I was wondering if my joint pain could actually be a symptom of menopause. ? I've been getting tested for rheumatoid arthritis ,but my R.A factor was negitive. I have joint pain in my hands ,elbows ,knees ,and toes.
Someone mentioned that maybe it could be from menopause., which is something I hadnt even considered. I am 54 and still having fairly regular periods ,although I have skipped a couple in the past 6mos. Does anyone else have this? It seemed to come on fairly suddenly. Thanks,I'm really in a quandry! :confused:

Within the last year I've also been dealing with muscle and join pains. My dr. thinks I have arthritis in my left knee. I went through a period of time with pains in my right wrist and shoulders, but that has subsided since I started back exercising. I just read a pamphlet from my doctor's office and these pains were listed as meno. symptoms.

I've noticed that borage oil helps relieve some of the discomfort. :)

Actually it's good to know that joint pain is a symptom of menopause. For the longest time I thought I may even have rheumatoid arthritis,but thankfully have tested neg 2 times. I have an appt (not till Sept ) with a Holistic M.D who specializes in hormones and menopause. If anyone can help me ..she probably can. In the meantime i'll just deal with it. Thanks for the tip. I'll try the borage oil.Is it ingested,or a rub??? Any other tips out there???
Kathryn :)

kathryn+2,

After reading this thread, I see that joint pain is just another symptom of meno. Sheesh. I've been imagining arthritis for years and expecting that I'll wind up in a wheelchair before long.

What I have noticed is that when I am regularly physically active (=going to the gym regularly -- groan), my joints don't hurt as much, and I have much more flexibility. I stopped going for three years, and the joint pain started returning. I've been back for a month now, and it's starting to feel like someone "oiled" my joints.

Sigh. As you can guess, I'm not a fan of sport. But it *IS* helping, in many areas, including relieving joint pain. I've written another session in my calendar for tomorrow.

--Rheanna

Me too Rheanna! I thought for sure I had rheumatoid arthritis! My joint pain also diminishs with reg. exercise,which I also hate to do. I just signed up at the gym again after a 4yr. absence. They have 2 pools ,so I'm going to try swimming as my main activity. I have a treadmill gathering dust ,so time to get back on I guess. It's just so hard to start when your feeling so bad...but I know it will help me. I'll share with you what the Holistic M.D. says (not untill Sept). Kathryn

kthyrn+2 and Rheanna,
I have been through every test in the world for joint pain thinking I had RA! The doc also told me fibromyalgia. But never told me what to do about it so I live on IB and stuff to help me sleep. Excercise helps but no one untill now has ver mentioned it being part of meno! Thanks! Any one have any help for mood swings, night sweats, insomnia, ect?

My mother tested negative for RA for a lot of years. She had been tested for RA, lupus and some other things but all the tests came back negative. .....she did start seeing a rheumatologist in her mid 50's who said she had an autoimmune disorder, but nothing concrete. She finally got a positive RA test in her early 70's. She went through Mayo a few times and sees rheumatologist there. First time visited there, she was 28 yrs old.
Just because you get a negative test doesn't mean you don't have something going on....at least that is what I learned after seeing what has happened to my mother for years.

kthyrn+2 and Rheanna,
I have been through every test in the world for joint pain thinking I had RA! The doc also told me fibromyalgia. But never told me what to do about it so I live on IB and stuff to help me sleep. Excercise helps but no one untill now has ver mentioned it being part of meno! Thanks! Any one have any help for mood swings, night sweats, insomnia, ect?

Sk8trrr, kathryn+2 and Rheanna....try taking freshly ground flax seed every day or flax seed oil....and tumeric is supposed to help with inflammation.
And a pool is very good exercise for those aching joints. My mother said there is a Motel that will let you swim for $1 per time if you have a doctor's prescription /recommendation that execising in a pool will help. I don't know if it is DaysInn. Her small town doesn't have a Y.
Also, try and see a rheumatologist. My mother takes Relafen for the pain. She doesn't want some of the RA drugs because they do lower immune system. She said Prednisone works the best for her when she has a flair up, but can't be on that all the time because of it's side effects.

I just saw my gyn and told him all about my muscle pain,tingleing crackling in my hands,hot flashes,insomnia,feeling like i'm loosing my mind, etc. My hormones came back negative so he doesn't want to admit it might be peri. My periods are 24 days apart down from 30 just a year ago and he doesn't want to think peri. Is he nuts. I decided to follow up with my pcp at his urging to rule out some autoimmune problem. I wasn't going to but I figure better safe than sorry. From the sounds of it and all the research I've done sounds like peri to me. A few more negative tests will hopefully let me sleep in peace. My gyn still thinks I'm too young, but I keep telling him it's peri that I must be gooing through not actually menopause. I think doctors think of these things as one and the same.