Perimenopause and SEVERE joint pain - any one else??

Hi what you descrbed is almost me, could be me writing your story, its been over a year and i dont know if you even come on here but i thought it was worth a shot, are you better? Or is there no end to this agony?

Hi Lesley,

Thank goodness I have come across your post! I have had similar symptoms to the ones you describe for the last 2 months. Periods have always been like clockwork but 2 months ago, a 2-week period coincided with huge hip joint pains which then spread to my shoulders, now my knees and a couple of places on my spine. My last period was pretty non-existent. At first I thought I'd overdone the gardening but have realised it's here to stay...ugh....as if I've hit a menopausal wall. At 48, I am a healthy eating, very active individual and have had to cancel my gym membership as I feel my body has aged 40 years in as many days!

Have been to the doctor and had a couple of blood tests (have pushed to have Lymes disease tested because of the whole joint thing)....am still waiting to see the resuts. In the meantime, I'm waking in the mornings stiff as a board, and creeping around the house like a decrepit old woman and feeling a shadow of my former self..

I notice you started taking a form of HRT and felt so much better - is that still the case? I look forward to hearing back from you - thank goodness for internet chat sites!!!!!!! 

Hello

WelL, a lot of diseases can cause joint pain.

First, since you mentioned you are 50. At this age, and especially in women, bones get weaker due to hormonal imbalance. Daily calcium supplementation is highly recommended. The food we have cannot really provide the calcium requirement. did you know in order to get one day of calcium requirement you have to drink 1 litre of milk a day!

Apart from this, you need to mention what joints are involved (small joints like finger joints, wrist joints or large joints like knee joint, hip joint), whether it's symmetrical, how long the pain lasts, whether she has associated stiffness in morning, what relieves the pain.

Only then can be a suspicion of disease can be made.

For symptoms, you can try warm compresses, analgesics, and resting the joint.

Do consult a doctor and tell her problems clearly and broadly.

Hi Lesley,

I have the severe joint, muscle pain as well. I'm 54 and also have been going through a long peri menopause stage, no hot flashes either and finally haven't had a period in 4 months after months of very heavy ones. I will be scheduling saliva test for HRT. I feel like I'm 90 and I've always been very active but now it hurts to just walk. I hope this phase doesn't last long

I was reading what you wrote and I started to cry because I have been going through this for the last year I too am 50 years old I haven't had my period since July my body is always a key my elbow my shoulder my knees, I've had every test blood, MRI, ultra sounds thinking I had some kind of cancer. I keep reading stuff and getting scared thinking I have all kinds of things and the doctors can't find anything and I feel the same way they think Im a hypochondriac. I'm going to get my heart checked out next because I'm so scared. But I have all the symptoms you have except for the bad taste in my mouth. If you find out what this is please let me know. I cry all the time out of frustration

I just wanted to share that since I started acupuncture, after a few weeks I did not have hot flashes anymore. They are gone! I was really skeptical but it worked.

I tried acupuncture for hot flashes and it worked in a few weeks, no more hot flashes!

I too have had bouts of being very stiff and sore. My thumb and wrist, awful stabbing between shoulder blades started 18 months ago. Today it's really cold out and I feel I might break off. Now keep in mind I am fit (usually) Last year I went for bone scans, xrays and all sorts of tests, height measurement even. Very slight osteo arthritis in mid back, same as practically every women over 40 according to Doc. He couldn't imagine it causing pain, must be muscular said he. So I went for massage, but massage made me worse. I did think it was arthritis then because massage and heat can make arthritis flare up. According to Dexascan my bones are in great order altogether. So some consolation. I had a long while without the severe stiff creaky pain, thought was down to multivitamins etc, but pain and stiffness is back. It's like overnight old age jumped literally my back. It can't be much wrong, MUST be easy to fix. I just keep wondering why this is allowed? Why are women let suffer needlessly, blindly going down a dark tunnel where they risk losing every bit of health, every friend. Many cases it can just be cured with a small tweak, maybe progesterone cream, multivitamin, Maca, hormones. But women have to stumble on it themselves. Like after I'd been going to Docs for years for heavy periods, anaemic, no quality of life. Coil was awful, pills made me worse. I discovered myself on Web; taking NSAI, like panadol with cyklokapron, and it reduced flow, reduced days of period. I asked my Doc, and Doc said Yes, that works and wrote the script. Why wasn't I told in all years going there????

I feel I will age unnecessarily, I will go through more years of suffering needlessly, there ARE cures, simple cures. I'm trying Turmeric and ginger tea now, and salmon, omega 3s and good old maca, there must be a cure, I was fit and fine yesterday, today my back, shoulders, wrist and now knees are creaking, so sore. We just need to keep putting our heads together to get ease through this ginormous bump on the journey..

God bless you all xxxx