Severe back and joint pain - due to perimenopause?

It will be three years in October 2015 when I had my last period.  I’m postmenopausal and still suffering with terrible lower backpain and stiff achy feet.  I’m on the couch and the thought of getting up kills me.  My back is so bad.  I do yoga, walking, etc., and am desperate for relief.

Hello ladies. I too am premenopausal. I’ve had a hysterectomy so my symptoms are hot flashes and mood swings. I began lower back pain last summer and I’ve been so miserable like all of you. I’ve tried everything. But coming across this discussion has given me some peace of mind knowing I’m not alone. I think now my focus will be on addressing the inflammation and seeing if that helps. Any other advise if welcomed. Thanks. 

feel like crying .... joint pain, lower back pain  - i was half way to work today and had to come home because i couldnt drive without pain  - now im checking google and almost found a duplicate experience. Thank you for sharing. Hurts to stand, hurts to cough, hurts to sit, hurts to lie down, hurts to turn around - it just all hurts . I feel like im being sook but it all hurts so much. Off to the pyhsio this afternoon hoping they can relieve some of back pain. 

I havent even been 3 months yet without a period. God help me !! 

Its been 7 months since you posted  - wondering if have found a magic pill since posting ? 

 

I have had increased pain for the last five years. I tried HRT and it just seemed to make me jittery and anxious so I had to stop it. Nearly had a nervous breakdown the first year so I’m now tarred with the anxiety brush at my clinic. Everyone just says exercise and improve muscle strength, which it totally get, however I am constantly in fear of my back going into spasm so exercising isn’t an easy option for me. I walk around as if I’m in my 80s, very stiff, can’t bend, struggle to lift. Have to get down on my hands and knees to put clothes in the washing machine and take them out. Every move had to be managed. I don’t know where to go next as they haven’t scanned me and all bloods are fine. They just think I need exercise! 

Today I can say thank you!. I honestly did not understand what I am going through. All of a sudden (more like the past year and a half) my body had been changing for the worst. I couldn't wear heels anymore and my joints started aching from my hands to my knees, ankles and now my shoulders, hips, back and my bum. I just told my daughter that I was coming back to America and apply for disability. I move like I'm 90 years and it's starting to wear on me psychologically. I moan with every move I make and my feet are in pain 100% of the time. I had a long cycle in August that lasted the whole month and I thought I was dying. Confirmed that I was in my menopausal stage. Well the hot flashes kicked in soon after and I've been miserable ever since. I live in Jamaica and I am only at peace when I go swimming in the sea. I feel so relieved knowing that this is common. I was getting scared that I was becoming ill with a sickness that would cause me to become handicap. Not happy, but relieved. I hope to find a remedy because this is not only painful but depressing. Peace and blessings to all of you ladies and thanks for sharing!!

I have been suffering with the same symptoms for 2 months... only using pain killers and anti inflammatory medication to ease the pain and keep moving. Not sure how else to get som relief.

I hope you have you found some relief

Hopefully, I won't be judged with this.  I want to add my 2 cents, as I will be 56 in a few weeks.  CBD oil has changed my life.  As far as I know, it is legal in every state.  Some people are going to have an issue with it, I believe, due to mental blocks.  That's fine.  I'm not judging them!  It's a long story, but I've been out of my regular routine due to selling our primary home.  I realized this morning after struggling to get out of bed, stiff as all get out, that I hadn't taken any regularly for the past few weeks.  I took half a dropper full, and within 10 minutes went from a 100 pain rating down to a 5.  It's not THC (illegal in many states), but the straight CBD you want. Both my older sister and niece are on it for MS symptoms. Just a suggestion.

Hi doris

H hear u. I have been.in menopause since 51 and am now 59. Every day is a challenge with many different symptoms. One goes and another appears. Everyday is debilitating as nothing seems to work for long.

I've had same pains for years. Been through PT, MRI, blood tests numerous times, etc. Finally started HRT after debilitating insomnia and relentless hot flashes. Within a few hours of my first dose my low back pain was nearly gone. I read estrogen acts on inflammation. OTC naproxen and ibuprofen didn't help.

I know this is an older thread, but how is your back pain? Seems most have it lower, but kine is mid and upper back. Worse when I lay flat and very stiff. Not sure if it could be arthritis of the spine. Upper just doesn't seem the norm. That coupled with rib pain and pins and needles in legs are my worse symptoms right now, but who knows what tomorrow will bring!

I am so glad to have come across this knowing I am not alone with these crazy symptoms! I read on another forum that most of these symptoms ease off after menopause (when your hormones flatline) so that's something to hope for. In my family menopause is at age 53. I have 2 older sisters who had normal menopause symptoms, and I'm the only one with the additional crazy symptoms of spiking pain and disability and the frustration of dealing with it.

I am going to vent my story: I was on birth control pills (started while in the 30's) at age 46 I got severe chills (it made you feel like you had the flu, so I would take cold medicine which didn't fix the chills); vertigo episodes that last 2 days (trigger in left ear, sleep in a sitting position with head to the right)followed by a halo migraine where you cannot see (just before period, every month!); hyper mobile joints when your muscles get very loose and your bones cannot support your weight so it's painful to try walking (seem to be random when it happened); stabbing pain started in hands and feet that feels like your muscles are tight and pulling up your arm or leg - this pain gradually included shoulders and hips, less often the back (a constant pain, it was worse at night).

My OBGYN diagnosed perimenopause and put me on a HRT, she had a guess that the migraines were hormone related but never got the prescription right because it kept happening. I went to other doctors at her suggestion because she never had a patient with symptoms like mine and didn't know how to treat it: neurologist, oncologist, ENT, rheumatologist, and a physical therapist that left me more sore than when I arrived. My expensive tests came back normal, I would be given painkillers, motion sickness patches, exercises, etc to treat outward symptoms but they never uncovered what it was.

I stopped the hormone treatment at age 49 because they weren't working for me and the newest one gave me an allergic reaction of puffiness, itchy skin and tingly fingers. Off HRT the hot flashes started and my periods were erratic (sometimes 2 times a week, bleh) with killer PMS, sometimes heart palpitations. But the vertigo with migraine episodes stopped to my relief. Thank God! Whatever was in the HRT and birth control pills I had a bad reaction to, it didn't change between the different products nor doses. I haven't had vertigo since stopping.

After that, I tried foods that contain estrogen (i.e. soy milk, tofu) suggested by my sisters to help with the hot flashes, but it made my body hurt more. I self diagnosed that I have estrogen dominance as a majority of my symptoms aligned to that. I tried a wild yam progesterone creme (natural ingredients, no artificial hormones) on my arms or legs (alternating as needed) and milk thistle extract to offset my estrogen spikes and the results were great for me. The joint and muscle pain in my limbs has dropped to a tolerable level (still sore and tight, but not stabbing all night). The hyper mobility reduced, my feet will feel tender but manageable to walk.

I found tumeric a natural alternative to ibuprofen to help numb muscle pain, 1000mg ok for light soreness. However it's not effective if you're really hurting (take ibuprofen for that, but too much ibuprofen upsets my stomach).

So yes, those body pains, migraines, hot flashes, etc. are caused by hormones out of balance, finding how to re-balance them is the tricky part. In my case I needed more progesterone, not estrogen, to reduce symptoms. Hang in there ladies, don't give up trying to find what works for you. God bless.