Perimenopause and SEVERE joint pain - any one else??

Hi Lesley, thank you for the update, this is always helpful. I am still having tests and scans but haven't got any answers yet. My latest pains which started in my kidneys over 2weeks ago seem to be travelling around all over that area on my left side. I ended up in A&E last Monday whereby I had a kidney scan and then a chest X-ray to check my lungs. On another visit today to the doctors for further blood tests, which to date is 14, he has sent me for a gall bladder scan. So from starting with painful joints to all sorts of problems I still do not have an answer. Will update when I know anything else. I have my appointment next Tuesday with the rheumatologist. Regards to all.

well Ladies, I got my Ladycare device last week and have been wearing it 24 hrs a day since. so that's 4 days, do i feel any different? no, not yet, but it's only been 4 days. This pain in every joint all over my body is wearing very thin, I'm still taking pain killers everyday but even they've stopped working, it's very difficult to sleep or enjoy much, so I've had my next lot of bloods done and will let you know the results.......I really hope I get some relief from the magnet therapy

Hi Katie - yes, I am looking into other types of HRT...bio identical hormones are supposedly the best rather than the synthetic hormone I was on and I have joined another forum looking for advice. The HRT helped me so much it is a real pain (pun intended) to not be able to take it. Unfortunately my young female GP is not very clued up and just prescribed what the computer told her to. I have asked for a referral to the local menopause clinic in the hope I can get some proper tests to see where i am hormone wise, and perhaps be offered a better regime which takes into account my other problems.In the meantime, it is back to the co codamol and diclofenac. Thanks for your help. x

Hello ladies,

I have just found this site after yet another night of pain, i nearly cried when I read the posts, its me !!! for the past 12 months I have been in severe pain, i have visited my GP who was less than helpful. I changed doctors after moving house and that was no better, at both places i was given a sheet of paper with a list of vitamins on and told to try some of them. I had a hysterectomy at 30 due to pre cancer cells, i kept my overies, for years i was fine, then about 5 years ago i started with pain in my feet when i got up, i could hardly walk but had no other symptoms, then last year i started with what i thought was flu, the joint pain, just got worse and worse, my left elbow and hips and fingers are the worst, i keep a diary of my pains, i feel that its not taken seriously by the docs, its dismissed as the menopause, but for me its been terrible, i am active, i look after my 1 and 3 years old grandchildren everyday, i work at weekends, so i keep going, what makes it worse is you actually look ok, my husband has been fantastic but because you cant see the pain not even he understands totally what its like.

I cant take HRT but i tried the magnet as mentioned in another post and that didnt touch me, however, i found another site that suggested Maca tablets and for me these worked, i take 3 a day, 500mg each when its really bad and 2 when its better and have been able to actually leave them off for a week or two as it says you shouldnt take them all the time. I dont want to live on painkillers.

I feel that the menopause is just dismissed as a stage we women have to go through, i cannot over state the effect it has had on me and i dont have half the symptoms some have, good luck ladies, i feel better just reading that i am not alone. Thank you

Hi Helen, Evening All, So you're in the pain club Helen, it's pretty ordinary really .... I'm due to see my doc again after another lot of blood tests on the Ist Mar, so maybe have some more answers then. I've been wearing the magnet for nearly 2 weeks now, and I can't say I've noticed any difference, I just ache all over all day and night, constantly, so I'm interested in these Maca tablets, what are they exactly? it's not magnesium tabs is it? look I'm willing to give anything a go, anythings better than taking painkillers everyday, I'll persevere with the magnet therapy and see if it gives any relief, it didn't actually mention in the pamphlet about joint pain. So we'll just have to see. Good luck Ladies, I'll let you know what my Doc says after next visit

Hi Helen - so sorry to hear you are in our 'club' I know what it is like to live with continual pain and stiffness, you feel like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz...and no one, NO ONE takes you seriously or understands the depth of the pain you are in. In seems to hit some of us worse than others. I only had it in my shoulders and arms for a while - not it is my lower back which affects everything I do.

Leesa...I think Helen is talking about Maca Root capsules or tablets. I found another site which I hope I am allowed to mention - on the gardenweb dot com site, in the menopause forum there.If you google this 'garden web menopause joint' it should be the first one that comes up. It is a HUGE thread similar to this where women have joint and tendon pain, and mentioned what helped them and what didn't. Sam-E, Maca Root, Black Cohosh, Cymbalta..its all on there. It is an interesting read.

...above should read "NOW is in my lower back" .....not, "not it is my lower back!

Hi Lesley,

So glad I came across your post! I thought I was going mad waking up every morning with painful, aching joints- some mornings in my neck, other mornings in my knees or shoulders. Today I felt like an invalid. One thing I have noticed though is that the pain travels from one joint to another in the space of a few hours!

I am 54 and suffered badly with hot flushes to the point of distraction - thats when I went on to HRT patched about 18 months ago. The symptoms subsided but it is only recently (about the last 3 months) that I have experienced joint pain which seems to be getting worse. At first I put it down to a virus, but the symptoms persisted. I have now decided to visit my doctor - but thanks to yours and other ladies posts I am forwarned and forearmed with this information.

I have worried though, as I notice other ladies have about the symptoms being something more serious

I thank you for highlighting this problem and making me feel more normal about myself and the problems I am going through. I will repost when I have been to my doctor.

Kind regards,

Melanie

Hi Melanie, I don't know if I'm imaging it but my Doc put me on 1000iU Vit D and I swear my aches and pains have lessened, after going back to the Doc last week nothing showed up in the 2nd round of blood tests except a raised cholesterol, this might be worth a go for you, I've also cut down heaps on carbs, sugar and fats, but from all the things I've read joint pain doesn't seem to be a recognised symptom of perimenopause or menopause. Good Luck

Hi Melanie...so glad you found us - there is nothing worse than pain AND worry... a problem shared and all that!! There must be so many women out there who are suffering as we are.

I know what you mean about the 'travelling' pain. Some days my neck is bad, then my lower back, then my elbows - all on the same day. This is what makes me sure the pain is actually in the tendons and and connective tissues rather than the bones. I know we meno women have to watch for osteoporosis.. I probably have bone problems as I followed a low fat diet for so many years - (thank you Rosemary Conley , no dairy, but that's another thread!! )But this pain is not bone like, it is definitely tendon or muscle or tissue.

Have you thought about upping your strength of HRT patch to get you through this period. I was on low dose for three months - did nothing - switched to high dose and it was almost like a miracle. Proved to me in my case it was hormonal. There is something about knowing what is causing your pain to make it less bad, if you know what I mean...you don't worry you have some awful disease on top of meno!

If you have no redness, heat or swelling in the joints I will bet my bottom dollar it is hormonal in your case, and you are getting more estrogen deficient despite your HRT. My advice would be to get a quick blood test, to test for inflammation. The GP will usually check ESR (blood sedimentation) and CPR, to rule out autoimmune disorders, like rheumatoid arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatica. If there are no inflammatory markers (mine were beyond low) it usually is hormonal - although some GP's just refuse to recognise the link between joint/tendon pain and meno.

If there is any way you can go to an female GP, preferably older who has been through meno herself - she might be more receptive! My young female GP is quite good. Male GP's just do not have a clue in my opinion. I am sorry to lump them all together - there must be some good ones....:D

I also upped my intake of Vit D (Costco do a good high strength one) and have to say I notice a difference too Leesa!!

Also google 'menopause matters' and have a look at the website. There is a forum for meno women who all discuss their symptoms - it is very informative, and loads of people in our boat!

x

Hi Ladies, I have been looking in and keeping up to date with the comments, although not wrote anything for quite a while.

I have now been to the rheumatologist who arranged for 'another' 17 blood test there and then whilst I was at the hospital. I have alos got a CT scan nex week and return to him in 2 weeks. I have had evry organ scanned all with no significant problems. I am at the end of my tether, although the joint pains have subsided I have contant abdominal and back pains, with a lot of discomfort. So maybe my problem is not Perimenopause after all.

Will keep you posted.

I know what you mean about the 'travelling' pain. Some days my neck is bad, then my lower back, then my elbows - all on the same day. This is what makes me sure the pain is actually in the tendons and and connective tissues rather than the bones. I know we meno women have to watch for osteoporosis.. I probably have bone problems as I followed a low fat diet for so many years - (thank you Rosemary Conley , no dairy, but that's another thread!! ) But this pain is not bone like, it is definitely tendon or muscle or tissue.

I'm going to add this link to the ones you might want to check out, too: TREATMENT It does a nice job breaking down what exactly it is, what can cause it, how to deal with it, etc.

I have been taking supplements of Vit D since I read research on the benefits in reducing risk of Multiple Sclerosis and how low the levels of Vit D are in British people because of the lack of sun in our climate recently. It certainly has made my nails and hair grow and made any of my SAD symptoms less severe this winter.

I am now hoping that all will calm down when my hormones are sorted. I can not face trying any more drugs for this. I caution everyone about long term use of HRT.You are only putting off the inevitable, and for me the cold turkey is definitely worse than the early menopause I would have had.

I'm going to add this link to the ones you might want to check out, too: TREATMENT It does a nice job breaking down what exactly it is, what can cause it, how to deal with it, etc.

Good morning ladies,

Due to reading your posts I have been to my doctors and have this morning had a blood test to see if my joint pain is hormonal. I put your comments to my doctor, who was unaware of hormones being the possible cause of joint pain in menopausal women (he was a young male doctor!) but he listened and obviously took this on board as he agreed to have this blood test done. The results will be out on Thursday afternoon so watch this space!

Would just like to thank you all for your comments and advice, without which I would not have contacted my doctor and worried about these symptoms.

Thank you for your links and suggestions about high strength vitamin D which I will certainly try!

Speak to you all soon,

Melanie x

Hi Melanie - hopefully along with ruling out inflammatory conditions he will be checking to see what levels your LH (luteinising hormone) and FSH (follicle stimulating hormones) are at.

Here is a good page on this site which explains it all! Let us now how you get on.

patient.info/doctor/menopause-and-its-management