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[Lalb1]

Sorry for the long post but I'm really struggling with different pains and aches and I'm paranoid I've got all sorts of nasty stuff going off other than being in Perimenopause. I've had numerous doctors appts over the last 4 or so months and each time been fobbed off with different things.
I came off BCP at the beginning of the year,then went back on and am now off it again. I just feel so low and scared.
Below is a list of all the things I've encountered over these last few months. I've made sure to log them so I can refer to them if it happens again (due to brain fog I forget some months)

1-Tingly skin
2-Hotter than usual body temp
3-Nasty taste in mouth
4-Headaches
5-Stiff joints in morning
6-Coccyx sore( this stems from a previous injury)
7-Legs crampy
8-Calves sore,tingly,achy,bubbly,hot and cold
9-Anxious
10-Tight neck pain in left side
11-Spots in hair and swollen glands round ovulation
12-Crashing fatigue
13-Blurry vision occasionally
14-Tingly hands
15-Achy arms inside veins feel hot
16-Brittle nails
17-Increased sense of smell
18-Cravings for sweets and pasta
19-Intolerance to wine
20-Various appetite/ high-low
21-Dry skin
22-Itchy skin
23-Weird joint aches
24-Hot sweats (night time)2-4 days before period
25-Sharp pain like cramp in bum 1-3 days before period
26-Stomach feels inflamed before period and ovulation
27-Urge to pee more
28-Sore sticky throat/cold like symptoms around ovulation and 1-3 days before period.
29-Feeling sick
30-Shaky
31-Crawling feeling in skin
32-Tingly bits
33-Sore boobs and chest
34-Palpitations
35-Back ache / sciatic pain
36-Dizziness/lightheaded
37-Gurgly tummy
38-Increased acid reflux
39-Flushed face
40-Itchy/dry eyes
41-low mood
42-longer/shorter cycles
43-weight gain round middle
44-teeth ache
45-memory lapse
46-hot flashes
47-breathless
48-poor sleep
49-dry mouth
50-emotional
51- anxiety attack's
52-forgetful
53-rib pain
54-shorter periods/ lighter flow
55-wind
56- ringing in ears
57-weird dream recall

When I've looked up online it seems like the list of 66 symptoms- i have a fair few.
I have an appt tomorrow with a female doctor! Finally!!
Do I request tests? HRT?
I just don't know how much more I can take, sick of feeling rough and in pain.

[Dotty]

Ask for hrt.

[CLKD]

As oestrogen levels drop muscles may become lax = aches and pains, also the body may become dry: inside and out  .  Skin, nostrils, deep in the ears, vagina  , scalp ..........

Cramp can be eased by upping the salt in your food.  For those who suffer flushes, salt can be lost and it is the main cause of cramps!  Gentle exercise can ease the coccyx, I had to sit on a cushion for 6+ months when I was about 11 years old: can you imagine how humiliating that was! 

My taste buds alter as the day goes through, i.e. my early cuppa is lovely but by mid-afternoon it tastes awful.  When I was on The Pill I couldn't smell anything nice, it was pure garbage    .  I didn't realise until I stopped taking it  .

The urge to pee can be eased by treatment for vaginal atrophy - please get thee to the GP and ask for appropriate treatment! which is for Life.

Acid reflux - have you tried Rennies - they work for me, the moment it starts I chew a couple.  Hiatus hernia is common in ladies of a certain age.!

I could go on .............

[KAH]

I have had pretty much all of those at one time or another over the past couple of years so I totally empathise. Do you find that they change quite quickly too, so for a few days you'll have really bad pain in one area then suddenly that will go and it will appear elsewhere? I've felt like I'm going mad for most of the time due to this and don't get me started on doctors appts, they now recognise my voice over the phone 😳.
A blood test confirmed I'm peri but they won't discuss HRT with me as I'm still having regular (ish) periods. Definitely worth discussing with your GP though XX

[Rosti]

Hi Kah,

If it is any help, I still had fairly regular periods when I started HRT (51).  There seems to be so much "disinformation" around what the GPs know and act upon that it could rival the "fake news" movement 

My experience is that the UK prescribes on symptoms (rather than blood tests) and so if you have hot flushes and insomnia, they are the triggers...

Of course, silly me didn't realise that this and all the other ailments were menopause related or I would have sought HRT earlier.

Hope this helps.

[Rosti]

Lalb1

There were times that I thought there was something seriously amiss too.  Over the last 4 years I have met more medical specialists in different fields than I would care to think... Rheumatologists, Neurologists, 5 different physiotherapists, 2 pain clinics, you name it.  All of their tests came back negative and they said "Nothing Wrong" which of course made me feel worse as though not only was something wrong I was losing my mind to boot!

It has taken the best part of 10 months to find an HRT dose which means I can operate something resembling  fairly normally.  The big difference came when I was given Testosterone gel.  I had previously had blood tests and was told that my testosterone was, if anything, a little high but what they forgot to tell me was that the tests themselves are not accurate.  I was told to try the testosterone gel by the Nick Panay clinic and I am SO much more myself its incredible. I am not however out of the woods and there are still issues to be overcome but this has been a good start.

If you are having hot flushes and insomnia then tell the doctor you want to try HRT and unless there are any predisposing health conditions to preclude HRT, I wouldn't take no for a reasonable answer.

xxx

[Lalb1]

Thankyou all.
I do feel like the pains and aches change on a regular basis yeah.
I've been to the docs this morning and ended up in A&E then the assessment unit for hours. The doc at my gps wasn't happy with the leg pain or my blood pressure so sent me to hospital. She wouldn't talk about the other symptoms and told me to make a new appt when I've had my leg checked out.
I've had bloods and tests for  clots and thankfully all clear. However the docs can't say what the pain I'm wxperiencing in my calves is? They think it could be muscular and to see how I go for the next 2 weeks then go back if no better. I explained I was getting many different aches recently and the nurse practitioner did say it could be hormonal.. but to wait and see what happens.
I feel like I just want it all to stop now.
Feel like I just need that magic whatever it is to make me feel even a little bit more like myself.
I have booked another appt for Thursday to talk about my other symptoms and the next step being what happens with HRT.

[KAH]

Thankyou all.
I do feel like the pains and aches change on a regular basis yeah.
I've been to the docs this morning and ended up in A&E then the assessment unit for hours. The doc at my gps wasn't happy with the leg pain or my blood pressure so sent me to hospital. She wouldn't talk about the other symptoms and told me to make a new appt when I've had my leg checked out.
I've had bloods and tests for  clots and thankfully all clear. However the docs can't say what the pain I'm wxperiencing in my calves is? They think it could be muscular and to see how I go for the next 2 weeks then go back if no better. I explained I was getting many different aches recently and the nurse practitioner did say it could be hormonal.. but to wait and see what happens.
I feel like I just want it all to stop now.
Feel like I just need that magic whatever it is to make me feel even a little bit more like myself.
I have booked another appt for Thursday to talk about my other symptoms and the next step being what happens with HRT.

I quite literally could have wrote your post word for word! About 18 months ago I went to docs with leg pain and was sent to hospital due to low oxygen levels and high blood pressure, blood clots suggested. Lots of tests later and nothing was found so was allowed home, the leg pain eventually went as it always does, only to be replaced by another pain somewhere else!!
I do have insomnia but rarely have hot flushes now, a few years ago I was sweating buckets every night for months on end but it passed so that's why the GP won't discuss it, because I'm not presenting classic symptoms anymore ☹️

[CLKD]

Maybe take a pain relief medication?  Do you eat enough salt?  Lack of can cause huge problems including cramps and aching calves.  My late MinL was told to eat as little salt as possible, the advice almost killed her  .

[Sammas]

Hi Lalb1,
I just wanted to send you a hug I fully understand what you are going through and the strange feelings experienced It's so wierd to be ok and then out of no where a symptom appears Like you, Ive felt like I'm going mad I'm not on HRT, Still on the natural route and now seeing osteopath for headaches I wouldn't however rule anything out Take care S x

[dangermouse]

Hope your GP doesn't make you book 57 appointments 

It's such a shame that GPs aren't trained to look for the golden thread and instead we can only discuss one symptom per appointment. It means important information can be missed.

A holistic approach would be so much more rational and, even though we'd need longer appointments, I suspect it would cut down overall appointment time per client as they wouldn't spend months or years trying to find the culprit without all the evidence.

[periwinkle68]

That list encompasses just about all the symptoms I have had on and off for the past 3 years.  So far, no doctor is willing to put me on HRT.  I've been to every kind of specialist on the planet because none of the doctors believed that all these symptoms are related to perimenopause - they all said perimenopause doesn't cause all these symptoms. So they send me for test after test looking for something else that must be wrong with me.   I've been scanned from head to toe with multiple types of scans, I've been scoped inside and out, I've had every blood test known to mankind, and yet, they can find nothing wrong with me medically.  So, I come back to them and say it must be perimenopause causing these symptoms, and they still deny it.  So frustrating!

[Salad]

I've been there with the list, apart from the anxiety attacks.
 
The advice I was given and have now acted on successfully is focus on one thing at a time - so my HRT was increased to stabilise my oestrogen level.

I still had some (but fewer) symptoms so my Vitamin D and B12 were checked.

My Vitamin D deficiency was addressed and I added in Magnesium (Vitamin D dosing depletes it) but I still had symptoms. The list matched a B12 deficiency, although my level was in normal range.

 My GP suggested bringing my B12 level up anyway and my symptoms have reduced dramatically - most days in the past month I have felt well, which after 4 years of feeling ill is an amazing feeling.

I'm not quite there yet but feel back in control and if things stay as they are I'm happy - and I might even cancel the 24 hour ECG booked for the next couple of weeks and avoid the referral to the Chronic Fatigue Specialist (crosses fingers) 
Don't give up hope, try and get one thing sorted 

[Lalb1]

Thanks.
I'm at the docs tomorrow and will see what she says. I'm going to print out the list and my monthly logs to show when these things are happening.
I currently take Vit D 10,000 3x a week, Vit B12, Vit B6, evening primrose oil and magnesium with calcium.

[Mary G]

Lalb1, good luck with your appointment tomorrow and let us know how you get on.

Periwinkle68, why don't you consider seeing a menopause specialist like Professor Studd?   You clearly are not getting any joy from your doctor.  I can virtually guarantee he will recognise your symptoms and prescribe HRT.   He works with two other specialists now, namely Dr Mike Savvas and Mr Neale Watson both of whom are very nice with a good bedside manner.   You may be able to arrange a telephone consultation if that helps - you could email all your test results in advance.   Why not ring his secretary to get an idea of cost?