Perimenopause and SEVERE joint pain - any one else??

Lesley, it's been a year since your post. How are you now? Can you give an update?

Hi Leslie good to hear you are improving. This has been so helpful to me. I am 56 and have suffered this muscle/tendon/joint pain for about 2 years. The doctor was useless and when I asked if it could be hormonal he said it's possible!! That's all. I think I have completed the old menopause but as I have not really had any bad symptoms other than extreme pain it has all been a bit of a mystery to me and After a few visits to the doctor I gave up questioning. Everything you said matches me so now I feel another visit to the doctors is a must but I think I will try to request a specific doctor. Currently I feel like a 90 yest old...in fact I have seen elderly people with far more agility than me. This all came on so sudden after stopping my pill injection and then having the old Meno.

Thank you do much for your post. Hourly it will help others.

So pleased that I found this discussion today.  What I can't believe is that if so many of us are having the same symptoms during menopause, why can't GPs put our minds at rest in the first instance by telling us it's normal.  Although that wouldn't help the pain, at least we wouldn't be worrying about it all being 'in the mind'.  I'm coming up to 54, had my last period 2 years ago and been having hot flushes for longer than 2 years I think, at the time of them starting, I wasn't thinking menopause, as they were intermittent.  What I find difficult to deal with is what I can only describe as restless leg syndrome in my abdomen and chest, which then flows down to my legs.  I don't really have it during the day unless I'm standing in a queue or sitting with a group of children (I'm a primary school teacher) - doing something that I can't escape from.  Then I begin to get panicky, restless, need to escape and it culminates in a hot flush.  It's awful at night, I could probably cope with the hot flush, but this creeping, restless sensation has me wriggling around or walking around until it wears off.  Many of the other symptoms described in this discussion have occurred over the last few years, painful hips and knees before my periods stopped and all xrays and scans showing nothing.  But no medical person said, 'It could be menopausal'!  Now, whenever anything unusual happens on any part of my body, I put it down to the menopause.  My left shoulder and neck were very painful for over a year, until I was convinced that I had bone cancer or a brain tumour and had replaced my mattress, pillows, bought new hand/shoulder bags and a stand for lap top,  but then while waiting about 6 months for an appointment for physio, the pain just went - then the hospital physio appointment came through!  I don't want to take any HRT as my mother was on this for quite a few years before being diagnosed with breast cancer and died 4 years later with bone and lymph cancer.  I also intermittently have pain in my heels and it is painful to walk or put pressure on them, this has been helped by gel insoles, but again the symptoms come and go.  I'm now going to look up the Linda Kearne cake and put a bar of soap in my bed (as seen on FB) anything is worth a try!

Hi there,

Quite a relief to find these posts about joint pain and peri.

I'm in UK,  52 and still having periods tho they are slowing down and getting further apart.

I've not had any tests to see if i'm peri  but bearing in mind my age i must be!

I've never had any problem with joints/pains tbh apart from minor things through life - usually sprains etc. However about a month ago I woke up with terrible shoulder pain - like i'd been in an accident or sth! Always been a side sleeper and couldn't understand it.. I thought it would just go with rest and though its lessened i can't sleep on that side now. so that was going on, then i started getting pain and swelling round a finger joint, which i thought was from holding my mobile phone against that joint. But then...(!) there's more, my fingers and hands on other side started aching. I thought is that from the computer mouse? Then my arms started aching too. I could no longer get comfy in bed - mattress was always hard, but even with memory foam and no longer sleep on my side. Was waking up in night with all joints aching and really alarmed.. I've been thinking what on earth is this!! I was very nervous its R.A or even osteo A.  I won't take HRT cos i have had a condition from too much oestrogen previously. So im gonna investigate the supplements route. But i am scared that this won't go easily.. even after menopuase.. So glad to read the posts where people have found some relief from diet/natural cures. Keep posting x

been looking into this further on the net and am now really scared my symptoms might be Rheum. Arthritis...! Says your body feels flu-like with aches all over..

I have one swollen finger joint atm - no others, but i have the flu-like feeling. It says RA can be present even if blood test is negative..

I'm so scared now! Did anyone else worry about this and then find their symptoms improved and it wasn't that after all? thanks!