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[eileenbeattie]

Hi ladies
Has anyone suffered numbness in little fingers and stifness in joints? I'm waking up most nights with numbness in my thumb and pinky. I've tried changing sleeping positions but still getting it 😒. Don't know if this is part of menopause symptoms or something else. I went to my gp and she didn't seem to concerned about it. I'm suffering bad anxiety which also brings on skipped heartbeats which aren't very pleasant. I've been in hrt for a year now and don't think it's helping one bit 😕

[joziel]

YES. This has been one of my symptoms, along with the skipped heart beats and stiffness in joints. Full description:

Joints: When I woke up in the mornings, opening my hands they would feel really stiff. My little fingers on both hands got 'trigger finger' which is usually associated with arthritis - when you try to smoothly raise and lower your little finger, it jerks up and down and snaps from top position to bottom without being able to move smoothly between. After a few minutes, it would recover and be okay again. I would also have stiff knees, hips etc if I knelt or sat for any length of time and then got up. I was referred to rheumatology who did many arthritis blood tests (specialised) but all results were negative so I was told to try HRT. It got hugely better very quickly although it's not zero yet and I'm on a high dose of E now.

Numbness: At night, I would wake up and find my hands had gone to sleep. It was like when you cut off circulation to a joint except I wasn't sleeping in any weird way, they were just lying on my chest as usual.

If you are getting anxiety and skipped beats too, all this suggests you need more estrogen. Being on HRT doesn't mean anything if you 1) aren't on a high enough dose and 2) are not absorbing it well. Have you had your estrogen levels tested and what were they?

What dosage of E are you on?

[eileenbeattie]

Hi Joziel
Thanks for getting back to me. I've not had my levels checked but I'm on everol 50 patches combined estrogen and progesterone. I was maybe thinking of asking gp if I could get a higher dose to see if that helps any. I even asked my gp if it was the Start of MS symptoms but she said no it's definitely not that so I'm a bit baffled. As for skips heartbeats they come and go, can settle for a week or 2 then return 🤔.

[CLKD]

Morning.  As oestrogen levels drop muscles may become lax = aches and pains.  Some pregnant women suffered carpal tunnel syndrome which resolved after delivery.

MayB U need to up the dose of your regime? Hopefully some1 will be along with advice.

Which symptom would you like to ease by taking HRT?

[Ayesha]

Have you checked for the possibility of a vitamin deficiency, might be worth checking that, also your symptoms could be from a trapped nerve.

[flo69]

Hi Eileen, I have numbness in my fingers and my GP is testing me for B vitamins and iron. It was two months yesterday since I last felt the thumb half of my right hand, anyway I had the blood test and we'll get the results in due course.

I don't have any stiffness in my hand joints but I have had arthritis confirmed in my hands for over ten years, it causes intense pain, but I don't think it's causing the numbness.

Bisopralol might help the palpatations and anxiety? That's what I was given, plus prozac, I was 50 at the time and didn't know any details about menopause or that those are top symptoms. Neither, it seems, did my GP or I might have tried HRT back then.

What about tweaking your HRT? You say it's not working, I'd call that a success, lol, HRT half killed me at any dose, so "not working" is a good start, it's not horrendous, can you increase it until it is working? Will your GP take a call on HRT? I know so many are emergencies only, which I find horrible, that forces patients to triage themselves and menopause is rarely an emergency

PS the GP also told me to go get physio, see if it's a trapped nerve that might release.

[CLKD]

Our surgeries will triage face2face or during a phone call.  They have never been 'emergency only' . 

[flo69]

Our surgeries will triage face2face or during a phone call.  They have never been 'emergency only' .

Sorry? Which are "your surgeries"? I don't get it

[CLKD]

Will your GP take a call on HRT? I know so many are emergencies only, which I find horrible, that forces patients to triage themselves and menopause is rarely an emergency

I was responding to your comment flo69 .  The Surgeries that I attend - the main 1 four miles away and the satellite building in the village - offer appts. quite quickly.  If a GP Appt isn't forthcoming then I see a Nurse Practitioner for advice. 

[Minnie Mouse]

Hi Eileen, I have same, comes & goes.
In my latest cycle, I had insane PMT anxiety, and after a week with unexplained left arm pain I went to A&E to check I wasn't having a slow build heart attack.
Doc said tennis elbow, which is apparently very common in meno....
The numb pinky is apparently a symptom of cubital tunnel syndrome, brother of carpal tunnel which I had in pregnancy.
Getting all this checked out, but it's quite hard to piece together the hormonal impact (symptom diary helps).

[flo69]

Will your GP take a call on HRT? I know so many are emergencies only, which I find horrible, that forces patients to triage themselves and menopause is rarely an emergency

I was responding to your comment flo69 .  The Surgeries that I attend - the main 1 four miles away and the satellite building in the village - offer appts. quite quickly.  If a GP Appt isn't forthcoming then I see a Nurse Practitioner for advice.

How is that relevant? Many only are taking emergencies, you have no idea if the OP has a GP under those pressures, they call it winter pressures, it means many of us can't access an NHS GP until they get less busy.
I'm glad for you in your situation, but still, it's irrelevant.

[eileenbeattie]

Thanks to everyone for replying back to me. I'm at the docs tomorrow to get results back to check my B12 and iron. Hopefully will get to the bottom of my symptoms soon 🙏

[CLKD]

cubital tunnel syndrome - interesting.  I am aware of carpal tunnel syndrome but this diagnosis is new. 

let us know how U get on eileenbeattie?

[eileenbeattie]

All bloods were fine so no vitamin deficiencies.  If numbness doesn't go away after another 2 months then I'm getting referred for a mri scan 😕

[CLKD]

Did the GP/Nurse do a physical Carpal Tunnel Test ?