43 ache all over and feel so tired!

[QueenMabs]

What I wrong with me? Is it just aging?

I feel well and truly knackered. Plantar fasciitis in one foot, aching knee joints, arthritic big toe , sciatica. My legs just ache. For no reason.

My wrists and hands ache and I struggled to hold a regular pen today when using the visualiser at work.

The list is endless and I also feel knackered. But then I'm a nearly full time teacher so it's kind off expected? Lethargic.

I donated this week blood and they had to take a second sample to check for iron on a machine m. Came back with enough reserves to donate but still puzzled.

I'm overweight (very overweight but that is relative my BMI is 31). Do no exercise at the moment and have been a "gym addict" in the past. No kids can't have the and that has really defined my last 6 years. Period now erratic.

Stuck in a cycle hell of yo yo dieting. Don't have the energy to exercise. I want to feel like I did at 31 when I went to gym for the 6.30 spin class, did a full day at work and went out in the evening three times a week.

What can I do - yes I am on a diet need to lose 2 stone and then another 2 stone.

Can all this just be down to being overweight?

My DH had this. Aching all over, tired and cold. He had an under active thyroid and now needs medication is is much better.

I would definitely get checked at the doctors for whatever it could be.

Get your vit d , iron and hormones checked! I'm 43 and have RA. I spent two years thinking the aches and pains I had where just my Rheumatoid arthritis niggling away. I got my hormones tested and was ok but was suffering some vaginal atrophy after zoladex/fibroids so insisted on HRT anyway. Well.

It's been life changing. My sex drive has reappeared and I'm just happier, more active , I feel more engaged with everything. Much less aches and pains. It's amazing!

The thing is, yes being overweight can cause a lot of symptoms, but they can also be down to hormone levels etc. When you are permanently exhausted and in pain its very hard to embark on diet and exercise regimes, so if it is partly down to hormones or deficiencies its well worth getting that checked out and if there are deficiencies then medication can make you feel better enough to start with the food and lifestyle changes which can seem utterly impossible otherwise.

Well because for me it was hard to exercise and eat well when your TSH is through the roof and you can barely get out of bed
I have hashimotos
Why leave something untreated when it's fairly easy to correct

I'm 44 and feel v similar. Some of it is seasonal, lack of natural light/vit D.
Overall lifestyle stress and perimenupsose.

A good friend of mine is experiencing menopause symptoms at age 49 and has been refused HRT on the basis that it 'causes increased risk of cancer ' and her symptoms aren't deemed serious enough. She is an ideal weight, jogs 5 miles a day and a health conscious vegan. Her risk factors for cancer couldn't be lower!!

I told her this didn't seem right to me and she should insist but I haven't experienced it yet myself, perhaps policy is now stricter.

It's getting older and being overweight. Your body will not do well as you get older when it's under more strain than it should be. Knees will struggle a lot

@severalus

I went to a private gp for one appt with a list of my symptoms. She gave me hrt and then referred me back to Nhs. Not great for everyone but it helped me bypass the problem of "maybe". I didn't ask for hrt or even mention peri menopause, she immediately diagnosed it from my list so it's not a case of doing as I ask because I was paying (before anyone suggests it!) I had been in discussion with my surgery for 4 years with regards to my symptoms before that and because of the length between appointments, never seeing the same go abd super quick telephone appts no one ever joined the dots.

Nearly everyone in the UK has low Vitamin D levels in winter

And Yet ... some of us do not have (whatever today's VitD deficiency symptom is) all over or any body aches, really, at least not ones that can't be attributed to a specific event (I went over on my ankle 2 months ago).

Not sure about the other stuff, but I self-referred to an NHS physio for sciatica at age 40. They assessed me and then put me on a programme of back stretching exercises. It has made an absolute world of difference.

I had to do it properly (not just the odd exercise here or there, but deliberately setting aside half an hour 4 times a week to do the plan they set me). If you have the option of self- referring for physio, I would do that as a starting point. They will give you exercises you can cope with. There was a noticeable improvement after two weeks and at 4 weeks the sciatica has all but disappeared.

Honestly, having a pain-free, flexible back is an amazing feeling. I'll never take it for granted again.

Then start looking at the other issues?

Hi op Im on hrt plus Vit D tabs. I have bit more energy this week. My joints were aching the tabs are helping.

Well, if you are going to call the poster with the most sensible and obvious advice unpleasant, then I suspect you are pretty well fucked. Over the years you will get fatter and less mobile, slide into an increasing number of obesity related disorders and drastically shorten your life. Which will obviously be so much better than trying to lose weight and seeing if that helps. Donor kebab?

I'm going to echo vitamin d, and I've noticed only one person mentioned ferritin.

Low vitamin D can definitely cause bone aches and low ferritin can cause proper bone tired exhaustion (and make your hair thin), but aren't really picked up readily by the GP, and "normal" levels appear to be set on the low side.

Agreed

Agreed

I do too. I had all the muscle and bone aches when I was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid, which just disappeared once that was treated. There's lots of overlap between perimenopause and thyroid symptoms, as well as B12, ferritin and vitamin D deficiencies.

How is your digestion and mood? Do you have dry, gritty eyes?

You can do the blood tests privately using Medichecks or Monitor my Health - you collect the blood by pricking your finger, and then post it off.

Also get blood test for diabetes, some of the symptoms are the same, tiredness, aching feet, do you get thirsty a lot? Wee a lot? Need to get up at night for a wee? Have a lot of fat around your middle? Lack a good healthy diet and lack exercise? Worth a check, i think some chemists do tests.

Investigate the other things previous posters have suggested but to call sensible advice re. weight related inflammation 'unpleasant' is to stick your head in the sand.

OP, I could have written your post a few years ago. Mid 40s and I ached, I had stiff painful joints, esp hips, knees and shoulders, I had PF in both feet, I was bone achingly tired all the time. Life just felt so hard.
Since turning 40 I've been diagnosed and appropriately medicated for Hypothyroidism, pernicious anaemia, low folate, low ferritin, low Vit D levels. None of this made a significant difference to the tiredness aches and pains. I cannot take HRT due to prior breast cancer.

The ONLY thing that has made a difference has been losing weight. I've gone from a BMI in the high 30's to mid 20's. I am 50 now with tonnes of energy, a zest for life and flexible pain free joints.
There's no doubt that the associated lifestyle changes (food and exercise) bring benefits in their own right. But bottom line is that my body is no longer under the physical and inflammatory stress that it used to be when I was obese.

It took a few years and I had many stalls and went backwards several times. Each and every time my weight went up again the aches and tiredness returned.

It would be nice to be like my 30's - eat all the food, do little exercise, carry extra weight and be fine. But the reality is that I just can't do that as a 50 year old menopausal women. I was in deep denial about that for a few years but there really was no way around it.
I wish you well on your journey to feeling better 💐

Yes I know I need to lose weight. I'm not thick. I didn't say the advice wasn't sensible. I said it was unpleasant. I'm a whole person not just a fatty! Anyway...

Thank you to the kind posters with the advice is wonderful.

I have a F2F appoint with a gp in ten days. Pretty shocked to get a F2F. Get some advice about the aches meno and tiredness. I'll
Look into supplements. I'll get some more insoles.

Meanwhile I'm going to enjoy that doner kebab. Only joking I'm having lentil curry, low fat home made with Greek yoghurt.

I do really struggle with my weight, overeating and dieting. Losing weight for IVF etc. mentally it's been tough few years. I'm ok just love holidays and eating out and the good times far too much booze etc. but when you long for a family and don't get it it's, easy to over indulge in the nice times with people you love.

The pain in my feet started last year when I went to the Ritz for afternoon tea. All the tubes were cancelled dies to QE2 funeral so we walked and if switched from tevas to salt waters and walked for miles! Was fine at the time but now I paying the price!

Because it can be a vicious cycle of turning to junk food for comfort when you've tried to lose weight but it just won't budge. Been there, done that – it's mentally crushing and hard to stay motivated. OP is honest about having a BMI of 30 now, but it sounds as though previously she has been fit and healthy, so ruling out an underlying medical condition that might be preventing her losing weight – thyroid, T2 diabetes – is a sensible first step.

In other words, stop being so high handed about her weight.