Everything Hurts!

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Hi
I'm 50 and having night sweats and hot flushes ,
I've got mIrena so no periods. But my bones ache so much! My legs and arms are sometimes so painful I take painkillers.
oh and I'm constantly tired. Is this how it's gonna be? Are achey limbs associated with the menopause
I feel a total wreck some days!

I feel like I've been kicked by a horse. I'm nearly 50 my periods are still pretty regular but heavy. I can't wait for it all to end I feel ancient

sonly I said to DH the other morning that I felt like I had been kicked by a horse.
He was 'you've only just got up'

I can't take a paracetamol every morning surely?

I don't know whether you've had your FSH levels checked or indeed if they can get accurate readings while you've still got the Mirena in. But they will help determine your menopause status.

I was like you for quite a while and my GP wouldn't prescribe me anything despite my begging because I was having gynae issues dealt with by the hospital.

95% of my pain and bone creaking was gone within 2 weeks of starting HRT, I cannot recommend it enough.
Oestrogen keeps your body supple so that it can cope with pregnancy. Once menopause switches that off, you can become like the Tin Man!

That's interesting married The GP said testing for hormones wasn't reliable when I last went.
It seems to be getting worse, if I work a 12 hour shift I can hardly walk by the end of the day!
Right now my upper arms and things are so painful I could cry.
I think another phone call to the GP is called for.

Suggest reading the NICE report on menopause

NICE report
Scroll down to 1.3.2 and see list of symptoms including joint pain.

The whole report is worth reading; it's for GPs (and women) to get them up to speed but looking at various meno forums, many have not done their homework yet!

Thanks polly I will have a read

I'm 50 and have been on HRT for about 14 months. I used to get such terrible leg pains overnight that I'd wake up crying in pain. Nothing would touch the pain - paracetamol, ibuprofen etc. It was only slightly better if I got up and walked around for a bit (which is not what you want to do at 3 am!)

Within 7-10 days of starting HRT the pains had gone and I haven't had any since. My occasional back pain has also stopped. After about a week of HRT I had my first, full, uninterrupted night of sleep in about 3 years. I cried with happiness and relief when I woke up and realised I'd been asleep for 8 hours.

Don't suffer - go to talk to your GP.. If you have a mirena you will probably be able to get HRT via a patch.

crikey, 12 hour shift? Is that all on your feet? That would have made me ache everywhere when I was 20.

Don't suffer - go to talk to your GP.. If you have a mirena you will probably be able to get HRT via a patch.

Or gel ( if you don't want a patch stuck on your bum :) )

Some good advice here thanks!
Yes lljkk 12 whole hours on my poor feet, only 3 times a week thank goodness! Takes me the other 4 days off to recover.......I'm getting too old for all this!

Same here thank god I'm not alone I feel like a 90 year old at 47 I have to walk down stairs sideways

Seems it's more common than I realised. I feel about 90. I can't take HRT so I'm trying some herbal remedies from a qualified herbalist but at times I can barely walk my feet hurt so much and my elbows can be so bad I can't even pick up a pan.

This is not funny. I was expecting the hot flushes but not anything like this!

Elphame - do you mind saying why you can't use HRT?
Just wondering because if it's because of previous breast cancer, many herbs aren't advisable either.eg black cohosh. Equally, some GPs say women can't have HRT when they can, in fact.

Have you read this information from Royal College of Gynaes? Worth looking at

Alternatives to HRT

It's a family history of BC ( Mother diagnosed at 75) and I have very cystic breasts myself.

The latest research into black cohosh indicates that it doesn't actually mimic oestrogen but acts in a different way according to my herbalist but I've been on it for 3 months now and there is a gradual and relentless increase in my pain and stiffness so it doesn't work for me. We've tried several different herbs and formulations with no improvement

I did actually go on Elleste Duet for 6 months as my mobility was getting so poor and I had an almost complete alleviation of all the symptoms - back up to walking my usual 10 miles a day. I've been off it now for the 3 months I've been on the herbal brew but I think I'm going to have to take the risk and go back on to some form of HRT.

I will check that link - thank you

I understand it's hard for you.

My consultant, in his book on meno, says that the risk with HRT on breast cancer only applies if women have 2 first degree relatives diagnosed with breast cancer before 45. Obviously you need to look into this yourself, but also choose the best type of HRT to try to reduce your risk. Not all progestogens are equal when it comes to cancer risk.

Thank you Polly - TBH I think I'm going to take the risk. It's impacting hard on my quality of life. I always assumed I'd sail through as I've never had problems before with PMT, heavy periods or anything!

Just want sympathy really - and to ask, how bad does it have to be before asking for HRT. And does it get worse before it gets better.

i had regular periods until last September, then nothing for five months, during which I had six weeks of hot flushes. in March i had two periods and nothing since.

now the hot flushes are returning. I'm waking up all night. i can't remember ANYTHING. i ache (in a way i didn't when my period came back, presumably because my oestrogen was up) and my arms ache, and my joints ache and for the first time my back aches. my eyes are drying up, my boobs are drooping and I'm waking up throughout the night. this has never happened to me before. i've always been able to sleep anywhere. now i pass out around 11 and i'm awake at four and that's it. also vivid dreams and a shallow sleep. i'm also shattered by 1pm.

i want to ask about HRT. Do you think this will help. Or am I being whiny. It's not unbearable. It's just a pain in the arse.

This is exactly where I am except more than 2 years of no periods. All of the same symptoms - saw my GP three weeks ago but because of some fairly severe breast pain she wanted to see if that settled first (it has) she did lots of bloods some of which are to be repeated (not sure why) but am heading back there on Friday and I intend to be leaving there with a prescription and not looking back :)

Just to throw something else out there, have you had your thyroid checked? I'm 43 and had lots of annoying symptoms but lots are very similar to the ones described here especially aching bones, waking in the night and not getting back to sleep, etc etc and low thyroid can also do this. I've been tested for perimenopausal and I'm not bit I think thyroid can easily how wonky as women get older