Stiff and aching joints - mainly hands

[rosessss]

Hi everyone
About 2 months ago, I woke up with sore Achilles, hip and thumb. Out of the blue - I am pretty active and there was no obvious reason for this at all, like increase in load. Since then, different fingers (ends and whole finger) have ached on and off, and toes, wrist, elbows on and off. Last few days I have noticed a symmetry to my fingers aches which I found really stressful. I am 42 but have no other obvious peri symptoms at present (I don’t think). Did anyone else experience similar at start of perimenopause? Seeing GP next week but I feel pretty concerned about possible rheumatoid arthritis with the symmetry.

yeah sorry OP I’m 51 and everything hurts. I’ve had all the scans and tests, I’m just in pain. HRT does help a bit.
I was also diagnosed with haemochromatosis which causes joint pain but that’s under control now. Shit just hurts. Bah.

The symmetry in your fingers is worth writing down properly before you see the GP: which joints, time of day, how bad on a scale, and what else was going on (sleep, stress, where you are in your cycle). A pattern like that, say if it's worse first thing and eases once you're moving, or flares around certain days of the month, gives the GP far more to go on than trying to recall it all in a ten minute appointment. The poster above mentioned HRT helped a bit with her joint pain, though hers turned out to be partly down to haemochromatosis, which shows how many different things can sit behind the same symptom, so tracking from the start will help whatever this turns out to be.

Thank you for this, really helpful reply
My GP app is actually in 4 weeks, not next week (mixed up dates) so lots of time to gather data

I get random joint pain i'm not on hrt and have had quite an easy menopause no brain fuzz no hot flushes etc .
When i remember 🙄i take bovine collagen and magnesium , i am convinced the collagen makes a difference to me.
I am worse as the weather gets colder and had a bad nights sleep last night with pain in one knee, bizarrely i have had a great day today with no pain whatsoever, this is the pattern it seems to take .
I never had any pain pre menopause and the fact that sometimes my mobility is not what it once was does get me down a bit.
I didn't even know about this until my own experience.

Thank you
what bovine collagen do you take and how quickly did it take effect?

Just wanted to say RA does not always show on blood tests, and it actually shows far less than you would probably think.
Because they can sometimes dismiss you if you don't have the "right" bloods and you have to fight to get care.

Thanks for this
Doesn't show as in a certain marker isn’t higher enough? - I am not familiar with the tests

I have this. I take tumeric and bioperine capsules which help.

I recommend cherries. There is something in the skin that helps with joints. You have to eat a punnet though . You can eat frozen ones when fresh are out of season.

When started having joint pain in my wrists and fingers alongside weakness I thought it was possibly menopause. However my GP wanted to check it wasn't anything else so sent me for blood tests and trays of my hands. The xrays showed I have mild osteoarthritis. Mores recently I have started to get it in my feet too. Make sure you get blood tests to rule out an autoimmune issue and xrays to see what the bones are actually doing.

I agree with making notes about symmetrical pain and strongly advocating for yourself.

I know some of my aches are peri, however I also have rheumatoid arthritis and one of the first signs I had was pain and aches in fingers and symmetrical pain that seemed to ping around my body. Different days would start with different pains. Definitely go to the appointment with evidence of your symptoms and ask for autoimmune conditions to be discounted, as there are many types of arthritis and different symptoms that can be considered by a rhumatology consultant.

My peri aches feel very different from my RA aches, but both can be debilitating and affect my mobility. HRT has certainly helped with non RA aches.

I hope you find answers and relief from your symptoms.

Did your RA start with any other symptoms like swelling or redness?

Yes. I had lots of symptoms looking back! I had plantar fascitis for a while. Swollen fingers that would settle, then be another finger another day. I couldn't make a fist some days, and lost the ability to click my fingers and it was painful to clap (I discovered this in a baby group!). As my symptoms progressed over a few months it was harder to climb stairs and walk some days, my knees throbbed and I couldn't stand by baby touching my finger tips.

I'm not at all suggesting you have RA, but I've realised over time how many different types of autoimmune conditions there are and if you are having any joint issues I'd strongly suggest you ask for a referral to rhumatology to review your symptoms and rule out things. It took me a long time to get a diagnosis, and I had an incredibly supportive GP.

Peri has brought with it a whole new lot of aches and because I have RA I've got to be checked over by hospital before anything significant is changed. It always seems a waiting game for appointments, but I'm thankful that my consultant knows me and is supportive, but I do have to push to be seen when I'm struggling. I'm grateful that so far things are settling. 🤞🏼

I just remembered, I also had aches/ uncomfortable 'tugs' down the outside of my hands, from my little finger down to my wrists too. My feet would also feel a tug along the outside of them too and did swell so my favourite shoes wouldn't fit properly.

Thank you for sharing your experiences
I have an appointment with a private today to get the ball rolling as I am feeling increasingly worried about what’s happening, I don’t feel I could wait 1 month for my NHS one

Good luck and I hope you get closer to a plan 💐

Hope your appointment was positive and you are feeling that you have support 💐

OP has your oestrogen suddenly dropped?

I was put into a chemical menopause and the joint pain hit me like a sledgehammer - felt like I'd been in a car crash overnight.

Thank you so much
i was given a rheumatologist referral, the GP said blood tests were needed, and wasn’t willing to really speculate but said inflammatory arthritis was a possibility, as was a hormonal issue. I ended up going down a RA rabbit hole today, trying to inform myself but ended up really scaring myself!

💐 Glad things are being checked out sensibly. Try not to worry too much as there's so much that can be done these days. At least a rheumatologist is the expert and can advise and identify any arthritis issues. If you can get a handle on what it is and what's causing aches, that can only help.

Take care and I hope you get answers soon. I know the waiting is horrible x

Interested in this as I had months of really painful joints in my fingers, which I think has largely gone due to the summer. However my feet are so painful when I wake or if I have drive/sat still for a while. It feels like it is in the bone along the edge and in my ankles. If I walk it does go after about 20 mins or maybe slightly more, but getting down the stairs is a very slow process with lots of swearing every morning.

Is that similar to your feet at all? Dr was going to Xray my hands but when the swelling went down in the summer I felt silly wasting the hospital's time.

I've joined the thread as my fingers and thumbs are really stiff and painful first thing. I think it's been most noticeable for the past couple of months. Have got a GP appointment coming up, but I am 62 and post menopause.

Get a blood test as if it’s RA it needs treatment before too late

SmallDFartyCarNRG
Just wanted to say I'd definitely get in touch with GP again, and personally I'd persue the hospital referral for x-rays and scans with bloods, as what you describe can be typical symptoms that a rheumatologist investigates. Good luck and hope you have relief soon 🎉

Thank you - very helpful. So many health things happening at once I am trying to pick which issue to talk about when I call on Monday as they won't talk about more than one at a time! I have a consultant letter saying I need testing for amyloidosis so I will start with that and list this as a potential symptom I think.
Ageing is such fun!