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[Footballjackben]

Hi
I am a new member to MM. I am 51 and have been symptoms for about a year now. The ones that are really troubling me are the back and shoulder aches. I have tennis elbow in both arms which the GP says is not related but they all started at the same time so am not sure ???I have had physio and chiropractor treatment but they don't seemed to have worked. So far I have not had suffered too badly with sweats. I am warm at night and wake up a few times usually with aches and feeling a bit warm. I gave caffeine up a few years ago and don't drink alcohol so think this has helped. I don't feel myself and the aches are awful some days. I feel 100 when I get up in a morning.plus have put on half a stone .  The GP has referred me to the menopause clinic. But i have a family history of breast cancer so am not sure what they will recommend. Any thoughts anyone on relieving muscle aches . I am a teacher and am dreading going back to work because of the workload and how I am feeling

[Bobidy]

Hi, the muscle aches were / are my biggest thing. Mine are now soooooo much better though. I was misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia, tendinitis (my pain was elbow too) etc prior to peri diagnosis by a specialist.

I have just started estrogel and will be starting testosterone shortly. I can't advise on that I'm afraid with your medical history, but if you take a look on Menopause Doctor.com there is also info on there. I think a meno specialist is the best idea.

I do yoga stretches morning and night, go on a 4 mile hike most days, do 1kg free weight, have Epsom salt foot/baths (cheap in bulk off Amazon). Regular full body massages help (your other half can have a go at that). Hot water bottles are good on targeted areas. Celafen cream is good for neck and shoulder aches. I take an occasional paracetamol as they are the gentlest painkiller.

Honestly though, being active is the absolute best thing and after the initial phase of it hurting a bit more you will reap the benefits. If you check out the Arthritis U.K. Website they have lots of great easy stretches that are very similar to my yoga ones.

My arches had collapsed around the same time which caused lots of back / hip pain (again undiagnosed by gp) so it might be worth going to a podiatrist too to get your feet checked just to rule it out.

I used to teach so I know how heavy the loads are that you are expected to carry. Plus changing room layouts, sorting equipment etc,  I would not be able to cope with that anymore I don't think. Maybe have a chat with your employer about resources to help you (maybe one of those pull bag things). There is info on Menopause Doctor that you can give to you employer.

I hope some of this helps x

[Footballjackben]

Hi
Thanks for your advice - am going to try yoga. I have to take painkillers most days just for the relief from the pains. Its nice to know that you feel much better - do you think it is down to moving more? Or the Estrogel?

[Bobidy]

Hi, definitely the activity as I only started Oestrogel in May and it was much better before that. I think HRT is also really helping, albeit in more subtle ways. Im still in peri so do get the hormone spikes and dips and I can tell when my period would have been due (recent hysterectomy) as I'm generally more achy and rubbish  then.

Don't be put off by it hurting more when you start the stretching / weights etc as it will probably take up to 3 months before you notice a real improvement. Try to get out for a brisk walk too even if just for 30 mins each day as you'll benefit from that too. All of this will also help against osteoporosis / heart disease. There are loads of yoga tutorials on YouTube.

You should be able to get off the pain killers. After a while they won't work anyway if you take them a lot.

There is a great book called Beat Your Pain by Paul Jenner that you should be able to get from your library etc that has loads of techniques and useful info.

When I started with all of this a couple of years ago it was totally overwhelming and scary as I had no idea it was peri and my docs were crap. But now I know what I'm dealing with having done loads of research on here and Menopause Doctor.

There are lots of positive lifestyle things you can do to have a bit of an overhaul such as cutting out smoking, drinking, caffeine, spicy or sugary foods, eating healthy (boring I know) and getting some activity into each day. It really does help massively and after a bit you won't miss it (much).

I forgot to say that you could email Dr Currie on here for specific hrt advice re breast cancer.