Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Madeline on June 09, 2024, 10:35:19 AM
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Hi there girls, I haven't been on in ages. So I stopped Hrt probably a year ago, unfortunately this just wasn't for me, after trying patch, gel etc...I feel 1 million times better off it. What I do miss is the oestrogen for my joints. Anyone have a good recommendation to help this awful discomfort!
Thank you x
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Have you tried Turmeric? My joints have been a lot better after 6 weeks on it but on a high dose - Turmeric 10000 with bioperine from Healthspan.
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I'm not in your position just now, but I had terrible joint pain after giving birth and I found glucosamine with chondritin really helped.
Can I ask - with the hrt situation - are you post meno? X
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Morning. As oestrogen levels drop, it being the bodies elastic, muscles may become lax = aches and pains. Over the counter pain relief my help: pilates? Swimming?
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U seem to have two threads about this :-\
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My chiropractor recommended glucosamine with chondritin plus Type 2 collagen supplements. Also to avoid foods from nightshade family such as white potatoes, tomatoes etc
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How did you stop? Did you cut down gradually? What about side effects? So glad it’s worked out for you.
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Have you tried Turmeric? My joints have been a lot better after 6 weeks on it but on a high dose - Turmeric 10000 with bioperine from Healthspan.
Thank you K45, I have heard good thngs about tumeric. I will look into that x
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I'm not in your position just now, but I had terrible joint pain after giving birth and I found glucosamine with chondritin really helped.
Can I ask - with the hrt situation - are you post meno? X
Thank you crispychick. Another one I havent tried but will get alos, a friend said she found this great for her knees. x
post meno? well I havent had a period now in 7 months. so not outta the woods yet!! getting there x
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U seem to have two threads about this :-\
Hi CLKD , yes you are right I do have 2 threads. I posted on the alternative thread too, to see if I coud get some alternative help there.
Thank you yes, swimming isnt an option for me, I already so alot of excerise but usually pay for it later. x
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My chiropractor recommended glucosamine with chondritin plus Type 2 collagen supplements. Also to avoid foods from nightshade family such as white potatoes, tomatoes etc
thabk you Elliebee, athe 2nd person to mention lucosamine with chondritin Im def buying this. Can I ask what brand you favour? I never heard of the nightshade family, very interesting! thanks x
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How did you stop? Did you cut down gradually? What about side effects? So glad it’s worked out for you.
Hi maria, I just stopped gradually over 2 weeks I think, reducing the gel I was using. For me it was the best thing I ever did. I guess HRT just doesn't suit some peoples makekup and I was one of them. The progesterone was making me actually crazy. My moods were severely up and down. really really low or high as a kite haha. When I stopped my flushes came back but not as bad so I just stuck them out and slowly I started feeling human again with flushes. I had tried, patches, progesterone for 7 days only getting scanned every 6 months, but with my own hormones fluctuating, I just couldn't get the right balance for me. Saying all that, I have loads of friends that cant live without HRT. Its a head wreck. ::) x
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Hi do you know the reason for your joint pain?
That makes a big difference in terms of what you do about it.
Joint pain is frequently cited as a symptom of menopause and this makes sense, particularly if yours was relieved by estrogen, however there can be other causes that are worth ruling out before taking a bunch of pricey supplements.
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I agree. I was guilty of blaming many things on menopause, including joint pain. Despite upping my oestrogen it got steadily worse. Joint pain can most certainly be due to low oestrogen of ncourse .
However,after 2 years and many tests I was found to have osteoarthritis in both hips, and recently seronegative inflammatory arthritis.
Ongoing joint pain is worth getting checked out. Oh,and sadly despite us not wanting to admit this - ageing plays a part too!
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Thank you Bomsh3ll and sarahT. Yes you are right to make sure its not anything else. I did have a dexa scan done a few years ago and they said I had osteopenia at that stage. Can I ask you SarahT how you got that diagnosis as in what tests did you need to do? xx
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Sure Madeline
As I had a range of varying symptoms ( I have fibromyalgia too ) I was tested for many things, including looking at auto immune flags from blood tests, all were negative. A gp examined me due to specific hip pain,then went me for an xray which confirmed osteoarthritis.
The inflammatory arthritis ( think rheumatoid arthritis, these are auto immune ) was trickier for me. Blood tests can show factors that indicate inflammatory arthritis in about 80% of sufferers. However, the remaining sufferers have what is called seronegative inflammatory arthritis. So we don't have the helpful markers from blood tests. Instead the rheumatologist goes by symptoms and also scans which can tell if inflammation is present. So this is why mine was ' missed ' for so long, - I lack the usual markers.
If you are concerned do speak with a dr, it may be simple wear and tear but if a pain makes things hard to live with that's when I seek help.
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Hi Madeline,
I feel your pain! I've had exactly the same situation. I do have osteoarthritis in my hips, but the joint pain in other areas of my body is very different. Elbows and shoulders in particular, but basically general joint and some muscle pain. It's hard to do it, I know, but I have found regular stretching through the day helps. I'm very active with fell walking, gym, etc., but this doesn't seem to solve it.
One other thing that did help me was to look at my vitamin/nutrition levels. I started on a multivit and iron supplements as I discovered my ferritin levels were low last year. This had the most positive effect on my wellbeing of anything I'd done I believe. Whilst GP's will say your ferritin is 'in range', NICE guidelines say anything below 30 is deficient.
Do beware Medichecks ferritin tests though. I'm currently in discussion with them, as their test results consistently came out double those of my NHS ones, which masked the fact I'd been deficient for years!
If you don't have any NHS blood tests it might benefit you to try some iron and a multivit anyway. (Be careful, as you can potentially overdose on iron). Other supplements are available, but I took Solgar Gentle iron 20mg/day (or 40mg every other day) and Holland and Barrett 50+ A-Z daily.
Good luck! :)
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Just wanted to respond to the comment about a dexa scan - it's great that you had one but this is only to look for osteoporosis/osteopenia, NOT arthritis.
Btw, if you have osteopenia, this needs treatment in its own right if you aren't taking hormone therapy.
Regarding the joint pain, I would make a GP appointment and explain which joints are painful, when, how long, any swelling or other symptoms and any family history of arthritis.
They should examine your joints, arrange blood tests and possibly an x-ray.
This is to rule out things like rheumatoid arthritis which can get progressively worse if untreated.