Global joint pain

[BotswanaDucks]

For the last year or so (I'm 51) I've noticed significant joint pain in my hands, wrists, elbows, hips/lower back, and feet, sometimes waking me at night. The pain rotates, so this week the pain has been worst in my hips - I can feel burning almost under my pelvis (best way to describe it) and down into the thigh bone, particularly when I bend down. I've lost a lot of grip strength in my hands, struggle with sewing and crochet these days, as well as difficulty doing up buttons and undoing jars etc - can't carry anything heavy anymore.

I don't have any heat or swelling, and I don't typically have any pain anywhere at all when walking normally - my hips and lower back trouble me most when I stop or if I walk too slowly (or when I'm just standing, like at the worktop or sink). A few months ago I had a blood test for "rheumatoids", whatever that means, but all normal.

Perhaps it's the wear and tear of osteoarthritis, which I know you just take paracetamol for - but if I'm going to drop them like smarties I'd like to know what it's for, if that doesn't sound a bit wanky? If I go to GP will they simply send me away with paracetamol and a free ticket to Slimming World?

Are you going through menopause? It could be that. Are you on HRT?

Peri? Mines got worse these past years since peri. I take bovine collegen to keep it down to a dull roar.

They don't tell you this shit about menopause, do they?

No, it's all about the hot flushes 🙄 I had a lot of joint pain in my hands around the time I would have been peri and never linked it.

Oh. Yes, well into menopause, probably almost done in fact - I use oestrogen patches, oestrogen pessaries for atrophy and progesterone capsules as I'm in the last year of my third Mirena coil!

The timing would marry up with the middle years of menopause. Blimey, really?!!

DH keeps banging on about turmeric, but is collagen a better bet then?

Could be fibromyalgia as that doesn't always register on bloods

Just having a read around and HRT is meant to help with menopausal joint pain?

Hmm perhaps - I do have some very sensitive areas that feel bruised to touch (upper arms, thighs and shins). I also get awful cramp in my calves and feet at night.

I have supposedly fibro plus other autoimmune conditions and my rheumatologist poked and prodded me and said hmmm there's an element of fibromyalgia going on. I've got two friends with it & we all present differently with it but we all have had extreme stress and trauma as a commonality. There's conflicting stuff online where I read that you don't have to have the pain points to be dx with it. I believe chronic pain or fatigue can be similar. I get burning round the hips too and waist, feet. Cramps too. Good luck op with getting to the bottom of it.

Have you had your Vitamin D level tested?

I'm not sure, but having annual bloods done on Monday as routine - will that pick it up?

No - it has to be requested specifically.

Probably not. Some areas don't allow Vit D testing anymore as the assumption is if you live in the UK you will be deficient.

I have just started HRT hoping it would help with my random joint pain - sounds like your pain. Before I started I had a blood test and vitamin d levels were severely deficient. I'm on a mega dose for 6 weeks. GP said that could be the cause of joint pain, so definitely worth checking.