Does anyone have advice to share regarding Perimenopuase?

[Valerie]

I had a 'huge" what I thought was a panic attack or stroke.....because my left arm/side went tingly & numb.....(I was nauseaus and I had such a light head)husband came and picked me up and took me to our urgert care place.......they did a EKG and blood work and a CT of my brain.... (I am always scared of stroke because that is how I lost my Mom and my Aunt just 3 years ago)...... anyway, I was also having these waves of hot & cold sensations.....or waves of anxiety........but had no fever...it was 97.8......

Needless to say, we are not done testing, but one of my sisters thinks this sounds like my hormones are going totally wacko....and I am 42, will be 43 in Feb...so maybe she is right?

Anyone have any good ideas on things to do? The next test they are doing is a cholesterol check & then they are doing an ultra sound of my neck arteries on Monday to make sure no blood clots etc.

The stranger part was though, when I did finally get to come home & try to sleep, I had trouble and I took a lorazapam and that really didn't help either?

I think I am going off the deep end....... so any helpful advice would be much appreciated because I really hate to think there is nothing wrong with me when I know something is going on.....just don't know what.

Valerie

 

[SampleMM]

I had something very similar happen to me. My left side of my head, and left arm went completely numb w/ no feeling and it lasted for days. My doctor

instructed me to go to the nearest ER which I did. I had what the doctors call "the million dollar work-up". I had a CT scan, MRI, EKG, brain wave test(can't remember the name)

and many more tests but can't seem to remember the names. At first, I was told MS then Lymes Disease and in the end after two hospital stays, the doctors concluded that it

was from anxiety which caused my blood pressure to soar which in turn caused a pressure that pressed down on nerves causing the face and arm to go numb.

It was very scary and has not happened since. Good luck and you can call me if you have any other questions.

Debbie

(814)665-4422

 

[Valerie]

I had something very similar happen to me. My left side of my head, and left arm went completely numb w/ no feeling and it lasted for days. My doctorinstructed me to go to the nearest ER which I did. I had what the doctors call "the million dollar work-up". I had a CT scan, MRI, EKG, brain wave test(can't remember the name)

and many more tests but can't seem to remember the names. At first, I was told MS then Lymes Disease and in the end after two hospital stays, the doctors concluded that it

was from anxiety which caused my blood pressure to soar which in turn caused a pressure that pressed down on nerves causing the face and arm to go numb.

It was very scary and has not happened since. Good luck and you can call me if you have any other questions.

Debbie

(814)665-4422

 

[Valerie]

Thank you Debbie..........now I am not feeling like I am going crazy............ this is just the worst feeling.

 

[candycar]

The same thing happened to my SIL. Same age, all the tests, and everything . It came back to "just" stress and anxiety. RELAX!

I've been through the peri/menopause thing at an early age,( mid30s) and the docs said I was no where near menopause. They were wrong. You will know when that happens. It's totaly different. More warning signs and not so sudden.

 

[TinyMiteVillage]

I work a Hormone Clinic on Fridays with our PA and we do alot of salivary testing. Ask your Dr if they do Salivary Testing. You would be amazed what spitting in some little tubes can tell them. We do alot of it. I had it done and she coud tell me exactly how I felt from the time I got up in the mornings til the time I went to bed. I was amazed.

 

[muffntuf]

Perimenopause can cause hot flashes, lightheadedness, anxiety etc. I have been going through this for the past 5 years due to an emergency hysto. The worst thing is the raging hormones and no warning when they hit, no warning when hot flashes hit either. Have a hormone check up done, it could be early stages, or it could be a myriad of other things.

If it is perimenopause - its not the end of the world. But get educated if it is. Just don't fear it.

 

[Ojai Minis]

Valerie,

If you are still having regular periods. see if your dr will check your hormones (Estradiol and Progesterone) on day 12 & 21 of your cycle. Day 1 being the first day of your period. Have them check Estradiol not total estrogens. Day 12 your E should be peaking up at a higher range, your P should be low. Day 21 your P should be higher and your E lower. This won't be totally conclusive but it will give you a sense of what might be going on. You might want to have your testosterone checked also. Don't let them tell you that you are to young. They told me that too, when I told them I thought I had cancer at the age of 39. 6 months later I had a complete hyst due to endometrial cancer. Not suggesting you have Cancer!!!!!! Just saying go with your intuition and don't let them bully you around. They don't always know.

I, unfortunatly, know what you are feeling. Anxiety can be a sign of hormone issues, PLEASE do NOT let the drs tell you it's all in your head. Anxiety doesn't just happen. There is anxiety and then there is ANXIETY. You probably know the difference.

Please feel free to email me if you need to talk. I've been going down the anxiety road.

Liz

 

[Valerie]

Thank you all for taking time to respond to me......and yes, I have had panic attacks or episodes in the past, this is very different........and totally wiped me out. The other thing I couldn't figure out was why I was so thirsty.......such dry mouth?......

Anyway, I went back to Group Health yesterday for more lab work.......they are testing cholesterol, thyroid and hormones....and then tomorrow I am having an ultra-sound of my neck arteries........then I will meet back up with my Doc on Tues.

Thank you again, you guys do not know how much this means to me, because I truly did think I was going crazy.......... I think part of the problem is I look "young" for my age.....I am closing in on 43 and I have never had children so I read that can bring things on early also?......

Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you again for all of your suggestions...I am printing them out & taking them to the Doc with me on Tuesday.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Valerie

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Poor Valerie!

Hope it is an easy fix and no you are not crazy in anyway. Before they diagnosed me with Graves disease,,, I would have panic attacks and feel like all the energy would just drain out of me. And I was so unhappy. But my Mom was dying and I thought it was part of that. When I did go to my doctor and asked to be checked for thyroid problems,,, he said " all people who are fat think it is there thyroid". So then I didn't pursue it and it wasn't found until about three more years later, and by then I had to have the thyroid killed off because it would not respond to medication. darn doctor.

So we will all be looking for a good message from you on here tomorrow!!! Good luck Valerie!

 

[Valerie]

Thanks guys....... well on the bright side (trust me I am looking for the brights now)....I just got my cholesterol reading from yesterday........

Cholesterol: 228 (standard 100-199)

HDL---40 (standard range 40-120)

Chol/HDL Ratio.....5.7 (standard 1.5 to 5-0 ratio)

Triglycerides......142 (standard 40 to 249)

LDL -----160...... (standard 30-129).......

I know this is not my diet that is causing this, my husband has been seeing a nutrionist since February and with him eating healty, you can bet that I am eating healthy....... I could understand this if I ate a bad diet, but I really don't........

Guess we will wait for the next results and hope the Doc can sort this all out for me. Kim, I have never heard of Graves disease, so I am going to do some checking on that also.

Thank you again for your support, it really does help me to know other have had issues and they were not going crazy like I feel I am.

 

[Connie P]

Valerie

Excessive thirst can be a sign of diabetes. You may want to check that out.

I sure hope they can figure this out for you soon. It is no fun to be filled with anxiety. I will say some prayers for you.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Get your vitamin D checked... Low vitamin D can cause tons of issues, life changing for me now that I am on the supplement for D. I had issues for years that they blamed on peremenepause, and it was low vitamin D instead. I feel great now.

Also, for cholesterol I was put on Plant sterols by my doctor... I was 265+ total and was normal range in two months.

Best wishes to a quick diagnosis and solution.

 

[Valerie]

Well, here is my update.

I am not crazy!!! Who-hooooo......and those that have been in this situation know what a relief that is for me.

I have been diagnosed with Panic attacks and Generalized Anxiety Disorders along with my already present and accounted for Depression.

All of the tests they ran on me were fine, my hormones fine, CT scan fine, EKG fine......carotid arteries are fine.....so that was a huge relief.

Now we have to try to get my meds to work for me in a better fashion, so have up'd the dosage on the Prozac and still have the Lorazapam for the "actual" attacks...... or to keep from having one.

I am also being referred to Behavioral Health so they can help "teach" me ways to cope with this, since it's a disease and it has no cure.....and may end up having counseling along with.

Higher cholesterol however, it seems to be genetic, but am now going to take a calcium carbonate-vit D pill 2x a day and exercise daily....which will probably help everything........

I am sure I am not covering everything, but I just wanted to share. I am so glad I am not crazy!

Thanks again for all the replies everyone..........it really did help me..... I am still trying to have a day that I don't have my "nerves" go off, but I am much, much better than last Thursday.

Valerie

 

[Connie P]

Yay! I am so glad that you have your diagnosis and can move forward now. Living with Panic and Anxiety disorders is no fun. I hope they can get your meds worked out for you so you can feel better.

 

[Ojai Minis]

Good to hear that all is well!!!!

I did lots of counseling on the phone with Marilyn from here. With the conversion from Canadian dollars to US $, it really wasn't that expensive. They KNOW anxiety as Jim was a sufferer himself. If nothing else they have tons of info.

http://www.anxietycentre.com/

Liz