle, yes inner fizziness!
Also, 26) Tingling on back of hands, sometimes for hours that nothing will stop.
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Yep - gritty eyes ……… need to rub them a lot 'cos they itch.
Crikey we needs a Vet. ::)
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When I'm in a dip (it's official name is dysphoria) I crave lots of natural light and get panicky at the thought of it getting dark outside.
I also dread being on my own.
I also get very twitchy and tense when anyone shuts a door or switches a light off.
A psychologist would have a field day with me!
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Hi Gypsy,
What is dysphoria, is it like SAD? I too went through a phase of worrying about it getting dark, but that has gone now.
I also dread being on my own at times, but then sometimes I dread NOT being on my own!
Yeah, perhaps we should all offer ourselves up for study - in exchange for a cure of course!
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Hi
It's basically defined as a restless anxiety mixed with depression and inability to take pleasure in anything. Don't think it has any connection to SAD?
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Thanks Gypsy, gosh there are so many different forms of anxiety!
Just remembered another of my symptoms:
27). Metallic taste in mouth, comes and goes.
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Some of my weirder ones were: excruciating back/shoulder pain; water retention causing nerve pain; sense that the supermarket aisles are moving; burping/nausea; sudden, crushing fatigue; sense of ants crawling across shoulder; painful zits that never have a head; fear of being alone and inability to leave comfort zone; over thinking things; hair loss; moustache growth >:(
Fascinating what you say about Eustachian tubes, CLKD. All my life, during the few days before I come on I get a horrible taste in my mouth, mucus in back of throat and bad breath ??? Saw doc when I was a teenager and he confirmed it was hormonal, linked to Eustachian tube and nothing to worry about. Had forgotten about this til it read your post.
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Excessive saliva
numb scalp on left side
feeling like there are things on my skin when there isn't
obsessively organising everything in advance
blocked right nostril
crippling feet, like I am walking on the bones of them after a rest.
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Hi Mandy43, wow, I can't believe this, until this thread I had never heard of anyone else who had the blocked right nostril thing, now there are 3 of us! (Sparkle have you seen this!)
Thanks for the others, these are all new to me, this is great stuff!
You too Briony, most of yours I don't have, the sheer variety among us is mind-boggling. (That must be scary, the supermarket aisles looking like they're shifting!).
Un x
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I'm 46 and have "self-diagonsed" myself as peri (well, the gyno agreed also). My periods are lighter and my PMS-symptoms are all over the place. My boobs are super weird. Always been on the small side, but not now. Big, swollen, itchy/sore - on and off with no predictable pattern. They used to get bigger right before my period, and the normal size again when my period started. But not anymore. I also have problems getting my stomach back into regular patterns. I'm trying probiotics and cutting out caffeine to see it this helps. I have some sort of hot flashes. They tend to consist of a hot face, sometimes it feels like a sunburn. I get cold chills too. Night sweats tend to come right before my period. I can get a creepy crawly feeling on my body/scalp sometimes. I also have gotten a red eye a few times since last fall, and I think this is another odd symptom. Anxiety, depression, etc on and off too (mostly on, but in varying degrees).
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1. Vague, slightly sick feeling
2. Tingling in my arms
3. Weird vision, not blurry but not normal either.
4. Weird feeling in the middle where my ribs join, I can't describe it.
5. Awful eczema on my face
6. Dry, itchy eyes (regardless of whether or not i take my hay fever tablets)
7. Blocked ears, mucus in throat, cough sometimes at night.
8. Hips painful and ache in thigh muscles that is so horrible that I can hardly walk at times
9. Panic attacks (until recently, tablets finally stop them)
10. Startle easily
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coconut water has more potassium than bananas and so can help with restless legs
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Yep, get loads of these symptoms. Blocked nostril one annoying especially at night, have the extra mucus, hip aches, early waking feeling jittery, over thinking everything, everything on first list. Also major health anxiety that I never had till a year ago. Had a very loose red poo this morning (sorry!!) and had a panic, convinced myself that was why i had been feeling so rotten for the last year, I had bowel cancer, then i realised how many beetroot crisps I'd eaten at a friends house last night ::) I wouldn't mind but i even reminded myself last night as I was eating them that it would affect me in the morning!!
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It is known that eustachian tubes can become narrowed with a change of hormones. Post nasal drip then becomes more noticeable. I have allergic rhinitis and occasional use of Beconase nasal spray helps.
Fascinating what you say about Eustachian tubes, CLKD. All my life, during the few days before I come on I get a horrible taste in my mouth, mucus in back of throat and bad breath ??? Saw doc when I was a teenager and he confirmed it was hormonal, linked to Eustachian tube and nothing to worry about. Had forgotten about this til it read your post.
could this be a cause of blocked feeling in ears and slight tinnitus? I have always had perrenial rhinitis due to hypersensitive airways. I use Rhinocort spray but if I use it continually I get slight nosebleeds due to it drying out my passages too much so I only use it when it is a real nuisance. The inside of my nose is always wet and I have soreness from the wiping. that is not down to meno as I have always had it however the ear thing is in more recent years. Otherwise I have your whole list
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Are all these things really down to menopause or is it just part of the ageing process. I know that there are all the classic meno ones that are noted here but it seems to me that we are inclined to put everything down to the menopause.
My hubby has a few odd things happening off and on, he says it age related.
I have a good few weird ones myself that I hate but I've been on HRT for five years now and my levels at 55 should be fairly stable.
So is it or isn't it.......there are a lot of us here that are much of an age....ie middle age.
I would be interested to read what others think.
Honeybun
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short memory - oh yes, I even have to make notes to reply to the damn thread, who was it again........... oh yes HB. :)
BMD - the burning mouth, dry mouth, bleed of gums, pain in gums (the one they all said I was bonkers over)
Hot Back - the one that keeps me awake.
HB, no idea what is age related and what is hormonal, but before discovering this forum I thought it was all just my age, and at 49 I was NOT impressed that this is the rest of my life? when it seem it does not have to be this way at all. Okay we do have to put up with some stuff but not all of it, and I know if I can treat at least half of my weirdo symptoms that would do me.
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Thanks Peripenguin and everyone else for your lists, we're really creating quite a collection, it's brilliant! I was interested in what you say about cocount water Peri, I do drink that because I like it but didn't realise it was so high in potassium.
SadLynda - absolutely, if we can get rid of even a few of them we'd be much happier! Honeybun, no we can't blame them all on menopause but there's an awful lot that do seem to be related or even possibly due to hormones, so could hopefully be treated; shame we can't deal more with 'old-age' symptoms too!
Jedi, another blocked nose! Yes it is downright annoying isn't it!
Unhinged x
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The way I understand the dry eyes watering is that the liquid layer over your eyes need enough tears to keep it in place.....heck that was scientific ;D.....and if your eyes are not producing enough the balance is wrong.
I use the spray on stuff and find it really good.
Personally I think I'm falling to bits ::).....and I really wish I was kidding. I never thought being in my 50s would be like this. I hate the constantly washed out feeling interspersed with the occasional good day.
Honeybun
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Ok ;D...here is what I was trying unsuccessfully to explain.
About tears
You probably only notice your tears when you laugh or cry. However, the surface of your eye is always covered by a thin layer of liquid known as the tear film that helps to lubricate your eyes, keep them clean and free of dust, and protect them against infection.
The tear film is made up of water, salts, oils, proteins and mucus, which are produced by a number of different glands and cells situated in and around the eyes.
Dry eye syndrome can occur if any part of the tear production process becomes disrupted and the quantity or quality of your tears is affected.
Sounds like a good excuse for not gardening. I've still to get my fat bum off the chair. There is a festival in our local town today and we normally go but I'm not sure I can be bothered.
Honeybun
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Are all these things really down to menopause or is it just part of the ageing process. I know that there are all the classic meno ones that are noted here but it seems to me that we are inclined to put everything down to the menopause.
My hubby has a few odd things happening off and on, he says it age related.
I have a good few weird ones myself that I hate but I've been on HRT for five years now and my levels at 55 should be fairly stable.
So is it or isn't it.......there are a lot of us here that are much of an age....ie middle age.
I would be interested to read what others think.
Honeybun
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I guess it's difficult to tell, but my view is they are nearly all 'hormonal' even if not menopausal. The reason I say this is a work colleague had very bizarre symptoms in her very early twenties, so it wasnt linked to ageing. Initially they CT scanned her and thought it could be a tumour. At one point she had no feeling in her legs, then tingling all over and dizziness (extreme). Eventually it was found to be a severe hormone imbalance and was treated with medication. She's now in her late twenties and fine, with normal regular periods and no symptoms.
Similarly, I think my own issues are more due to an imbalance than actual menopause. My FSH is normal, mum had her menopause at 58, but my oestrogen can often go as low as 40 pmol. I never had any problems until a few weeks after I miscarried when I was 40. Now I'm 43 and still struggling - though taking hormones has helped the weirder symptoms - which makes me think it cant just be my age?
My nasal/ear issues have always been there - literally two days before I come on and vanish once my period arrives. There seems to be no logical connection with those parts of the body and hormones, yet my GP (seen when I was 16) immediately said hormones were the cause. It therefore makes sense that during meno, when hormones play silly buggers even more than usual, that these symptoms could suddenly appear for others, even if they've not had them before?
I guess, if it was just age, surely HRT wouldn't make a difference? I was reading something by a well known doctor the other day who said she knew she'd hit meno when she couldn't remember the name of the instrument she needed in surgery. She was prescribed HRT and was fine from then on. (If only it were that simple for us all).
.... Having said all this, I do sometimes question myself regarding what I've just written (!) For example, my left arm might start throbbing - which it sometimes does since I have had hormone problems - and I panic. Am I about to have a heart attack? I then try to rationalise it with 'chill out girl, it's just hormones' (and thus ensues a sudden rush to log on to MM and search 'arm pain' ::)) ... but actually, it could be the sign of a heart attack. It could also be a sign of an injury. Or it could just be the arm has been busy for too many years and is telling me to have a bath and rest. I think, what I am trying to say is we must stay alert to this and get things checked out, even though the experiences of so many on here, especially this thread, suggest it probably is 'just' our hormones.
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I've not really made sense, have I? I dont mean to contradict myself - I guess what I am saying is, it is probably primarily our hormones, combined with a bit of age, but we should always be alert to other causes too. x
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I've "always" had cold symptoms a few days before my period. Stuffy nose most prominent and sometimes a little sore throat. Goes away whrn period starts.
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Does anybody else wake up at night with a really, really dry mouth?
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peripenguin I want to hug you. If there is one post that has really lifted my spirits today it is yours
Does anybody else wake up at night with a really, really dry mouth?
this forum really is the business. I have had tests for diabetes and sjogren's syndrome due to my dry eyes and dry mouth. I have also had a salivary gland stone and infection caused by my mouth being so dry especially at night. I have been so worried about the cause and then you post that. thank you so very much for taking away just a little bit of my anxiety today xx
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Add to my list:
sudden itchyness, DEEP in the ear/s - we call it Spaniel ear
as well as a sudden, sharp pain in the ear/s …. makes me go 'ouch'!
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Add to my list:
sudden itchyness, DEEP in the ear/s - we call it Spaniel ear
as well as a sudden, sharp pain in the ear/s …. makes me go 'ouch'!
Huh, I had sudden sharp pains in my one ear the other day. For absolutely no appaerant reason. Never had before. So this TOO could be hormonal???
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Yep - I think that a complete list can be made now, 1-however many including8) ….. which I thought was another way of saying :bed: :o
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Great posts, still more symptoms coming in, it's brill. Ha ha CLKD, yes number 8 does look like that! (or more like this these days :boobs: )
Sympton number 28: Everything going south and wobbling about ha ha!
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middle aged spread :-\ >:(
I thought of another a few seconds ago: gone now >:(
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Tee hee that's what I was going to answer with Sparkle!
New Symptom: PARANOIA - Just got undressed for the bath, freaked out when I saw a huge brown mole on my boob. Wasn't a mole, I'd obviously dropped a bit of chocolate down my top, but it had me going for a moment. Have added to middle age spread two nights running! Hardly ever eat chocolate, not coz I'm good, just not that bothered with it, but I've had cravings for it the last couple of days, so perhaps should add 'strange appetite' to my list. x
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It is indeed Sparkle! Mine's a Phat Chin, with Hung Lo Bellie, and an extra portion of absolutely Crackers! x
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Unhinged I've been worrying about a mole for the last week on my finger, I've took pictures of it, I was gonna mention it to the doctor yesterday but felt abit stupid, got up this morning it's gone, it must of been a blood blister, felt a right plank I've got about 40 pictures of it checking if it was getting bigger x
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Ha ha Cthrnstowe, yes that's exactly what it would have been, I've had them, usually on my hands or calves. Funny re all those photos! x
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See what I mean about this place - priceless ;D
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:rofl:
Honeybun
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:lol:
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Thanks for joining in for a giggle ladies, a good old laugh really does knock the anxiety back for a bit! xx
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I could hug you all as well. I've been paranoid about diabetes and also about a stroke because sometimes my tongue feels really thick and the left side of my face goes numb. I've been in front of the bathroom mirror at 3am smiling to myself to make sure it was bilateral.
I just want to cry today. I go back to work after the bank holiday and I'm not sure I can cope with work, I've had two months off and it's been just what I needed. I went to bed last night and was nearly crying.
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I used to love it but this year it's been horrible but only because of the peri stuff going on.
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Big hugs Peripenguin - I too am going back to work next Tuesday and already have 'that' feeling. I used to love work, but combining it with crazy hormones is just so hard.
Hang in there xxxxx
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Thanks for laugh ladies ;D
sorry for those having to go back to work. I work alone, with just the dogs for company most of the time, but some days I try so hard to avoid other walkers as I just do not wish to interact thank you. Interesting how some people think it is fine for them and their dogs to seek you out and 'bug' you, when it is obvious you are trying to avoid them.
Paranoia is one of my middle names btw.
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Big hugs Peripenguin - I too am going back to work next Tuesday and already have 'that' feeling. I used to love work, but combining it with crazy hormones is just so hard.
Hang in there xxxxx
Are you a teacher then Briony?
thank you x
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Me too, I'm back on Tuesday for two days training before the kids come in. I'm a special needs teaching assistant. Not an easy job when you're feeling rubbish though the kids make it worthwhile.
ps another symptom burping alot :o
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Peripenguin,
- Yep, you too? It's not the easiest job when you're struggling to control a class of teenagers as well as your hormones. All the best for Tuesday xx
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Me too, I'm back on Tuesday for two days training before the kids come in. I'm a special needs teaching assistant. Not an easy job when you're feeling rubbish though the kids make it worthwhile.
ps another symptom burping alot :o
I so agree. I hate the bureaucracy, long hours and obsession with targets, but love every second I spend with the students - especially those with SEN. It's a privilege to work with them.
Funnily enough, I've had the burping too. Sometimes it's so bad it's like I will be sick if I dont burp. Once I burped loudly whilst teaching. I laughed it off but was secretly mortified. :o
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Me too, I'm back on Tuesday for two days training before the kids come in. I'm a special needs teaching assistant. Not an easy job when you're feeling rubbish though the kids make it worthwhile.
ps another symptom burping alot :o
I so agree. I hate the bureaucracy, long hours and obsession with targets, but love every second I spend with the students - especially those with SEN. It's a privilege to work with them.
Funnily enough, I've had the burping too. Sometimes it's so bad it's like I will be sick if I dont burp. Once I burped loudly whilst teaching. I laughed it off but was secretly mortified. :o
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I'm a TA. When we go back I'm working in year 6, I've been doing year 2 for the last few years so year 6 will be a big change.
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I used to love it but this year it's been horrible but only because of the peri stuff going on.
Interestingly, my job is what keeps me going during all these weird peri symptoms. The sad part is that I have a hard time enjoying time off from work nowadays because I tend to become more anxious and depressed at home where I have time to think too much... :(
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yes, thinking is never a good thing. :(
Does anyone have 'obsessions'? or is that just a personality disorder ;D Today's obsession is 'soap' I just ordered 8 nice one's on line, I just suddenly wanted nice soap.
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I have cornered the market in kitchen roll ;D. I keep forgetting how much I've got and buying more.
I also love new cleaning products ...how sad is that. I can't wait to get home and try them out. My cupboard under the sink is crammed full of stuff ::)
Honeybun
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yes, thinking is never a good thing. :(
Does anyone have 'obsessions'? or is that just a personality disorder ;D Today's obsession is 'soap' I just ordered 8 nice one's on line, I just suddenly wanted nice soap.
I've always had OCD light as one of my PMS symptoms... I doublecheck myself on everything I do. Locking doors, switching off lights, etc etc...
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Oh good not just me then ;D
I am a double checker on most things as is my daughter. Wonder where she got that from ::)
Not the first time I've made hubby turn back home so I can check on something ::)
Honeybun
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My very worst symptom of peri is a major worsening of tinnitus and a return of hyperacusis.
Since major onset of my peri symptoms this March, my tinnitus I was very comfy with got worse when my sleep became disturbed and then hyperacusis came back.
Now my life is living hell.
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Thanks for all your posts ladies! Looks like we can add even more unusual symptoms to the list then!
* Obessions (SadLynda I get those attaching to weird things - usually bad. At least you'll be clean! Sparkle - loo rolls, I'd say that was good planning ha ha - can never have too many of those!).
* OCD (particular with 'checking', count me in on that).
* Tinnitus
* Burping
* Hyperacusis. Sarai, what is that?
Unhinged x
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I never allow my cupboards/fridge/freezer to get low of stuff. That way I'm not backed into a corner to go shopping *today*! I also try to shop when the Store is less likely to be busy. So you can take this hint on board which will lessen one symptom!
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Anyone else like this with petrol? I have to fill up if it's less than 50% full, or else I get anxious. Drives my partner mad (excuse the pun) ! X
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Hi Girls
I have a few to add:
Cobwebb feeling at the end of my nose
Sensation of being watched, hairs on arms would stand up and I'd get goosebumps
Smell and taste more prominent ( filtered water the worse can smell the lime scale before I even taste it) during period.
Panic attacks, a wave passes through my whole body causing a feeling of something terrible is going to happen.
Dry eyes,gritty and sore
Sudden movement of surrounds, like a tipping/ sliding feeling
Hot breath, feels like when you eat that menthol chewing gum
Lump in throat
Sore lumpy boobs
Brain fog
Tension heads( before period)
There's more ill post again in a minute as have to do lunch now!
Smokey x
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Smokey - thankyou!
I get that 'hot breath' thing too!
Being watched .... that sounds creepy, but I know what you mean, I keep seeing things out of the corner of my eye, spinning round, then there's nothing there .... eek.
Unhinged x
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Hyperventilation syndrome - does anybody else have that?
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Unhinged Hyperacusis is extreme sensitivity to 'normal' sounds. The auditory system seems to be on red alert and sends a message that nearly all sound is too loud. So for instance the kettle, passing traffic, pots being loaded into dishwasher, peoples voices. The list is endless. They have no idea why it happens, but some believe stress, anxiety, depression. There is no cure as there is no illness to cure. You have to just wait and make sure you constantly hear low level sound to build up tolerance again.
In my case noise turns my tinnitus up.
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Thanks very much Sarai, sensitivity to sound is one of my symptoms too - I didn't realised it had a name! So thankyou
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Hi back again
Anxiety I shake when I'm at docs or hospital,I didn't notice it until my hubby pointed it out!
I wouldn't leave the house on my own I was scared, but not sure what of!
Hot glows and cold sweats
Heartburn
Skin sensations, like cold water is being poured on you same place on buttock
Fatigue
I seem to feel not quite right most days(but could be my ms)
Moods
Crying bouts first day of period
Making mountains out of molehills ( every thing worse than it is)
My God I didn't realise there was so many, now I'm on Hrt not so many!!
Plus point sex is so much better! ;)
Smokey x
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just told DH about Hyperacusis - that I am not just bonkers after all, I have been like that for years, that is why I need headphones to go shopping. I never knew it had a name, or was an actual condition.
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Hi back again
Anxiety I shake when I'm at docs or hospital,I didn't notice it until my hubby pointed it out!
I wouldn't leave the house on my own I was scared, but not sure what of!
Hot glows and cold sweats
Heartburn
Skin sensations, like cold water is being poured on you same place on buttock
Fatigue
I seem to feel not quite right most days(but could be my ms)
Moods
Crying bouts first day of period
Making mountains out of molehills ( every thing worse than it is)
My God I didn't realise there was so many, now I'm on Hrt not so many!!
Plus point sex is so much better! ;)
Smokey x
Funnily enough, only the other day my mum told me she had that feeling on her buttock the day before she came on right from her first period!
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Smokey, that's another new one to me - the skin sensations, I only get tingling in hands so far. But 'mountains out of molehills' - oh yes, BIG time!
I am glad to hear that HRT is controlling some of them though - and making other things better ;)
SadLynda, yes, we don't half learn stuff on this forum don't we!
Un x
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The skin sensations have a name (formication?)and apparently, are almost always linked to low oestrogen (other causes are much rarer). I get them over my shoulder - it's like thousands of ants crawling across me all in the same direction. Never lasts long and doesn't hurt - but it was still reassuring for doc to say they were linked to hormones and nothing worse.
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Another one named, thanks Briony, "Formication" - though I did get confused for a moment re Smokeys plus point that "sex is so much better" (tee hee)!
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;D :-X
For years: prior to peri … I have had that sudden woozy feeling, can't explain it really. When I go to put my foot down I have to adjust my balance although I never feel dizzy. It's like the ground isn't going to be where I expect my foot to land and happens several times a week. Sometimes if DH sees it happen he'll say 'enjoy your trip?' but it isn't even that. Not something I can take to the GP as it wouldn't happen in the Surgery ::). Sometimes my thighs feel empty which gives a similar effect when walking.
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:rofl:
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Being watched .... that sounds creepy, but I know what you mean, I keep seeing things out of the corner of my eye, spinning round, then there's nothing there .... eek.
Me, too....
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My worse symptom, although I am not sure if it is unusual or not is the borderline obsessive thinking I am now doing regarding this perimenopause hell. Waking up and always first thing I am wondering is how I am feeling, every glitch or pain or mood blip wondering if it is or not menopausal. Just have a busy mind with lots of thoughts. Not always but it is unpleasant to me....just want to carry on like I used to and not wonder about everything....happy go lucky, I miss that!
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Oh that was part of my anxiety for years: I would physically check from the feet upwards before walking into a shop to make sure I was OK-ish - less likely to have to dash due to panic attacks.
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Head 'zaps' (VERY odd!)
Always feel like something is wrong with me
Sad
Low energy
Overwhelmed
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Head zaps are medication related. I get them - I take ADs ……. sort of used to them now.
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Head zaps are medication related. I get them - I take ADs ……. sort of used to them now.
Me too - I take Paxil and get the head zaps when I am due for my dose, when I am overly tired, or when a period is due. Oh and they really get bad when I get sick and have a fever. I thought it might be my AD but wasn't sure if it was hormones or the medication.
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I've had some odd head zaps - right between the eyes - not had them for a while (touch wood).
I've also had numbness on one side of my face, tongue and gums - turns out I clench my jaw while asleep. I now sleep with a mouth guard in to relieve the pressure on the facial muscles and prevent damage to my teeth.
Every tiny little bit of bodily discomfort is, of course, me developing a life-limiting condition even though I am fit and healthy!
Creepy sensation over my left shoulder blade.
Tingly hands - especially the left one around the time a period is due.
Twitching tummy muscles - I sometimes feel like I am vibrating.
Occasional pain in the outer right hip, right wrist and thumb.
Intermittent tinnitus
Anxiety out of nowhere. I can be chipper one minute and sky-high with anxiety the next.
Sudden bouts of weepiness
Noise sensitivity - some sounds are more irritating than others and I'm constantly turning the tv volume down... drives me bonkers!
Stress incontinence - hoping my new kagel8 will help. It has certainly helped in other areas (unexpected bonus :o )
Bowels now more sensitive to what I eat (and how I'm feeling) than they used to be.
I'd love to have a whole day where the peri and all its weirdness stayed out of my head and body >:(
Galadriel x
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Oh for a normal day ::)
Anyone remember what normal is, if so could they please tell me ::)
Honeyb
x
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Thankyou ladies - head zaps, I too get these from time to time, but didn't put it on the initial list as I didn't know how to describe it!
Honeybun, no I haven't had a normal day for a long time, last one was probably three years ago, but I can remember when I felt well and what that felt like if I think really hard - why oh why didn't I appreciate it at the time, just feeling well .....
Unhinged x
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Normal?? ;D ;D ;D
Galadriel - glad to hear you are having good results with the kegal8, I have one too but still not opened the box as it makes me nervous. Hoping to get brave enough to read the instructions at some point and make a start. Also for Stress/urge incontinance and noctorium. Also agree with the TV thing, loud TV drives me insane :o
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I think I've forgotten what normal was. I need to get used to the new version of 'normal' (the one where everything changes at the drop of a hat). ;D
Go on SL - take it out of the box!
The instructions are fairly straight forward. Run program one (sensitivity test) and the next time you use it run program two. After that you just choose the program you need for the area you want to target. It's quite an interesting sensation :o ;)
Galadriel x
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LOL, I have heard about the 'sensations' ;) I will try get brave enough later.
I have just counted up all the symptoms to here, I lumped together those under one heading ie bladder issue's, and have counted 48 symptoms. I am toying with an idea for an art project with these, just a thought at the moment as not done any art to speak of for a while... but 48 symptoms!!!! little wonder we are all suffering as I feel sure I have around 40 of them in total. :o
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Well now you are just showing off ;D
Flamin awful when the new normal is just strange.
A really new one for me is DIY store head pressure. It only happens in those shops....for a few minutes it feels like my head is under water and there is pressure on it. It does pass quite quickly but it's a hugely unpleasant sensation.
Mind you I don't like DIY stores anyway. Standing next to hubby as he compares screws or nails is not the most exciting way to spend an hour. I just want to scream.....it's a screw FGS ;D
Honeybun
X
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:rofl: …….. it's a crew FGS - another thread? ;D ……. still, I'm like that with bulbs for the garden: should I stick with 1 colour or do I have room for 5/10/50 ;)
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:bounce:
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I see you've found the other similar thread - it took me a while ;D
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Along with the flushes moid swings etc I developed ear eczema which drives me mad and psoriasis of my toe nails I dont have eczema or psoriasis anywhere else ???
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If it ain't 1 thing it's another ::)
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Bugga ……….. ;D
It's itchy insteps again 4 me :-\
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Freezing cold...weird as I don't get many hot flushes but do seem to feel cold
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Along with the flushes moid swings etc I developed ear eczema which drives me mad and psoriasis of my toe nails I dont have eczema or psoriasis anywhere else ???
As a teenager I had 'pitted nails' for a couple of years - no diagnosis as the doc couldn't think of one so no treatment. I wonder if this was hormone related ?
Also I get ear excema - partly because I have to use wax ear plugs now as every little sound wakes me .
How do you treat your excema ?
Pollie
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Just thought I would add my symptoms,know there is another post but couldn't find it today.
over many years,im now 51....
dry eyes,dry skin,think dry everything,headaches/migraines,dizzy spells,short fuse,sadness,problems with sense of smell,intolerance of perfumes/products containing chemicals,palpitations,insomnia, and now more recently anxiety,off balance feelings,lethargy,itchy inner ears,sweating ,even if im cold,sometimes quesy and no appetite,cracking bones and will probably think of more,oh yes lack of libido.
ok some may just be age and coincidence,but periods been messing for years,now going 3months without,then 2 in 4weeks,very clotty ect >:(.
dolly64.
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Now heavy head feeling worse and today I ache all down my arms and neck and shoulders is this hormonal ? And no I don't have a bug I've taken 2 paracetamol and they have had no effect what so ever!
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Hi all, I've just read through all the posts of strange symptoms related to menopause... I've had most of them listed but has anyone had this happen? I usually have a blocked nose, winter, summer, anytime, but a minute or so before a hot flush starts I suddenly find by nasal passages miraculously open and I can breath so freely... them wham... the hot flush... ???
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Do the vessels dilate immediately B4 the flush? :-\
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Hi CLKD, yes immediately before, no matter what I'm doing, suddenly I can breath clearly and then the creeping heat begins... I supposed I should be pleased that I get a warning... flushes not happening quite so much now as they did say, six months back.
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Hi pollie I treat the eczema in my ears with hydromil ointment I get off my gp she also gives me a mild steroid cream for when they split open I had a year of microsuction last year where they suck out the dead skin on a regular basis,as I kept getting ear infections but they seem to have cleared up now I hope.my toenails pit and split there's nothing I can do just hide it under nail varnish 😊
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Has anyone had painful finger nails? It's not so bad now the HRT is kicking in, but it used to drive me mad. My nails just started to split, but to cut and file them argh! They were so sensitive :(
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Hi
Yesterday's aches have arnt so bad today but now my dry eyes are worse and have a new symptom it's like a tension headache that same tight feeling round your forehead but it's through/round my eyes now and it seems to make me squint. Not sure what I can take to ease it, it's so annoying I've got eye appointment with opticians next week just in I case I need glasses.
I'm always worried with new symptoms with eyes because of my ms.
Ann x
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Just curious as to how your internal trembling and shakiness is now....I'm 56 and one year into my menopause and its the worst feeling ever....between the internal vibrations and twitches....I feel like I'm losing it....any suggestions??
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Just curious as to how your internal trembling and shakiness is now....I'm 56 and one year into my menopause and its the worst feeling ever....between the internal vibrations and twitches....I feel like I'm losing it....any suggestions??
Hi Janina99,
I have benign essential tremor which sounds similar to what you describe. It is mainly shaking/trembling in my hands & I've had it for about 6 years or so. I take a low dose beta blockers (propanol) & it takes the edge off of it.
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My trembling and shaking is getting me down now after over a month of it. It starts when I walk down stairs in the morning my thighs and legs tremble and then I'm shaky all day inside and out but every keeps saying it's just anxiety but it makes me panic. Mine started when I came off BBs and when I re-started Citalopram so I can't work out which one is causing it.
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I've had all the usual peri symptoms but now I've started with a brown stringy discharge which is worrying me
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It's common during peri Cagsy51. It's a mixture of older blood plus normal discharge. The time to worry is if it smells horrible - best to get it checked out then as it could be a sign of infection. This is from an American menopause site "
What Can be the Cause of Brown Discharge Instead of Period?
Menstruation is the process of rejection and discharge of previously proliferated endometrium through the vagina. Brown mucous discharge instead of period can be associated with perimenopause, hormonal disruption, stress, etc."
Hope this helps.
Taz x
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I get sore eyes with or without my contact lenses. Ive got short sight but different lenses so I can see long and short distances but on HRT I can no longer see close up!! I also get a blocked ear in the mornings and feel like I have fluid in them!!
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Wholly identify with most of the symptoms. Feelings of anxiety, depression, the flushes are for most of us the pits! Add in morning nausea which can come and go, it is no wonder we feel depressed!
Meg
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Hi sparkle. I'm 5 years post meno and have only had the problem when on hrt but yes exactly how you described and sensitive to light especially at work when all I want to do is put my sunglasses on!!!
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I'm sensitive to light to, I wear my sunglasses everywhere , even when it's not sunny, and in restaurants when eating as their lights play havoc with my eyes too, not sure if all is Hrt as I have Ms too.
Ann x
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Well ladies, truly cheered me up, what a great thread. Oh by the way I had a metallic taste 32 years ago, my daughter is 33 next month... ;D ;D
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Good thread!!
I can relate to many of the list of symptoms.
I will look back on this thread later.
But what is it with the runny nose!! I will be fine one minute then my nose starts to run then I will be fine and some times my right nostril will block. This symptom started before xmas. It's no cold or hay fever! Is it somehow to do with hormones it comes across as that
Thanks janx
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Are you on hrt Janice? I ask because I had awful problems with a blocked sinus and had several visits to an ent consultant with no success. However, once on hrt it all cleared up so I'd say yes, it could be hormonal for you too.
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Could I join with a weird left nostril sparkle? 😁😉
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Thanks linz57
No not on hrt have been though didn't get on with it.
It came out of the blue with all the other symptoms never had this issue before. Only obviously with a cold etc.
It does come across hormonal! I would like to no how that works mind you saying that I have tinnitus because of meno
Thanks again
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I'm sure I read somewhere about there being estrogen receptors in the nose . Amazing!
You could try using a saline rinse, that helped me get through some difficult days. I used something called Neil Med Sinus Rinse.
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Thanks sparkle ,
Love to join the the weird right nostril club. Went to pilates today my nose started then 5mins later fine so weird!! Starting again now hormones playing up!!
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Thanks for advice linz57 will go and have a look at that.
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;D
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Anyone find when bleed /period due they get outbreak of cold sores ? I have got three of the blighters on my lips and have noticed a connection between bleeds cold sores (I'm not needing but its the time I would be )
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Anyone find when bleed /period due they get outbreak of cold sores ? I have got three of the blighters on my lips and have noticed a connection between bleeds cold sores (I'm not needing but its the time I would be )
Not all the time, but when I do get cold sores it tends to be right before my period. The
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I have found that I get embarrassing smelly farting,(sorry to be explicit)! Another joy of menopause I could do without.
Meg
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Anyone find when bleed /period due they get outbreak of cold sores ? I have got three of the blighters on my lips and have noticed a connection between bleeds cold sores (I'm not needing but its the time I would be )
Yes I get them too, can sometimes be a week before I'm due but they always come!
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I get most of these!
I also find I procrastinate a lot too, I never used to.
xXx
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20 years after my last period i still think of all of the pre meno and meno
Is the Dizziness and nausea it incapacitated me so badly i was only 37/38
Just starting pre meno they thought I had a brain tumour.
It was only years later 2009 on here in fact i found dizziness was quite common
But one most people didn't bother with.
I still have hit flushes
Still feel like my gearts skipping a beat
Still get terrified to death
Atrophy is extremely bad in my case cos no hrt and i was too scared to death to go
To the Doctor only good old Taz and CLKD plus a few ladies who no l9nger post
Bullied me yes they know they did almost daily in the nicest sneaiest way.
The rest yup same too but they fo ease i never cried sonce meno i cry at the drop of a hat
I dont have the same determination i had but i try to ignore it and make myself do stuff
Last year Dad died had to fly to uk from ozz 4 times in 4 months@i hate flying
I made myself doing something that really scares you is so Bobbles says courageous
All i can say if thats true last year i gave Churchill a run for his money
Xxxxx
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Hi, just wondering why GPS are not required to read this forum. It may ease the overwhelming feeling of being seen as a hypochondriac. These odd symptoms are annoying, upsetting, and very REAL. Even the NHS website pays scant regard to these debilitating, never ending freaky symptoms. How I wish that hot flashes and a decreased libido were all I had :'(
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Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and am adding my unusual symptoms to your list. I am 57 and last period was when I was 53. During pre meno and post meno these are some symptoms I have had.
The dizziness has been horrendous. Ranging from so bad I can't go out. When I get this it can go on for 8 weeks before I feel 'normal' again.
Off balance to some degree most days.
Tingling in face. First started lip area and nose. Sometimes one cheek or both and chin and even front of neck. This began 4 years ago, post meno. I saw the doc and had x ray and blood tests for thyroid. The x ray was fine. Thyroid was fine but I have since had blood checks again for this and twice it has been slightly out of range, but the last one was normal. Doc said I have a form of neuralgia.
This comes and goes. I can have this everyday to some degree and then go months without it only for it to make a return. The strange thing is that when it goes I get a different symptom. For instance I will have hot flushes. These are really best described as warm flushes as they are not like some of my friends who suffer terrible hot flushes. So far not had those. Just watch now, I will start getting them!
I have wondered if the tingling is a type of hot flush or in place of them.
3 years ago I had my first aura migraine which terrified me to the point I was in danger of agoraphobia and ended up seeing a councillor for CBT. I have had the aura migraine episodes twice since and it still terrifies me. Especially as my vision is affected when it starts. Typically lasts around 20 to 30 mins. Scares me so much I have to rush to the loo afterwards. Right now I am feeling edgy after the one I had a few weeks ago. I went to get my eyes checked - a good check and they are healthy, although I have had incidents when I have thought something was moving when it wasn't and eyes have felt bleary or patches of blotchy light, as though I have been looking at the sun (possibly has caught my vision) but now if I get a flash from sunlight in my eyes I feel panicky it's the aura starting. My eyes are sensitive to light and changing light and have been for some considerable time. Though I only need glasses for reading.
I have had bouts of panic attacks for some 20 years but they have been worse as I have gotten older.
Reflux -really bad for some 12 years.
Lichen Sclerosis for 3 years.
I have the memory blocks too so am sure I will be back here adding more.
Hoping I can bring along some reassurance here in other threads for those still going through the period stage.
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Hi Sparkle and thank you for your welcome. I am on omezaperole for the reflux (Sure I have spelt that wrong) I have been on them for around 12 years. 20mg each night. I have tried all sorts to help and some have but not to the degree I can come off the tabs. I am trying sauerkraut at the moment so I will let you know how it goes.
I had not suffered with headaches or migraines until these silent auras appeared 2013 and they truly are scary. Especially with it affecting my eyes when it starts up. Hoping Elizabeth rose will be able to calm me about them. It has made me scared of going out alone in case one comes as it came from nowhere. Mind you, I had got up, rushing about and going to the shops without even a drink so am wondering if that didn't help me. I also recently lost my dad and he went blind before he died and I know it had a psychological affect on me and it is making me worry more. Can't seem to get my head around it all.
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Hi Autumnlady seeing as though you've been on omeprazole (I've probs spelt it wrong too) for so long has your doc tested your B12 levels ?
That medication I'm sure can massively reduce your absorption of b12 and a symptom of b12d is tingling/numbness x
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Hi Autumnlady
What you wrote about the tingling over your face and nose is exactly what I'm having now and have been for 6 months. I've seen a neurologist and he wanted me to go on a epilepsy drug but I haven't yet. My jaw, cheeks and face tingles all the time. I've also been having excruciating head pressure for 10 months,I've learnt to live with it now. I had a mri scan and all was ok. A year ago I had anxiety and panic like never ever before. I couldn't go to my doctors,take kids places but that has eased quite a bit due to Hrt. I had the acid reflux and burning mouth syndrome which was awful.
I would never ever have believed these feelings were possible with menopause. I wasn't prepared for this. Did you say you were post menopause?
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Yes Sparkle that's one thing it did help with
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Hi Sparkle, Annie and Michelle, thank you for your replies which are really helpful.
I have had had a range of several blood tests but I don't think the B12 was amongst them - not unless it comes in with 'full blood count'. So I will ask about this at my next visit - also the vitamin D check. It seems I am hearing more and more people with the low vitamin D.
My doctor told me to take 40mg omezaparole last month but I haven't. I told her at the time I am worried about being on it for so long because I have read that because it is lowering acid it is making it harder for my food to digest. She said it isn't doing that but is taking the acid to a normal level. I don't believe that tbh and I am trying to get my digestive system in a better condition with the sauerkraut. Fermented veg is supposed to be very good for it by quickening digestion. I have only been on it a week and take a fork full before a meal two or three times per day. I will see how it goes and have another chat with the doctor if it doesn't improve over the next two weeks. I have always found I need to watch what I eat even with the meds. My doctor is lovely but I don't always agree with her.
Michelle - I am 4 years post menopause and it was just after this that the tingling started. Actually, before this tingling went into my lips/face I had the burning tongue symptoms on and off for some time - maybe a year or two just before other side of meno. Dr said I could take an anti depressant for it but I have not asked for any. It comes and goes. I can have it for months and then not have it for months. This is why I think it is changing hormones as I seem to then get a different symptom to replace it. It's reassuring all your tests came back ok, thanks for that. Incidently I have suffered the head pressure feeling on and off for many years. I know it sounds daft but when I get this I put a thin headband on and it often takes the feeling away. Maybe this is because I actually have a reason to feel some pressure on my head and it makes me relax, not sure, but it does often help. It's awful when how we feel knocks our confidence and stops us doing what we normally would. I have had this happen three times in three years. I have had two lots of CBT and also put myself on a Mindfulness course, which was helpful and I often find myself doing the tapping routines. It's better than nothing for some distraction when the panic rises.
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You would need:
B12
Folate
Ferritin
Fbc
And PLEASE investigate each result, your ranges will tell you you're fine but you may not be, always get a print out of the results
Burning tongue can be b12d too x
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Thanks for the info Annie - much appreciated. I need to make an appointment for in a few weeks time :)
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Sparkle I don't get on with the patches so I use the gel. 2 pumps rubbed in my arms each night. The patches didn't do much for me and left really sticky black marks. It is all very confusing and the doctors around here are not much help!
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I think my most unusual symptom has been days and days of ovulation type fertile looking mucus that used to only appear mid cycle. Also days and days of what feels like PMT like a period is about to start, sometimes does, but often these feelings build to a peak and have even on occasion disappeared overnight. :'(
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Sparkle when I was trying hrt months ago the tablet form caused me alot of stomach problems to the point I couldn't eat and abdominal pain it was horrible it caused alot of digestive problems for me. Even though I am not on hrt patches or gel the gel route is better even though it never helped me. But we are all different. If you are very sensitive like I am try and avoid the tablet form for a later date and if you decide the hrt route try the estrogel route maybe.
Take care
Jan x
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Hi Jan and thank you! Yours and Michelle's posts have confirmed for me that if I do go down the hrt route I definitely won't be using tablets and will probably ask for the gel, it seems more controllable.
S x
Very much so you are avoiding the digestive tract all together that way. Tablet form is very harsh on sensitive stomachs. As I've said we are all different!!
Jan x
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Sparkle how long did that mucus pattern go on for can you remember? Also when did you skip your first period was that a few years ago? Mine was when I was 53 so not that long ago I suppose. Full of PMT today or whatever that is! Hope you are doing well.x
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Hi everyone - hope you are having a good day!
Sparkle, yes I have a hiatus hernia. I started with symptoms in 2002. I kept having a sore throat down one side but not other symptoms. The docs kept saying it was a virus and this went on for the best part of two years! They wouldn't give me antibiotics even though it had gone on for dsso long and I ended up with an abscess on my tonsil. One night it swelled and burst, so next morning I phoned the GP. Needless to say I got the antibiotics straight away! It was several months after this that my doctor realised I had reflux. And that was because I had blood tests which showed I was anaemic. He thought I was bleeding from my stomach but I knew straight away it was because of heavy periods and I had a history of this. However, this is when he sent me to see a consultant about my sore throat problem. By this time I was also having problems swallowing some foods and was pretty scared. Sometimes it felt like there was a lump in my throat. Also each night when I fell to sleep would be woken with liquid coming up my throat. It didn't feel like it was burning at the time but my throat would be sore the next day.
I refused a camera down - which is wrong, I know. But can't stand the thought of it. The consultant told me I had a hiatus hernia and put me on Omezaprole which I have been on since 2005 (Think I said 2002 in my earlier post but it was 2005). I cannot do without the meds. I have tried and went down to 10mg which worked for a while and then I got the symptoms back so bad I was losing my voice so went back to 20mg and also changed what I ate.
I have found that I need to do other things to help myself beside just use the meds. If I go wild and eat whatever I want I am ok for a while then it comes back bad and I have to start all over again with some sort of self help.
Here are things which have worked for me over time but which I become complacent about for a few months and end up back at square one.
Manuka Honey - 10 to 16 strength. I bought from Holland and Barrett. I used a 12 certified strength. Take one spoonful on a bite of bread before meals and one before bed at night as this coats the throat and helps protect and heal it from any reflux during the night.
I also cut back on sugars and eating junk foods whilst on this. It definitely helped and I did this for several years. Before I used this my throat was raw and it hurt me to talk. A couple of weeks doing this and my voice was normal again. The downside is it is very expensive to keep paying out for real manuka honey. I have just remembered I got a better deal and a better honey from a Manuka Honey producer on the net, so if anyone wants to buy this let me know and I will look if up for you. It is years since I used this as it became too expensive. I still used the meds but they were not enough on their own.
Another idea I used was a diet I found on the net and bought the books which cost around £30.00. Again this worked well but it is something you need to stick with and it isn't always practical. This is the basic idea of the diet:
Do not eat meat or fish protein with carbs. ( Don't eat meat or fish with potatoes or bread)
Eat meat with loads of veg or salad.
Eat fish with veg or salad.
This can be boring! I used to leave meat out for a Sunday dinner but had buttered and roast potatoes, loads of veg, a Yorkshire pud, stuffing and vegetable gravy. If I had had meat I could not have had Yorkshire pud and stuffing.
Eat fruit on an empty stomach first thing of a morning and don't eat anything else for 30 mins. Or only have fruit a full 3 hours after eating a meal.
A good thing is you can enjoy a chip buttie!
Again this did work with the symptoms but I still stayed on the 20mg Omez.
Another thing which was really good was Silicol Gel. I had a table spoon before each meal and last thing at night before bed. It sticks to inside of the throat and digestive track and heals. It is really good and said to be without any side affect so long as you don't have kidney problems. It is expensive but not so much as the manuka honey. There were no restrictions on length of time to use this product and it informed to use continually for best results. I used it for a round a year and then when I went to buy another bottle the Medical Association had claimed it as a medical product and put their own restrictions on it! Saying don't use it for more than three days and take an hour after other medications. I think it is produced in Germany so I found it impossible to get to the bottom of this. The Herbalist said nothing had changed in the ingredients but the medical association had changed the instructions for use.
Ginger Tea made with fresh ginger. Simply slice around five thin slices from the ginger and place in a pan of water, bring to boil for 15 mins. Take a cup twice a day after meals. I let remainder cool in a jug and put in the fridge to warm up in the microwave for last meal. I found this to be excellent in conjuction of cutting down on sugary products. It can give some people a rumbly tum and a bit loose. This happened only a few times to me.
Another thing is to cut out as much processed food as possible. Bread, grain and sugars are bad for me. Even tea, coffee and chocolate drinks make my throat sore if I have them every day. At the moment I am only drinking water and green tea.
As I said in an earlier post I am now trying the sauerkraut as it seems obvious it is what we are eating is not suiting us. In my case anyway. The meds are to treat the symptoms but are not getting to the root cause. The sauerkraut puts back into the stomach good bacteria, which I think is what is needed.
All the above worked along side my meds. My med alone does not stop the symptoms of sore throat and refluxing during the night. It is what I eat that stops that. Maybe I need to stop permanently on one of the above to stop the meds? I will also add that when there is something special to celebrate I do have a treat and eat what I want for one meal. This works fine so long as I am 'good' the majority of the time. I also go out every Saturday night and eat what I want and have the biggest dessert I can find on the menu! Again I can get away with this so long as I stick to a plan. The longer I stick to a plan the less breaking it for one meal will have an impact.
Hope this helps someone. If I think of anything else I will let you know.
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Hi Autumnlady, welcome to the forum!
I've just read through your posts: poor you what a nightmare peri and meno can be! It never rains but it pours!
I can't help with the acid reflux etc. though Sparkle has a wealth of experience with that as have a number of other ladies but it does seem that you are exceptionally switched on and are trying lots of things to self help anyway. I had heard about kimchee, which is a Korean fermented vegetable dish in some ways similar to sauerkraut, being useful for the health of gut bacteria. I love it, but can't say whether it helps, as it's not a problem I suffer with.
Your tingling and migraine symptoms rang a lot of bells though. Only about a third of migraine sufferers experience an aura and even those, don't experience it with every migraine. It is also possible, as you've found, to have an aura without the headache that more commonly follows. MaryG was another sufferer of this.
It's not widely known but auras aren't just a visual disturbance they can manifest themselves in lots of ways; aphasia, a difficulty speaking, finding the words and also comprehending; hypersensitivity to touch, the scalp and hair can feel bruised and painful; dizziness; confusion; pins and needles and tingling; phantom smells, to be honest the list is long! What causes further confusion is that the migraine prodrome (the period of time before a migraine starts) also has a very long list of possible symptoms too, often similar to those of the aura.
I have never had an aura without a headache following. I have many different symptoms of aura but every migraine will vary as to what I will experience. I've only had about six visual auras and I do understand how they could freak you out. My first one happened on a morning commute into Waterloo Station and the man in front of me lost his head: his body was there but his head was missing. I truly didn't know what the heck was going on until the scintillating scotoma kicked in. I had to get off of the train and sit on a platform bench for about half an hour waiting for it to calm. Since then if things start to happen, I sit or stop the car and wait it out. They are scary but I've learnt to take control, recognise what is happening and just wait for it to end. I do however completely understand why they would upset you especially as your poor dad lost his sight.
I regularly get pins and needles on my face with aura, most usually around the left side of my lips and chin, (normally the migraine headaches I get following this are severe ones),interestingly I also get this with hot flushes and it creeps up my face with the heat. However, my flushes build in intensity over time and when they become fierce the build up pins and needles disappears. I wonder if this is happening with you but as you don't get the headache it's difficult to identify what is going on. Silent migraines are tricky because the symptoms often mimic other conditions. I have a phantom smell aura, which is a most unpleasant car fume smell that even feels as if it is burning my nostrils! There are some pretty outlandish symptoms that are not recognised by GPs who don't have a comprehensive migraine experience. My first consultation with Anne MacGregor was the most reassuring two and a half hours of my life! I came away feeling normal!
Autumnlady if you would like to PM me for any more info or to ask any questions, please do, I'd be very happy to help in anyway I can.
I wish you well. x
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Autumnlady been reading the posts here. i too eat sauerkraut apparently it helps the digestive system. Have to say not keen on it but I do eat it it's got a lot of health benefits Like helping the immune system!
I might get some manuka honey in too does that have anti inflammatory effect like ginger?
Jan x
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Hi Elizabethrose, Sparkle and Jan and thank you for you helpful replies.
Jan, the Manuka honey is an anti inflammatory. It's said to be very beneficial for the body. I am not struck on the sauerkraut either tbh but will stick with it for a few months and see if it works. I just want an easy fix if I
Sparkle, the reflux did start during perimenopause. 14 years ago when I would have been 43. I didn't have IBS but I used to have a fair bit of heartburn when I was in my 20s/30. I have started using unsweetened Almond milk on cereal and I only have gluten free cereal. I try not to have bread but it is difficult sometimes. I found the gluten free bread high in calories so have stopped using it. I bought one of those wedge pillows and it does help but I do keep sliding down the bed lols! What doesn't help is our house has a slight forward tilt so I am inclined to slide down the bed anyway. What a state to be in!
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Sorry about that ladies, my post flew off before I had finished replying! Must have caught the wrong key!
Elizabethrose, thank you so much for your information and offer of help. I am still feeling jittery in case the visual aura strikes again and my mind is in overtime as to why I have started having this problem later in life. My optician didn't seem worried and just said that they are scary to experience and can affect one eye or both. It has helped to have someone describe the symptoms like you have with that odd experience of something suddenly not being there when you know that it should be and in fact is. That must have been terribly scary to suddenly have someone's head missing! It was the tip of my granddaughter's nose that had gone for just a few seconds and it terrified me.
So far the tingling has been separate from the aura. When I have had the tingling in my face it does seem it is in the place of a hot flush as I have noticed the pattern. And suddenly I stop having the tingling bouts, which I can have every day for weeks or months, and instead have the flushes for weeks or months, only for them to go and the tingling return.
I have experienced some of the other symptoms you have described, like the sore scalp. This actually began after my periods stopped too. I have had bouts where I feel not here and spaced out and this has probably been since my early 20s. I have noticed it is when I am very anxious and stressed. It is the same with dizziness and vertigo. I have had three terrible spells of vertigo that have lasted weeks - again since I stopped my periods. But I have always suffered dizziness to some degree since my teens when I was at school and I put this down to hormones. My daughter suffers the same with the dizziness, as do some friends, both young and old.
I have read the silent migraines can come on at menopause and can be hormonal. Do you agree with this?
Do you have regular migraines and have you found anything helps to keep them away?
Thanks again!
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Oh Autumnlady, I feel so sorry for you, this is all such a pain!
I'll try to address your points, hopefully I won't miss any! Firstly let me just say that all you are experiencing is not unusual. There's a massive benefit from not getting the headaches with your aura BUT it's obviously tricky recognising what you are dealing with. My mother started experiencing silent migraine with massive visual disturbance after meno. She was inordinately lucky in that she had an amazingly easy peri and meno. The migraine aura lasted for a couple of years and then disappeared completely. I think she had the migraine headache only a few times.
Don't be frightened of the visual aura, you know what it is now, it won't harm you, just settle yourself till it passes. If you don't then get the headache you're lucky, you're quids in! There are all sorts of visual aura, if you are anxious about googling it I could find some links for you. Personally i have to know everything about what is happening to me as it makes me feel more in control, however we are all different.
The point I was trying to make about the tingling is that I get it as an aura symptom but also as a hot flush symptom. I'm still getting massive oestrogen surges and plummets: when the oestrogen drops the flushes start building again. At first they are just like pins and needles climbing my face: later though, as more time passes the pins and needles disappear and are replaced by full on hot flushes. Interestingly, I was once prescribed an epilepsy drug to use as a migraine prophylactic and I had almost constant tingling with that, again on the left hand side of my face.
I too get terrible vertigo and dizziness with some migraine though thankfully only occasionally. The difficulty for you is that you don't have the migraine headache which you can't fail to recognise, all of these symptoms could be an aura, you just don't realise it.
I absolutely agree that migraines can be triggered by peri, meno and hormones generally. I have been very lucky to have seen some very very well regarded migraine specialists and hormones specialists and have subsequently had a lot of questions answered (and I do ask a lot!!).
I don't know what your current medical situation is. If you are already taking HRT, it could be that you are reacting to it. They may be able to make some changes that will help calm the migs. MaryG reacts very badly to progesterone, it causes silent migraine for her. She has a wealth of experience in trying to find an HRT balance that doesn't exacerbate the silent migraine. She may not read this thread so I would suggest you send her a PM and I'm more than sure she'd be delighted to run through her experience and may be able to offer some advice. She's a lovely lady and only comes on this site to offer advice to others as she has her situation managed well at the moment.
Your last question has made me hesitate slightly as my experience has been a tough one and to be honest I don't like to frighten the pants off some new posters who are just starting out on this journey, looking for solutions and trying all sorts of HRT and drug combinations. I have tried a lot, it's all been managed brilliantly well by trusted Docs, however, nothing has worked for me. I am still getting very frequent migraines, but they are much reduced in frequency and intensity and I am getting by. I use Frovatriptan and Diclofenac suppositories to treat symptomatically, however these can't be taken before the headache starts so won't suit you.
I feel inordinately positive that things will keep improving for me. Peter Goadsby and Anne MacGregor quite categorically state that my sort of migraine are best managed by going into a natural menopause, avoiding medical and surgical menopause unless illness requires it. All has improved but I need to have my hormones level out and I'm still late stage peri so it's a waiting game for me at the moment!
If there's anything I've missed or you have any other questions, please do ask: i'm really happy to help :) x
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Elizabethrose, thank you for your kind words but you are the real expert on migraines and know far more than I do!
Autumnlady, I'm sorry I missed your posts but it sounds like we have a very similar problem. My silent migraines started in June 2004 which was 30 years to the month after I had my first period. I was waking up one morning and could see this shimmering, zig-zaggy pattern moving around that lasted for about 25 minutes - I now know this was scintillating scotoma. I immediately knew it was a migraine but I didn't have a headache afterwards, I just felt strange and spaced out. I had a Mirena coil at the time that was fitted for contraception purposes and I now know that the reason I had the migraine was because I was no longer producing enough of my own hormones and the synthetic progesterone in the coil had become too dominant.
I had several episodes over the next couple of years, found out I was menopausal and starting using oestrogen patches with the Mirena coil still in place but they were not strong enough and didn't give me anything like enough oestrogen to counter the migraines so I had the coil removed. By this time I was post menopause and didn't have any more natural periods but I had a dreadful problem with my thermostat and was constantly sweating (no hot flushes or night sweats) even though I didn't actually feel hot. I then went onto a continuous combined oral HRT but again, not enough oestrogen and the synthetic progesterone triggered the silent migraines. I eventually sought the advice of Professor Studd who prescribed 3 pumps of Oestrogel and a small bead of testosterone everyday and 7 x 100mg Utrogestan (vaginally) every month. It was great at first but the migraines came back during the Utrogestan phase so now I take the Utrogestan every 5 weeks or so but, most importantly, I now take 25mg DHEA tablets everyday and produce my own oestrogen again and that seems to be the key to success in keeping the migraines away. I also take vitamin B12 and magnesium supplements everyday. In my case, there is a definite correlation between producing my own hormones and being able to counter the effects of artificial progesterone in HRT preparations. I never had any problems with my own progesterone (no PMS etc.) and I was able to take the BCP which is stuffed full of synthetic progesterone without triggering migraines when I was in my 20s and producing my own hormones although with hindsight, I now realise that I didn't feel that great and had constant nasal drip, frequent sore throats, grew hairs in stranges places, had breast pain and gained weight.
Obviously this is my own personal experience and you may be very different and your trigger might be completely different to mine but you (and others reading this) may be able to relate to some of it and if reading this helps someone then I have done my job! Like Elizabethrose, I also consulted Professor Anne MacGregor and she was brilliant and understood my problem immediately and she suggested I stick with the 25mg DHEA tablets and take 300mg of aspirin everyday during my Utrogestan phase.
My body decided to completely reject all forms of artificial progesterone post menopause and I can't really tolerate any form of progesterone used in HRT and I should really have a hysterectomy (Professor Studd recommended it) but now is not a good time and I am hoping to limp along on this regime until I can pluck up the courage and take the plunge.
So to summarise:
I didn't have a history of migraines or PMS pre-menopause;
I have never been intolerant to my own progesterone;
I was able to use synthetic progesterone (BCP and Mirena coil) without migraines pre-menopause;
Synthetic progesterone/high doses of Utrogestan are my only migraine trigger;
Producing my own oestrogen via DHEA tablets seems to counter the effects of synthetic progesterone/Utrogestan and prevent migraines.
Sorry for the ramble, I hope that helps!
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Elizabethrose, Sparkle and MaryG I can't thank you enough for your time in replying to me. I am so grateful to read all your thoughts and explanations.
I am not taking any hormone replacement or meds apart from the omezaperole. I worry so much about side effects I avoid meds at all costs. But during peri meno I did take several courses of Northisterone (progesterone) They worked well at the job they were meant to do and what I noticed was that whilst taking them and for 3 or 4 weeks after I felt off balance all the time. It was subtle but clearly there. I got to expect I would feel that way if I took them. Makes me wonder now with what you said, Elizabethrose, if the dizziness was a form of the migraine.
I have no idea what my hormone levels are like right now post meno for 4 years. It would be interesting to find out.
Apparently my mum's mum suffered terrible migraines in which she was laid up for days on end unable to get out of bed. But I don't know what symptoms she had and I am not sure I can find out. There is a chance an older cousin will know. I can remember my mum having headaches but they weren't migraines. In her much later life she did say a few times she was seeing the zig zag lights and she did not complain of a headache.
Sparkle - I daren't move my bed to the other side of the room as it is near the window and I dread large spiders coming down the curtain onto me Arrggghhh! lols.
Thanks again and I will no doubt be needing to ask more questions as I remember them :)
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You are most welcome Autumnlady, I do hope we've been able to help or at least put your mind at rest.
I was thinking about you last night: were you given a diagnosis of silent migraine and did they do a basic neurological test? This is very simple, they usually check your balance and dexterity, check out your vision and ask lots of questions: this is usually used to rule out any other neurological conditions. I wonder whether it may be useful to be referred to a specialist.
I think silent migraines are slightly trickier to treat than the migraine headaches, in that a great many drugs can only be taken when the headache part of the migraine starts not in the aura stage. There are prophylactic drugs that work to prevent migraine from happening, though these usually have quite comprehensive side effects, and I realise you don't like to take meds.
Most migraines are triggered, but the list of triggers is endless and often personal to the patient. You'll hear that people should avoid chocolate and cheese but they are not a trigger for everyone. Often when in prodrome patients crave certain food types, frequently carbs, and then when the headache kicks in they assume that it was the craved foodstuffs that they'd indulged in that was their trigger. It's all so difficult to decipher. My major trigger is sudden hormone change: that in itself won't always trigger a mig but if I throw into the equation another trigger like lack of sleep or missed meals or lack of fluid intake, and endless others, the combined triggers will stimulate a mig.
I think I would recommend you keep a daily diary: not something that's going to take over your life but something that will allow you to record when you have any aura symptoms. Spend a few minutes every evening jotting down how you are; any aura symptoms, lack of sleep, unusual stress or upset, unusual foods, alcohol, anything that could amount to causing you to feel off. After a while you may start to see a pattern. This information is invaluable to specialists and regular docs too. It's difficult to remember what we've experienced, when: when it's written down you have evidence.
I wish you well, please ask if you need more info, I'll be very happy to help. x
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Hi Sparkle and Elizabethrose - you certainly have helped with telling me your own experiences. My doctor has carried out the neurological tests you mention several times over the past few years and has been satisfied so has not yet referred me anyway. These were done for the dizziness and off balance episodes and then for the aura. I have not seen my doctor about this latest one but will tell her when I next see her. I have a nurse appointment in November so will tell her too. I had known about the flashing lights or zig zag lines before I had my migraine but had not realised that it could affect visually in the way it did, as in my granddaughter's nose missing. It was a relief when you told me, Elizabethrose, how you experienced someone's head missing. Very scary though. I am trying to get things into perspective and to be calm about if it happens again, so your words were reassuring, thank you. I have noticed that if it is very sunny and windy out, when I am back indoors it feels like my sight is sort of fluttering/flashing for a few moments. Not sure if this is due to going from bright sunlight into dull light and my eyes focusing on the change or not. My vision is excellent apart form this but it is worrying me to the extent I am only walking my dogs round the block on my own and I daren't go further to the shops on my own just in case. I know I have to get help with this as I can't carry on allowing it to have such control over me. My mum was just the same in that she became agrophobic due to dizziness when she was out when she went through her change. I didn't think I was as bad as my mum.
but I will be if I let this escalate.
I hope you don't mind me adding this as I know other people have and are going through so much more than I have and am, but I lost my mum, their dog and my dad all in the space of 19 months and I saw all of them take their last breaths - sorry but I am heartbroken. I looked after mum for many years and the last 4 were especially bad. Then I looked after dad and their dog. I had to make all his decisions as well as the things going on in my own life. My husband had to come out of work a few weeks before mum died due to a knee injury and condition and has been unable to work since, so I have had a lot of big life changes going on in a short time as well as coping with my own menopause. There is more but I won't go on. I have said enough! But do you think all of this could be having an affect on my hormones too, as in the appearance of the aura migraines?
I am just remembering the advice about Vitamin D and magnesium. Can anyone recommend strengths please? I am in UK.
Sparkle I am glad my info on the reflux has helped you look at other options. Mine is playing up right now and I think probably due to the emotional upheaval I am going through. I am not sure about this sauerkraut as I had a coughing bout when I took some earlier when the vinegar taste(though it's not vinegar) hit the back of my throat. I have found the silicol gel heals my throat more than anything so I reckon I will go get some more of that for a while. Though I will have another go with the sauerkraut unless it keeps happening.
Oh what a wonderful time this peri meno and menopause is lols! ;D
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Oh bless you Autumnlady! Life can be so hard!! I lost my dad then went into having a op that caused so many health problems then stress from a job I did. Then the meno and so many symptoms anxiety etc too many eh?
Gave up work but looking for part-time work now fed up with being at home now I want my life back now!! baby steps and all that!!
Bless you
Janx
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Oh my, I am so sorry to hear of your losses too, Sparkle, Jan and Menomale. It all takes so much for us to adapt to. I won't say getting over as I think we just learn to live with it.
Regarding the sudden loss of your sister, Sparkle and how it affected your hormones, it has reminded me of my aunt who lost her husband when he was just 44. She stopped her periods and never had another. So it just shows what shock can do to the body. Thanks for the vit D info!
Good luck with returning to work and getting some life back Jan. I'm sure some normality will do you the world of good.
Menomale, thank you for your experiences of migraines. I have had a read of the link you sent. It does seem that all this dizziness and off balance I have suffered for years could be to do with silent migraine! I would never have connected the two. Just goes to show we are never to old to find out something! A bit of an eye opener too. My hubby suffered the most horrendous painful migraines when we first met and there was I thinking I didn't have them. Seems it might not be the case!
Thanks again ladies and take care :)
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Autumnlady, I'm also very sorry to hear about your loss, my brother died suddenly and unexpectedly aged just 55 in 2014 so I know how difficult it is to cope with shock and grief.
Menomale, sorry to hear that you are a fellow migraine sufferer, there seem to be a lot of us on here. It is worse when you don't know the trigger or have many different triggers.
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MaryG I am so sorry to hear about your brother and being so young too. It really must have been an awful shock x
Menomale, it is disheartening that so many doctors and even the neurologists don't know what they should about the condition. It amazes me that after all these years of humanity just how little we do know about the body and how it works. Scary really.
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Thank you Sparkle x
How are you doing with the reflux right now? Mine is playing up and I woke in the night aware it was hitting the side of my throat. I think the sauerkraut is not helping tbh so I will probably stop with that one. A shame as I liked the idea of what it's supposed to do for a healthier digestive system. I am back with some live yogurt instead of a morning and have been sipping unsweetened almond milk. Hope it works.
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Hello all menopausal ladies! I've been chatting to a few lovely ladies on another thread and we have been saying that it would be a good idea to have a list of some of the less well publicised symptoms of menopause - it's very well documented re flushes, crazy periods etc., but some of the symptoms we suffer are so weird and scary, that until we come across a post by chance where another lady has the same symptoms, well, we feel downright terrified and think we're the only one! Even when we approach the docs with them, unless you get lucky and have a doc who actually knows something about meno, they won't even accept that it's caused by hormones! But we know different don't we - of course some of us may have symptoms that are NOT due to menopause, but there's an awful lot of us in meno experiencing similar things.
I'd love to hear what your symptoms are if you get a spare minute, here are mine:
(I'm 54 and 4 years post meno, so no periods, just recently started HRT: Femoston Conti ultra low dose).
1). Day and night flushes.
2), Crippling anxiety which comes and goes.
3). Weak legs and arms, comes and goes, sometimes whole body weakness
4). Generally feeling rough like I could be starting a virus.
5). No energy - tiredness and sleepiness.
6). Heartburn/acid reflux.
7). Feeling overwhelmed, like I can't cope.
8) Lack of interest in anything.
9). Surging 'rushes' from chest upwards - adrenaline?
10). Feel pressure in head, like it's gripped in a vice but not strong headache.
11). Weird vision, not blurred, but sort of 'vague'.
12). Stomach upsets.
13). Weird jangling along jawbone and in salivary glands.
14). Flashes of irritability.
15). Sensitive to noise.
16). Can't always cope with a long conversation.
17). Bloating.
18). Feel of being off-centred, spaced out.
19). Excess mucus in throat, constantly clearing.
20). Often wake with right nostril blocked.
21). Sudden breathlessness; could be anxiety.
22). Bad obsessive thoughts.
23). Brain fog/can't think straight/forgetfulness.
24). Can't cope with pressure, ie work stress.
There will be more and I will add them if/when this current spell of brain fog clears!
I'd love to read your lists, it might really help someone else who feels they're going mad with some new weird symptom - and boy, some of them are REALLY not fun at all are they!
Unhinged xxx
Left nostril for me. Thought I was getting a cold. I feel ya pain with the rest!!
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I can totally understand every single one of them. I had a really weird pain in my armpit (I know, sorry!) Like the hair follicle was sore, then the next day, gone.
What's all that about??!!
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I have that armpit pain to least now I know I'm not alone
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Hi ladies, I have had the arm pit pain from time to time too. It does feel like a sore hair folical.
Sparkle, my throat is terrible down one side so I am dreading going to bed tonight because if I get the reflux again it will be raw. I have been careful what I have ate all day and had some ginger tea after dinner just now. But yes, one side of my throat has been sore all day. What is the pepsin? I am not familiar with that term. I have thought about trying some gavisgon tbh. I had some almond milk this afternoon and it did soothe it. But it seems everything we read, even with natural products, we are told not to use too much. The problem is we want to feel instantly better and it doesn't happen like that. My throat has not been this sore for some time so it is worrying me now.
I have not tried alkaline water - not exactly heard of that either. I am drinking bottled natural spring water at the moment. It doesn't matter where you look there's a negative.
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I am exactly the same regarding bed Sparkle, hence my turning my lappy back on and looking in here. I am normally in bed well before 10pm. When I saw my doctor around four weeks ago she told me to increase the 20mg Omez to 40mg to take at night altogether. As I don't like taking even 20mg I have not done this. I had some 10mg so used them to make it up to 30mg - not quite so bad but I ran out of those and as I wasn't doing it for long enough I don't know if they would have worked. I am so frightened of going to bed and getting more reflux over where it is already sore. I keep sliding down the bed with the wedge pillow or whatever I use. I keep burping too. I have got rid of it before when it has been like this but I am worried more this time as I normally get it under control myself within a few weeks to start seeing a difference. I have to say I am all over the place and keep slipping up, but it is so difficult to know what to eat and drink. I am trying to cut out grains, but it is in so many foods. Even the gluten free doesn't seem to be suiting me now and I am not having much of it. Yesterday I ate chocolate and hubby did some banana and custard. He put loads of sugar in the custard so I know that hasn't helped. So maybe that is why I was so bad last night.
I just don't know what to eat anymore. Even potatoes aren't supposed to be good for it. What are we supposed to do :(
I daren't even read about the pepsin at the moment. I just want to have a healthy stomach and throat. It's so depressing Sparkle. Sorry I am not of any help - I feel like you do and am terrified of medications so it's a vicious circle for me. I am sick of spending hours on the net looking for some miracle cure. This is such a horrible condition. People don't know how lucky they are to be able to just eat what they want and enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee. I used to take it all for granted. I will have to look at foods with above ph 8 now. Even my spring water is below that - 7.4ph. I will have to see what else I can find. I have taken the 40mg tonight as I feel I have no other option. I just hope it works. Oh to relax and have a restful nights sleep in a comfortable position. I hope you manage to get a decent night's sleep Sparkle. It makes all the difference to get through a night without the refluxing. At least we know we aren't alone. If only we could both do this and say, 'sod it!' :drunk: lols.
Take care xx
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I meant to add that my doctor said to go back to her if there wasn't a difference in two weeks time and she would look at some other options to try. I might have to do that.
Let me know how you go on x
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Aww, it is good we have found each other in here suffering the same horrid symptoms, Sparkle. Last night I put two pillows in an upside down V on my wedge pillow and then put my 'head' pillow on top. It's a wonder my head wasn't touching the ceiling lols! It was quite comfy though and I wasn't aware I had the reflux during the night apart from around 6 this morning when I changed position and nodded off again. One side of my throat is still sore today. I am hoping it is from the other days still recovering and not from reflux last night. I am mostly like you in that I can wake up symptomless and then the soreness comes on shortly after something I have ate.
Now here is something for you to mull over - Alpen cripples me! I love it but have had to cut it out. I have not tried it for a long time. In all cereal, including oats doesn't suit me. The only thing I do have is gluten free rice crispies but even they affect me sometimes. Though it is mostly when I have used cows milk. I am using the unsweetened almond milk at the moment.
I have been to the shops this morning wondering what I can have to eat! I ended up buying a small gluten free loaf and have just had a slice. I have some ginger tea at my side which I will have when it's cooled down a bit. See how that goes ::) But still got that sore left tonsil! I am praying it goes soon.
From what I have read combining - do you mean a meat with carbs? If so it isn't the way to go. Sorry if I am misunderstanding, but my research says eat carbs with veg or eat meat and fish with veg. Do not eat potatoes with meat or fish. It's a pain in the backside to not be able to enjoy those foods together but I am going to have to abide with it at the moment. The books I have are not combination diet. They are called something like, 'The No Pain Diet' and are by Sherry Brescia. If you look her up you'll find the info. I stuck to this a long time years ago and it definitely helped and I lost weight over time too. Problem is I slowly got back to my old ways, as per usual. Hope I can get myself sorted this time :-\
I worry about taking more of the omez type meds too as when you look info up it tells us that because we have the stomach acid lowered some of our foods aren't digested efficiently and sit there, thus causing heartburn as we can't digest properly. I actually said this to my dr on my last visit and she said, 'No, it takes your acid back to a normal level.' She is lovely but afraid I am far from convinced, and like you I have heard we get the heartburn because the acid is low, not too much. What the hell do we do? I have so lost trust in the powers that be but if they won't help us, who will :o
Anyway, I am glad your throat felt easier and hope it continues to improve :)
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Sorry Sparkle, I just read back and forgot to add that I think it is all the ingredients in the Alpen. Maybe that wouldn't be for everyone, I think I have a bit of a wheat/gluten allergy. My son has had similar symptoms and he was tested but it came back negative. However I think it can still be an allergy for some people even when the results are clear. I do find sugar to be a real no, no. Just about everything really ;D Got to laugh or I'll do the opposite!
xx
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Hi Sparkle, I reckon we are mirror images lols. Today I had almost the same dinner as you! Carrots, broccoli and cauliflower with smoked river trout! For breakfast I had rice krispies with almond milk. I have also had two small cups of ginger tea after the meals. It's said to be very anti inflammatory. My tonsil's not sore today. I felt some acid squirts overnight but so far so good with the throat. I have felt some indigestion twinges after the fish and veg meal - which is odd. It makes me wonder if it is the double dose of omez causing that. Not sure whether to have a double dose tonight or not. I did try another acid suppressant early on and it worked well but gave me terrible palpitations day and night. Doctor said this was because it worked through the heart. The omez works through the kidney. I am not sure if it was lansoprazole or something else. My husband is on lansoprazole without problem. I will have to ask the doc about this. I do think I have been on omez too long and maybe my body has got used to it.
Talking of the tonsil side - initially it was my right one inflamed. Now it is my left side. But I have to sleep on my left side as when I do on my right the reflux is worse. Something else the same for us lols. It is a pain though. I managed to go out last night for the planned meal and I had chicken tikka masala and chips. I didn't eat the bread nor poppodum which came with it. I then had a gluten free cheese cake and it appears to have been ok.
I have had my wedge pillow a year and it is probably not as firm as it was. That's why I lay the other three pillows in the way I did. Try that, Sparkle and see if it gives extra support. You may get away without buying another for a while. I just wish the night reflux would stop as it's awful when it wakes you up. It was short spurts last night. Sometimes it wakes me up and I can't swallow for a few seconds. That panics me. If I sleep on my back if mostly happens so I avoid that.
Here's to a good night for us both :drunk: Oh for some miracle cure for us all :)
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I never thought of putting the wedge pillow under the mattress, Sparkle! My poor hubby is putting up with me on my high pillows. We are a right pair because I have to sleep on my left and he has to sleep on his right due to an old work injury on his left shoulder. What we come to lols!!
Strangely last night I kept having that squirt of reflux on my left and then feel to sleep on my right and didn't get it! I reckon I am going through another change, never mind the menopause! I am hoping and praying I don't get any reflux tonight. Incidently, when do you take your medication? I take mine at night time and around two to three hours after food. It is odd because sometimes when I take it hours after an empty stomach I have had the reflux and sometimes when I have had a substantial meal and wait just the two hours after I have a reflux night. Other times it can go either way. At the moment I am not finding a right one. But at least tonsil irritation/soreness has abaited for now. I do think it is food combinations and it is difficult, not to mention boring to stick to it. I am trying very hard at the moment.
Another thing, I do think suddenly changing how and what we eat can make us feel wobbly, out of sorts or headachey. I have felt quite weak at times, especially during the first weeks when I have changed eating habits, even though it is much healthier and I make sure I have proper meals. I even wonder if that is what brought about that aura migraine. It could well be to do with the sugar levels changing. I have cut most of mine out but have to have a treat at least once a week or I'd go crazy. Speaking of which, the mini rice cakes with chocolate and coconut topping sound yummy!
Some days I feel odd, like I am not quite 'here', fuzzy headed, ears rumbling, off balance feelings. I do wonder if some of it is nerves as I tend to be worse on Sundays - and I have never liked Sundays. I sometimes think I subconsciously breathe differently and bring some of those feelings on because they can go as quickly as they come, and if I find something unintentionally to take my mind from how I feel.
I hope your scan is clear - could well be IBS. I have had that pain before and it has cleared when I have been to the loo properly. It can take time to settle. xx
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I get all these symptoms, luckily not all together! I find some are there all the time and some come and go with my cycle. E.g. Sleep patterns change through out my cycle, as do my obsessive thoughts. My bowels habits change too but I'm constantly having a blocked nose. My headaches have got worse too. I also keep getting a short sharp stabbing pain in my nipple, anyone else get this?
Shellb
xXx
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Hi Sparkle, Shellb and anyone looking in - hope you are having a good day today!
When I renew my wedge pillow I will try that out Sparkle. It may be better than how I am using it now so it's worth a try, thanks for that. I am glad your headache wore off, it must be a relief to be rid of it. We can't even concentrate on one ailment at a time, can we! Yes, some days I do feel I need to eat every few hours but I try not to do. I am getting to the point of thinking it would be a better idea to keep eating small amounts instead of waiting maybe four hours between - which thinking about it can't be the best thing to do. I was aware of one squirt of reflux around 5am thins morning but was not aware of more. Throat is not sore but it feels fragile. The only way I can describe it. I have had a handful of blueberries for breakfast and some water, then an hour later I had a small bowl of rice krispies and almond milk followed by a cup of ginger tea.
A word of warning about bought ginger tea in tea bags - I bought some and drank it for around 4 months. When I had my BP checked it was quite high and something made me do some research. I found out there was liquorice in the ginger tea and apparently liquorice can push up BP. There was a warning on the packet but so small it wasn't noticed. So always check for liquorice in herbal drinks! But back to my food intake for today - I just had some buttered wholemeal glutenfree bread with some green salad ::) So appetising - not lols! I am having bubble and squeak tonight with stuffed mushrooms and maybe an egg if the throat is settled.
Sparkle, I just don't know what to do for the best tbh. I am wondering if it is the Jacket potato that has caused the reflux as I have had this happen many a time and my throat has become sore after one. Then other times I can get away with it. I am hoping my potato dish won't start it off tonight. I only take my omez at night time around half an hour before bed and on an empty stomach. I am wondering to try to have a small amount of food afterwards, but not sure what as it will be a snack. Maybe I will try to find plain unsugared biscuit. I'll probably need to make my own as everything is so full of sugar and sweetners. I don't get how Drs rarely agree on the right way to take them. I have bought some of the Gaviscon this morning so may have some later if my throat feels the same.
I am the same with many symptoms like the one in your side, Sparkle. I can have a pain which niggles for weeks or months and then it disappears but can reappear moths or even years later. It does sound like irritable bowl symptoms. It's about the only thing I haven't had up to now. Hope I haven't opened my mouth for an invitation! But my friend has the condition and gets pain in that area with flare ups.
Shellb, the obsessive thoughts I can relate to remembering back when I had cycles. I don't have cycles now but unfortunately do have those thoughts from time to time, though I think for different reasons. I have had the stabbing pain in my nipple, but few and far between. Just make sure it's not anything to do with the fit or style of your bra.
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Hi Sparkle and everyone!
I stayed over at my daughter's last night so this is the first chance I have had to come in. I am glad to hear you are feeling better than you did and hope the queasy feeling and horrible taste at the back of your throat has gone. I have had a little of that appear during the day with the taste. Oh to be symptom free for more than a day or two. It really does put a dampener on mood.
I have felt so miserable today and everything has been a struggle, yet I should have enjoyed the day as it was a nice one. I just can't stop worrying about my health. I had my bubble and squeak meal, but with chicken instead of egg. The stuffed mushroom should have been a no, no and I did not finish that. It was very rich. I don't know whether it was that or the mash potato - or even the chicken ::) I waited 2 and a half hours after the meal and had my Omez. It was an hour and a half later that I went to bed yet I had the dreaded refluxing. Everytime I dropped to sleep I was woken with the feeling of liquid in my throat. In the end I was afraid to sleep but did eventually drop off for some considerable sleep as I woke feeling I had. My throat has been pretty ok though but I am just feeling so down about it and am dreading going to bed. I don't get that I am having 40mg and it has still happened. But I have only done that dose for four days so maybe it will kick in soon. I hate taking that amount and don't want to take it permanently.
I have wondered about taking one morning and night instead of both together. I definitely need one at night as it is when I lie down it is worst. I have taken the gaviscon after breakfast and lunch today. Not sure whether to take it tonight due to the two hour gap. Do you know if it is safe to take two hours after the omez tonight? Actually I have done that before, some years ago.
You must be right about the IBS connection Sparkle, with it being all attached. Makes sense really.
Oh well, back to my boring ginger drink to see if it helps ;D
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Thanks Sparkle, It is the haitus hernia the problem for me too with the reflux. I will certainly ask the doctor of any other meds to try though. I had a better night last night, stacked up with pillows lols. I had one 20mg two hours before bed and then some of the Gaviscon. Fingers crossed that is helping. Not entirely symptom free today though. My throat rarely feels perfect nowadays. Funny taste has gone for now. I totally agree with you about the digestive problem with increasing the meds and I bet diamonds the food does sit there and ages to digest. It makes sense that is what happens but doctors don't appear to be acknowledging that, which is worrying. When I took the 40mg I was having twinges of indigestions pain in areas I mostly don't get it, sudden sharp pain.
Thanks for telling me about the Burning Sensations thread - I will look to carry on the subject in there now - see you there! :)
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Hi ladies, so sorry for late responses, away at the moment and not up to date with all threads!
Autumnlady, I am so sorry to hear of your recent losses, it's hard enough to cope with one but a succession can push us too hard. Grief and stress can most definitely affect us in a number of ways both physically and mentally. I have two friends whose periods stopped very suddenly, one as a result of the sudden devastating loss of a child and the other the very sudden loss of her husband. I have no doubt that the enormous stress you've experienced could have triggered your migraine and certainly the anxiety you are now experiencing. Did you ever receive grief counselling?
Bright sunny days are my nightmare and I have to wear sunspecs constantly. The flickering light driving between buildings in a cityscape will trigger a mig as will low sun when driving. I have my back to the sun as much as possible (bit tricky when out walking!).
Menomale, I'm sorry to read about your migraine experience too: I too am completely unaffected by foods though now totally avoid alcohol since a nightmare migraine from hell after a couple of glasses of champagne many years ago. Sudden weather pressure changes most certainly affect me and as mentioned above, bright sunshine is a terribly inconvenient trigger. I can't ski anymore because the landscape is too bright. However, hormone change is my overriding trigger. I'm so sorry too to read of your recent losses and struggles. Life is certainly testing at times.
Sparkle, we've talked about your sister and how her loss affected you, how can pain like that not affect us both physically and mentally? It's devastating.
MaryG, I send you my condolences too, so sorry to read about the loss of your brother.
Love to you all and all the other lovely ladies contributing here x :hug:
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Great topic....
Mines are similar
Sore joints, weak, flu feeling, memory loss, dry peeling skin, vaginal dryness, fibroids, thickening of the womb, anxiety, insomnia, blurred vision, hot eyes, irritability, hair loss, anaemia,feel stressed, out of sorts, spaced out, bloating, low libido, ringing in ears, glut in throat, feeling of being overwhelmed with any activity etc within home or out, tearfulness....feeling totally disjointed from the person I was. X
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Thank you so much for your kind words Elizabethrose. I hope you are enjoying your holiday and it's lovely of you to pop in on your break. I can see what you mean about the sun and flashes of it between buildings. I have been very aware of bright lights and sunlight since my migraines as it feels like I have looked at the sun too long and that's when it starts. Oddly some of the worst times have been when it's dull and overcast with a bad light and then a bit of sun peeps through. I haven't been to grief counselling but really think I might have too as I am having terrible sad thoughts which are really affecting me. I am trying so hard to fight it and even feel bad for coming in and moaning. I am normally the one who helps others and tries to put their minds at rest. I haven't the energy right now to keep doing it, so apologies if I am appearing so wrapped up in myself. Sparkle, bless her has been helping me, as have some other lovely ladies. Thank you all.
Renee, sorry to see you are feeling so bad too. I certainly understand when you say you feel totally disjointed from the person you was :hug:
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Thank you Elizabethrose, enjoy your holiday!
renee, please see other thread for my reply.
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Hi Menomale - I haven't heard of Reza Band for reflux. What exactly is it and is it available Uk? Thank you :)
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Wow! me too! I recognise, and can relate to, most of this list. The one that really strikes a chord is eyesight... I paint a lot and when I'm doing detailed, close up work, it feels like my eyes keep 'slipping' out of the boundaries :o. I'm struggling to paint 'in the lines'. i wonder if its the meno or the hrt I'm on.
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Hi Menomale, thank you - I have just looked up where to get this from. The device costs over £200.00 but I would pay it to be free of this, as I'm sure others would. If it's bought privately the applicance and info need to go to your Dr or someone who can fit it safely for your own future use. God, wish I could get one now! I have applied to see if I can use it for 30 days to see if it works for me. Fingers crossed. Sparkle, anyone with this horrible condition - could this be our answer :)
Arty, I am not on HRT but have had same as you when painting, so could be meno, maybe.
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Oh I hope so Menomale. It is actually more than I said - £372.00 but if it works it will be worth it. I have phoned the UK company who supply it and someone is ringing me back, but may be Monday now. I am so excited this could work! Thank you for bringing this up here xx
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Hello Elizabethrose, lovely to 'see' you and thank you. Hope you're still having a fab holiday, walking backwards!! ;D. Are you well?
S x
Hi Sparkle
Yes thank you, we're having a wonderful time. Sun's disappeared so no need for walking backwards at the moment!! ;D
We've done lots of wonderful walking: this coast is an absolute delight and my all time favourite place. I find it truly relaxing: there is something about the sea! I've managed to keep the migraines at bay: I'd saved up meds this month so have taken them the few days I've needed to here and they have either despatched the head or calmed it sufficiently to get by.
Still doing the banana before bed and it still seems to be working. I'm still waking with the night flushes but not the overwhelming wakefulness I always usually get and I'm falling back to sleep really easily. I've missed three nights since I started it, been out with friends and completely forgot, and those nights it reverted back to the wretched wakefulness which lingers for hours. I'm assuming that a drop in blood sugar is affecting this adrenal surge, I'll check out the science when I'm back. But actually who cares why it's working, I'm just getting some decent sleep which is a gift especially as I'm still on an oestrogen low with the flushes day and night.
Thinking of you ladies as I've had acid reflux for the past week and a half which is very unusual for me. My diet is different here: despite eating lots of wonderful shellfish, crustaceans etc there are rather too many naughty additions i.e. cakes and scones and clotted cream, and Roskilly's ice cream, shall I continue? It becomes a compulsion: we went to the NT's Glendurgan and had tea and cake there, then drove to the gallery and garden at Trelissick and had to have tea and cake there too. When we return I'm going to have to get tough!
Wishing you well xx
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Thanks Menomale! What is it about girls and cake? ;) x
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Elizabethrose - your holiday sounds wonderful, mainly due to the opportunity to eat delicious cakes and scones! I love huge slices of cake, preferably with chocolate as an ingredient lols. When we went to Devon a few years ago we popped into Newquay for the day. On the way back to Devon we got lost and ended up in some woods. But it turned out well as hidden away was a little restaurant, all olde worlde with some of the biggest cakes I have ever seen. We had the most delicious cream tea with the scones still warm. I could just eat one now! Now wonder I have this acid problem!
But I have cut all that out now. I do have a treat once a week and hoping I will get away with one when out for a meal tonight. Fingers crossed. Enjoy the rest of your holiday.
Menomale, what an awful experience with the endoscopy! Sounds awful. Sorry to here about the hereditary condition, but it's brilliant the reflux stopped like it did. Did you suffer with it for long? I doubt mine will go on its own after 12 years, but hoping for a miracle with the bands you told us about!
Even so, we can live in hope Sparkle, lols. I can feelmy hormones changing at the moment as my little hot flushes are returning. You wouldn't think we'd still get the up and downs after the menopause but I always tell when mine are on the go.
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I feel like the devil tempting you lovely ladies, or the wicked witch in Hansel and Gretel! Come here my lovelies..................x
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Just worked my way through this thread and identify with quite a bit but I have an odd one with the tinnitus. It came on around 7yrs ago, (so during the peri, although at the time I didn't know that's where I was), and I started hearing a low hum when I was in rooms that had lights on dimmer switches. At the time we hadn't long moved and we have dimmers in our lounge, so I thought this was 'normal'.
Now I have a very low level hum most days and it's more obvious if our light are on. I also find the background noise from fridges louder than I used to.
I also think I might have a form of hyperacusis, set off by a work colleagues voice. When she talks at a normal volume it's OK, but she has a tendency to raise her voice when excited or nervous (which is quite often), and her laugh is like 'Nursey' in 'Blackadder'. Not too bad if you hear it once, but numerous times through an 8hr day and it's like nails down a blackboard for me. I've actually resorted to wearing earplugs on occasions it's and one of the reasons I'm going part time at the end of this year. Actually being around her makes me really angry, I could scream :diablo:
One good thing, I used to regularly get cold sores, always before a period, and it increased during the peri to maybe 50% of the time. Post menopause I've just had 2 attacks in 3yrs!
So come on anyone else have a 'good' menopause effect?
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Haha Sooze,
I had the dimmer switch conversation just last night with my husband! The buzzing drives me nuts but he can't hear anything. We stood underneath the offending light and for me it was really loud but he could hear nothing!! Deaf as a post!
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Just reading through the posts and was funny to read posts about Newquay and cornwall, I live in Truro which is about 12 miles from there. I have acid reflux and a small hernia and it's so hard not being able to eat pastys, scones and saffron cake , I would be in agony. I just have to stand and smell the aromas lol xx
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Just saw your post Dennylou48. I love Truro, such a pretty town and that's where we do our 'last' M and S food shop on the way down to the Lizard. The Cornish treats very nearly finished me off this year!! On the way home, we popped in to the Great Cornish Food Store in the new Waitrose and stocked up on saffron cake and buns to pop into the freezer when home as well of lots of other locally grown and prepared goodies. Love Cornwall!! x
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I have just joined this forum. I thought it was just me having all these weird symptoms. I am 59yrs old and have gone through the menopause, though very late. I had awful bleeding in my early fifties, but waited until the children had left for university, before sorting myself out and seeing a doctor. I had the Mirena coil for five years, which, for me, saved my life, very little bleeding and got me through five years. I had it removed a year ago. A bit of a drama few weeks ago, as I had some spotting. Back to the doctor, who sent me to have an ultrasound. All well, except they thought that the edge of my womb looked a bit uneven, sort of lumpy. Of course I worried myself sick. Was sent for a hysteroscopy, but all was well, thank goodness. However, I have been feeling unusually tired, even after a good night's sleep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I feel so tired, and could just crawl back into bed. I don't feel weak in my limbs or anything, just overwhelming tiredness. I was in town the other day, not exactly rushing around, but I felt as though I was drunk and spaced out. It was a horrible feeling. Has anyone else felt like this at my age? Thank you for reading.
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Hi pipsqueak
:welcomemm: from me too. It is common as sparkle says to feel tired - at this age and stage as well as this time of year. Do make sure your diet is good so that you do not become deficient in minerals or vitamins - especially if you have any digestive conditions which prevent/limit absorption.
I also suggest you go to the doc - and if they are testing things generally - they should do everything ie a full blood count, thyroid function tests etc. Also do ask them to measure oestrogen levels although they probably won't as you are post-menopausal but very low oestrogen levels can cause tiredness/fatigue as well as some of the other things. Also low testosterone although they probably won't measure this (as well as tiredness, muscle aches after exercise, and lethargy, the obvious symptoms of this is lack of libido).
As you have had a late menopause and presumably don't know when you actually became menopausal due to the Mirena - it could also be that you are now feeling the effects of the drop in oestrogen - which falls quite rapidly from the date of the last periods ie when the ovaries pack up - over the next couple of years, until it reaches an all time low. Some women only begin to experience symptoms at this point.
Did you suffer from flushes and sweats at all (not everyone does!) - or maybe you are taking other medication which masks these (some other medications do this)? Are you generally well, fit and healthy - as lack of exercise and excess weight can also cause more tiredness - although maybe you don't feel like taking exercise either!
Please get your sudden onset of tiredness checked out - it could be something really simple.
Hurdity x
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Excessive saliva
numb scalp on left side
feeling like there are things on my skin when there isn't
obsessively organising everything in advance
blocked right nostril
crippling feet, like I am walking on the bones of them after a rest.
Does anyone else het the excessive saliva.... just wondering if mandy43 still on here to see if shecstill suffers with this. Thanks in advance
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Hi Kat66,
I also have excessive saliva, but I'm afraid this has nothing to do with menopause, it has been with me forever. Actually I noted a decrease at late perimenopause (where I think I am now) along with a decrease in digestive issues (heartburn, acid reflux, bloating). These digestive symptoms seems to aggravate during peri and meno. I have no idea why mine have subsided, do you have acid reflux?
On a side note, once I had a reddened area on my tongue and went to see a stomatologist (first time I heard of this branch of medical science). She didn't care about the red area but she diagnosed blocked sublingual salivary glands and explained to me that my other oral glands were trying to counteract that by producing excessive saliva. She gave me some silicone little balls to chew for some minutes 5 times/day and told me I should brush my teeth and wash my mouth with warm water (during shower). I also changed my toothpaste brand and that helped me a lot, now it's just one brand I can tolerate, it's made of sodium bicarbonate and does not have any sweetener (I'm in Brazil, not familiar with brands available in UK), it's called Parodontax.
Hope that helps!
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Thank you so very much for reply and yes very helpful thank you. It is just a recen thing with me last 5 weeks or so. Drives me mad. Worsens when I think about it also.
Many thanks did yours slow up did you say has it stayed this way then.
Kath x
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Hi again,
Mine is still here but it's not a problem really, I can live with that and it actually helps me as a reminder that I have to swallow more often, another thing that came with perimenopause/ageing, I forget to chew food and hence can't swallow it properly, always gasping ::)
Do you have any digestive issues? Heartburn, acid reflux, bloating?
XXX
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I havent any digestives issues that are new to me since i gave up dairy and wheat some years ago things seemed settled untill this hit me... sometimes i dont notice it but other times im constantly swallowing for all the excessive saluva like ly taste buds/salivary glands gone into overdrive!! Yes have just changed toothpaste as thought maybe that aggravating things.
Glad your sumptoms have faded slightly. Very wearing isnt it
Kath x
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I dribble at night, my Dentist assures me that it is lack of oestrogen = laxity of muscles ::)
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I've just had a good read through this as I lay in the bath...... with a blocked right nostril and tinnitus in my left ear 😂😂😂😂 I've gone downhill rapidly over the last 6 months with many of these symptoms yet periods are still regular. I'll be speaking to my GP this week with a list! !!
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I dribble at night, my Dentist assures me that it is lack of oestrogen = laxity of muscles ::)
really, well I never. I did wonder why I had started dribbling at night. I wonder if hubby's snoring is also caused by slack muscles ::)
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Hi Kat66,
I also have excessive saliva, but I'm afraid this has nothing to do with menopause, it has been with me forever. Actually I noted a decrease at late perimenopause (where I think I am now) along with a decrease in digestive issues (heartburn, acid reflux, bloating). These digestive symptoms seems to aggravate during peri and meno. I have no idea why mine have subsided, do you have acid reflux?
On a side note, once I had a reddened area on my tongue and went to see a stomatologist (first time I heard of this branch of medical science). She didn't care about the red area but she diagnosed blocked sublingual salivary glands and explained to me that my other oral glands were trying to counteract that by producing excessive saliva. She gave me some silicone little balls to chew for some minutes 5 times/day and told me I should brush my teeth and wash my mouth with warm water (during shower). I also changed my toothpaste brand and that helped me a lot, now it's just one brand I can tolerate, it's made of sodium bicarbonate and does not have any sweetener (I'm in Brazil, not familiar with brands available in UK), it's called Parodontax.
Hope that helps!
Hi again, sorry for 101 questions but Did the dentist suggest sweetners in toothpastes etc cause this excesx saliva.? Also how do these saliva glands get blocked or is it as someone posted lack of oestrogen makes them loose their elasticity so they get kinks or bends in these veins etc
Thank you again.
Thank you to the lady who mentioned what dentist said about drooling at night too. All tgese comments help so much
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Menopause is rarely the cause of blocked salivary glands, this can happen at any age. Good dental health is important as is avoiding pastes which cause problems, for a while I was unable to eat bananas, chocolate/crossaints after brushing my teeth due to SLS. Drop of oestrogen can cause laxity of muscles throughout the body ::) which apparently includes the jaw.
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Wow what great information .
If I can ask what is SSL think CLKD mentioned it cheers
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Hi Kath,
Sorry for the late answer, dealing with a nasty flu here...
You can ask whatever and whenever you want, dear! The blocked glands episode happened years ago and I was not in perimenopause. The excessive saliva was a problem for my mum too, she was a nurse and used to tell me that this is called sialorrhea, maybe I have inherited some predisposition genes from her... Scientific papers discuss at least 2 different mechanisms, it can be either due to increased production of saliva (idiopathic or drug-induced) or related to failure of mechanisms that clear and remove saliva from the oral cavity (neurological conditions). The blocked glands fall into idiopathic (no known causes).
My problem with sweeteners is another matter... I have acid reflux and the sweeteners give me nausea and the vomit reflex. If I chew bubble gums that have sweeteners I feel an immediate swelling in my throat, not enough to block it but very scary and annoying. So I have banned sweeteners for good. The toothpaste without mint and sweetener have worked wonders.
Maybe the lack of oestrogen (but it could be just the ageing process) have a role in poor muscle strenght so we don't retain and swallow saliva so often as we used to do... just a guess. Reading a bit more about this, I found that excessive saliva is common in pregnancy so maybe it's not the lack of oestrogen, but an increase in progesterone... or the imbalance during fluctuations of both...
Anxiety also plays a role... so no wonder it can happen in peri/menopause!
XXX
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Oooh so informative menomale real appreciate you taking time to answer x my dad use to have quite a bit of saliva often choking on nothing...
Dear sounds frightening your reaction to sweetners. Difficult for you.
Many many thanks xx
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Sorry to hear you have had the flu... its been bad everywhere this year hasnt it. Hope you fully recovered soon.
Thanks to everyone who left replys I have terri le health anxiety has helped me so much.
Very grateful to you all x
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Thanks for starting this thread, Unhinged! I'll use your list as a 'base' for mine if that's ok.
I've been nervous about adding to the list as I have had a chronic health condition for 20+ years and some symptoms I am unsure if they are caused by menopause or not. In my list I'll put ++ sign against those I've had for years. The others started with a recurrence of hot flashes last March.
1). Day and night flushes - mostly day for me, but this could be because I take gabapentin for sleep. Right now I get 10 - 14 per day, 2-3 at night
2), Anxiety, low grade most of the time other than when the gabapentin kicks in ++
3). Generally feeling rough like I could be starting a virus. ++
4). No energy - tiredness and sleepiness. ++
5). Feeling overwhelmed, like I can't cope. ++
6). Surging 'rushes' from chest upwards - adrenaline? - these occur with hot flashes
7). Feel pressure in head - not vicelike but 24/7
8). Flashes of irritability and sometimes rage
9). Sensitive to noise. ++
10). Can't always cope with a long conversation. ++
11). Brain fog/can't think straight/forgetfulness. ++
12). Can't cope with pressure, ie work stress. ++
13). Extreme bilateral tinnitus all the time - which gets worse when I have a hot flash, when I'm tired, when I'm sick. The sound, if not the volume, is like a school fire alarm, or sometimes like bees buzzing, but high pitched. I experience in my head, not my ears. I've had this since March and it's one of my most concerning symptoms, I feel like something is really 'wrong' in there...
14) light sensitive ++
15) Panic attack sensation with each hot flash - raised heart rate
16) Every ounce of my energy suddenly running out, with most hot flashes, to the point I feel I can't open my eyelids or talk
17) Dry skin
18) Static hair (!) - all the time, awful
19) Sudden drop in energy after eating - to the point I have to lie down
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I'm very new to the forum. I'm 18-months post meno and have just started a course of combined HRT.
Sore throat
Blocked nostrils
Lacklustre approach to life
Sleeping lots
What an interesting thread. I started peri-menopause when I was 36 and it's only now I'm looking back thinking 'what was that all about"?
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Another symptom not sure how unusual but do any of you get real bad aches/ pains ( as in feel like bones are broken) to hobble about for an hour or so then for it just vanish? Had on tops of my feet before and lower back... almost feels like everything could go out of place with one slight movement?
Many thanks
Also still having saliva on/off 😩
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Hi Sparkle thanks for replying. Its all a mystery isnt it! Ive traded symptoms in peri for new ones now almost 3years post! Do you still get these pains or have they gone now? Hope they have gone. Im feeling almost like my monthly is going to appear lower back aches now even my thighs are pulling aching now! Doesnt help I stand all day.. can feel health anx bubbling inside. Got a left sided pain too that I can add to the pot :o
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Yep. Sometimes I walk bent over like a Witch. I think that as oestrogen levels drop off so muscles may become lax = aches and pains >:(. HORMONES >:(
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Glad things are easing up sparkle. Yes feel likev a witch too CLKD by mood as well as hobbling around... the broomstick would be quite handy..... ;D
Per I hit hard here too 2009... terrible time...
In some ways things easier.. not sure if that's adjustment though. As symptoms can be quite fierce still ... the aches and pains phantom monthly cycles, tiredness and insomnia... hair loss... Also newest one dry mouth alternating with excess saliva ::) oh and stomach gurgling whining type noises.... feel like running to the hills.. if I could lol lol
Thanks ladies... hope today is a good day for you all
Kat66
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Sorry forgot to ask sparkle what is your right sided pain like and where abouts. My left pain is just to the side of my belly button. It flares up then goes some days not noticeable then others on off all day. :o
Kat66
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Me again sparkle.. crikey you have had alot going off bless you. Like you say no wonder the aches and pains!! What /where are the diverticulitis symptoms you speak of Sparkle of you dont mind me asking. Thank you
Kat66
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Thank you Sparle Im just trying to try and identify my symptoms wothout putting the fear of god into myself.. have awful health anxiety! Whch appeared with peri but still hang around now post!! Appreciate you sharing it helps immensely. Hoping you find some ease from symptoms. Quite wearing these symptoms arent they. I dont eat dairy soya or wheat but these stomach issues(pains) started more or less when.my periods stopped.
Kat66
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Hi Sparkle sorrybthought I had replied to you. Not sure if I have ibs not been diagnosed but my stomach and bowel movements vary day to day depending on what I have eaten... still think there is some other foods besides dairy wheat and soya. That could be triggering this pain etc. Not sure how much or what symptoms contribute to ibs diagnosis. Like you said its all such a pain anywY peri, ibs, terrible it really is
How are you today?
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I get funny turns hard to describe
Dizziness
Feeling faint
Feel sick
IBS
Choked up like throat closing or choking
Joint pain
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I used to get funny turns that I can't describe.
A feeling of illness, like your about to faint, and weird feelings deep inside the body.
A real horrible, and depressing feeling. Would come on from nowhere. One minute feeling ok, the next, the total opposite. 🤷♀️
I would always worry, even when I felt good, when it was going to strike again.
It holds you back from YOU, because you never know when it's about to happen.
Like in the middle of Sainsbury's, and you feel such a fool. I've held on tight to that trolly many a time, praying I'm not about to faint or something! 😠
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A few years back I started with hallucinations (Hypnopompic, I think they?re called) upon falling asleep- I'd then wake up really hot and see things with my eyes closed that weren't really there......geometric patterns, one time it looked like I was watching a little computer game with small people walking round (like Minecraft if you know it!) even when I opened my eyes I'd see things and I had to blink a few times and they would disappear. The scariest thing I saw was a dancing skeleton!!? I also used to wake up and smell strange smells that weren't there. This all stopped and it seems a coincidence that it was when I stopped the mini-pill. A lot of the peri-meno symptoms ceased. It was quite distressing at the time.
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I've just stumbled across this thread and I defiantly think I have some of the weirder symptoms - the two main things worrying me are electric tingly feelings and slurred speech in the afternoons. And now I have suddenly been hit by something like vaginitis and I have now got antibiotics - lovely! All of these topics I have posted on separatly and I would like to say thanks to you all for making me feel like I am not alone and offering advice x
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I know this post is quite old now but in searching for some clarification I came across it.
I have recently started to get the muxux feeling in my throat,chest and my ears feel clogged. I get chest tightness and have in the last 4 weeks developed breathlessness. I've also got the blocked right side nostril! All these symptoms seem to have intensified since I had a bad bug at the beginning of March. I stopped taking my pill and have noticed how rough I've felt since. Got my 1st period today after 5 weeks.
I've had all bloods done and nothing other than low vit d showed up. I think a lot of it could be down to anxiety with all that's going off, and add to that I'm currently in the shielding high risk group so too much time to think.
Just wondered if anyone is still having these symptoms. any help, cures.. Thanks.
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Unhinged, I get most of these symptoms plus dizziness, low mood and cold chills. I'm 49, nearly 50, and in perimenopause as I haven't had a period since January this year. Doctors are pretty clueless when it comes to the menopause.
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I don't know anyone else who has experienced these, Folklass. Thanks for sharing. :)
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OMG so glad I found this thread...I too have a lot of those symptoms.
Awful reflux or nasal drip (they can't decide) Feel like am gagging sometimes in the evening.
Vagueness
Inability to concentrate like I used to
Forgetting words and names....really badly,..thought I was getting altzeimers...still do at times
Soreness ...was tested a lot by doctor for urine infection/thrush and then tests would come back negative. I'm sure they thought I was making it up but at times barely able to keep pants on so painful
Massive massive anxiety...even found it difficult to be passenger in car
sensitivity...as if I am feeling too much for me and for everyone. Can't bear bad news as upsets me so much. So easily upset too
V sensitive to what people say/do to me...try not to be but so hard
Tearfulness a lot and feeling v down, wake up like it and normally have a swollen feeling throat with it
Spots, like a rash across my cheeks. Not sure if HRT has caused this or made it worse, it's very unsightly
Eyesight seems to have deteriorated quickly..can barely see typed words in book without glasses. As for reading instructions on conditioner for hair etc..forget it!
Not being as joyful/excited etc....feeling low a lot of the time.
I just want to feel like I used to :(
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Same here - a recent occurrence for me the chest tightness and feeling 'clogged' in ears, I also get a lot of white mucus in my nose and one nostril feels numb at times :-\
I am also low in Vit D / Iron (but not anaemic) and Phosphates but I have been boosting my diet, still early days as not noticed any real improvement yet.
I don't know if you are on HRT but the feelings seem to get worse for me after using Estrogel, so not sure if it's too much or too little hormones causing it. , or just the Anxiety making it worse! Hope you get some relief soon xx
I know this post is quite old now but in searching for some clarification I came across it.
I have recently started to get the muxux feeling in my throat,chest and my ears feel clogged. I get chest tightness and have in the last 4 weeks developed breathlessness. I've also got the blocked right side nostril! All these symptoms seem to have intensified since I had a bad bug at the beginning of March. I stopped taking my pill and have noticed how rough I've felt since. Got my 1st period today after 5 weeks.
I've had all bloods done and nothing other than low vit d showed up. I think a lot of it could be down to anxiety with all that's going off, and add to that I'm currently in the shielding high risk group so too much time to think.
Just wondered if anyone is still having these symptoms. any help, cures.. Thanks.
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Burning soles of the feet and bright red fingertips are recent additions to my menopause list of symptoms (plus 75% of everything already listed.. ;D)
The menopause really is sh*t isn't it... >:(
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Very very late to the party, but l’ve just read Sally S’s post of 22 Feb about seeing strange patterns at night with your eyes closed or open. I, too, had this which also stopped after l stopped taking the mini pill. At the time l thought l was (a) going mad or (b) had a brain tumour. It was years ago, but l still wonder what it was, so Sally S’s post was very interesting and reassuring.