Perimenopause and SEVERE joint pain - any one else??
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Hi
I am 50 and have been in perimenopause for some time. I just wanted to post here to see if anyone else has suffered extreme joint pain as a result of fluctuating estrogen.
Quick history: regular as clockwork from the age of 13 - up to and after the two pregnancies in my thirties.Then aged 47 I started to get very heavy and irregular periods. Then I went for six months with no period at all, then two very scant light periods in quick succession. I have had nothing now for two months but I do feel as if it might happen soon as sore boobs etc.
I have never had a hot flush. I do however have lots of other peri symptoms, including insomnia, heart palpitations and skipped beats, and a strange 'rushing' or whooshing feeling which starts in the abdomen which I think is an 'adrenal' surge. I also have other vague and odd symptoms, dry eyes and inside my nose, and a really vile taste in my mouth sometimes - I mean really vile, like a chemical taste, unrelated to anything I have eaten. I also have odd tingling skin sometimes, which I can only describe as feeling like 'cold' sunburn!
However, about the joint pain. Three months ago I literally woke up one morning with a sore left arm/elbow. Over a few days, the pain then moved into my shoulders, and I got really worried as if was incredibly painful, and showed no signs of going away, it just got worse and worse. It is worse in the morning when I wake up, I am as stiff as a board. It is on my mind 24/7. Doing normal things is almost impossible - I have problems carrying shopping, drying my hair,walking the dog, driving...everything seems to hurt . I have never suffered from arthritic pain, and I went to the doctor thinking I had some awful bone disease, or even polymyalgia. I was told I had nerve pain!! The GP was terrible and made me feel like a hypochondriac and it was all in my mind. I was told I had good range of movement, and no inflammation. But I am in agony, and i am not imagining it.I made the mistake of asking Dr.Google too, which is never a good idea as I scared myself half to death. I never even thought it could be related to hormones or menopause, as the pain was just SO bad and I had never heard of joint pain being a symptom.I mean I have read than meno can be bad for some women, and I expected hot flushes etc, but I didnt realise it meant pain like this.
Anyway - for the last few weeks I have been having worsening pain which has spread from left elbow and both shoulders, into left hip, both elbows and now my knees. All my joints are cracking and popping loudly and even my husband can hear the awful grating in my neck and my knees....I sound like a one man band as I go up and down the stairs!
I went In for my three yearly Cervical smear on Monday, and could hardly get up on the examining couch I was so stiff and sore. Womans health is dealt with by the Nurse Practitioners in our large practice (15 GP's) and when the NP saw my discomfort she asked me what was wrong. It turns out she has a real interest in womens health, and has been involved in HRT trials and research for many years. She informed me that my symptoms all point to fluctuating estrogen, and possible thyroid involvement. She told me a load of stuff about estrogen and cartilage, dry mucosa etc, the details of which I can't remember now but which made so much sense when she explained it - even down to the foul taste and tingling skin I have also experienced on and off for months which are both known side effects of estrogen surge as the ovaries go a bit haywire. Asmall percentage of women are very receptive to estrogen fluctuations which involve cartilage, which mainly manifest as abnormally severe joint pain/menopausal arthritis but it is not an 'obvious' symptom of perimenopause.
I asked why the GP was no help, and she just raised her eyebrows when I told her which male GP it was, and told me to make another appointment as soon as possible with a specific GP (who must be more knowledgeable about womens health.) Going in tomorrow to see her.
I can't do HRT as I have a heart condition, but maybe I can do estrogen cream, or phytoestrogen/soy.) It could last for a long time I guess until I come out the other side !
So i have not yet been diagnosed, but it sounds like it could be caused by estrogen. Sorry this has been so long....but anyone else out there feel the same way I do???
Lesley.
85 likes, 1485 replies
viv1960 Lesley998
Posted
lovely to to hear from you again.
I found your discussion a year ago, and spent every waking moment catching up on all the posts, and felt an immediate relief to know what was going on with my body. My main complaint was the awful aches & pains and not knowing why I hurt so much, so finding this discussion helped me with various options to try.
I don't know whether you have tried acupuncture or not, but this has been a life saver for me. I too was very stiff every morning and I was taking strong pain killers 3-4x/day, with some benefit, but since I started acupuncture, I hardly ever need them. Also the sudden fatigue has been releaved. Do give it a go, if not already.
thank you for starting this forum which gives great advice and support to many ladies across the world.
Viv x
buddah_girl Lesley998
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BellaRubia buddah_girl
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buddah_girl BellaRubia
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BellaRubia buddah_girl
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You can try MINOXYDIL for your hair, but the ideal would be to go to a specialist.
Take care!
Sandy07 BellaRubia
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BellaRubia Sandy07
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Good luck for you :D
viv1960 buddah_girl
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acupuncture has helped my debilitating pains, if you can afford it, worth every penny to get relief from pain.
good luck
Viv
Sandy07 BellaRubia
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BellaRubia Sandy07
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I really think it is a question of time, not of what we take - unless you get HRT, that may give you instant relieve. Beside that, there is no magic. Only think I can say made an immediate difference for my symptoms was EXERCISING, specially doing YOGA, that works your body and mind. A good diet will help you on a long basis (only maybe if you eat very badly now, then the change may make a big differende right away - not my case). Vitamins will improve your health but unless you have a deep lack of something, it wont make a huge difference in the way you feel right now. For instance, I had/have a small lack of vitamin D and taking it did not make any better (in fact, I started with Vitamin D even before I had all those symptoms, and it was not enough to prevent them. I even blamed the vitamins for what I felt for my symptoms started about the same time I started my vitamins) MAGNESIUM will help with insomnia and soreness. Soak on your bathtub WITH Epson Salt and you will feel much better.
Do not beat yourself, do what you need. Some times HRT is the only option if your symptoms are just umbearable. But if they are not, just hold on, they will diminish sooner or later.
Best luck
Sandy07 BellaRubia
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kathy46259 Lesley998
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What a blessing to find you and the other ladies. I give all of you my sympathies in dealing with these situations. I will try to make a long story short. I had a complete hystorectomy when I was 44, am now 67. I took the HRT because of my age. I stopped the HRT 9 months ago. No problems, until 2 months later. I woke one morning in pain it is hard to explain. My joints, my muscles, bones, even what I call "the meat" of my body, as if I was enitirely bruised all the way through. Even the bottom of my feet hurt I would take anything to stop the pain. Way more than sugessted on any of the bottles. My hair started to fall out, I hope the inbalance of hormones is the reason why and not because of my age. The joint pain concerned me the most, as many of you have stated, I creaked and cracked, like unfolding some tinfoil. I had visions of my son making visits to a convalesce home to see me. A month ago I started using the progesterone cream. No help. The one visit I made to see the doctor was an embarassment. I take antidepressants and Everything is dismissed to depression. Seven days ago I started taking my Premiren(HRT) again. I felt better the next day. It is a week later and all symptoms are 90% better except the knee joint. It feels as if it is disconnected, it creaks and throws me off balance. I am going to make an appointment with a different doctor I have seen one time before and feel he will help me get all this under control. He most likely will send me to a GYN doctor. I never thought I was crazy , I thought the doctor was crazy.
I live in the USA, in Southern California and would like to hear from all of you. Are any of you taking the HRT, has it helped? Has anyone noticed any hair loss along the way?
I am so glad I kept doing these internet searches. Maybe one day shortly I will feel like cleaning house and actually going somewhere with make up on and my hair done up.Two weeks ago I would not have said I was going to leave the house ever again.
Thanks to everyone for the information.
Kathy
BellaRubia kathy46259
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kim94523 BellaRubia
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I have joint and muscle pain that has increased exponentially in the last year (since Peri started with a vengeance). AND I pull muscles VERY easily. If I lift something that is a couple pounds, I will pull a muscle. I pulled a muscle flushing a commercial toilet that had a hard to push handle! I was in a sling for a week! I pulled the muscles in my triceps chopping onions! It hurts to wash my hair! Blow drying is toture lifting my arms up--shoulders seize up.
I was VERY active my whole life. An Aerobics instructor and competitive figure skater in my 20s and 30s. NOW, I move like an old woman. It hurts to get in and out of the car... It hurts to get up and down from the couch and I have to lean on things to do it. It hurts to go down stairs -- my knees KILL. It hurts and I need to use my arms to help me get up and down from the toilet.
My elbows, neck and knees have sharp shooting pains at times and my calves, feet, back, shoulder and arms are achy all the time. I know moving is important so I have tried to do light exercise many times over the last year. This week, I walked 3x for 20-30 minutes, and the 30 minute walks were broken into one 15 in the a.m. and one 15 in the p.m. Today, I can barely move as a result. You would think I went to some hard-core training camp and lifted weights lifting and did Burpees. All I did is walk! In supportive shoes... and not that fast! I strolled by most people's standards.
When the joint pain, stiffness and muscle pulls first started happening almost one year to the day, I thought FOR SURE I had polymyocitis (my dad and grandma had it) or arthritis or worse. But I have been tested and tested and tested again. I don't have ANYTHING. In the meantime, exercise used to make me HAPPY and give me an adrenaline rush. Now, I feel WORSE after I exercise...MUCH WORSE.
i don't want western medicine HRT as bio-Id est drops and progest cream with a low dose of armour thyroid worked for about six months but now the pain is back... I have a message into my naturopath. My western GP wants me to get gastric bypass (I need to lose 50 pounds but it's a chicken and an egg thing--the menopause symptoms are making it hard to get exercise. My psychiatrist wants me to take antidepressants, which I just weaned off after 17 years and my gyno wants me to take HRT pills or the patch but I don't want cancer. Friends say acupuncture... Others swear by yoga...ahhhhhhh!
thanks for letting me vent!!! I feel so understood reading your posts!
Sandy07 BellaRubia
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barbara49965 Sandy07
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KatN22 kim94523
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But it is very important to keep checking and doing tests - to be abolutely sure that there are no hidden illnesses. I had a biopsy taken (clear- TG) and I will be checked for endemetriosis and other things. Do make sure you keep doctors checking all possible and impossible - better safe than sorry! I know it's tiring, especially in our condition, but we have to!
Hope you will get better soon
Kat
kim94523 KatN22
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Sandy07 KatN22
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BellaRubia kim94523
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Yes, yes, yes, DO YOGA, do this for yourself. Much better than giving money to a masseuse or chiropractor. Alas, my chiropractor took a lot of my time and money with therapy that I did not need.
Cheers
kim94523 BellaRubia
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coralie74759 kim94523
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Obviously, the 50lbs have to go.You WILL feel much better if you don't have to carry that around. Have you heard of the 5:2 diet? It is a lifetime way of eating. The idea is that you eat normally (and healthily) for 5 days and fast for 2 days.on the fasting days you consume 500 calories and they can be non-consecutive days. It is easy to do and it works. The research done on fasting suggests that fasting reduces our levels of certain hormones that can set us up for illnesses later on. It can reduce your chances of cancers , diabetes and heart disease by 50%. I watched a documentary about this the other day and I am convinced that it has a lot of merit. I am going to read his book first and then get the blood tests done to see what my levels of the bad stuff is, and then both my husband and I will follow this eating regime for 5 weeks and then re-test and see what happens. I am quite slim, but have lots of menopause problems and am determined to be as healthy as i can to fight the battle. I am convinced thaty there will be many benefits from this course of action--am excited about it and I have already tried the fasting on non-consecutive days and found it to be very easy. I thought I wouldn't be able to handle it because I get low blood sugar very readily--but I was fine. Give it a go--it won't do any harm--but read the book first so you understand what it is that you are achieving and how to go about the fasting part properly to obtain maximum benifit.
Good Luck,
Coralie
BellaRubia coralie74759
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kim94523 coralie74759
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kim94523 BellaRubia
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BellaRubia kim94523
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kim94523 BellaRubia
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BellaRubia kim94523
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coralie74759 BellaRubia
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My apologies for taking so long to reply, We live in Australia and we breed Wagyu cattle. We have just spent the last week out west at our breeding properties mustering and branding.I don't have a computer or mobile service out there, nor any time to spend using either. It was 40 degrees by 2.00pm every day. We muster and draft in the afternoons and begin branding at daylight every morning. I am 62 today and despite my menopause problems--I am still doing the same work as the men. Chasing cattle through heavy timber and creek country on motor-bikes is very physical and challenging. Everything is so much harder now because of menopause.
However, I can truthfully say that I feel the best when I am eating sensibly (for me that means low Calories--moderate protiens and low fat and now utilizing the 5:2 method of eating). I have more energy and less pain. I feel that I am not as exhausted after a week of rough work in the dust and heat, nor am I as stiff and sore after it either--so it must be doing some good in my body somewhere!
https://patient.info/health/52-diet
If you are speaking with anyone about it make sure you get across to them that the "fast" part means food fasting and not speedy. There is no such thing in the world of dieting that is sustainable and is fast/speedy.
This lifestyle change is very "do-able" You WILL have success and feel so much better for it. Good luck.
Coralie
Emis Moderator comment: I have replaced the links etc provided with a link to an article on the 5:2 diet on this website which includes links in the references for further reading.
coralie74759 kim94523
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You sound as if it has been a life time struggle with food for you. When you diet--do you just go "cold turkey" with your portion reductions? Can you prepare for the final battle with this by very gradually reducing portion size each week for 2 months to give your stomach a chance to shrink and therefore feel full for a lesser amount. Can you change your mindset about food and look at it simply as just the fuel you need to keep going and not as the best or most comforting comforting thing to look forward to during the day. Just a couple of ideas--you probably have tried them all.
Coralie
kim94523 coralie74759
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BellaRubia coralie74759
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i will take a look. I got about the "fast" part. I am not really on the heavy side, for I am a picky eater, but I am more concerned to my husband. Anyway, I do not think he will be able to follow any diet, lol, but if I loose a good 6 pounds, I am sure I will feel better, too.
Thanks for the reply, I have just seen that now.
Regards
Carolmayhew6 kathy46259
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ive more or less got everything that Lesley states she has n I've been told I have degenerative arthritis
but the joints in my knees are creeping n cracking n groaning the pain down my leg is excruciating like toothache 24/7 if I had the guts n a very sharp knife it would be chopped off
like you my bones ache & late last year my feet killed me n I was worried I had something seriously wrong with the intense pain and its impact on my activities I've been in full time employment for 20yrs as a healthcare professional and have worked over my full time hours on regular basis I went part time last year and since December gone down hill rapid I'm making an appointment tomorrow to discuss with my gp if she can trial me on hrt to see if my symptoms improve anything is worth a try rather than this excruciating pain 24/7
i hope you are feeling better x