Hello to everyone. I'm 38 and over the last few months I have been having some strange things going on with me. I have discovered that I have a lot of symptoms of perimenopause. There are a few symptoms that I'm not quite sure of yet though. The last couple of days my feet have felt "cool". As if they had been rubbed with Peppermint foot lotion. (Actually I get this sensation in different area's also) They also tingle slightly. My hands also are tingly. And I have had some strange sensation in my upper teeth, almost a tingly feel. Today my jaw felt tight. Of course I've convinced myself that I have everything from peripheral neurology to TMJ. So I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with any of these symptoms due to hormones. I also wonder if these hormone issues have a domino effect. My hormones cause my anxiety. My anxiety causes a stiff jaw. My stiff jaw causes headaches and so on.

Thanks for any insights!
Cheryl

Hi Cheryl! I could have written your post almost word for word, except I won't be 38 for a few more months. Over the past couple of months I have had every symptom you mentioned, plus a few more. Cold feet, anxiety, tingling in hands and feet (and other places, including face), tight sensation around jaw and chin, achy muscles, hands falling asleep at night... Oh yes, I have also self-diagnosed with MS, cancer, and a few more awful diseases. Thank goodness for this site, it really saved my sanity to hear that other people had these symptoms and were still alive and kicking.

Before all this started I would never had believed that all these weird things could be caused by fluctuating hormones, but now I know better. I've been to my GP who did a blood panel..everything was normal. He sent me on to a neurologist who asked about my symptoms and did a basic exam. He said, this is obviously a systemic thing since you have strange sensations all over your body. It can't be a tumor, it can't be a stroke. It is most likely not a neurological disease like MS, as symptoms of those typically do not come and go and travel around, they do not show up in your hands one week and your feet the next week. I had no problems with my reflexes or muscle tone. THEN he asked me if my menstrual cycle had changed! Well, as a matter of fact...! Most of my symptoms started when I took a month off BCP. Since then, even though I'm back on BCP, I've had all sorts of obviously hormonal issues like midcyle spotting, short cycles, and periods lasting only 3 days instead of my normal 5. The neurologist said that he is 99% sure that all my problems are hormonal in nature. I was sooooo happy and relieved to hear that! He also added that almost all of these symptoms can be exacerbated by stress and anxiety (just like you suggested). So, in a word , everything you mentioned sounds "normal" to me, not the old normal, but the perimenopausal normal!

Just one suggestion--if you haven't yet, you should probably make an appointment with your GP and talk to him about your symptoms. He will probably want to do a blood panel to make sure your thyroid, magnesium, folic acid and other levels are OK. Take care!

Thanks Geneva26. It does help to know that it sounds "normal" for perimenopause. Not that I wanted to deal with it right now. I have 2 boys, 4 & 1 1/2 and I'd rather focus on them. Oh well.

Thanks for sharing your experience. As I think about it, I can see where this may have been coming on for longer than I realized. I'd seen my GP on different occasions for fatigue (felt like someone slipped me a sleeping pill in the middle of the day) and digestive issues (was told it was acid reflux). But now I'm realizing that those are symptoms of peri. I had one very strange episode a couple of months ago that sort of kicked off all sorts of weird symptoms though. I laid down to rest and my scalp suddenly started tingling. Then it ran down my upper body and I turned red. Went to the ER and they told me it was an allergic reaction to something. I still am not sure what it was. But since then, things are VERY MUCH out of whack with my body. Tonight we went to look at Christmas lights and my chest started feeling tight and my breathing felt a bit laborious and I almost felt like I was going to pass out. If this really is perimenopause, these symptoms are coming on hard and heavy all of the sudden. Is that how it happens with some? I've had a chest x-ray and an MRI and they came back good, so I don't think I have a heart or brain problem. Although my husband may disagree about the brain problem! )

I guess I have a lot of reading ahead of me. That and trial and error with supplements and/or meds. I am not looking forward to this.

Yes, apparently it does come on very suddenly for some people. Me included. Three months ago I was "fine," today I feel like I'm totally falling apart. Although I can also look back and see some early signs that I ignored at the time. For quite a while I was geetting random palpitations--just a few seconds of rapid heartbeat every few days, nothing too scary, but it would happen when I was sitting up in bed reading a book or something when you would least expect it. And I started waking up in the middle of the night, every night. The first thing I really paid attention to was the tingling which started a couple of months ago, but there were clearly some changes going on before that.

I know just what you mean about the kids. I have three--daughters 7 and 4 and a son who is almost 2. I feel like I haven't been giving them my best lately...I've been preoccupied with my symptoms, very tired and anxious and just trying to make it through the day. Just talking to the neurologist the other day and hearing him say he thinks it's hormonal really helped me, though, and if the last couple of tests I'll be getting come back OK, it will help even more.

Have you had any of the "typical" peri signs like irregular periods, hot flashes, night sweats? I've had several mild night sweats (nothing like the kind I had a month or two after each baby was born!) but no hot flashes, and my periods are more or less kept regular by BCP, but even so there are some changes going on there.

Take care & try not to worry!

I just started "noticing" hot flashes this week. I had one in which my body got warm and I had this "dewey" feel all over my skin, but no sweating. I have woke up sometimes during the night sweaty, but I thought it was because I was wearing fleece pajamas...maybe it was. I think that I'm noticing more of my hot flashes are just a flushing feeling on my face and my ears get warm.

Tonight seems to be a particularly bad night. I'm having this feeling like my body is an old car on it's last legs, shaking and about ready to die. I get this cold tingly sensation through my body, my heart did seem to feel a bit racy. The crazy thing is that I started taking Maca about 2 weeks ago and my symptoms seem to be increasing. Maca is suppose to naturally balance your hormones. I don't know what's up. I think I will make an appt with a neurologist just to rule out some more things, then go back to my naturopath or find a good endocrinologist (?) to deal with the hormones. Yeah, like you I was fine one day and then suddenly I'm in the midst of all this. Not fun.

Thanks for your encouragement!

The cold feelings and racing heart could be (partly) anxiety. I had both and they got much better after I got my anxiety under control. I would allow more than 2 weeks for anything you take to start making a big difference in how you feel. I think a couple of months is probably more realistic. That's one of the worst things about this whole thing, IMO--it's not like taking an Advil and you feel better within the hour, or an antibiotic and you are back on your feet within days, you have to start thinking in terms of months. And boy do they go slowly sometimes!

Anyway, hope you've been feeling a little better.

So Geneva26, do you mind if I ask how you got your anxiety under control? I have been having quite a bit lately. Partially due to life circumstances which oddly enough are really good problems to have, but stressful none-the-less. We're getting some of those taken care of and maybe things will settle down on the anxiety front. I bought some Rescue Remedy the other day because I read here that some people were having success with it. Haven't tried it yet though.

Have a good night!

Well, a couple of things. As I mentioned, I went to both my GP and a neurologist, and they ran a few tests and assured me that as far as they could tell, I didn't have anything fatal or degenerative. That alone went a long way toward dispelling my anxiety. Now, whenever I start to worry about a new or old symptom, or feel like my entire body is breaking down at once, I try to remind myself that it all fits into a big picture--perimenopause--which can be painful and annoying, but is not going to kill me.

Also, I was so anxious at one point--and with all the strange things that were happening to my body, anyone would have been--that I hadn't slept for two nights and was a wreck. I called my doctor and he prescribed Xanax on the spot. Once I had taken it for a couple of days, I realized how much of what I was feeling was actually due to anxiety. My shakiness, racing heart, cold chills, and facial tingling all either disappeared or got much better. That also reassured me. I've used the Xanax very sparingly--it's been over a month and I still have quite a bit left of what was supposed to be a 2-week supply. I've also been taking an herbal anxiety compound (it's called Anxiety Control and contains magnesium, B6, Glycine, L-Glutamine and a few herbs) especially at night, and that also seems to help calm me down. The Rescue Remedy you mentioned may be something similar, I don't know. I would definitely rather use the herbs than the Xanax, but at the point I was at, I think I really needed the Xanax to break the downward spiral of anxiety and stress I was in.

I still find myself getting anxious about nothing at certain times. I seem to have a hard time in large groups and when it is dark, both of which are unlike me. Once again I try to look at it as something that is happening to my body chemically, and while it doesn't make the feelings go away, it usually keeps me from panicking and helps me cope.

From what you have described it really does sound like peri has been hitting you hard all of a sudden just like me. Let's hope both of us "even out" a bit over time. Take care!

so let me tell you about my tingling....both hands 24/7 and occasionally my feet....my tongue (yes my tongue) at times which feels like a vibrating cell phone going off in my mouth...i have gone to so many doctors and my endocronologist said to stop everything except the necessary meds....which I did, and guess what? nothing changed...additionally, i get yeast infections and cold sores all the time which the valtrex and diflucan suppress...i have had every cat scan, mri and blood panel known to man...my neurologist says one thing, my gp another, and every other doctor something else...and guess why? because they have no freakin' clue...that's why....i'm almost 50...my periods are fairly still regular with a drop of blood in between them...

so, if you want to discuss, please email me at njpetsitter@gmail.com

have a wonderful day

s

I also get a burning tingling itchy crawling feeling on my hands. Sometimes I do get it in other places but mostly my hands and arms. What is weird though is I had it for a good 9 months then it went away for atleast 3 months. Now it is back with a vengence and driving me crazy. One thing that I noticed with the feeling is that I have a dull ache under my right rib cage which now has be scared that maybe it has something to do with my liver. I did have a liver functions test awhile back that came back normal. I am going to the dr again and will ask for another test. Anyone have the ache or where the itchy feeling has gone away and come back?

Oh yeah, you betch-ya....numb and tingling feets and fingers! All I can say is aaaaaaarrrrrgh (at times) and a whole lot more at other times. Tho I must say I haven't had the tingling tongue...sounds interesting

I have had the tingling thing come and go for the past several months but before that it had been like I wanna say a year without it. Oh these blasted hormonal fluctuations....I think the full moon is making me more crazy than usual today

So remember girls, every cell of our bodies is "crying out for estrogen" and the lack thereof causes all these weird, voluminous and variable symptoms. Whew...

and again, Happy NEW Year to all

and peace, booboolena

Hello all, this is my first post here....in fact I came across this forum randomly tonight while researching symptoms I am having. How reassuring it is to find others that have the same symptoms I do.

I have just turned 35, and the thought of possible premenopause never crossed my mind. My periods have become increasingly erratic over the last few months. My cycles have been furthur apart, very heavy at times, with much clotting.

I have been having hot flashes for the past week leading up to my current cycle, as well as horrible mood swings and feelings of hopelessness. I finally started my period last night. Tonight as I was driving home from the grocery is when things turned scary for me. I noticed a numbness in my lips and my right hand. I thought I could be having a stroke, or some neurological disorder. I broke into a cold sweat and prayed I would make it home safely. By the time I reached home I felt tingles in both feet, and later in my left hand as well. My feet felt icy cold, as if a cooling foot lotion had been rubbed on them.

I was ready to drive to the emergency room, but I was trying not to panic. I felt no chest pain, and I thought that if I was having a stroke, the symptoms wouldn't be bouncing around all of my extremities as they were. So I googled the symptoms and came across this site. Thank you all so much for taking the time to detail your experiences, I feel like I can now get a good night's rest.

I'm going to journal my symptoms, as some of you have suggested, and see if they subside when my period does. If I have the symptoms again before my next monthly cycle them I will visit my pcp, but if I don't I am going to wait it out and see if they are indeed hormonal related and show up again next month.