everything about this experience pretty much s*cks so far, but the muscle aches are killing me & the mood swings are scaring me. i would love to hear from others who are struggling with muscle achiness & pain - how do your symptoms manifest? how long do they last? are they disabling? has it gotten better or worse? does it come & go with other symptoms? & for those of you who have seen any light at all at the end of this tunnel - has it gone away or gotten better? or conversely, has it worsened as time has passed?

my experience has been gradual onset over a handful of years without knowing what was going on. 1st shoulder aches & sore shoulder blades. then rib soreness & chest pain. now it's upper body including arms & even hands at times. sometimes it's a burning sensation as well. i don't even know what to do to help manage it - pain pills don't help, neither does an anti-inflammatory diet.

appreciate any input.
thanks,
ellen

Hi there,
I'm so sorry that you're going through this. I'm in the same boat so I understand. I'm looking forward to reading the responses to your email. I've had a lot of relief from osteopathic treatment but I'm anxious to hear from anyone else who's had some relief. I do hope it passes for all of use suffering muscular aches and pains.
Gabby

Hi Ellen,

Another menosister and I were comparing notes on the thread entitled "back pain".

I get a sore burning pain in my shoulders, especially my left shoulder. Yesterday I was in such pain that when I went for an ortho appt the doctor gave me a shot of cortisone. It did help tremendously.

I get up in the morning like an old lady. My knees seem to be spent and I can hardly get to the bathroom without hobbling. My whole body also feels very stiff and sore. Even my feet hurt sometimes!

I am sorry you are going through such a rough time. It does s***. It really does. But it will get better. As I have said before, I believe that if the whacko (me) can improve, we all can together.

Many hugs,
Marcy

hi gabby,

thanks. i'm sorry for you as well & i'd love to hear some good treatment options. what type of osteopathic treatment has helped you? i used to get some relief from soaking in the bath with rosemary oil, but i haven't been able to find the stuff. tylenol doesn't do a thing. & it doesn't seem to matter whether i stretch, etc. it just slams in & out of its own accord.

i, too, am hoping that this is just part of the whole package & will eventually ease. if i come up with anything that helps, i'll let you know.

take care,
ellen

Ellen hi,
Rosemary oil hey? That sounds lovely. If you can't find it, I can certainly send you some. No problem at all, it would be my pleasure. Let me know if you'd like me to do so and we'll make arrangements. I'm going to try it myself!!
The osteo treatment I'm having is a combination of deep tissue massage and bone adjustments. It really seems like he's kneading me like dough but it works 90% of the time.
Keep in touch and take care
Gabby

marcy,

thanks. the other day i couldn't even throw a lousy empty bucket up to my husband on the porch roof because of the pain & stiffness (i used to be athletic in my youth, so the shortstop in me had a hard time with that one). but i'm getting a little break today & i'm ecstatic about that.

i saw that other thread & i'm sorry to hear about all those physical complications. just one of those wouldn't be fun, let alone 3. not to mention that they span the body...

i'm glad that you are getting some immediate relief with the injection. is it a bad rotator cuff injury? & the meniscus - rats. & since i have no short term memory right now, i can't recall if you are getting further diagnostic testing with that. let me know about those - they can be the type of problems that can vary greatly in long term outlook & so it can be important to have a good orthopedic giving you advice (my husband is a pt, so i know a little about this stuff). the toe is like the final insult. my big toe has been aching at night recently, maybe it is referred sympathy for yours.

so i guess we'll hold off on the sprints & arm wrestling until we're both better.

peace,
ellen

This is a good topic for me too. I have been struggling with foot pain ( i got inserts for my shoes and also took Motrin for 2 weeks ) . Now i realize there was more to that pain than i realized. My legs hurt and my ankles ache and I just feel old! For 52 that really hurts. i feel like i am much older and that is NOT ok. I couldnt even go to a line dancing class because my body hurts so much.

I was reading to find out what solutions there are?

i have had aches and pains for such a long time now that it feels normal to me. no injuries tho, so i just keep on.. i find that over the course of the morning, staying active helps to work out the 'kinks', and a good warm shower takes away a lot of the stiffness and pain. i then go to the gym.

Have any of you experienced a burning pain in the middle of BOTH upper arms at the same time? This has been happening to me on and off for the last week. I woke up with them both burning and aching this morning--and trying to work it out on the Boflex was painful--and didn't work. They still both ache. The anxiety I get from these arms hurting--and then the back aching--is awful. Probably gives me more stress, which causes them to ache more, which gives me MORE stress, which . . . and the cycle continues. Reading stories of women having arm pain, back pain, etc. dying in their sleep paralyzes me with fear.

Where did this person that I've become come from?

i think everyone here feels that same way. i think i have a vague idea where this person came from, but i don't know what to do about it & i don't know if she is staying for the duration...

i've been on a pain run for 20 or so days (had a surprise period after 19). i'm getting the some of the same type of pain that you describe. that is new for me. there are times that i can't raise them (my arms) because they hurt so much & i'm guessing the burning is just another extension of this whole thing - which i'm further guessing is a hormonal/neurotransmitter malfunction. also getting alot of skin tenderness there if i try to take a hot bath - the hot water immediately sets it off. & yesterday when i tried to use the heating pad to calm my cramps, it made part of the area, including some ribs, sore & tender in that same way.

sounds like some folks are having success with exercise, but that doesn't seem to work in my case.
i wish i could give you something positive in terms of anything with this, but i haven't been able to manage it well & am unsure if it means that something other than peri is at work. i just know that is s*cks. it's hard to stay emotionally positive & not jump ahead to some bleak scenario. i hope you, me & everyone else who has posted finds some relief soon.

best,
ellen

Moteachr,

I can so relate to the burning pain in shoulders, neck, and back. Sometimes it seems that I am on fire from the nape of the neck down.

When I went to the doctor the other day, I got a prescription for 10 days of naproxen. I have not felt so good in a year. My shoulder, neck and back feel so much better, as does my big toe with the bone spur (in case anyone is wondering...). The only thing the naproxen has not really helped is my knee. It is still hurting and buckling under me. I have an appt with ortho-guy on Friday for him to read my MRI.

Maybe an anti-inflammatory is in order for you also. Please let us all know how it goes.

Best,
Marcy

BTW, Ellen, I am almost ready for that arm wrestling. Even though I know I will lose. I have no pride...

You know, Marcy--I took that when I was in the navy years ago for a bum knee. It worked GREAT. I need to make a doctor appt. for right after the holidays--I think I'll mention it. Thanks!

Today was a better day. I had another dentist appt. so took the day off from teaching and worked on lesson plans calmly at home. It was so relaxing. So wonderful *sigh*. Maybe I needed the "de-stress time," too.

I never had such burning in my arms or back. But it's nice (in a wierd way) to know that I really am not the only one experiencing this.

Thanks, "meno-sisters" for your support. Just knowing someone is out there listening is a huge heap of medicine!

Ellen--it seems I am with you--exercise only makes me wince in pain.

This just HAS to get better! Onward to the next symptom!

hey marcy,

glad the naproxen helps -let us know what the ortho-guy says. i am allergic to aspirin, so no anti-inflammatories for me.

re: arm wrestling - my money is on you. i used to be a strong & powerful young thing, but i'm pretty sure if my neighbor would have accepted the offer to arm wrestle for the dinner bill yesterday, she would have beat me (she is 85).

hey, it's snowing! ok -there goes my concentration. talk to you soon.

best,
ellen

that's the spirit. a better day helps but can't imagine a trip to the dentist is fun. what do you teach?

ellen

hi ellen,

I think I may have wrote about the aches and pains in another post with you. But, to repeat. I started getting pain in my right hip about 4 years ago. It lasted about a year and went away. I continued to have pain on my right side after exercise or house cleaning and I still get that a lot. I had an MRI done last Feb. and it said i had two mild protruding discs on the right side. I went to PT but by then I was having more pain in my left hip and left side of back. The PT sort of helped but then during the summer I started having strange back spasms, right shoulder pain and neck pain.

I found a book one day in late September about healing back pain and other pains. It was written by a Dr. Sarno. It made sense to me. He says most peoples pains are from tension. You'd have to read it to understand. Anyway, I think most of my back spasms are from tension, but I think the tension is hormonal so it sort of hard to get rid of right now. However, I did have success with the spasms using his techniques. But I still have an achy back from standing and shopping, or cleaning, etc. This Dr. says we are preconditioned to think we will have pain during certain activities and the brain brings on the pain. Well, I've self talked and done everything he recommends and I have had success with getting rid of like a sudden spasm, but today I'm real achy it aint working.

So to answer your question, I believe my aches in my back are from tight tense muscles due to low hormones...not sure which. I think when I start getting more agitated, stressed, frustrated, etc. I get worse pains. I never had this problem until I started perimenopause. I'd get a strained back a few times in my life but not like this daily achy pain. I wonder is it just age creeping up? Is it the fluctuating hormones? Or a combination of the two? I'd love to hear too from someone who has gotten through this to see if they had these pains and if they did eventually stop.

I am going to look into massage therapy after the holidays. Right now I just try and put the pain out of my mind and rest when I need to.

I wish there was some magic pill that didn't cause side affects that would make us happy, painfree, slim, youthful and sexy feeling women. Maybe in another 20 years when we don't need it, they will have it. Then we'll be looking for geriatric miracles. LOL.

All the best, feel well.

Corky

hi corky,

appreciate your comments/insight, but sorry you're sharing the pain (yikes - just got a shooting one in my head, no insight though). i know what you're saying about the disc related pain as well, though i'm not familiar with the author that you mention.

my stuff has been such a gradual mild onset to now being crushed, that i can't say i know what to make of it (though i fear that it may be chronic fatigue or fibro). & i know it's not all tension because i'll be having a perfectly happy (ok, let me rephrase that...) day when i get hit with it. actually, if i add everything up, i'm pretty much disabled by it all. which i hope isn't the case for you.

i don't think it's age, but i do think the hormonal whacks are significant contributers. i'm with you about wanting someone who has been through this to come back & share their story. i want to believe that i'm not looking at the rest of my life like this, but i'm starting to feel like this is the way it is. how cheery is that?

but i think that after this ordeal, you'll be more beautiful, strong, sexy, & smart & won't need to worry about geriatric concerns for a long time.

still, get that massage.

best,
ellen

Hi ellen,

I know what you mean about feeling awful on a good day. I have achyness in my low back on most days. I get it just from standing for more than 5 minutes or pushing a shopping cart, etc. Yesterday my neck and shoulders were stiff and painful. I just woke up and as usual feel like the tin man until I get moving. My mood has been okay, but not great and I haven't felt stressed or tensed, in fact, the last week or so I feel pretty happy, yet the pain is there. But, its not the terrible spasms that immobilize me. Those pains I really believe come from a lot of stress, anger, tension. You mentioned Fibro. It seems a lot of women get diagnosed with that around peri/meno. I went to get checked and they said I didn't have that. I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis.

The book I read talks about fibro too. He says women have been cured from the Fibro using the mind/body techniques. I think what happens is we concentrate too much on the pains and the diagnosis and the longer you do that, the mind keeps the pain there, that's in the book too. I'm not trying to push the book on anyone, but it made a lot of sense to me. The brain is so powerful and yet we know very little how it works. The thing that got me about the mind/body connection: when people are embarrassed, sometimes they blush, how come? When they are nervous sometimes there hands sweat; those type of things happen from the brain that we are not controlling. So, the book says, you have to learn how to use your brain to control it from causing your physical pain.

BUT, I have gotten good at controlling the spasms (at least so far), but I can't get rid of the everyday aches. I visit a board where people who have had success from this therapy talk and I've asked about my daily aches and why I can't get rid of them, and they say it sometimes take a few months. They tell me I'm not believing enough that's its all tension and issues inside of me causing this. But, I believe I do. But maybe I don't, because I think I'm so low on estrogen and that's why I hurt every day. LOL.

Be well.

corky,

i'm glad that you're getting some mood relief, if not total pain relief. your tin man description sounded familiar. i think that aspect is just wearing me down from it being there so much lately.

i am going to look at that book that you mentioned (even though i blasted my reading ability in a prior posts - some days i can read, other days i look at pictures...). there is no doubt in my mind that the mind-body connection exists. but this experience has really shown me as well the power of internal malfunctions - the way i can get blindsided on those rare -hey i feel good days - to what the hell just happened? i've had the chin up thing going until the last few months. chin up did not prevent me from falling on my face. but i still try to take care & do healthy stress reduction stuff. (or maybe now that is survival stress reduction - for me & everyone around me that aloneness is a good thing). with all the reading & theories, the only thing that is clear is how complex it is.. so if anyone tries to sum it up easily with one approach, i am wary. a friend gave me a book last year on this new psych theory out of the UK & when i got to the chapter where they blamed postpartum depression on the mother being overly concerned about the health of the baby, i about had my own melt-down. that type of stance strikes me as immensely irresponsible & simplistic.

here's hoping today is a good one for you.

best,
ellen

I too suffer from aches and pains and was wondering if any of you ladies have experienced this one. On my left side, a few inches down from my underarm and around from my left breast (maybe an inch or so from the underwire in my bra towards the back) I get a kind of stitchy feeling which catches my breath sometimes. Its not there all the time but I feel it is muscular as I feel it when I move. Anyone else experienced this?

I've never had muscle aches until peri started. I get leg aches that are so bad I just have to lay down. Yesterday hubby and I were supposed to go for our weekend hike but I just couldn't make it.

I also have the upper back pain that seems to go straight through to my chest (or is it chest pain that is going straight through to my back?)

For this, I tried acupuncture and it worked! The first treatment I went for relieved the pain for exactly one hour (this is what the doctor told me...I'm lucky enough to have found an acupunturist who is also an D.O.)...the second time I went the pain went away for 3 hours...and it kept increasing until I was virtually pain free. This was last year. Now the pain is back again with a vengeance.

Tomorrow I'm going to end my workday early and go visit him again. It is a little disconcerting at first to have 20-30 fine needles sticking out of your back, but I have a high tolerance to pain and I'm used to it now. The needles are as thin as a strand of hair and made of copper. He has me lay on my stomach, then after putting in the needles, he puts a heat lamp on my upper back. My face goes into one of those pillow-rings they use in massage tables. Believe it or not, I always fall asleep! (And I have raging insomnia.)

He also puts some needles into my feet, my wrists and a couple on my face. Ladies, I swear to you, when I leave there I feel like I"m floating on air. My primary care doctor thinks it's all BS...claims that that the relief I'm getting is due to my body releasing endorphins because it's responding to the pain of the needle-sticks. The acupunturist is always talking about my 'chi' and energy meridians...he has me stick out my tongue and makes notes about the color and texture. And he is big on my pulse...is it deep, shallow, slow, fast, thin (don't know what this means, but I guess he does) or thick.

The visits can get costly...they're $45 each and not covered by my insurance. But last year, after just six visits, I felt great, so I figure the $270.00 is worth the pain relief I'm getting.

Hope this helps anyone out there considering trying acupuncture...