Perimenopause and SEVERE joint pain - any one else??
Posted , 512 users are following.
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
debbie36807 Lesley998
Posted
janet23562 Lesley998
Posted
Hi Lesley
thank you for posting this I have been feeling the same and didn't know what it was. I will ask my doctor now about this. I too am perimenopausal everything hurts. Even standing up takes effort.
Thank you
Janet
jess54822 Lesley998
Posted
Hello
Finally someone else who understands What Im Going through this last year. Seems most woman Dont know What Im talking about. Turns out about a quarter of The population of women get severe menopause symptoms. Oh joy! Not!
Im a fitness instructor and suddenly my hands Can barely open in The Morning, my shoulders hips and knees feel Like an old lady and I'm fit! So don't feel alone and any studied doctor or other person trying to say it's your iron or anything else really are just following a text book and not very open minded learners as it's real pain and debilitating too.
Question is, what can one do to alleviate the debilitating joint pain??!
I warm up slowly and move through it. Motion is lotion but I'm also a guitar player so I need something for my hands. Ordered devils claw and an additional supplement for menopause. Praying that helps. Any advice besides HRT would be appreciated. (Breast cancer runs in my family )
Thanks,
Jess
Guest jess54822
Posted
Jess, Two years ago I had the rug yanked out from under me. I went off birth control at 51 and BAM. JOINT pain - HOT flashes, arm pain at night. It all hit me like a running into a wall. Couldn't get out of the car. Started with PT for the hip pain but I knew all along it was related to Hormones. It's almost been two years this July and I have moved through the hip pain 9 - that lasted 3 months or so. I went on HRT for 6 months and decided this past Feb to just stop to see what would happen. Joint pain gone and so are the hot flashes. I had so many overlapping issues ... those two years developed 2 frozen shoulders. Right one first when everything went south, then the left which wasn't as bad. But then I had bad bursitis in left, upper arm which was so painful I thought I needed to visit ER. Found a great Physiatrist who did ultrasound guided injection in the bursa and thankfully that worked. Can sleep again! Working on the right. It is super scary in the beginning but I do believe that we all will get over that hump. It is different for everyone. I actually had my Physiatrist do a whole blood work up. I think I had 3 during this past 2 yeas to check for Lyme-Tick, MS and even had a nerve study test. I think my anxiety and worry caused the numbness and tingling I was feeling and these strange feelings of someone poking me. Those went away when all my test results came back negative. I think the mind has such power to do such things. So now I exercise, walk, eat right and just am trying to get this right arm now back to 100%. Look up Frozen Shoulder, joint pain and menopause. There are hundreds of thousands of us. And all these Ortho guys I have gone to don't even want to go down that route because they only can treat the symptom and don't see all the other physiological stuff going on with woman. My OB-Gyn who is a guy did say that hormones are one very misunderstood thing and they are very powerful and that HRT would help. I just didn't want to stay on them for an extended period of time. But if they are working for people out there, then do it. I figure I would eventually have to stop and figured I would face the challenges if they came back. That's my story.
debbie36807 Lesley998
Posted
It has been so comforting to read stories of other people's experiences at this time of life.
I am 49, and two years ago developed tendonitis in both achilles tendons (which may or may not be related to menopause). I was eventually referred for physio, which didnt help and in the two years that followed, I developed pain in my left hamstring, and was referred for physio on this as well, and then pains came in my right hip and then my right hamstring. My joints are so painful first thing in the morning and after sitting for only a short period of time, it hurts to stand up and take a those first few steps and I hobble like an old lady (which I try to disguise to those around me). I have also had joint pain in my hands and thumbs. I was referred to rheumatology and had blood tests, etc for invesitgation into possible lupus, arthritis, scleroderma, fybromyalgia and other conditions, all of which have come back negative, thankfully. My last period was 4 months ago now, so it is evident I am entering the menopause and the symtoms I have are identical to all those mentioned by others here. I had an underactive thyroid in my 20's, which righted itself naturally, but left me with highly positive ANA's in my blood so I have been told I cannot take HRT (and dont really want to anyway).
I have decided that my best way forward is to keep active and work through the pain, which does ease after about 6 steps and I have been swimming regularly, I walk, cycle and generally try to do as much as I always used to do. I looked into introudcing soya in a major way into my diet, but didnt really find it did anything different and then read that soya can have adverse effects too, so have gone onto a healthy balance diet instead. I would be keen to take vitamins, but the list is so long about what could be useful that I dont really know which ones to pick, I cant think it is good to take them all !! I hope my story is useful to others and any feedback or suggestions would be happily received.
Guest debbie36807
Posted
When I read your post mentioning "hobble, painful first steps ... eases afer about 6 -- you were describing me. I thought to self, is this IT at 51? I'll be 53 in November. You WILL get through it. I take a Vitamin D3 5000 IU by Vita Optinum daily which is the only supplement my primary care suggested along with getting enough Omega 3 - fresh salmon, etc. I also take a magnesium [when I remember] too and sometimes supplement with a Omega-3 by Nordic Naturals [no fishy smell] tastes like lemon. It will be interesting to see how long you are in your weeble wobble stage. Just keep active!
debbie36807 Guest
Posted
Thank you for your reply. It gives tremendous hope ! I shall try out those vitamins as they are ones I've heard mentioned several times. My first 6 steps of pain and stiffness have been like this several months now, I remain hopeful this is a phase that will pass !
Guest debbie36807
Posted
polly111 Guest
Posted
Guest polly111
Posted
It was ~ two months. I had the lowest dose patch [Estradiol 0.025 mg/day patch] and then 100mg of Micronized Progesterone by mouth every day.
I decided to just stop cold turkey when I was on vacation this past February. It's been smooth sailing since. None of the joint pain returned, nor did the hot flashes. I figure *maybe* I am over the hump now and those symptoms are behind me.
polly111 Guest
Posted
Guest polly111
Posted
The only side effects from the HRT was sore/tender boobs in the beginning which the doctor told me to expect. Am I still in peri? I dunno, I don't have any more physical symptoms other than some dryness and abdominal weight gain but I attribute the weight gain due to the fact I couldn't exercise because of feeling so blah due to the joint pain and the frozen shoulder. I did have a trip to the ER last October because something did feel right in the ticker department - like a flutter in my throat. After 4 day so having it I figured I should have it checked out. Quick trip to th ER revealed I was throwing off PVC's. Went to a cardiologist who ordered the echo and all was well there. Went on a very low dose [25mg] of Metoprolol which solved that issue. For fun, I stopped that medicine during vacation, when I also stopped the HRT and I didn't get the PVC's back until maybe a month ago when I got wound up at work. They do come on now and then if I have a have a lot of caffeine [coffee/tea] or I get wound up at work but nothing life threatening there. I attribute the palpitations due to the changing hormones too.
I read that symptoms of perimenopause are and I quote "extremely individual, but the most common include irregular and/or heavy bleeding, insomnia, night sweats and/or hot flashes, worsening PMS, migraine, vaginal dryness and abdominal weight gain on the physical front. On the emotional front, changing hormones are linked to increased bouts of anxiety, depression, irritability and intense mood swings. Many women have experienced chest pain or palpitations from their hormonal imbalance. What’s more, the pendulum can swing wildly between different symptoms, making it hard to describe and diagnose (which often leads to a lot of frustrating doctor visits)."
julie93094 Lesley998
Posted
Hi.. I am 49 and I've been perimenopausal for about two years, trying every 'natural' remedy there is spending hrs studying google, I have had bloods done and other than the normal 'low vit D' that I have addressed, I seem healthy. Thyroid and iron levels and immflamation markers all normal.
I have resorted to taking elleste duet 1mg, my question is.. has anyone had any relief from excruciating muscle aches and joint pain, that I can only put down to low hormone levels, that are becoming worse by the month.
I am only one week into my first packet and know I won't be feeling the benefits so soon, but don't seem to come across many positive discussions where hrt has helped. This is my main symptom other than weight gain, I seem to be able to manage the sweats so far. I don't want to continue putting artificial hormones into my body if it isn't shown to help these horrible aches and pain that stop me from carrying on a normal life. 😐
0
debbie36807 julie93094
Posted
Hi Julie. I posted my story a week or so ago so you can read those details. I am also 49 and have had the severe joint and muscle ache for the past 12 months which has got increasingly worse and, like you, googled the natural remedies. I was given advice through this site on taking Vitamin D3 and magnesium which I started only 4 days ago and I honestly think the aches and pains have eased a bit ! I noticed today I walked downstairs with a lightnesss I hadn't felt for sometime and my knee joints feel better. I still have pain in my right hip, but maybe also this is a little less. It's early days to know if the vitamins have
worked, and whether they would actually work so soon ? ! I have taken 4000 IU of the D3 and 30mg of the magnesium daily. Will see how things go and post again in a month or so. Debbie
julie93094 debbie36807
Posted
Hi debbie thanks for your reply, I hope you are starting to feel better, I hoped I would feel the benefit quickly when I started taking vit d, but unfortunately I didn't, perhaps I wasn't on the high dose long enough, or it's a mixture of D deficiency and low hormone level. Hopefully now I've started Hrt along with supplements I might get somewhere. Look forward to hearing how you get on 🤗