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[mandypepe]

This is my first post and I really don't know what's going on. Here goes...around Christmas time I felt a lump in my left armpit and an aching around that area. I didn't tell anyone but got where I didn't know what I was feeling - lumps and lumps and lumps. I started to think I would soon pass away and not see my youngest go to high school, the summer etc. I felt guilty when I spoke to others about day to day things and I forced myself to go to the doctors in June. The doctor couldnt find a lump but said if the pain carried on to go back. I told my husband (after me having a bit of a meltdown about it) and I went again in July and saw a different doctor who also said there is no lump. But she wanted to know about the pain so arranged for bloods and ecg scan (to illuminate heart). The pain was happening more around my left breast, down my forearm and tingling in my fingers. I've an app on Thursday to discuss the results but the surgery have phoned to say I'm deficient in vit d. Now, aswell as this I have realised I haven't had a period since 22nd august, my 45th birthday. I wondered menopause? I found this forum and have read loads and for a few years I've become anxious of holidays, parents passing away, children growing up, feeling guilty, palpiations, fuzzy head, feeling zonked out like I'm not really there, wondering what the point in life is if we are going to die anyway, confusion, forgetful, paranoid that I'm rubbish at my job and everyone thinks I am etc. I've also for the last 2 weeks woke once a night throwing the quilt off. So, I'm wondering if it is happening to me andmaybe the ache and tingles are connected ? Sorry for the long intro, but if it's not menopause then i dont know.

[Taz2]

Hi mandypepe! 

It does sound as if you are beginning the menopause journey and it could very well be that the aches and tingles are connected. Vitamin D Deficiency can also lead to aches and pains and also depression so it's good that this has been diagnosed as I'm sure you will begin to feel better once you are taking a supplement. It sounds as if you are getting good care re your around-the-breast pain and no doubt you will know more once you see the doc on Thursday.

Lots of us first start to notice the menstrual cycle becoming irregular as one of the first signs of meno - periods can be absent for months or arrive unexpectedly a few weeks early. They can be heavy or light. I'm not sure how you feel about HRT but at your young age it can protect the heart and bones if your own oestrogen supply is dwindling and the risks don't really become something to worry about until you are much older. It can also help with pelvic floor strength not to mention allowing better sleep etc.

 Someone else will be along soon with more advice but I just wanted to welcome you and to say that you will feel much better now that you have met us lot!

Taz x 

[Kathleen]

Hello mandypepe and welcome to the forum.

I agree with Taz 2, you certainly fit the bill regarding the menopause. As you will have seen a sort of irrational anxiety grips many of us at this time in our lives, I understand it is called 'the dreads' and I think that is a good description.
There is a lot you can do to help yourself and all the women on this site are here to help and advise you.

Take care care keep posting.

K.

[CLKD]

   you are no longer alone!

[mandypepe]

Thank you for the welcome. Yesterday when I came across this forum I felt as though a weight had been lifted off. Still all the big deep breaths and forgetting and aches and cunfusion and anxiety with life but as though there was at least some kind of explanation. If my period had arrived as normal I would still be wondering why I'm like I am. I'm scared incase it isn't the menopause because otherwise it's got to be something. This forum is so great and I'm reading lots. I printed out the post for husbands and gave it to him yesterday. He was quite choked up because he felt as though it had been written for him!! On Thursday, is it possible to ask them to do bloods to test my levels for periods? I still don't know all the terminology for it yet!

[CLKD]

Hormones blood tests can be reliable in their un-reliability  - because our hormones alter all the while.  Your GP might like to test for thyroid function and a few others, so discuss what he/she is looking for in 'routine' blood tests.

Did the lump return?  It could have been an infected hair follicle, but in the deep arm pit it should be felt by a Nurse/GP - could have been a lymph gland 'up' if there was an infection.

You could make a list of symptoms to take with you  and ask your GP to prioritise so that you discuss all your worries, you may need a few appts. but don't be fobbed off …….

[Cassie]

Oh that sounds def peri menopausal you are not alone, so typical, I had the most horrendous panic attacks and black thoughts, get your bloods tested see what your FSH look like and try to get an appt with a menopausal specialist, you are not too young, I went over @ 38!

All the best

[Taz2]

As CLKD says the tests can be unreliable purely because your hormones are fluctuating.

The usual test is to check your FSH levels. This is Follicle Stimulating Hormone which rises as you become menopausal. If your ovary fails to release an egg then the body ups this hormone to try to persuade the ovary to do what it's been doing for so many years. So the higher the FSH level the more menopausal - or peri-menopausal - you are. I think that's how it works anyway!

Taz x

[Briony]

Hi Mandypepe, just wanted to offer you some sympathy. Your description of your initial symptoms is almost identical to mine. I ended up having all sorts of crazy tests - from brain scans, to nerve conduction tests, to ECG and Echo something or other. Convinced myself I had something terrible,  when in fact, two year as later aged 42, I finally learnt it was my hormones. My FSH was within normal levels but my estrogen was very low. Now been on HRT and then the pill for nearly a year and things are massively better. Still get the tingling, arm pains , palpitations and dizziness but only on the odd day, usually near the end of the pill pack. Nothing like it was before, weeks on end and waking me at night.

Obviously all symptoms should be checked out and other nasties eliminated, but in answer to your question, yes, your symptoms could well be hormonal xx

[mandypepe]

For the first time in a few years I'm feeling reassured that I am normal!! Or at least having normal thoughts and feelings. This forum is so helpful.

[CLKD]

You are in Good Company.  Browse round, join in 

[Hurdity]

Hi mandypepe

 

How did you get on at the docs? Pity you are deficient in Vit D at this time of year - as our own stores (in the liver) should be at their maximum if we've spent plenty of time in the sun! Hopefully you will soon be back to normal with a good diet and some supplementation. 

Hurdity x

[mandypepe]

Thank you for asking. I've started another post about visit which has left me a little frustrated and questioning whether I'm making all of this up! As for the vit d, I went to Italy in July and have spent the summer outside a lot of the time so I'm surprised aswell.