This site is a god-send. I'll be 51 yrs old in a few months and have been suffering from joint & muscle pain for about 2 years. At first I thought it was due to age, but it just kept getting worse as months went by. Dr. took x-rays of my hand, but they came back showing everything looked ok. One blood test showed I may have Lupus. I'm going to a rheumatologist in a few weeks, but I doubt that I have that illness (I don't have the butterfly marking on my face or any other visual symptom). I think all these ache are due to onset of menopause. I'm very achey all day, but it's absolutely horrible when I lay down to sleep. My left hand (especially my baby finger) aches like crazy. My lower back, left & right hip, the whole leg throbs all night long. The throbbing seems to travel down my leg. My feet feel like they held up 300 lbs all day long. (I'm only 139 lbs.) No amount of massaging seems to help. My calves cramp up something fierce. I have taken glucosamine in the past (but not long enough to see if it works because I hate the taste of it). I've started taking Calcium pills. Sometimes Tylenol for Arthritis helps, but very minimally. My doctor (a male of course) told me that women go through menopausal symptoms as their mother did. Well, I do have horrible flooding for 1 1/2 days, periods last 7 days instead of my usual 3 days and for the past few months I have had spotting off and on about a week period my period is due. My mother was the same. I have also been on a milder birth control pill for a year now. I refuse to stop taking the pill for fear of having worse and longer periods. At least on the pill I know when I am due. I try to do very light arobics and go for 20 min. fast paced walks or at least on the treadmill. Helps a bit, but I really have to force myself to try to move my legs. Wish me luck at the rheumatologist. Hope it's nothing too serious.
Jazzy