menopause and ms

[lisaann39]

Anyone gone into menopause early. Who has ms. I'm 39?
What's your symptoms?

[shel67]

I know progesterone has a direct effect on mylin. I also know estrogen has a effect on the CNS.

I went down that road because that's what was said this was, well, its MS and I'll be 48 so I know I can't say I'm not perimenopause but I don't have any symptoms other then heavy clots, that ironically has gotten better since this attack in Jan began. It went lighter last year when I had that attack that they said was peri.

I know now 3 years ago I had a few months where the last two days of the cycle I would get the strangest flu like muscle soreness and it felt like I worked out and was sore the next day. It was weird, it was MS.

On occasion  I would wake in the mornings with what I thought was arthritis. Just tight fingers in hands and swollen feeling, but not swollen at all. MS. On a few occasions i would feel really good during the cycle. So during the cycle for me I can feel really good or like I'm worsening.

I think there is a link.

[suspiciouscombo]

I'm finding this thread interesting for two reasons.

1) During my last two cycles, the tingling / numbness in my left leg and left arm was enhanced both times. At the conclusion of my cycles, those symptoms still remained, but diminished somewhat. Same experience both times.

2) In my humble opinion, I do not believe that MS and menstrual cycles / menopause are in harmony. But considering the nerve functionality controlling such vast part of our bodies, I do believe that during hormonal changes, those nerves can be inflamed or affected in some way. Just as it seems that reflux mysteriously appears during these flares for some.

This is one of the events I listed in my notes to the Neurologist as well. I also addressed this last month with my OBGyN and she thought it paralleled more with neurological.

Interesting how so many elements of our bodies are connected or affected directly and indirectly.

[savvycs]

I always had very heavy periods.   I had fibroids as well (like alot of women) Had a myomectomy in 1998. I went through my changes at age 44.  I was just diagnosed with MS a couple of months ago at age 52.  (Maybe there is a correlation)

[saucygrl]

I have a male office mate who, thank  goodness, has a good sense of humor.  I'll have symptoms that could be either MS or menopausal so we just laugh and say I'm suffering from the M&M's!

Chris

[HVAC]

I had periods all the time for two years then I stopped. I even had an ablation and still bled for six months straight. I had memory issues, hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. They have stuff for vaginal dryness, and cooling pads and pillows for night sweats. MS and perimenopause are separate issues many women have both because we are women and are eventually going to go through the change.

Alex

[Artanis12]

Heavy periods in perimenopause are common.  I'm the poster child for them, having dealt with them for several years, to the point of a gyno insisting that I needed a hysterectomy, because I was anemic.  That seems a rather extreme solution for anemia to me, so I declined surgery.  It's also quite popular to find  fibroids and attribute any heavy bleeding to them.  But heavy periods in perimenopause are not as nearly as attributable to fibroids as some sources indicate  -  at least 50% of women get fibroids after 30-ish - and most are actually asymptomatic- (only certain types of fibroids actually bleed) and begin to shrink as menopause gets nearer.  At least they do if you manage to avoid a hysterectomy, which IS the 2nd most performed surgery on women, only behind C-sections.

I will say this though, when I had my first attack, I concurrently had one of the most...raucous....periods I've ever had, RIGHT THEN, and that's saying something, because I've had some doozys. Is that due to the stress right then, the fact I'd not had a period in several months prior, or MS?  I would be inclined to think coincidence and the general variability of cycles in perimenopause.  But it really was a terrible timing thing, with me nearly unable to walk AND thinking I was about to bleed to death too.  Not a happy time.  However, since then things have settled down a bunch, and now I am truly on the path to having these things be gone forever.  Since I'm skipping 3 months at a time, even my iron is coming up - a very good thing.

I wouldn't try to pin any cycle oddities on MS.  Menopause is freaky enough and random enough that trying to correlate variations with MS, seems a truly futile exercise to my way of thinking.  Pretty soon these blinkin' things will be gone, right?  Just grin and bear it if you can, and know it's not forever.

I'll be 53 this year, just so ya know.  Dead average age, so I've been told...

Karen  

[shel67]

They need to do research because there is something up with the menstrual cycle  and MS I think. I'm really beginning to think the hemorrhaging episodes I had were MS related. I mean, do nerves have anything to do with the uterus contracting or not contracting?

If the onset of my MS is correct or the onset of when the disease became active is correct, it definitely effected the cycle. and no, I'm not having any menopause  symptoms.  What the doctors said was perimenopause turned out to be MS...and for me, my symptoms yesterday felt improved with the first day of the cycle...im going to take notes to see if there is some kind of pattern.

[supermum_ms]

Hi and welcome,

There hasn't actually been a lot of research on the menstrual cycle and MS, the few studies out there indicate a higher prevalence of MS symptoms worsening within a week prior to cycle beginning, which might be related to the rise in core temperature but there's nothing really looking into this. Weakness, imbalance, fatigue and depression seem to be the issues more commonly reported but with menopause the drop in Estrogen levels 'may' have a negative effect on an MSer, this is definitely a poorly researched area considering women are in the majority.  

Do you actually have MS or are you wondering if early menopause is a sign of MS?

Cheers..........JJ

[bbassel]

I am almost 35 and haven't had my period in a year. Iii hass an internal and external ultrasound and everything looked fine, so my doctor referred me to a gyne0olOgist. That was about 3 months ago and I go to see him at the end of the month.

It is either due to my meds or possible early menopause. I had a bllood test as Well and all my hormone levels look fine as well.

So who knows buut I should have some answers near the end of the month.

Barb