Francine, I had to have a drug-induced stress test because I  was recovering from foot surgery.  I think it was called a thalium stress test, and the doctor wanted to find out  1) if I had any blockages and 2) if the tingling/numbness/aching thing in my arm were heart related.  (They weren't.)  At the time, I was also having anxiety attacks, so I was a little hesitant about having a stress test. But the stress test was a breeze, and I didn't have an anxiety attack at all.  Tell your doctor about your concerns. Maybe it will help.

For me, the end of menopause caused more problems than pre-menopause or the first part of menopause.  Just when I thought I should be done with  most of the problems, I began to have nightly  anxiety attacks, more numbness, tingling, fatigue, lightheadedness and feelings of pressure in my head along with the usual sweats and flashes.  It was nasty. It's getting better now, though. The symptoms are milder and less frequent.  Just takes time. (I was unable to take estrogen.  It caused awful headaches and irritable bowel symptoms.  Couldn't take soy either, so I just had to get through it as best I could.)  Meno is not for sissies, is it???    :o)

I'm glad to read about the tingling and numbness because I have been going through this too.  This all started with post menopause!  I have tingling or "buzzing" in my face and in my hands, arms and sometimes leg--most all of it is on my left side.  Since this has been going on almost constantly  for a year, I am beginning to get worried about such things as MS. I think I have gotten so "worked up" that maybe I have caused some of  this myself.  Is it possible to be so anxious as to cause trembling, tingling, etc?  I am going to the rheumatologist  next week because my internist suspects lupus or mixed connective tissue disease.  I never had any problems until post meno.  What do you all think?  If it were MS would the tingling  come and go or would it be there just about all the time like this has been?  I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart because I thought all of these crazy things going on for the past year were just things that I had.  Now I know I have meno sisters with a lot of the same problems.  I am not on any HRT since comingoff Premarine right after all of this started--maybe I need something else! Thanks for any information.Ga Girl

Greetings GA Girl...........The first quick response I want to give you is a resounding "YES" anxiety can cause trembling, numbness, tingling etc.  Because we breathe incorrectly when we are anxious it changes the levels of oxygen in the blood and that is what can cause each of the above symptoms.  I think that having a medical work-up makes good sense but in the interim try to relax. I am also post meno (3+years) and continue to have tinglng, and the feeling like I've just walked through a cobweb on my face and arms usually my left side also.  I know its frightening but once you've been given a clean bill of health you will be able to reassure yourself that its just another phase of meno and "it too shall pass".

I hope you begin to feel peaceful soon.

Blessings and be well.  

Dear Irene:Thank you for your words of encouragement.  I think in  the back of my mind (somewhere) I believe all of this is meno related, but sometimes it tries to get the best of me.  My doctor said that since I went through a traumatic back surgery 2 years ago, then had Hashimotos Thyroiditis,menopause and now Lupus I have worked myself up over this.  I now he is probably right, but when I get that tingling and then the twitches, I panic (even more).  It is a vicious cycle sometimes.  I never imagined meno would be like this, but I thank God I found this website and encouraging women to help me through the tough times.  Yes, I do hyperventilate and have been for about a year!  I'm sure that has probably turned my system upside down!Thank  you again for your comforting words.  God Bless .Ga Girl

Hi Ga. Girl,I also get the tingling, numbness and other vaso-motor symptoms. I have to remind myself to breathe correctly a lot and have gotten so used to all of this crazy meno-stuff, I can hardly remember what 'normal' feels like. I' ve learned to tolerate the hot sweats during the day time, but am still really bothered by them during the night. Any way, I just thought I would respond and tell you that you are not alone.

lioness

Dear Lioness:Thank you for the encouragement.  This has been going on for 14 months non-stop and I'm like you--what does normal feel like?  Some nights I wake up and the bed is shaking because I am shaking so badly. I don't have the night sweats too badly, but do have some.  The worst thing for me is this buzzing sensation and the tingling in my hands and feet and the burning in my mouth!  I never knew it would be like this.  The bad  thing is we  don't know how long it is going to last!  Some of these symptoms can be frighteneing.  Do you take any kind of HRT?  I tried Premarin and it didn't work and I tried the Climara patch and it made my ankles swell.  Now I am just doing it cold turkey--me being the turkey!  We will get through this.  Good luck and God bless.Ga Girl

Hi  there Ga. Girl,

I've been using the Climara Patch (.025) for about four years...It really doesn't help my hot flashes much, but any dose higher than this just doesn't agree with me. I also tried Premarin for a very brief time but couldn't tolerate the side effects at all. I originally agreed to try HRT since I had a diagnosis of osteopenia a few years ago. My latest bone density was normal, and  now I am trying to get away from the HRT completely.  Also, I had hoped that HRT would help alleviate my dreaded anxiety and internal shaking.....but I guess that was wishful thinking.  I also have the burning mouth which usually manifests itself as a "metallic, awful taste--always on the left side of my mouth. I cannot even count the number of times that I have gone to the dentist thinking that I had a bad tooth or whatever. I just hope and pray that this symptom goes away someday. I've been working with a very nice PCP for the past four to five years, and I think that I'll probably need his help for sometime to come. Sadly, when all of this meno-stuff first hit, (at age 47) I was determined to find some way to cure myself. Ha, Ha, after making the rounds to various specialists,etc. here I am after all this time still having problems.  I think I am now much better but still have far too much of that 'ill at ease'---no sense of well being feeling. Hope you are doing o.k. today and that your tingling isn't too severe. Yesterday, my right lower leg started to twinge and feel slightly numb....you are absolutely correct when you say how scary all of this stuff is. Take care and be strong,

Lioness

Dear Lioness:Yes, like you, I thought menopause--I'll just nip this in the bud!  Yea, right.  It has been nipping me for quite some time now.  It is bad when you feel like you just don't have control.  I think the worst symptoms for me is the tingling and numbness and mouth problems.  I just wonder is it possible to tingle and feel numb--almost all over my body--especially my face and it not be damaging something.  I wish I could find something to help with this.  My tongue and the roof of my mouth just feels raw sometimes.  It almost feels like I have eaten way too much salt.  Sometimes even my gums tingle.  I really remember waking up with this one morning about 14 months ago and now it is with me every day and night.  YUK!  I wish you luck on finding the "miracle" cure.  If I find something that works, I'll let you know!Ga Girl

Hello Ga Girl, I  had a hysterectomy  and ovaries removed 9 months ago and so I am in surgically induced menopause. Like you, I also TINY SORES INSIDE MY LIPS have hashimotos thyroiditis and, I've been told that I have an undifferentiated connective tissue disease. A sore mouth is something that I am familiar with for some time.  i get tiny sores inside my lips and then also have times when spots in my mouth, particularly the roof of my moth go numb first and then become irritated and raw. Anti-infalmmatory drugs and immune suppressants work better than anything to relieve these symptoms for me.

Hi Nnanda:I feel sure that the Hashimoto's has something to do with the sore mouth because that is the time all of mine started.  The rheumatologist sent blood to CDC this week so I should know for sure in a couple of weeks if I have lupus or MCTD.  I hope not, but I have some weird symptoms.   However, I believe that Hashimoto's can cause muscle aches, neck and ear aches, dizziness,etc.  It is hard to tell what symptoms go with what.  Sometimes it is scary and start thinking you have something really bad.I hope you are doing better. How long have you had thyroid trouble and what meds are you on?  My thyroid started acting up the same time I got these bad meno symptoms. Good luck to you.Ga Girl

Hi Everyone,I have had an anxiety disorder most of my life.  In 1993 I began to have severe anxiety, nervousness, off-balance feeling and lightheadedness.  I never associated it with peri-menopause.  I just thought it was my anxiety although it had never been that bad.  I am 51 now and still having regular periods.  For the past 3 months I have begun to have tingling in my hands, arms and toes.  I have weakness off & on in both arms and hands.  Today I am feeling very anxious and off-balance.  I had cervical x-rays taken and am going to the dr. on Wed. for the results.  I also have mitral valve prolapse.  How do I know if these symtoms are from perimenopause or my anxiety condition?  My dr. refused to give me anything until after I go through menopause.  He said there is nothing for premenopausal women.  Any thoughts???Thanks.Penny

&nbsp; &nbsp;From what I understand current medical consensus<br>recommends HRT for perimenopausal symptoms,<br>rather than long term usage after menopause.<br>Besides the anxiety, which perimenopause can<br>exacerbate do you have any symptoms such as<br>flashes, night sweats, etc. &nbsp;Hyperventilating<br>can cause tingling. &nbsp;Try breathing slowly into a paper <br>bag. &nbsp;Personally, I'd find another physician.

Penny...  I agree with ChrisCarol... I would also find a new doctor... in fact, I did, after I had a couple of them told me the same thing, over the years.  Your doctor is wrong, as well as seeming insensitive, when he says there is "nothing" for perimenopause....there are lots of things, and lots of perimenopausal women getting relief from symptoms. I think he might have quite a different outlook if he were a woman going through peri.  I personally think any doctor who says that needs to go back to medical school.  Have a look around this site... there are many more areas here than just these message boards that are loaded with information. You could start by having a look at the "Recommendations" page.  :)

Thanks for your replies.  I am going to the dr. tomorrow and I am going to print out some information on perimenopause and take it with me.  Someone needs to enlighten these doctors!Penny

I have not posted in a long time and almost all of my symptoms (internal shaking, hot flashes, night sweats, etc.) have gone away.  However, now in addition to the pounding heart in the night, I am waking up with this numbness in my arms and hands.  Can be either the right arm or left, and it's not always because I had the arm under me and it just went to sleep.  Have had everything checked out medically, so feel pretty certain it's not my heart or anything.  From what  I'm reading here, sounds as if it could be just another one of those menapause things.  Any comments would be helpful.

Hi, Jackie.

You have described exactly a thing I've had off and on now for about 8 years (I'm 51 now). Hand/fingers or arm on one side or the other "going to sleep" when I go to sleep. It also seems to me that sometimes it's NOT the arm that was tucked under my head that falls asleep, but the other one instead. Hmmm.

For some time I thought this came and went with my success at balancing thyroid hormone I take for hypothyroidism. However, now I have no idea. To me the main worrisome thing about it is that I keep thinking it must mean poor circulation in general--and therefore an indication of some kind of pending cardiovascular disorder. (I have never had any doctor confirm this, and I have certainly mentioned it to them repeatedly. They always say, "Well you probably just slept on it  wrong." ) So this is a mystery to me also.

Seti,  Just saw your post.  Sorry you are going through the same thing, but at least it helps me to know I'm not alone.  Have no idea either what is causing this, but even though it happens a lot, thank God it isn't a nightly thing.  Hope we both get through this soon.  Will keep you in my prayers.  Thanks for responding.

Hi Girls!Well, first let me say that unless 30 is consider "getting old", that is not your problem. I've just noticed that I too get numbness and tingling in my left foot (beginning in my big toe) and travelling up my leg! This only began a few weeks ago, but seems to be a persisting problem. I don't have any answers for you though, at this point I'm still working on finding someone who will take a 30 year old women with every know symptom of menopause known to man seriously! Please let me know if you discover anything!

Lilikol,Have you done  a saliva hormone test yet? You can get that done through the Power -surge pharmacist. Just click on Pete Heuseman the pharmacist for info. Thirty is really much too young to be experiencing menepause, but you could indeed have a hormone problem that needs to be corrected. If that all comes out ok, you might want to do a thyroid check. Sometimes thyroid problems mimic menepause I've heard. Good luck ! Let us know if you decide to check it out !

Suzie