Diet and menopausal tendonitis

Lemonade2013

Hi, just a brief bit about me and where I am now.. - periods started being erratic around 2 years ago, not much of a bother apart from the surprise element of course! and the odd extremely heavy one - then they just stopped.. so have not had a period for six months now.

Rather bizarrely since that very last period I have had the most horrible symptom creep up on me - menopausal tendonitis - in both elbows, base of thumbs, knees and now my right hip is playing up.. this is the most miserable, health wise, time of my life because I am usually very active, personal training, very long walks, well basically I could do whatever I fancied doing.

These days, I find it hard sometimes to get myself up the stairs without pain.. I cannot put any bearing down weight on my elbows for example cleaning windows, mopping the floor hurts I def can't do any of the pilates on your knees type moves - am just wondering if anyone else has this and has linked it to what they're eating - I have only just started to keep a journal to see if I can why it is much worse some days than others..

Oh and I have only just started getting what I must assume is hot flashes, they just creep on my and ever so warm felling for 5 mins or so and then they just fade away.. the painful tendons is what concerns me the most as I can't help thinking what if it gets much worse and goes on for years and years :-(

Thanks for reading.

debneeds2beskinny

I have never heard of that, it must be miserable. So sorry you have to experience it

nancy10272004

I am sorry you feel this way. I have tendonitis in my elbow and I can't imagine having it all over. I hate to ask the obvious question but has your doctor diagnosed this as tendonitis? Does she/he have any advice or plan?

I wonder if acupuncture would help? I find that it cures a lot of what ails you that doctors can't figure out. It might be worth investigating.

liznotyet

My spouse had this at 53 and after months of pain figured out it was a new sensitivity to gluten. Food sensitivities can start at any time of life. If it happened to me I would try a week or two without sugar and wheat to see if the symptoms subsided, just to rule it out. About ten years ago I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia but when I took fruit juice out of my diet and got a new mattress, the joint pain (which I had been suffering through for over a year) subsided. There are other late hit sensitivities possible also, like dairy, caffeine and chocolate, but I would only give those up after I tried removing gluten first.

Sorry you are hurting and hope you find a way out of it!

Lemonade2013

Thank you all for your replies, really helpful - re the diagnosis I came to that conclusion myself after reading very similar stories on another forum.. my doctor started off saying I had golfers elbow in BOTH elbows (huh?!) I then started to get very painful areas at the base of both thumbs, both knees and because of compensating for those dodgy knees I now have the achey lower back on the right side..my physio said that I had patella tendonitis in the knees so took the diagnosis from there really, have tried the old hot cold routine helps whilst I do it but no long term benefit.

Interesting that fibromyalgia has been mentioned because after yet another consultation yesterday with a different doctor this time she was very keen to get me referred to a rheumatologist to see if I have fibromyalgia - I SO don't want to be diagnosed with that, I have found nothing but doom and gloom about this - I can see why they are going down this route, apart from the specific pains above I have very sore penny sized areas of pain on both thighs and shin bones are ridiculously sensitive. I do not have the fatigue associated with this condition though, am able to still walk 6+ miles at a time and work out with a personal trainer twice a week but we are very mindful of what will hurt me whilst we work out - he's a gem!

I have read before about excluding stuff from your diet, I am willing to give that a go - I shall google for what encompasses 'all grains' and sugar has to be pretty easy to avoid as I near enough eat fresh home made foods anyway.

I have been after a new mattress for some time now, I find it incredibly hard to stay away from home because I never know what the bed is going to be like and boy have I had some sleepless nights where mattresses have no given in them at all - feels like sleeping on the floor would to me lol!

Acupuncture is another thing I have on my list of 'things to do' - I have been having physio once a week and choose where he does it depending on what hurts the most on that day!

Thanks again for replying and apologies for repeating myself, I also have brain freeze a lot!

klkarlen

I had never heard of this before, but I have been dealing with something similar that I was calling "texting thumb" for the past 6 months. I'm going to go Google this and read up. I hope you are feeling a bit better.

CryssieFit

Hello Lemonade13 -

I am having similar issues except my pain is most prevalent when I get up in the morning or when I've been seating for more than about 5 mins... It is really debilitating.

It is also a major pain in the rectum because we NEED to be able to walk at this stage in our lives in order to combat the weight gain and other symptoms associated with menopause. My doctor says this soreness is a symptom of weight gain. Mine is in the ankles, knees, thumbs and wrists. I know the doc can't be right since I've had this same issue since before I gained the weight. The sharpness of the pain is beginning to really disturb me though and I'd like to get to the bottom of it.

I rarely take pain-killers or muscle relaxers of any kind to deal with aches and pains. However, the increase in pain lately has forced me to either take something or skip exercising. I can't afford to skip exercising (aches and pains be damned!) lest I gain another frickin 5 lbs.. My menopausal metabolism just for 'standing still' seems to be in negative mode -- meaning if I don't eat or drink anything all day and either exercise or stand still, I will gain a lb overnight. Disturbing!

Anyways... I decided to purchase a new type of orthotics cushion today and I'm hoping that will relieve some of the pain. I've got plenty of them that were bought pre-menopause, but I'm thinking with my menopausal weight gain, it was time for a new one. Oddly enough, the Dr. Scholl's machine gave me a new ortho prod number. Will let you know if this new adjustment to my foot cushions does the trick re reducing the pain. So far tonight, it felt much better when I did my walk and also after sitting for a half hour and then resuming walking. I'm hopeful!

kimglasson

I have been peri-menopausal for about 5 years now. I noticed when my periods started getting erratic that I started having a lot of joint aches/pains. I was just putting up with it until I had pain in my right shoulder and arm at night for more than 6 months. Was diagnosed with an impingement. They gave me ibuprofen which actually made it feel so much better. All of my other aches and pains went away while on ibuprofen also. It was then that I knew my main problem was inflammation. In searching for foods to help lower inflammation I discovered the whole foods plant based diet. I stopped the ibuprofen and changed my diet. The dietary change actually works very well for me. I find that my body now tells me when I eat the wrong foods. I get inflammation if I accidentally eat something that has dairy in it. Also if I eat too much refined sugar or free oils. Too much salt causes water retention and tends to make my arms fall asleep at night. Sometimes I am unable to pinpoint exactly what is causing inflammation and I find that taking some Turmeric with black pepper helps to reduce the inflammation as well as ibuprofen does, but without the long list of potential side effects. Definitely look into dietary changes that may help with your inflammation. Can always start with an elimination diet if need be. Good way to figure out what bothers you. Good luck!