I had some follow up blood tests done recently and spoke to the nurse (not the doc himself, yet) about the results.

Apparently I was given the "change of life" test and it came back - negative! So according to these tests, I am not in menopause or even perimenopause at all.

Do you think I should go away?

More disturbing, though, was that the doc had picked up more indications of inflammation and now thinks I have rheumatic arthritis after all - again, this is according to the nurse. My hands and feet have been giving me a lot of bother. It moves around and changes. It seems to get worse every day.

Saw my chiro today and she said very firmly, rest it, don't do what you've been doing or there will be irreparable joint damage.

I was playing gigs all last weekend. We have another one to practice for on 14 August. I need to practice and I have to play... but now I am scared sh*tless. And the one thing that I really love doing will be the thing I can't do.

I see the doc on Monday and will see what he says.

If I had listened to all the doctors in the past 3.5 years that were wrong I would still be feeling like poop! Find one that will still treat your symptoms no matter what your blood work shows.

of course you shouldn't go away...there are lots of women on this site who have been told they're not in peri.....but we know ourselves better than the dr's do....

My ob-gyn put me on low dose bcp's two and a half years ago for my symptoms, not by doing blood work, I was 46 at the time, and feeling awful. Last year he did a hormone test and this Sept. i will go off for three weeks and do another. I may be switching to hrt. You know your body, find someone who will help you as you go through this. As far as the arthritis, I feel if you stop everything you love, you have nothing left. I paint, and yes, so days it hurts alot, but if I stopped altogether, I would be miserable. Last summer, my knees with osteoarthritis were so bad I went to physical therapy, but still went up and down ladders, did it hurt? yes, but this year they are no worst for the wear. Lack of work stiffens me up. it may be different with RA, but I say keep playing, it's part of you. If you are like you you are happiest when you are playing, so dont' let anyone take that away, just be sure to rest whenever you can and see if there are exercises to help heal it.

Good luck, and dont' leave us.

Honey.....if you are here under "false pretences" then so are alot of us whose doctors haven't a clue about what they are doing.

Thankyou everyone!
I was at a bit of a low ebb when I posted that. Sat thru the day feeling sorry for myself and then thought

FECK IT! I'm not going to let this bugger defeat me. I have been playing guitar for 40 years and no reason to stop now... it is, as you said, enough, part of me, and a big part. Being a musician is part of my vocabulary.

My boss caught me looking down and asked me what the problem was, so I told her then she said "There's no reason in the world why you have to suffer with that, there are very good drugs out there" and she recommended an over the counter anti inflammatory, told me to go get some and gave me the rest of the day off! She suffers with a rare form of arthritis and takes anti inflams constantly and it doesn't slow her down! (She hasn't got meno to deal with though, she's much younger.)

So I got some and it is already helping.

When I see the doc on monday I will demand the best drugs and treatment to beat this thing into remission and then submission.

I am so happy to hear you talking like this. That's it, take the bull by the horn, and go with it. Being a musician is awesome, keep going with it. i am not musical at all and all three of my children are and I envy them so much. You dont' choose to be one, the music chooses you. What a gift. Get some good meds to keep inflammtion at bay and keep at it.

You are a Tigress !! your name suits you .. I find anger is much more productive then depression ,, when I get mad at this stupid peri I can actually get things accomplished !

Things look a little different today, after I got to actually talk to the organ grinder (the doctor) and not the monkey (the nurse).

He said they had tested me for rheumatoid arthritis the last time and it had come out negative but there was still some inflammation going on which he wasn't sure about. Showed him my hands... could it be that? Hmmm!

There is a thing I have discovered which affects guitar players, called "cubital (not carpal) tunnel syndrome". All the symptoms I've read about match exactly the ones I have. It affects the outside part of the hand, the wrist and elbow and eventually can cause your hand to lose strength. Hands giving me a lot of bother, been referred to a physio about that - and also given anti inflams about six times as strong as the ones I was taking.

Also the hormone test had proved I was definitely on the path to meno or, as he quaintly put it, "the baby factory is shutting down." (About time!)

How could a nurse get it so wrong??

So he'll call me again in a week with the results of the new tests "and this time I'll call you myself" instead of having the stoopid nurse talk to me and get me all worried.

Right now I want my hands back!

Until I read you last post, I was going to say this....

I have two doctors tell me that I am not in Peri... But honestly hun, I know my body. I think some of them don't realize that just because we are still having our periods, still don't mean are hormones are starting to flucuate, and prepare.... I was reading whereas many women have their period, and actually stop ovulating....

But I see that test proved it, I love that, "the baby factor is shutting down"....

Sometimes, w/no offense to nurses, bcz most of them our lifesavers cuz they usually have alot more compassion and understanding than alot of doctors, but there are few that think they know what the doctor's know, and all honestly, unless she was a ARNP (heck even then, really shouldn't be making any comments about what he/she thinks); that should always be left up to the doctor... Esp when they don't even know the results of the test...

Well at the least you are on the right track.... Take care, and blessings on ya...

PS - as for the hands, yes it could be an overuse syndrome, I did have carpal tunnel yearssss ago, started doing hand stretching and that help alot, but I am not sure w/what you have... Best of luck on find your answer....

Have you looked into acupuncture? It did wonders for my foot (morton's neuroma) and my knee issues. As soon as I get the funds, I'm going back to have my left thumb (tendonitis?) taken care of.

Excellent suggestion, thank you! I have used acupuncture before for muscle pains and backaches so I can vouch for its efficacy. I know where to find an acupuncturist locally, too, apparently a very good one, my aunt who has multiple back problems, highly recommends him/her.

I'll see what the physios say about the problem first... also my daughter who is home next week, she's just done 2 years of a 4-year physio course.

I find stretching does help, also heat pads.

Excellent suggestion, thank you! I have used acupuncture before for muscle pains and backaches so I can vouch for its efficacy. I know where to find an acupuncturist locally, too, apparently a very good one, my aunt who has multiple back problems, highly recommends him/her.

I'll see what the physios say about the problem first... also my daughter who is home next week, she's just done 2 years of a 4-year physio course.

I find stretching does help, also heat pads.

So... ya want an update?

I've been offline for a while (nasty trojan, reinstall, start again from scratch) but in the meantime spoken to my doctor (himself, not the nurse) about the follow up test results.

Very pleased he was... the CRP has gone way down to normal levels, maybe a bit over, but not higher than hell like it was last time. And this was after a weekend of intensive practice and no medication, specifically so that he could see what was going on.

So, I ask him, what does this mean? Well... it would appear I don't have RA because he tested me that TWICE and it came out negative.

But I sure as hell have something... I'm still aching in all joints, especially fingers, but asked him to prescribe some nice strong anti inflammatories because they seem to help.

He seems to think everything is getting back to normal.. but I still hurt all over.

Glad you dont' have RA, that is not a fun disease. I talked to my gyn about the same problem I was having and told him I even had all sorts of blood work and x-rays of my hand. He said, I bet it didn't show anything, right? He says it's all hormonal, that our hormones wreak havoc on our bodies. So, maybe that is just what is going on for you. I tried all sorts of supplements and nothing helped. Now, the past month without all the rain we had in June, had made my joints feel better, so I dont' think all those supplements do anything for me.

I hope you feel better. Ibuprofen did do the best job when it was really bad.