Perimenopause and severe joint/muscle pain
Posted , 18 users are following.
Hello there, I thought I'd start a newer thread about perimenopause and severe joint and muscle pain. Has anyone else experienced this, and has anything helped?
Here are my details:
- 48, seem to be in perimenopause
- for months have been having severe pain/stiffness in upper left arm, then left shoulder, then both upper legs, then both hips, then both thumbs, then both wrists, both elbows, both feet... practically everywhere
- strange left-side tongue/throat/facial pain started last summer; mostly under control now with very low dose clonazepam
- severe fatigue and brain fog
- have seen several specialists; rheumatologist has said she doesn't think I have autoimmune disease but is doing more tests
Does anyone have stories/information to share? Thanks very much.
2 likes, 17 replies
debra16694 stella-z
Edited
HI stella - Well, basically all of the above & then some. Do you also get burning or tingling in your extremities? in addition, i get electric shock/zaps & vibrations - as far as the face/tongue thing is yours tingling or a pain? i have had both, but always on my left side of face & add in lots of anxiety & its just one fun happy time - i used to literally freak out about every ache/sensation, now i just chalk it up to menopause - i remember one morning, my body literally seized up like i had no oil left in my joints, it really freaked me out, next day i was fine - crazy!
stella-z debra16694
Posted
Hi debra16694, thanks so much for the reply.
About facial pain: Oh my goodness -- it's incredible that you also have the facial tingling. Mine started as a very sore throat in October 2017, then became sharp pain on the left side of tongue/throat/ear (not electric zaps but rather more constant sharp pain), and by January 2018 it included a weird tingly feeling along the lower left side of my jaw, and very rarely, a few zaps.
About extremities: Yes, sometimes tingling too!
How long has it been going on for you? Has anything helped? Thanks again!
debra16694 stella-z
Posted
hi stella - yep! do your teeth also hurt sometimes? well, i am post menopause - i only had insomnia, flooding & night sweats in peri, but my symptoms after meno started in little increments in 2012, but ramped up really bad in the last year. i am praying its almost the end for me, but who knows - i have learned that some woman experience their bad symptoms in peri, some in post, but it really is just when your hormones start to crash - every woman has a different journey, just make this forum your best friend & you will be fine -
mrs_susan74280 debra16694
Posted
HI I have the same things going on, by extremities is do you mean down below, I have a buzzing feeling all over since April, pins and needles on chin, temple pains, joint aches rotten, can get burning in legs also, now feeling the erge to wee more, on Citalopram to try and help the internal treamers, not doing much so far, dread the mornings,
debra16694 mrs_susan74280
Posted
hi susan - by extremities i meant my hands, feet, but i get the burning on tops of feet, front of chins, hands, back & nape of neck, chest up by my neck...now getting it on my forearms & tingling face - i sometimes think its anxiety causing all of it, because i woke up with a bad pain in my intestines this am & then my body just lit up like a christmas tree with buzzing and burning - i think the lack of hormones has just compromised the nervous system - of course i go to the worse case scenario instead of maybe i just have bad gas -
stella-z debra16694
Posted
Hi everyone,
I'm so sorry I didn't return earlier -- I didn't realize there were newer responses. (I must have turned off all notifications somehow in the settings a long time ago. )
Update on symptoms: My period is getting even more wonky, so I'm surely deeper into perimenopause. (Extremely heavy periods which start as a trickle for the first few days, and on irregular schedule.) Almost a year later, I'm still having the aches everywhere -- a little less intense in some areas, and worse in other areas. For example, my knees hurt any time I bend now, the front of my thigh muscles are in almost constant deep burning pain, I get sharp zings in random fingers and toes... but my thumbs aren't constantly hurting like they were when I wrote the first post above. Two years since it started, I still have the neuralgia on the left side of my tongue (and sometimes left side of throat/teeth/jaw), but the very low-dose clonazepam is still helping keep the tongue pain to a tolerable level. I still have mental fog. On the plus side, lately I haven't had the crushing fatigue, which got better (maybe coincidentally) when I started taking fish oil, Coenzye Q10 in Ubinquinol form, and multivitamins,
The thing that's really stressing me out me now is that two months ago I started having constant twitching in my feet and calves, and then more random twitches all over.
I have been exploring the possibility that I do have an autoimmune problem after all (but haven't asked the rheumatologist to explore further since last visit, when she said she didn't think I had any full-blow connective tissue disease at that point; I'm just researching things on my own). I'm also wondering if some of us have fibromyalgia or something like this. Or -- hopefully -- it's a passing phase that will get better with time!
How are the rest of you doing? I hope things are improving for everyone.
CarolKelso stella-z
Posted
yes indeed....very sore joints as my body is trying to readjust to the changes. ive felt as stif as an ironing board when getting up in the morning ....hang tight....you are not alone and it will pass...CK
caroline62395 stella-z
Posted
My muscle pain is in my neck and shoulders can hurt for days then just disappear? I also get a tingling sensation in my feet and sometimes legs. Like debra my teeth hurt and some slight jaw pain. Its really hard to believe its down to hormones but there are so many women with the same issues it must be x
Amalie13 stella-z
Posted
Horrible lower back pain, pelvic pain, and knee pain. I basically ache all over. Insomnia and brain fog. Anxiety and depression. And I am still getting regular periods (which flood). Have been going through this nightmare for over two years (I will be 52 next year).
beth12460 stella-z
Posted
Yes, its hormones. I am active. I am also a walker. I can go and go and then when I sit down or drive somewhere I become stiff as a board. Stiff joints stiff muscles. I am 59. I hate it!
Eliaimee1970 stella-z
Posted
hi !
im 48 and i have been experiencing both shoulders pain for about 1month and half and now 3 days ago the pain shift to my neck up AND down to my front above my breast and back on my left shoukder down my armpit and under my left breast. the only way to describe it is like a gas bubble stuck between the chest wall and back on the shoulder blades. i have done pretty much all test since im been 45 . xrays, mri from belly, shoulders, brain, legs , hips , blood work for the heat, diabetis, cholesterol , autoinmune disease, you name it all normal. has anyone has these symptons ?
shylee stella-z
Posted
Hi Stella-Z, I just came across your post by accident searching frantically for proof of what I've been going through for my Dr who seems to believe Perimenopause doesn't cause pain. (Rolls eyes) Everything that you have mentioned i have been going through and more for the past 4-5 yrs getting progressively worse the last 2yrs. I have had MRI, Ct-scans for severe neck pain and loss of sensation in the left arm, changes in skin sensation then it progressed to my left ear, jawline on left side, then whole left side of my face and scalp then my tongue started burning halfway down to the tip, changes in taste but mostly the burning pain. I had tests for a sore burning throat that wouldn't go away but no bacteria, they thought viral but never went away. nothing ever conclusive came up on any tests except that other symptoms showed i was well into perimenopause and had been for some time. I turn 50 this yr. I was put on HRT patches for horrendous hot flashes, night sweats, nightmares and insomnia and off the charts anxiety.
Nothing took the pain and excruciating burning away. I was put on opiates and a tonne of pills and patches that i had severe reactions too until they found a combination of Carbemazapine( sorry not sure of spelling) Duloxatine and Metazapine (again sorry re spelling) and codeine for extra pain relief when needed.... The carbemazapine has taken away the burning and i have function back in my left arm and shoulder, the others help with sleep and a boost to the carbemazapine.
However i now have shocking pain in my face and jaw and terrible joint pain in just about every joint. fingers, thumbs, wrists, neck, knees ankles, feet, etc and the Dr tells me he cant help me anymore that he thinks the pain is from depression... he doesn't listen when i say my depression is because of the pain im in 24/7... I have no other Dr here to go to as i have been treated like a hypochondriac. I have literally been put in a Psychiatric hospital over this pain because they still think its in my head.
I just want proof of what i'm going through. I have more symptoms but cant write them all now because this looks like it's turning into a book. My apologies for offloading. I just cant believe there are others in very similar circumstances.
donna0027 stella-z
Posted
ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kimberly72548 stella-z
Posted
OH! What an amazing relief to find out I'm not crazy! Same. Same. Same. I've been tested for everything under the sun and everything comes back "normal." If I'm so "normal," why does every joint and muscle in my body feel like I just got in a car wreck ALL the time?! The pain in my feet and legs brings me to tears (something that doesn't normally happen often). I've only been in this stage for about 6 months (I'm 47). This has got to end when menopause is over and done, right?
ally84142 stella-z
Posted
Stella, are you still there? I was cruising around looking for answers and found this! I have had pretty much all the symptoms of everyone here. I'm 55 years old now and have not had a period for I think over a year now. I suppose I am officially in menopause. Well it really sucks. All those years of complaining about my periods...I wish I had them back!!! The worst is the joint pain. Its chronic and painful. My fingers all hurt, can't bend them when I wake up plus they are swollen. forget wearing rings any more.. I used to wear a size 7...like 6 months ago, now its a size 9. I think its early onset arthritis...who knows any more, my family is about sick and tired of hearing me complain about all this, I think they think I'm a hypochondriac now. I am depressed more, like others, and used to have tons of energy. Now its hard just to get out of bed in the morning. Oh...and sex....forget it. I have zero drive any more and my poor husband is at his wits end with my lack of anything! I seriously could rant all day about this crappy menopausal bs. I have been taking all kinds of supplements and found Maca Powder, which just started last week. Supposed to help, We'll see. I feel like I'm living a totally different life now and its painful.