Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Personal Experiences => Topic started by: LizeeeH on July 29, 2013, 10:52:54 AM
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hello lovely ladies ;)
Ok had blood tests (FBC) and all came back normal, the dr that ordered blood work pooed the idea that menopause causes aches and pains >:(................so today after waiting 2 weeks to see another lady Dr who I thought would have more knowledge etc told me I was too old to be going through menopause, im 55 :o So the night sweating, aches n pains, insomnia , weight gain, mood swings are all in my head!!!!!! >:( >:(
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P.S she seemed to "go off" when I mentioned I come on this wonderful forum ;)
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I've been convinced for sometime now there is a conspiracy amongst the medical profession to not acknowledge all the effects of menopause - maybe they're trying to discourage HRT use, I don't know - or maybe paranoia is another symptom! Fortunately my GP, although not as clued up as he could be, is always open to suggestion from me. Although he won't run the additional blood tests I requested after the 'standard' ones came back with results all 'well within the normal range'.. >:(
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What is it with some doctors. I know they can't be experts in everything but a working knowledge would be good.
What was the outcome Lizee. We're you hoping for HRT.
Don't give up if you were. Take a print out of the meno symptoms and stick it under her nose and insist that you are not too old ( what a load of b###ks) and that it is most certainly not in your head.
Honeyb
X
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Yes I agree with Honeybun - gather as much info as you can and book another appointment. You are not too old - menopausal symptoms can last for the rest of our lives. With a bit of luck you will get a prescription for HRT so you can have at least five years of feeling better before they start muttering about getting to 60 and coming off it!!
Taz x
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Thank you ladies ;)
I told her I wanted to avoid HRT, I also showed her my slightly swollen wrist but the blood tests showed no inflammatory diseases so she told me to take ibruprofen.....I can only hope when she gets to menopausal age she eats her words ;D ;D
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Sorry I misunderstood! I am not sure what you wanted her to say then if you didn't want HRT to relieve the symptoms? Did you just want agreement as to the fact that it was menopause making you feel so horrible but she refused to say that? :-\
Taz x
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Hi Taz
What I actually said is I would prefer to avoid HRT if poss but had she said that yes all the pains etc are menopause and HRT would help a lot then I would have considered it but she just was 100% convinced it had nothing to do with hormones or arthritis and basically looked at me like I was stupid :P the fact I "hobble" like an old witch in the mornings didn't phase her at all and she told me to get a form and refer myself to the physio >:(
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Ah right! The hobble-effect - or monster walk as some of us call it - does disappear for me when I am on HRT but I wouldn't take it for that symptom alone. Your doc should read this http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_5273379_joint-pain-menopause.html
Taz x
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...I can only hope when she gets to menopausal age she eats her words ;D ;D
Oh I'm with you on that! Many GPs don't have a Scooby! ???
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I get the hobble walk first thing and have done for some time. BUT worryingly it is starting to last more and more into the day whereas once I was up for about 15 mins it would be gone. Now it seems that soon as I sit down to rest when i get up hobble walk returns :-\
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ah yes me too milliemoo, when Im watching TV and I (try) to get up Im like a 90 year old :( :(
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I don't suppose menopause is taught to Trainee GPs >:( ...........
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or even some qualified GPs it seems >:(
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Qualified GPs would have gone through all the Specialities to get to where they are: maybe meno symptoms are left out :-\ ....... perhaps the Drugs Companies don't think it worth while to hold Conferences on menopause :(
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I am shocked really at the ignorance of some GP's. My own has contradicted herself several times on HRT and told me that studies showed that HRT increased the risk of bowel cancer and that she had never heard of nausea being a symptom of menopause. I know I should change my GP but I dont know that another would be any better, that is how you lose confidence. It would be great if women could get really good advice when all of the symptoms begin, there are many marriages and partnerships that must come under severe strain even breakdown because women are not getting the sympathetic advice that they need regarding the effects that menopause has on them physically and emotionally.
Meg
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totally agree meg!
the lady GP I saw was mid 40's so not far from the menopause herself......although she was quick to dismiss the menopause for ALL MY SYMPTOMS she didn't even bother to tell me what else it could be that was causing them all she was going off was that the blood results were normal. So the next time Im sat watching TV with my legs on hubbys knees and he's stroking my legs (steady on girls ;D) and he looks at me and says "your having a sweat" I shall tell him NOPE its all in our minds! >:( >:(
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Yeh we're just a barmy lot! ;D
Doctors really need to get a grip on the menopause. When I mentioned something to my meno consultant about not getting help from GP, she wasn't surprised!
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Nausea is a symptom of hormonal upheaval - otherwise, why morning sickness >:( - for 48 hours before my 1st period (16 August 1965) I felt really, really sick ..........
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Sorry, have I missed something? Your doctor said you're TOO OLD for the menopause at 55?? So, by that reckoning, if you aren't menopausal by the time you are 55, then that's it - you don't have one? It doesn't make sense to me - who happens to be 55 and still perimenopausal (until mid August when I have a hysterectomy - then there'll be no doubt at all!!)
Some doctors need educating!
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Sorry, have I missed something? Your doctor said you're TOO OLD for the menopause at 55?? So, by that reckoning, if you aren't menopausal by the time you are 55, then that's it - you don't have one?
I guess by that doc's reckoning, I am not going to have one then, since I am nearly 56 and still having periods. Oh dear, I better get a lorry to deliver a large load of sanitary protection to last me till I'm 85!
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LOL Kes ;D ;D
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;D
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Maybe we should trawl through the Forum and make a list of all the ladies who have been told they are too young or too old to be peri-or menopausal >:( .......... make a note of their age groups. Then present a Drugs Company with the facts :-X
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It annoys me that there isn't even a poster in GP surgeries (well any I have gone to), which could draw your attention to symptoms.
I (stupidly) didnt know that vaginal dryness was a symptom and at 43ish I never even gave it a thought and it almost ended my marriage of 19 years.
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A lot of what women are experiencing with GP's is far from good at present. I think from a past post Dr Currie said there was going to be a working party set up, I think it was something to do with NICE, on treatment of menopause so I hope that something positive will come out of that.
Meg
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I agree...... I felt I was treated like a stupid person, even by female GP's, their really should be a nurse/gp at every surgery that specialises in this field >:( I mean what do I do now? take ibruprofen for the next god knows how many years? not good at all :-\ :-\
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I thought that you had told her you didn't want HRT Lizeee?
Taz x
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Hi Taz
I said I would rather avoid it but was open to suggestions........she gave me none apart from Im too old for menopause and blood tests showed no inflammatory problems, so they aching joints and painful hips are wot? just not good enough :(
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I believe that there are posters available for GP Surgeries :-\
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I think she meant you were too old to be in menopause but not too old to be post-menopause. It gets very confusing. Have a look at the alternative therapies mentioned here in the menu on the left of the screen. You should be able to come to a decision from the information there although not many women have reported success for more severe meno symptoms. Maybe the aching hips and joints are osteo arthritis? This wouldn't show up in a blood test.
Taz
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Thanks Taz :)
well I did show her my swollen wrist joint, she just wasn't interested >:( said makers were put on my blood test to look for inflammatory conditions and nothing found. Will look into other alternatives ;) ;)
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The blood test would have been looking for rheumatoid arthritis. The blood test came back within normal limits probably.
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yes probably, it was a FBC and she said all was "normal"...even my liver which I was astonished at due to my wine intake recently ;D ;D ;D
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Just to add to this discussion. I have been suffering of late from v bad va. it took me 3 weeks to get an initial appointment to my surgery( there are only 2 docs left for 1700 patoents) i have seen a resident doc there and two locums.. Each one has given advice that contradicts the other. The final one that i saw last week couldnt have been more rude if she tried. As i was feeling extremely depressed i began to think it must be me .. Until i founs a website called nhs choices and looked at other patients reviews. The surgery has been red flagged for below par performance and had an extremely low rating and page after page of damaging reviews from desperate patients
I am sick of doctors kicking people when they are down...honestly i have got that desperate i started to entertain thoughts of suicide and the doctor shouted at me!
In the end i ended up spending my savings on seeing a private gp... It shouldnt come to this.
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:thankyou: for NHS Choices - will be having a look-see ;)
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I checked there before I signed up with a new practice after I moved house. It is also useful for finding out how many female GPs are at a practice.
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You know, not wishing to hijack the thread , but when i look back each doc at the surgery has contradicted another
First one put me on prempak
I went back for a review and the secomd doctor said 'what are u on that for" and gave me estradot and utrogestan but said cos estradot 75 wasnt readily available i should get 100's and cut em up
The third one said that was unwise and put me on double the dose via hormonin
The fourth one said initially to go back to estradot as horminin is slow to work on va, and said to use ovestin cream which according to her was exacly the same as vagifem. When i queried why the other doc had said use hormonin, she did a u turn and ended up raising her voice to me when i asked to go to a meno clinic!
... And ive just found out ovestin isnt identical to vagifem at all
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::)
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Blood tests within normal limits do NOT rule out inflammatory disease! I have psoriatic arthritis (an inflammatory disease linked to psoriasis on the skin, with symptoms and treatment similar to rheumatoid arthritis) and when I first went to my (I have to admit, wonderful) GP, I had a finger so swollen I couldn't bend it. The inflammatory markers in my blood were (and always have been) within normal limits - common in psoriatic arthritis, even in cases so severe as to cause immobility. If you have ever had psoriasis, PA is worth looking into.
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:thankyou: Scampi
In the same way as a thyroid function test can be 'within normal limits' but the patient still has a thyroid which needs adjusting ::)