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[LizeeeH]

So according to dr's Im not going through menopause cos Im too old (56) so why is my elbows, wrists, ankles, lower back etc etc aching! not to mention hot sweats at night another thing that has started is itching at the back of my neck into my scalp? I reckon that's because I get hot in there....anyone else got this? so fed up!

Liz xxxxx

[Dancinggirl]

LizeeeH
The doctors you are seeing are talking rubbish - gosh i feel so angry when I hear them sprout this old fashioned nonsense.  You poor thing - you need to get a referral to a meno clinic or a gynae. Aches a pains are common meno symptoms; also dry skin and itching is a result of the lack of oestrogen.
You can help yourself with a few supplements for the time being: Omega oils, glucosamine, Vitmain D and Magnesium are really helping me with my aches and pains and will hopefully reduce the risk of osteoporosis and arthritis. I get through masses of E45 moisturiser to help with the dry skin and itching.
Definitely get referred.  Soak up the info under the headings to the left of this screen.
Good luck  Dg x

[LizeeeH]

Thanks dg will deffo try and get sorted asap......ps are those home tests any good?
Liz xxxx

PS and pins n needles in my hands at night? anyone else!!!!!!

[honeybun]

I had the pins and needles pre HRT. All gone now. I agree that your GP is talking utter rubbish. You are the right age for meno and if he does not know this then he is an idiot. Sorry it just makes me so angry that we are dismissed in this way. Change your GP if you can. Print off some of the info from this site.....green menu on the left. Then hit him with it.

Unfortunately you sometimes have to be very persistent to get the right treatment and that's not easy when you are suffering meno symptoms.


Let us know how you get on but please don't give up on getting proper treatment.


Honeyb
x

[CLKD]

    pins and needles at night could be carpal tunnel syndrome which is certainly related to hormonal changes (pregnant women suffer)
Your GP needs his head stuck where t he sun doesn't shine 
Browse round.  Read the menus - left of screen
Use the Search button for symptoms - you'll be surprised at how 'normal' most of your symtpoms will be!

[Dancinggirl]

lizzee - Not sure what 'home tests' you are referring to?  DG x

[LizeeeH]

this was a lady GP by the way.....wait till she hits meno

DG I meant the tests you can buy from chemist....bit like a pregnancy test but for meno?

Liz xxxx

[CLKD]

Blood tests are notoriously unreliable because our hormone levels alter hourly.  I wouldn't buy a 'kit' but would 'go' on symptoms.

Do you have a Practice Nurse nearer our age?  If so make a list and speak with her and find out what the Surgery Policy is regarding HRT 

[rosie c]

Agree with CLKD. Dont waste your money on a " Kit " ... so unreliable.  I have the pins and needles thing, the iching Skin, the aches and Pains, all sound like meno symtoms.... Change your GP! x

[Smokey]

Hi Rosie c

I believe Boots pharmacy do one and it just involves weeing on a stick.

[CLKD]

To prove what exactly? 

[donnarob]

Hi Girls,

Feeling as if I am going completely mad here!  I am 21 months post menopause and feel as if I have been on a roller coaster.  Just when you think you are getting though it, another bunch of horrible symptoms rear their ugly heads. 

I will be 55 in July and the last few months I have had back spasms, which result in major stiffness.  A problem, as  I live in a 3 storey house and sometimes find it hard to come down the stairs.  I honestly feel like an old woman and find walking any distance a problem.  I am also getting cyclical symptoms, dry period, all the pain but nothing to show for it.  hot flashes, night sweats, shivers, the list goes on. 

I am seeing the gynae on 7th May and the app can't come soon enough.

Another question is how many supplements is it safe to take?  I am taking Omega fish oil capsules 1000mg, Efamol, Vitamin E.  Somebody mentioned that Magnesium, vitamin D and Calcium might be a good idea but I don't want to rattle. 

I eat a healthy diet. low carb, lots of fruit and vegetables and used to be able to walk for miles.  I just find this so depressing and want my old body back!

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Ps. I have been diagnosed Diabetes type 2 since Nov 2010 but on no meds and under control through diet and exercise.  However, I am beginning to wonder whether the diagnosis is right?  I was 51 when I was diagnosed and my hormones were going ga ga-

[Sarah2]

Hi
Some symptoms only start when you are post meno because they are the result of medium-long term oestrogen deficiency.
The only real effective solution for the hot flushes and everything else is oestrogen ie HRT.
Have you thought about this at all?

You might want to re-think your oil intake: fish oil, evening primrose and Vit E may be overdoing the oils- there was some publicity some time ago about the negative effects of Vitamin E and how it may even cause heart disease ( best have a google.)
I don't think there is much positive news about evening primrose either- it is supposedly effective for painful breasts in women who still have periods but not sure what else it's supposed to do!

If you get enough calcium through your diet- around 1000mgs a day- and magnesium through food too then you don't need to supplement. You might want to take Vit D but don't overdose on it as it's stored in the liver and too high levels can be toxic.

I don't think your hormone levels would affect a diagnosis of diabetes- have you had your blood sugar levels checked every few months?

[Rowan]

I have been taking omega 3-6, fish oil plus GLA plus vitamin E for more years then I can say. I am now taking Omega 7s (Seabuckthorn oil) which has the combination of EPA, DHA and GLA in one capsule.

The controversy over vitamin E has been debunked the trials used synthetic vitamin E

When buying a vitamin E supplement, check the label to see if it contains natural or synthetic vitamin E. 

Natural Vitamin E = d-alpha-tocopherol
Synthetic Vitamin E = dl-alpha-tocopheryl

You need to take the mixed Vitamin E complex.

The combination that you are taking in is just right donnarob, unless you are on Warfarin or have blood clotting problems.

Adding magnesium, calcium and D3 is OK too, you can probably get all of them on one tablet, I would have a word at your local health shop.

I remember going through the aches and pains that you describe, they can lessen (my sisters did and she is not on HRT) mine have too, though I do use a small amount of estrogen (had partial hyst)

You are getting further into menopause, when you go for your appointment I would ask about the Diabetes diagnosis, and also if you would be a candidate for HRT that is if you want to try it.

[Sarah2]

Many commercial fish oils and other 'health' oils have a Vit E base ( and a cheap source at that) - so it's worth reading the labels.
Eating avocados, walnuts and other nuts high in Omega 3,  as well as oily fish seems to be a good way to get the good oils, because then you are also adding fibre, vitamins and trace minerals.