Joint pain, HRT, please help! (Long)

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

I had tried HRT a couple of times previously and come off it - I put on weight very quickly and the benefits did not outweigh the risks for me.

however, recently I had bad joint pain and tried HRT again.
the pain did reduce within a few days on oestrogen.

now I’m on the progesterone part of the cycle, the joint pain is back, along with headaches, insomnia and night sweats!

my friend said that topical vaginal oestrogen helped with her joint pain and a couple of colleagues said the same.

so - I could try topical oestrogen for this, but surely if it’s systemic enough to help joint pain then there’s a risk of cancers that needs to be mitigated by the progesterone??
has anyone had success with a different treatment for joint pain?

thank you x

I mean as in has anyone tried a non HRT treatment for joint pain 😊

Anyone?

Getting the balance is tricky and you have to persevere. What are you taking and what dose?

There's a thread going today about using vaginal estrogen and how it's not absorbed anywhere except the vagina (and bladder.) That's the medical facts.

Your friends' experiences don't stack with the science. It's just not possible.
There is no way that adding a minute amount of vaginal estrogen ( 100th of a 1mg daily dose of hrt) could help their joints.

Progesterone relaxes muscles (and maybe the ligaments surrounding joints) which is why you may feel your joints are worse.

Also, it increases body temp.

The best way to try to make things better is to slightly increase your estrogen on the days you use progesterone- so it you're on 2 pumps of gel, try half a pump as a top up.

Thanks, I’ll have a look for the other thread.

I definitely trust my friend and colleagues to know their own bodies and responses.
I really struggled with the mirena coil, especially mood swings and anxiety. Had it removed and felt much better. My GP insisted that was not possible 😂

My view is the best way to solve this is via nutrition and lifestyle.

Reduce inflammation in your body by cutting out all processed food, reducing starchy foods by a lot (eliminate initially), supplement with a good magnesium citrate and ensure you do the basics like 10,000 steps and sleep 7 hours

I definitely trust my friend and colleagues to know their own bodies and responses.

It's not possible.

Comparing it to side effects of the Mirena isn't the same. Everyone knows the Mirena can cause side effects like mood swings because some of the hormone is absorbed into the system.

There's no comparison with Ovestin. There's masses online if you want to read about it. This is why it's still (usually) prescribed to women who've had breast cancer- because it's not absorbed systemically.

Joint pains come and go for all kinds of reasons - even damp weather, supposedly!

I agree with a PP who's said that following an anti-inflammatory diet can help.

Great, thanks @hamstersarse , I have a magnesium supplement so I’ll start taking that.
i eat a lot of bread and pasta so can easily reduce that.

The best diet for joints is lots of oily fish several times a week for Omega 3 (fresh or canned), masses of fruit and veg, plenty of exercise and stretches (like yoga) and keeping weight down as that impacts hugely on joints.

I’ve got omega 3 capsules too so I’ll take those again. They help with my brain fog too!

I agree with this. I've found a huge improvement in joint pain since I've been eating really healthily and cut out most sugar (not helping me lose weight but that's another story!)

Plus a high strength vit D and K2 has been fab for my joints.

@Suenami I’ll look for K2, hadn’t heard that was good for joints

The one thing that helped my joints was a good quality omega 3. But my gym class then gives me aches and pains!

Yes I’d started lifting weights but have abandoned that for now!
I think sourdough bread is ok for anti inflammatory diet? Does anyone make their own?

It's not. Not in the sense of joint pain.

It's role is to help with bone density. health.clevelandclinic.org/vitamin-k

It helps vit d absorption apparently which is why I take it.

I don't think you should get hung up on bread etc.
If you stick to wholegrain and cut out refined carbs, that's going in the right direction. Ideal wholegrain bread is made without emulsifiers but it's hard to find- lots of label-reading needed.

Although it seems counter productive, lots of joint pain gets better with exercise.
Daily walking, stretches, Pilates, yoga, etc.

And all the usual stuff- loads of fruit, green veg, oily fish ( supplements aren't always the answer as they can be made from fish with high mercury levels) and little sugar.

I really notice the difference in joint pain if I haven’t taken my vitamin D supplement for a couple of weeks.

@NotApplePie is your joint pain peri menopausal do you think?
I’ve ordered a vitamin D and K2 supplement 👍🏻

I bet it will help!

I think so. I’ve had a myriad of issues since hitting my mid forties. I had a frozen shoulder last year and what felt like the beginning of one again last week. I ran out of vitamin d about a month ago and realised it was probably similar last time around. I picked some high strength ones up at the beginning of the week and it does feel to be easing off. Also trying to solve my sleep issues with diet, exercise and magnesium.

Ah, mine is bad in my shoulder too. Thank you- feeling hopeful that some dietary changes and supplements will help 🤞🏻

You should really see your GP because things like rheumatoid arthritis can flare up after 50.

Or it could be osteoarthritis.

Or maybe see a physio and get some advice on it and exercises to help. Your shoulder could be rotator cuff syndrome and you need specific exercises to strengthen the muscles.

All the supplements in the world won't help. There's loads of research papers on all of this and there is no supplement proved to help - most evidence is anecdotal and placebo effect.

Mine isn't rheumatoid arthritis which is a fairly rare auto immune condition.

I've had great success with magnesium, vitamin d (with k2), gentle exercise and hrt.

Been tested for RA and it’s not that which was a relief