Too young for my body to be like this…always aching and tired, please help

[Theresadoginthesanddunes]

Can anyone help? So sick of feeling ill and old.
I’m 46 and for a few months now, I’ve had aching down my arms, sometimes my hands hurt, it can be down my legs and in feet, but it’s mainly my arms and by the evening, it can be quite painful. I’m pretty much always tired, I have puffiness around my eyes, most noticeably my upper eyelids can droop down.
I have regular kidney stones and had lots of blood tests, I’ve had the results and am currently waiting for my follow up appointment.
Results showed low iron/ferritin, positive for ANA, low calcium and fairly low in the thyroid tests
I’ve considered it could be peri, as I only get periods every few months or so
My body just feels destroyed, surely I’m too young to feel like this

I was/am like that in peri at same age (I'm now almost 48). And that was without kidney stones and low iron etc.
Hrt was my saviour. I'm back to normal now.

If I miss a dose I notice!

Sounds like you might have a few things going on at once, but hrt is with a try then you could at least reduce one difficulty.

It sounds like you might have an autoimmune issue. I had something like this. In my case it was triggered by a birth control implant to which I was allergic. I did a ton of research because this problem took an awfully long time for the medical folks to figure out (ten years!!!) and in the meantime I was not doing well. I got relief from doing a very strict anti-inflammatory elimination diet. Look up the "diet for the desperate." Another version of a similar diet is the Paddison diet. Note that research shows a link between kidney stones and a diet high in animal products, so that might be one piece of the puzzle. Good luck!

How low in your thyroid? I found out I hand under active but it had been for years but GP kept telling me it was borderline (when in reality it was low).
One of my main symptoms are pains in hands and arms, it would also explain puffy eyes.

Also did they check your vitamin d or B12?

I had terrible aches when I was low in vit d

It could be peri...I started struggling with similar symptoms around 45 and went on HRT at 47.

I haven’t had Vit D or B12 checked, so should do that too
I think positive ANA means autoimmune? I’m not sure?

If it's under active thyroid, medication will have you feeling normal again within a couple of months. Have been on Levothyroxin for 10 years and it keeps everything nice and stable.

@fightingthedogforadonut What were your other symptoms please (of underactive) Did you lose any excess weight when put on treatment? I’m too tired to workout anymore

If you’ve low iron then it’s probably that? Are you taking any supplements?

Have they not followed up on the positive ANA? I think that’s your answer. Yes, autoimmune disease , like Lupus, etc. Your symptoms certainly fit.

But I wouldn’t be surprised with some deficiencies too. I felt exactly like that in late 30s and it was a vitamin D deficiency.

Have they considered rheumatoid arthritis too?

Perimenopause could be a big contributing factor.

@mindutopia Im waiting for my next Drs appointment to discuss the results. I had a scan on my mech a few years ago and they found very slight arthritis in the back of my neck. Could I really have it through my body at this age 😞Would it come on this suddenly?

I also feel like my neck is swollen a lot, just a lot of weird symptoms

I had this because of low iron (which impact thyroid function) after having DS2 in the summer. I've had increased iron tablets (doubled by GP) and take them with orange juice. I am starting to feel much better.

It is also worth getting a hormone panel done in case it is peri.

Have you had any nasty bugs? UTI or similar? It could be reactive arthritis.

@Theresadoginthesanddunes

My thyroid symptoms were:

Tiredness - not sleepy as such but tiredness in my bones. My limbs felt heavy and aching and moving felt like such an effort.
Hair thinning
Weight gain
Depression

Once I was on the right balance of meds, the weight just dropped straight off. The weight is symptomatic of one's system going too slow.
Basically most hypothyroid symptoms are reversible with meds. My hair is still shit but I also have female pattern hair loss, so who's to say what's causing what....