Osteoarthritis and the menopause

Nuria

I have had the menopause for almost two years now, and when it started... arthritis kicked in. Oh boy! Anything that i did would damage a joint... FOREVER! Even cutting paperdolls for my pupils one day has caused problems!!

I am a very active person: I go hillwalking and climbing and these two activities are not well paired with osteoarthritis. My big toes hurt, my thumbs hurt and my hands have become weak!

Last year I went to see my GP about it and they referred me to the Rheumatologist, in case it was not Osteo... although it was clear it was, as it was clear it was linked to the menopause (which is why I went in the first place). What did I get? Wait for this: "stop doing yoga!" he said. "wear these insoles!" Are you kidding me???? of course it was a man (no offence but until you have the menopause you will not deal with it from our perspective).

Until women take control and we realise that all medical treatments have mostly been seen from the point of view of the male we will not see solutions to our female problems. Let's face it, we have a history of male domination and it is going to take a while to get out of this box.

"There is no solution or prevention", they say. I bet that if men had the menopause there would be one.

Forgive my rant, but it destroys my life as it is... so full of joy, fun and energy to think that I am going to have to simply sit and watch TV instead of using my hands for walking, climbing, yoga, painting, knitting, crafting...

HELP!

Brynmor

Hi Nuria and welcome to the Online Community.

I understand that you have osteoarthritis which has come to the fore as menopause has occurred at a time when you are still a very active person. This has made such activities really painful and the suggestions to help manage the pain have been less than helpful, both from your GP and rheumatologist.

The menopause can have a significant impact on day-to-day life and, sometimes, it can even overlap with arthritis symptoms making it hard to diagnose. It is surprising that you were recommended to stop activities such as yoga, as exercise and keeping muscle strength is important in supporting joints weakened by osteoarthritis.

Our web site has a few pages that might be of interest regarding the menopause and arthritis:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2021/august/i-wanted-to-get-my-arthritis-pain-under-control-i-wasn-t-thinking-about-the-menopause/

and

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2021/october/hand-osteoarthritis-do-female-hormones-play-a-part-your-questions-answered/

I look forward to seeing the suggestions and comments our members may have regarding this subject.

Do join in across the community, ask questions and also call in to say how you are getting on. You will be most welcome.

All best wishes

Brynmor

Brynmor

Just adding to this conversation:

You can find previous discussions in the Online Community on this subject by using our search function: here is the link to the search results https://community.versusarthritis.org/search?query=menopause&scope=site

Hope some of them will be useful.