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Perimenopause anyone?
Fri, 09/29/2006 - 09:53Topic: Women With Epilepsy
I am 38 yrs old, and have had complex partial seizures for 26 yrs. Recently, I saw an epileptologist who focuses on women with seizures. I have now learned that I may start menopause up to 10 yrs. early due to the epilepsy. I am just wondering if anyone else is experiencing signs of menopause...irregularity in cycle, night sweats, emotional ups and downs. Any info. would be a help.
Thanks, Diana
Comments
Re: Re: Perimenopause anyone?
Submitted by sharonmlee on Sun, 2006-10-08 - 18:21
I am 41 and have been epileptic since the age of 17. I have been lucky in that I have been seizure free for 18 years on tegretol. I have noticed the past months that I cannot sleep. During PMS I had night sweats and heart palpitations. I saw the GYN last week and he said that it looks like perimenopause and that he is not surprised because every epileptic women he has had as a patient has gone into perimenopause at an early age. I did start on lunesta and that has helped with the sleeping. If you go on google and search you'll see that the research is not all there, but they do have some that says epileptic women are at high risk for osteoperosis and heart disease in that they enter perimenopause at an early age. I am having blood test next week to measure the FSH. So if you are feeling some of the symptoms I would have your doctor do an FSH. Good Luck!
Re: Perimenopause anyone?
Submitted by dmh on Tue, 2006-10-10 - 14:39
Hi Diana,
I will be 45 this week and the neurologist who I started seeing this year also specializes in epilepsy also told me that I could be going into an early menopause. I have been having seizures for almost 37 years and they worsened when I started my period at 15. The seizures have never been under control (I wasn't even diagnosed until I was 19 because nothing would ever show up on my tests). They have tried me on 8 different medications and I currently take 2000 Depakote and 1650 Keppra a day. I will be going in soon for left temporal lobe brain surgery as soon as the testing is complete. I have started going through all of those signs also as well as my period has dropped to 2 days a month. I am wondering if my seizures became so much worse this year because of the perimenopause. They have never diagnosed me as having catemenial epilepsy because sometimes my seizures are just after my mid cycle and sometimes they are the week before I start (I have partial and complex partial seizures). Are your seizures under control ?
Re: Perimenopause anyone?
Submitted by MsMedz on Fri, 2006-09-29 - 11:12
I'm 43 & never been directly told that szrs could bring early menopause but I have all the same symptoms. I found an osculating fan with a remote control (avail at bed bath & beyond) to be very helpful. As for the emotions it has been proven that the constant stress that comes with epilepsy can contaminate all of the emotions. Hope you to consider doing research and finding coping methods to get youself through. If your doc is not supportive, you may consider finding one who will listen and assist. They really do exist. It took me 20 yrs. and I would not want anyone to have to wait that long! Good Luck!