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
kerry91 Lesley998
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If you follow the forum you'll know that I'm also on the anti inflammatory diet. Just to update: I haven't had a relapse since Xmas when the sugar was tooooo tempting (and boy did I pay after, severe pain for one month) on Sunday we had visitors and I was feeling so good I decided I could risk a small cake and a tonic water. The pain has come back. The difference is flagrant. You can convince yourself that the sugar isn't doing it, but believe me it is. I'm back on track; at least this little relapse has served to show me that the diet works.
Sandy07 kerry91
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kerry91 Sandy07
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sorry to hear that you're suffering. If I'm not mistaken Amtriptyline is for neuropathic pain; this is the type of pain I have too but I haven't been prescribed this. I was on a benzodiazipan (not sure of the spelling!) drug last year because all this effected my nerves (and doctors give them out like sweets) when I came off it the pain was terrible, basically because when you take something that calms your nerves it calms the pain, when you come off it your nervous sysytem gets overexcited again. My muscles sometimes feel like I've been over exercising (not the case!) and I too wondered about Fibromyalgia, but I've come to the conclusion that it's a catch all condition that doctors use when they don't know whats wrong. I think you'll find that once the after effects of coming off the medication have worked themselves out you'll be better. Tough it out Mooma! xxx
Sandy07 kerry91
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kerry91 Sandy07
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This is true I can't eat potatoes or tomatoes they give me bad neuro pain, but it's also the advice they give people with arthritis for example, so it works for any inflammatory condition. At the end of the day who cares what is causing what as long as whatever you're doing works?
BellaRubia Sandy07
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Lesley998
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Sorry I have not been on the boards for some time. We have had an awful year...my sister went missing in January, and her body was not found until late April. She had taken her own life. Her husband is completely disabled and she was his carer. I have had been involved in sorting all the legal and financial stuff, sort out ongoing care for her husband, as well as look after my 21 year old nephew, and my own family (elderly parents one with Alzheimers too!) ....so it has been a complete nightmare as you can imagine. But the old saying 'what doesnt kill you makes yoiur stronger' is so true. I am utterly heart broken for my lovely sister - she was 57, and had been suffering with manic depression/bipolar disorder since she was 50. Menopause definitely kicked it all off for her. I had been ot the psychiatrist with her on a number of occasions, but last year was the worst for her. She was desperately unhappy, and part of me is glad that she is at finally at peace.
Anyway. Back to the subject in hand.
A couple of years on from my first post...and I am almost pain free.
I have not had a bleed for about three months now, so am still in perimenopause.
I still have some stiffness and occasional problems with my hip and shoulders, but nothing LIKE before, when I honestly thought I must have some sort of terrible disease. it was so bad. I now know it was all to do with fluctuating hormones.
I too notice a difference on a low carb diet...ie cutting out all white sugar, bread, potatoes rice...most starches and carbs. For a while I lived on fish, chicken and brocolli...boring as hell, but lost a lot of body fat and felt years younger with no stiffness or pain in the joints. I don't eat like this all the time as I am not a saint...but when I do try it for a week or so I notice a massive difference.
I would also tell anyone to try cutting out all citrus fruit, juice and tomatoes as these really made my joint pain worse.
Hope you are all getting through meno as well as you can....thanks for all your posts and help and advice! We are not alone!
Sandy07 Lesley998
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im glad you are much improved. I'm really interested to hear about your diet changes. I'm doing this too at the moment and am desperate for it to work. I've only just started cutting out tomatoes though so we shall see. I get loads of pain, face, head, jaw, shoulders, back....... The list goes on and convince myself daily that I must have something seriously wrong. Your post has given me hope that there could be change around the corner. Thanks for sharing. Big hugs. Stay well. Xx
kerry91 Lesley998
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Sorry to hear about your year, it can't have been easy.
It's interesting that you've also discovered that all things acidic make the pain worse, there's been a lot of talk about this recently on the forum; it's so good to share our stories and progress. If we can help each other then that's really something.
BellaRubia Lesley998
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anyway, that is to say THANKS to you for being the first to post about that for I was thinking I had some weird desease, too. I feel much better dieting. AND THANKS TO ALL OF YOU, now i am being able to bike again. My chiro said something months ago about my inflamation never desappearing because of my diet, but I always ate above the average well and did not pay much attention. She did not say much too, but now I get what she meant. So, all this think about dieting, the doctors know and should be offering to us, instead of letting us figure it by ourselves.
Anyway, great to know you feel better, too.
kerry91 BellaRubia
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I agree with you, it's absolutely awful that doctors just dismiss the notion of diet (and dismiss menopausal women in general) if it wasn't in their textbook when they were studying it doesn't exist, and that's the attitude. you do meet the odd doctor who is into diet and all things alternative but it's rare; my Osteopath is such a doctor and he's great, but we can't all have a doctor like that. I'm sick of doctors looking at me like I'm a hysterical nutter, so I don't go very often and when I do I keep my opinions to myself. In twenty years time they'll be hailing diet as the big discovery because it will be in the text books!
KatN22 Lesley998
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Sandy07 KatN22
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BellaRubia KatN22
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BellaRubia Sandy07
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kerry91 KatN22
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Ibuprufen is very acidic and can damage your stomach, a firend of mine who is a doctor tells me that he and his colleagues all agree that it is a dangerous drug as it masks problems and creates others