I was diagnosed with MS in 2000 and have been very fortunate that it has remained pretty stable. I have has to be on medication since I was diagnosed due to my symptoms and I have had flare ups but nothing major. When you have had MS for a while you get to kind of understand your body and what aggravates it, and your general symptoms. But lately new symptoms seem to have appeared.
I am now 54 and going through the menopause and I have the usual hot flashes, irregular periods, mood swings, insomnia.
I’ve noticed I have started developing neurological symptoms in the past months. I’ve always suffered with electric shocks and numbness, hence why I’m on Pregabalin and Amitripyline neither of which is helping. The only thing which relieves this constant pins and needles is Temazepam
I’m having a lot of pins and needles in my arms, hands and legs, with acute tingling on the top part of my tongue. Burning eyes and leg numbness seems exasperated lately and generally just feeling very MS’ey.
I was just wondering if any menopausal ladies have experienced something similar? I did mention it to the MS nurse but she seemed unsure, and said to monitor it.
i had a very early menopause when i was 40. i saw my gp and his nurse told me it was peri-menopause. had a few flushes which a colleague told me to refer to as power surges (which i liked the sound of). it sort of fizzled out. MS arrived for my 50th birthday. seems like every birthday ending in zero brings something else. i’m now 60 and happy to have made it so far. i can only imagine what it must be like with established MS. hope it fades away quietly for you.
I’ve been lucky with the menopause. Just happened, no symptoms. But maybe you’ve just hit an active phase of MS Julie? Are you on a disease modifying drug? Or perhaps the MS has been irritated by the menopause. Flipping MS. Flipping bodies put together by committee!
If MS learns who is boss, then it’s definitely worth it. I just swear at mine and it ignores me. I think it knows I can’t actually follow through any dire threats.
i am also in the menopause and am 53 was diagnosed in 2010 and only have minor issues with my ms,mainly fatigue nerve pain and get Electric shock symptoms I am on Nortriptyline which works very well for nerve pain, it is also an antidepressant.
I am on Hrt started on patches but am now on gel. Are your symptoms worse when you have a hot flush or do you not notice the difference. I also choose to have a Coil fitted which has stopped my periods.
I do get really bad eyes, I’ve been told it’s dry eyes but they do feel like burning and scratchy too, I ha e eye drops but they don’t seem to help very much
I take magnesium tablets which do help with sleep they take a few weeks to take effect 1000 is the dose
I saw my Neuro on Tuesday and mentioned that I was struggling with my vision, I keep getting blurred or double vision and he said that I was probably getting silent migraines, not the severe headache but the visual changes. He said that our hormones during menopause can make symptoms seem worse. I also had a coil fitted for heavy bleeding and now I spot rather than haemorrhage. It’s worth asking about. Most GPs fit them. There’s no reason to keep bleeding so heavily, it only makes fatigue worse. I have noticed more numbness and tingling but I’m already on meds for nerve pain so I just live with it. Cath x
Hi, Oh sorry to hear about your symptoms and whilst going through the menopause. Menopause is certainly just another bloody thing to deal with! I started with the perimenopause when I was 36 and started with night sweats, nausea, insomnia, massive move swings etc. The night sweats were so severe and I would vomit during them and the next day. It would completely knock me off my feet on terms of fatigue abs and would exacerbate all of my ms symptoms. I spent so much time in bed completely alone and became quite depressed. It wasn’t until I started hrt that the menopause symptoms got better and it was no longer exacerbating the ms symptoms to the same level. My fatigue is worse now but it’s a dream in comparison to how I was feeling. Have you thought about hrt? X