Wife 45 next year and menopause

[Lm1981]

My wife will be 45 next year and has started to show signs of going through the pre menopause. She is now about 4 weeks late on her period after sporadic periods over last 6 months. (Used to be like clockwork but some now shorter , some longer).

she has very bad shoulder pain that runs from her shoulder blade to top of her head. I have read that this can be due to hormonal changes. She is not on any form of contraception for about 9 years now.

are there any options she has to explorer HRT and balance things out somewhat? We don’t mind going private if it means getting a more personal service vs off shelf treatment via GP

thank you

Just go to gp, sometimes there is someone within a practice who specialises in it. Good luck.

I'd definitely start with the GP. Apart from anything else, the pain might not be due to hormonal changes. No harm in having ideas on why you have symptoms but that's why you see a doctor imo. Also off-the-shelf could also be considered evidence-based.

45, 4 weeks late, no contraception?

First step - pregnancy test.

Thank you all,

i prob should have said , she has taken a pregnancy test and all clear and also went to gp, had 3 blood tests over a year and it showed on 2 low estrogen from what I can remember and 3rd was normal - GP said you needed all 3 to be low before could treat

The GP is completely misinformed - hormone levels can fluctuate from low to high on one day, a test is not required for HRT. It is symptom led.

She should go to a different doctor.

The NICE guideline is that blood tests are unreliable for perimenopause and that for women over 45 treatment with HRT should be offered based on symptoms. The pain seems oddly specific to attribute it to hormones though, it should be checked out. The HRT is not for the irregular periods but for the hot flushes, night sweats, joint pain, fatigue, insomnia etc etc that often go along with it.

Yes the joint pain she has in shoulder seems to radiate up to back of head. Her sleep isn’t great at moment. A physio said she was tense in shoulder muscle wise. It feels like a combination of alot of things. Obviously she isn’t having a great time of it at the moment. Experiences with GP are hit and miss hence why going private we are willing

I’d google bHRT - only available privately but was life changing for me. Far more nuanced and personalised appriach to HRT (involves more than just a generic prescription for Testosterone and Progesterone as blood tests are taken to fine tune dosage, plus DHEA etc also added in as needed).

Fantastic thank you exactly what I was looking for

Speaking as a menopausal woman with neck issues, I don't think that her hormones are causing her shoulder and neck pain - it is more likely to be a trapped nerve.

She's completely wasting her time seeing a GP about this, and my suggestion would be that she sees an osteopath.

I went private for HRT a few months back after being totally dismissed by my gp. She told me it could be menopause and I should try meditating.
Private gp was amazing and after two consultations and a quick check with a consultant ( I've had a partial hysterectomy six years ago so covering all bases) it was prescribed and I can honestly say it's been life changing. I am 45 and wish I'd done it a year ago

Wonderful info - thank you so much. Out of interest would you be able to advise approx costs of private treatment please?

No idea about private HRT but an osteopath consultation would be around the £60 mark.