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Perimenopause and SEVERE joint pain - any one else??

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Lesley998
Lesley998

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

1485 Replies

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  • rosie123
    rosie123

    Posted

    Hi there, I have been taking a spoonful of manuka honey with a sprinkling of cinnamon for about a week, although I don't suffer as bad as you, I have joint & back problems ( age I think ) my aches are feeling much better, so I'm going to carry on taking it, it's certainly cant do you any harm,worth a try ?
  • Lesley998
    Lesley998

    Posted

    Katie...I sleep on a Nikken magnetic mattress, because my husband has RA and has used it all his life to ease his joint pain. Unfortunately it works wonders for him, and does absolutely nothing for me!
  • katie13
    katie13

    Posted

    Lesley, You would have to sleep all day and all night for it to work! The magnet has to be worn 24hrs a day every day. That is one reason I stopped wearing it, I couldn't cope with wearing tight pants all the time! But I am still Ok this time, probably too old to care now!
  • jjeremy
    jjeremy

    Posted

    Hi, find a good rheumatologist for you. He can help you. By listening to other suggestion you can not decide which one is good for you. After diagnosis only right prescription will come up.
  • spaaddict
    spaaddict

    Posted

    Hello Ladies, so reassuring to know I am not going mad ! I have been coping with the joint pain for about a year. As others have said, just woke up one morning and couldn't use either of my hands. The pain along both thumbs was excruciating. I also have knee & hip pain but this was confused by previous condition/surgery resulting in me wearing orthotics in both shoes so didn't at first connect this with the hands. GP unsympathetic but sent me for x-ray which came back as not arthritis etc. 2nd GP believed I had fibromyalgia but was inconclusive. I also have underactive thyroid and some of the symptoms are so similar to menopause that for ages I just kept assuming I wasn't getting enough synthetic thyroxine (only take 50micrograms daily). I am almost 56 now but still had periods regularly up until last year when they started becoming more sporadic (last one was in Oct.12) Have recently changed GP's and one drug I am investigating is Amtryptilene - has anyone else come across this as an alternative for HRT? Obviously it doesn't replace hormones etc. but helps with alleviating some symptoms. I lost a friend to Ovarian Cancer and my sister has also had cancer and it just puts me off HRT. Also as some of you have said we may be fitter to cope with symptoms in our 50's rather than just delay them til our 60's when we have even less energy etc. If anyone has any info about Amtryptilene in this scenario I would appreciate it. Thanks & take care of yourselves.
  • leesa1
    leesa1

    Posted

    Hi all,

    wow I feel so humbled to be getting all this info, thank you all so much, good to know the universal sisterhood is alive and well out there, I'm going to give the magnet therapy a go I reckon, I know something's work for 1 person and not for another, Sometimes it's worthwhile going through a chain of therapies to find the best one, I will say I've been wearing a magnetic bracelet on my wrist for work related occupational overuse syndrome OOS the old RSI and unless it's psychosomatic, I feel some relief in that hand. Will let you know how it all goes, still have to track some sort of device down in Australia.

    Cheers all, wish I could say enjoy the whole menopausal journey! anyone notice how the yuck things that occur in a woman's life start with men, ie MENstruation, MENopause!!!!!!!! just saying wink I have 2 ex husbands so I guess I have some qualification here.........

  • Lesley998
    Lesley998

    Posted

    Leesa...the other thing that I think helped my joint pain was something called Bowen Therapy, which I believe actually originated in Australia. I can't be completely sure if it was the Bowen or the HRT that really helped though as I started both at exactly the same time! I do know that Bowen gets great results - it is a very odd, gentle therapy - literally tiny movements with a finger and thumb to adjust the fascia of the muscle and tendon. Good luck with the magnet and loving your theory on the 'MEN' lol!
  • katie13
    katie13

    Posted

    Hi, Spaadict,

    Do not touch Amitryptilline! Once taken VERY hard to stop, and the side effects are horrid, I hate it as a drug. GP's tend to suggest it when they are not sure what to suggest and think maybe you are a bit depressed/ can't sleep/neurotic!

    It sometimes is used for neuralgic pain in chronic disease, but you have no diagnosis yet so beware.I had paitients on it when I was a Specialist Nurse and I can not think of one patient who benefitted from it.

    Leesa1 You will not be able to wear the bracelet and the magnet otherwise they will just cancel each other out.

    Lesley998 Yes Bowen Therapy is recognised as a useful therapy and actually has some evidence base behind it.

    No research done on menopausal pain though, perhaps we should all bond together and get Womens Health Research to pilot a study?

  • leesa1
    leesa1

    Posted

    Morning Ladies, very interesting about the bowen therapy, it did originate in Australia, I might see how much the treatments may be, and try it, I've not been able to locate the magnetic bodysuit locally yet! still haven't been for my bloods yet, but there were to check the usual vit D, cholesterol, thyroid, estrogen levels etc, so we'll see. When I did talk to my female GP about the joint pain, she did say "Menopause ain't no picnic, it universally SUCKS" love my GP, she's irreverent but spot on, she gave me a non steroidal anti inflammatory but the side affects are a bit nerve racking, so I'm a bit hesitant to take it every day, and like a lot of modern medicine, it just treats the symptoms not the cause. So will continue my quest for info and keep you all informed.

    I'm hoping to travel to Britain in 2 years, we can all meet up in a pub and down several pints each and further lament our MENO rants! Cheers sisters wink

  • leesa1
    leesa1

    Posted

    OK Ladies, I've just ordered the Ladycare menopause device, had to get it from New Zealand, it's not available in Australia that I could find, so I'll let you know how it all goes smile

  • Lesley998
    Lesley998

    Posted

    Good luck with both leesa!
  • jjeremy
    jjeremy

    Posted

    All the best with new device. Hope device will work wonder for you.

  • Lesley998
    Lesley998

    Posted

    As the original poster, just wanted to update on my situation for anyone who may be following this thread regarding sudden onset joint pain, tendonitis, or frozen shoulder in menopausal women.

    In late January this year after months of constant pain in both shoulders, I suddenly realised (literally over a matter of days) that I had less pain and more movement in both my arms. I was beginning to un freeeze. I still did not have anything like full movement back in my left arm, but I had not had one of those killer spasms since Christmas. Hallelujah I thought, it is over.

    Whether this was due to taking high dose HRT, or a natural event that would have occurred In this self limiting condition who knows ...but , here's the thing.

    Unfortunately, due to sudden severe migraines for the first time at age 51 - along with some other horrible side effects including sky high blood pressure - I was recently taken off HRT by my GP. (I was on Prempak-C 1.25)

    Two weeks after taking my last HRT tablet I began to feel that tell tale tendon pain in my shoulders and elbows. I now have familiar pain in my left bicep and collar bone. It is following a patterns I am only too familiar with from last time and I fear I am on my way to another FS. Or two. Who knows. All I know is the pain is back.

    What people without this condition do not realise is the extent of how much it changes your life. Everything is geared toward not causing yourself exruciating pain. You cannot raise your arm past a certain level, so how you dress, sleep and live is drastically changed. it is like living with your arm in a constant sling. Now I am also having low back pain and hip pain. Where will it all end I wonder.

    • Mari62
      Mari62 Lesley998

      Posted

      hi Lesley

      thank you all for sharing. it sure helps to know I'm not the only one suffering....and needing help and advice with trouble shooting.

      ive taken bioidentical hormones fir the last 13 years with good success till recently when i began experiencing depression and hip/pack/neck pain again. (i understand, have done research, that bioidentical hormones may not have the same side effects as others. i have been on 4ml. of a 100ml/gram progesterone cream plus 5ml. of (80:20) bi-est cream....with good results....till now. reading all these posts leads me to believe that it may be worth increasing my dose. I'll give it a try and keep you posted.

      thanks again everyone fir putting your story out there for our greater gain!

  • katie13
    katie13

    Posted

    Hi Lesley,

    So sorry that you are experiencing pains again. I know I sound like a bit of a know all, but did your GP discuss with you any other HRT options? There are so many around now and if one does not suit then there are loads more to try. Also there is a case to answer re, high blood pressure v pains, can your GP not get the BP down with medication/ diet etc. I know that maybe you will have to take a drug extra but perhaps you will need to think of that as an option if the pains are so bad. Good Luck!

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