Permanent aches - is this normal?

isaott
isaott Posts: 28 Member
edited December 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there, I'm hoping to get some insights from this community as to whether I'm 'normal'.

I'm 43, soon to be 44, and I have been in constant joint pain for the past 3 years or so. It seems to be wandering around the body, so some days the hips are bad, other times it's the neck or the elbow. I'm not a super sporty person but I do some exercises and walk my dog every day. The pain is not stopping me from doing that but it is starting to grate as it is always there.

Is this just normal ageing or should I see a doctor to investigate? Dr. Google comes up with all sorts but maybe aches and passions are just a normal age thing? What's your experience, if you like to share?

Replies

  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    Welcome. I'm sorry you are feeling so pained and for so long. Like you say, Dr Google can come up with all manor of reasons/causes. I expect you've considered poor posture too. I would strongly suggest you visit your doctor though may be you've not made that visit because you've experienced the same old, your a woman, kind of dismissive reaction too. Pain should never been seen as normal. There are so many upheavals the female body may be caused to endure but with the right support for you should be able to achieve a drastically reduced pain level or even better become pain free. Mid 40's is no age to be dismissed with, put up with it, you are getting old. You have so much more healthy life ahead of you.

    I would strongly suggest you find a Doctor who looks for the underlying cause of health problems rather than simply issuing you with the "standard" prescription of the pills as plasters for all ailments. Much easier in the US than here in the UK. I was bedbound by a standard osteoarthritis gel when I had a nasty flare last year, only one application! Even though I'd expressed deep reservations knowing my personal sensitivity reactions to salicylate. I'd puled all the general advice strings I could before seeking medical intervention. Believe it or not, and you are more than welcome to be sceptical, keeping to a lower sugar regime helps me. When I veer from my straight an narrow I get niggles in my knees. As long as I can avoid knee replacements, I'm happy, even facing 70 head on.

    Some doctors and scientists refer to inflamaging now! (inflame-ageing) In your 40's, explore other options.

    Wishing you all the very best with the expectation you can be pain free.
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,513 Member
    I'm 37, I complained of pain from 24 and was ignored for a decade

    Turned out I had an underactive thyroid (which my GP actually knew about for a few years) I was very deficient in vitamin D and when they eventually allowed knee x-rays it showed arthritis

    I pushed for physio and they noticed hypermobility
    They are now querying inflammatory arthritis

    So if self care isn't improving things for you I would speak to your GP and ask for help
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,698 Member
    isaott wrote: »
    Hi there, I'm hoping to get some insights from this community as to whether I'm 'normal'.

    I'm 43, soon to be 44, and I have been in constant joint pain for the past 3 years or so. It seems to be wandering around the body, so some days the hips are bad, other times it's the neck or the elbow. I'm not a super sporty person but I do some exercises and walk my dog every day. The pain is not stopping me from doing that but it is starting to grate as it is always there.

    Is this just normal ageing or should I see a doctor to investigate? Dr. Google comes up with all sorts but maybe aches and passions are just a normal age thing? What's your experience, if you like to share?

    It's not normal ... go to your doctor.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Pain for 3 years isn't normal, see your doctor
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Go to the actual doctor, not Dr. Google. It could be all sorts of things, ranging from mild to serious. There's no way to be sure unless you get it checked out.
  • Smccabe8
    Smccabe8 Posts: 129 Member
    Just speaking from personal experience here, not a doctor. When my mom turned 50, she went from active and pain free to acting like a 90 year old. Walking was painful, her joints were stiff, after sitting for an extended period of time, she’d have to slowly walk till her joints got “warmed up” and she could walk normally. We went on vacation and it was like being with a grandma. After extensive doctor visits and a saliva test, turns out she had developed some pretty strong food sensitivities. (Sensitivities are not allergies, it’s more of a body not reacting well to a particular food than an anaphylactic reaction.) She 100% cut out the foods that her body wasn’t reacting well to, and within a month her joint pain and inflammation went away. She actually just tried to add one of those foods back in as a test, and her LDL cholesterol shot up 60 points in a couple months because her body couldn’t process that food.

    I’d highly recommend food sensitivity (not allergy) testing. Foods that your body can’t process well can lead to a ton of inflammation and pain. I’m super sensitive to dairy, and my normally perfect skin will be swollen and inflamed within 24 hours of eating even a little. Bodies process things differently.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    Asking for the personal experiences of people on the forums isn't any better than asking Dr. Google. None of us nor Dr. Google know your medical history or are able to examine you or run any diagnostic tests on you, and most of us aren't qualified to make a diagnosis even if we had that information. There are lots of possible causes, and you need a qualified medical professional who can examine you in person and run any necessary tests to determine which of those causes apply in your case.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    Have you looked at the advice given, most comes down to get proper medical advice...…………… what is wrong with that. The lady above with underactive thyroid had a valid point, its good to have that one excluded along with Fibro and the like. Women should never expect to be told to "shut up and put up" , I suspect the OP has been and if coming on threads like this cause one person to take action all to the good.

    The medical profession is male orientated. Women often come of worst with heart conditions because our hormonal back ground is more complicated than the male. One of the findings when testing Viagra for men was that it completely took menstrual pain away!! The result was dismissed by the panel of doctors, as being of no real use.

    I hope the OP finds a very good well trained doctor.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I had “wandering pain” much like you describe which turned out, after ten years of doctors ignoring me, to be the first signs of Lupus. Lyme disease and fibromyalgia which have been mentioned are also possibilities. Back injury. Arthritis. Regardless it isn’t normal and you shouldn’t have to put up with it.

    One thing to consider asking for when you have vague symptoms is a sed rate test. Sed rate isn’t good for making specific diagnoses, so a lot of doctors overlook it. However a normal one will rule out a lot of possibilities and an elevated one will at least prove it’s not all in your head and something is indeed wrong, making the doctor sit up and pay attention. Also it’s inexpensive and most doctors can do it in-house in less than an hour, making it very efficient compared to more expensive tests.
  • jhansonfan
    jhansonfan Posts: 9 Member
    I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and arthritis in my hands hips and shoulders. I am 56 years old and it started after a car accident in my mid-30s. Dealing with pain on a daily basis is difficult. It can cause depression and it is very hard to keep motivated when you are in pain and you don’t sleep well. As you can tell by some of the other comments there are a myriad of reasons why you were feeling this pain.
    Please see a doctor and get to the bottom of why you are having pain. Don’t let them tell you it’s all in your head. That is something that happens to many women. We are dismissed by many medical professionals. Don’t stop until you have an answer.
    Good luck
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    Have your doctor check for autoimmune diseases or refer you to a rheumatologist.
  • JohnnytotheB
    JohnnytotheB Posts: 361 Member
    Hello. You should go to a doctor! That does not sound right to me!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I've had wandering pain for decades. It was in my lower back for the longest time. When that finally resolved, I developed knee pain. While that comes and goes, during a gone period I developed hip pain. That's been gone since last year, but I've had elbow pain since December. I can identify a trigger for that, but no way I should still have pain from that since I stopped the activity four months ago.

    For everything but the elbow, I have seen plenty of doctors and had X-Rays, MRI, etc. I've been tested for Lyme's disease several times over the years.

    I just deal with it - hope you find a better solution.
  • 1BlueAurora
    1BlueAurora Posts: 439 Member
    Go to the doctor. If you're not satisfied with the doctor's attitude, or the diagnosis doesn't sit well for whatever reason, go get a second opinion. Three years of unaddressed pain is truly awful. And while some people here have found success in addressing their pain issues by changing how and what they eat, that isn't enough for some conditions. Please don't dismiss the potential help of medications. Best of luck!
  • peggy_polenta
    peggy_polenta Posts: 325 Member
    if it moves around it could be lupus
  • isaott
    isaott Posts: 28 Member
    Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all your replies. I have been to a doctor once who essentially said it's not that bad and gave me naproxen which did nothing but add stomach pain.
    I'm moving house this week so will find another doctor in my new area and try and push for answers.
    Thanks again!
  • AwesomeOpossum74
    AwesomeOpossum74 Posts: 106 Member
    I'm 45. Chronic lower back problems due to an injury sustained when I was 29. I've had cervical (neck) disc replacement surgery 3 years ago. I cracked my right elbow on a wall corner while wrestling with my son 10 years ago, resulting in spurs, and have had to have interior infection lanced from same joint (almost went septic). When I kneel, my knees hurt ... a lot. All my joints crack and pop when I move.

    I'm getting older. Damage doesn't heal as quickly as it used to. It's a part of my life, and I just try to move forward.

    New things hurt periodically. As long as I know how to handle them, I'm good to go. When I get concerned, I go to the doctor.
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