Menopause support: Introduce yourself and connect

Feral is a good way to describe it!

Hi, my name is Lehanne and I'm 62. I am 12 years post menopause. At this stage has anyone else experienced severe/worsening muscle and joint pain? I had a total hysterectomy six months ago (uncontrollable bleeding) so no more progesterone. I am still estrogen depleted so continue to take 3mg of estrogen daily. Muscle and joint pain continue to be debilitating and significantly reducing my quality of life. I have been to several specialists to rule out other causes (arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus, etc.).

Hello, my name is krysta. I'm 40 years old and have started my perimenopause journey. I was recently put on progesterone daily to help with night sweats, mood swings, and heavy painful irregular periods. I recently started getting my period about every two weeks. It's been really rough. Also found out I have uterine polyps. Will be seeing a specialist in September to find out more information and steps moving forward. I'm joining this support group to find comfort since it's been a real struggle so far. Just looking to chat with other experiencing similar symptoms and to not feel so alone and confused about it. Thank you bfor listening.

So glad you are here and very sorry you are struggling. Others will be chiming in along the way. My menopause journey was somewhat different. I had a spontaneous and quite early menopause at 38. I am 78 now. I didn't have recognizable and more typical symptoms such as yours. However I went through quite a bit of emotional pain. Even though I never wanted children I grieved the loss of my menses because I felt that I had lost an important part of my feminine self. I am finding that we are all so different in our journey through this stage of life. I am glad that you have found a specialist to help you. Looking forward to hearing more.

@krystamcm

Menopause.org

here is a book that has been helpful for some

The Pause Life by Dr. Claire Havers

@gravity3 thank you so much! Il definitely check that out

@gravity3 thank you for being so welcoming. The emotional pain is incredibly tough. Its absolutely a mourning time when that chapter closes, especially at 38. I'm sorry you had to go through that. It's very true how different everyones journey is through this, I had no idea. I'm very happy to have found this support group, it's hard when no one around you is going through it as well.

@krystamcm

I my experience there is little as powerful as women sharing their stories and raising our voices.

@lehanne
Hi Leanne, I’m also 62 and have “Muscle and joint pain continue to be debilitating and significantly reducing my quality of life.”

I’m post menopause 7 years (since May 2019).

Back in 2019 I had severe symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings, brain fog, etc. I kept waiting for these symptoms to lessen, but when they didn’t, I talked to my nurse practitioner endocrinologist who suggested I see an OBGYN and ask for a “micro-dose” of HRT.

I finally did this in February 2024. Wish I would have done it much sooner!

I’m currently on Dotti estrogen patch + prometrium 100 mg. Very kind, elderly, intelligent OBGYN explained that because I still have a uterus, I need the progesterone to protect my uterus.

All my previous severe menopause symptoms are gone, but now within past year that has been replaced with pain in hips, knees and lower back. Especially at night, so I’ve been using a body pillow, adjusting my Sleep Number bed and using a heating pad on my lower back and hips.

I’ve researched this and it’s basically due to lack of estrogen. Estrogen is needed to help cushion and to help with inflammation enzymes (cytokines). That’s a very basic explanation. You can google the longer explanation.

So what do we do?

I ordered a red light therapy pad and used it a few times. I need to be more diligent with use so I could possibly see results in 6-8 weeks.

I take 660 mg naproxen (Aleve) at bedtime along with supplement sleep aids = Magnesium Glycinate, Melatonin 1 mg, Tart Cherry Juice capsule. These help me GET to sleep, but I wake up in one hour due to hip pain and need to roll on other side plus turn on the heating pad. Two hours later I wake up again due to hip pain and have to shift to other side. “Rotisserie chicken sleeping”.

I miss my original estrogen!

Has anyone found relief from Provitalize? I’ve seen it advertised and I question the ingredients if they really will help at all.

@louiserivers

What strength is the patch and what for and dose did you take previously? Do you also take testosterone?