Perimenopause and SEVERE joint pain - any one else??

I can't tell you how relieved I am to find this site. I thought it was just me. Lesley your symptoms of palpitations, strange rushing sensations & 'skipped beats' are exactly what I've been experiencing for the past few months. I also have horrendous joint pain. Some days I feel about 90 and I get light headed and feel I will faint. I am miserable & depressed and am only surprised my husband hasn't left me yet. I am 48 and can honestly say I've never felt worse. I also want to burst into tears for no reason. I never thought the menopause would be this bad as my mother seemed to sail through hers. I've just bought some Menopal Plus - at least I think that's's the name. Has anyone else on here tried them? I would honestly take anything to feel normal again. I have a very stressful & responsible job which probably doesn't help matters but I would appreciate anyone's advice as I am desperate to feel normal again.

Hi Fiona - glad you found us. There is nothing worse than thinking you have something awful wrong with you, and it can't 'just' be menopause. I think there must be hundreds of women out there, googling their symptoms - I hope they all end up here so they know they ARE completely normal ! We should never, ever underestimate the power of hormones.

That 'rushing' sensation of adrenaline is horrible. I used to get it as I was drifting off to sleep, it was like this massive wave, or rush went through me and woke me up fully - my heart would be pounding and it just felt horrible. I wondered if this was actually a hot flush, as I have never had one...but apparently they feel different! I also was incredibly depressed and anxious - morning anxiety was the worst, I would wake up with butterflies in my stomach and an underlying dread for no real reason ....I would just feel uneasy and on edge all day. This is due again to too much adrenaline or cortisol being released by the adrenal glands - its all to do with estrogen fluctuations.

I'm not sure about natural remedies. I have not heard of anyone who really suffers with this hell *really* getting any relief from symptoms. I think we all probably have two choices - tough it out, (now that you know that it IS peri/menopause and it WILL end eventually when you are through it) or, try HRT, which somewomen swear by and gives them their life back. You could have a look at the menopause matters website which is great and gives some really good advice about HRT.

I know what you mean about feeling normal again...sometimes I think my poor husband thinks I have had a personality transplant. I used to be so youthful and fun loving and NORMAL, now I am weepy and irritable and hobbling around like a 90 year old. I cannot wait until I am though it all, I just wish someone would tell me how long it takes but we are all different.

Take care x

Hi. I have experienced terrible pain in my neck and back of head, through side of face and into forehead along with other aches and pains, such as lower back, hands ,knees etc. I am 48 and have had night sweats and mood swings. I've had loads of investigations at ENT, neurology, MRI scan, physio and no one can find a cause. I suggested to two GPs (both male) that perhaps it old be hormone related and both have dismissed the idea, although I really feel it has a bearing on things. So frustrating. Back to neurology mx so might try suggesting it to him. They make you feel a bit stupid though.

Hi my name is Tricia until recently healthy Now i ache from head to toe I'm 50 and periods are stopping and Doc said oh it peri menopause However now this is seriously effecting my everyday life. I have worked all my life. At the present time I have been of for 6 months wondering what was wrong with m. Thinking surely I cant be expected to suffer this LOL I have tried various herbal remedies Emmmm to no avail really. I am debating HRT but all the usual stuff, doctor reluctant to give it to me. Not for any existing health issues, just that its ONLY the menopause so just rough it PFT Great to find this site

NO WOMAN should have to 'tough out' menopause, it is not 'ONLY' anything, it is hell for some of us! I bet you have a male GP!!

Physical aches and pains are suffered by a lot of us as you can see from this thread, and they can be so bad they are almost disabling. Have a look at the menopause matters website to see just how many women are struggling with hormonal issues.

If you want your life back - go on HRT!

Hi Lesley that is what I was thinking I have a phone call tomorrow from doctor I am going to plead my case again ? We shall see Thanks for the advice

....Tricia, even if you only do it for a few months like I did, at least you know it WAS hormones that were causing all the pain body changes, and the worry is less. I still have bad back, neck and shoulders, but I definitely improved on HRT. It doesn't have to be for life. it has been proved the bad press it got in the early 2000's was unjustified - it is perfectly safe to take - cant link here but lots of info on the web! Ask for the bioidentical stuff (estradiol and uterogestan) try to avoid synthetic hormones like Prempak, or Premarin.

Best

x

Google 'HRT is safe'.... here is the headline from the Daily Telegraph

"Hormone replacement therapy can reduce heart deaths without increasing cancer risk when taken for ten years, a 'significant and reassuring' study has confirmed "

Thank you I'm definitely thinking If I want to work and function I will need to take it lol

I ache permanent Cant slep at night until I totally crash with weariness No pain killers touch it It feels like I have flu constant without the runny nose This is replaced by perfuse sweating

Hi I am 32 and have already had a partial hysterectomy @ 30 leaving me with an ovary and a half. Partial ovary removal at 24 and very prone to ovarian cysts. Within the last year and a half I've developed night sweats(like waking up drenched!) and severe hot flashes and what I thought were bipolar episodes. Around the middle of last year my right hip started to ache here and there and rapidly became worse followed by my left hip a couple months later and mid to lower back pain. I couldn't sit indianstyle on the floor anymore without my right leg straight out. Then came the popping and cracking in my hips and knees along with a crackling sound in back of my neck. I have gone to 3 diff GP and had exray after exray. One said arthritis and the others say everything looks fine. But to sum it all up all they seem to want to do is medicate me with painkillers and muscle relaxers which really do not help and only aggravate and depress me even more. Now they want to send me to pain management which I'm sure will be the same. I've always been a very athletic and active person until this all started. My mind is constantly on the pain the worst of it is in my hips and knees now. I cry and pray every night for an answer and solution to not be a slave to my pain everyday and enjoy life again. I find myself jealous and bitter at times watching the other moms walk their kids to school(our school has no busses) this has taken my entire body over completely very quickly and some mornings I am so stiff and swollen I can barely get out of bed but it also hurts too much to stay in bed. The last few weeks the pain has moved to my shoulders and elbows. I would give ANYTHING to feel normal again. I physically feel years and years older that I know I should. Does this sound like this perimenopause could be the culprit?? I plan to share everything I have learned from these threads with my GP in hopes that there's a light in all this dark. I completely emphasize with you all and wish you well and hope you can find your correct path to live pain free as well... Amanda

Hi Amanda.

It does sound to me like you are suffering from the effects of changed hormones, and imbalances of estrogen, which can cause extreme pain in the joints and other symptoms. However, the fact that you say you are swollen does not fit with this. Usually menopausal arthritis does not show any sort of inflammation. If you have any HEAT or redness or swelling, this is more likely to be another auto immune condition which can be easily controlled with meds.

I f I were you, I would go to the doctor and ask for blood tests, to rule out an inflammatory arthritic condition. If there is NO inflammation in the blood (sedimentary rate, called ESR) then it is pretty likely to be menopausal arthritis, and some of us women get great results from HRT, although we have to come off it one day! I think it is better to have HRT while you are younger, so you can continue a normal pain free life until you would naturally have started the menopause. HRT will also help with the sweats and other symptoms, Anxiety and depression and bi polar tendencies are all known to be linked to peri menopause and hormones.

I did not have swollen, or red or inflamed areas - just extreme stiffness and pain in the tendons over certain areas (biceps, hips, shoulders, knees, neck) and I also suffered with extreme crepitus which is basically the medical term for those cracking popping sounds in neck, knees and elbows. My neck crackling is so loud my husband can hear it. This is due to the changes in your connective tissue and cartilage, and the cushioning stuff that sits between our vertebrae...if you swivel your head slowly, does the base of your neck creak like it needs oiled???This is what happens in ageing normally...but in menopause, in some women the changes to the skeleton, tendons and and muscles are speeded up by lack of essential hormones.

Hope you get some relief from your worries and pain...go back and have a chat with your doc.

best

Lesley

Hi Lesley,

Just reading your reply to Amanda. What you say is very interesting. I also have the creaking in my neck you describe and have had neck pain and stiffness which affects the left side of my head, shoulder and left arm at times. I am 48 and have been wondering for some time if my problem could be related to hormone fluctuations as no one can find a cause. I draw a blank from the dr each time I mention it but he can offer no better explanation. It is very debilitating and I have had to give up work because of it. Wondering whether to go and try again.

S