Am I in pain or just a bit wimpy?

I`m a whimp also Scentia.. just been to doc after have a heavy fall on the pavement, 10 days ago, left side, shoulder, ribs under breast.. he said keep taking the paracetomol

Yep Polnan That's why I don't go to the docs after a fall anymore. There is nothing they can do. Just wait for the pain to go away.

I've got a rib/breastbone pain after my fall in the bath a couple of weeks ago. Nothing to be done.

Scent is - I think you should go to the doctor. A friend of ours was suffering severe pain in his shoulder and put it down to arthritis. It turned out he had torn the ligaments and required an operation, not painkillers

I have been told by a physio friend that many people have problems despite the fact that they go to the gym on a regular basis, because they are either doing the wrong type of exercise or are doing it wrong.
Try swapping the gym for swimming for a while and see if it helps. If you choose to go back to the gym, make sure that you have a full assessment from one of the instructors.
In the meantime, book an appointment with the GP - you may well find that you will have to ask for a thyroid blood test as it is often one of the last things they look at.

Well you said it you got a very physical job, and you go to the gym every day. More exercise, maybe you need to tone down the exercise excuse the pun, or do more gentle exercise like swimming

You are fully justified in making an appointment now with your GP as there is no point in us all guessing whether your sore joints are due to arthiritis, fibromyalgia or whatever else we can think up.

There are lots of reasons for stiff joints, most of which can be treated and you should never just put up with pain that lasts longer than a day or so.

Scentia go to the doctor. Ask to be checked over. Some of the joints you say are hurting don't seem to be typical exercise strain - fingers? Heels? You need to exclude underlying causes. Ask for a full blood count including a full iron panel. For example there is a common iron loading disorder Haemochromatosis which can cause joint pain and in women the symptoms can be triggered after the menopause because prior to that regular bleeding keeps iron low. Or you may find inflammatory markers or other signs of something that may need more specialist treatment than good diet, changing exercise etc however helpful such changes are for us all!

As well as cod liver oil capsules you should take Glucosamine and Condroitin both of which are needed for healthy joints. You can buy them together in one tablet. If you prefer to order online then I would say Healthspan have the best supplements.

(Get checked out...)

Hi Scentia. I'm sorry to hear you are in pain and you are right to be concerned. You're so young to be going through this. so something isn't right and I'm certain it's the food you eat. I would strongly suggest you hold off with any new medication as that would be the start of a slippery slop to more bad health. Read books on good health especially about food. 'Eat to Live' could literally change your life by Joel Fuhrman. Because you're already in pain now, that's your body crying out for help. Medication is not the answer. I'm 69 and eat a whole foods plant based diet and feel amazing. I walk a lot too to stay supple. Everyone I know that's on this diet and lifestyle is very fit, strong and healthy and this wasn't the case when they were eating an unhealthy diet. Good luck and I hope you do get better and feel great in the end.

Do some research on 'Golden Paste' Its a home made concoction of turmeric, coconut oil and ground black pepper. I've been taking it for the last couple of years for joint pain. I have diagnosed osteoarthritis in my toes and fingers but at 60 thats pretty standard. Oh and stiff knees from squatting constantly over 40 years of nursery work! It has worked really well for me and has other health benefits too. Lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol. (Apparently!) There is an amazing facebook group that will give you all the information you need. Turmeric Support Group People & Pets. Yes my dog has it too! I make huge batches, freeze it and just add it to my food in spoonfuls! Some people tolerate the taste more than others but you do get used to it! I wouldn't be without it and can recommend wholeheartedly. It doesnt mix well with some medications however so please anyone check this out first. One other plus is I rarely get a cold or bad heartburn, You can buy capsules but its so expensive in comparison to home made. I cant remember the last time I took a painkiller. Good luck!

I had similar pains and I mentioned it to our practice nurse. She organised a blood test - vit D deficiency! Sometimes taking other meds can inhibit our systems from absorbing certain vits. Don't feel guilty, in fact just be up front about it. You know aches and pains are like buses - non for a while then all at once. Don't self medicate this ask for a blood test. I'd to take high dose capsules for 3 weeks then one per month for a year. Hope you find an answer. PS. I'm 'on the large side too' but working on it.

I am going to cut straight to the point as i have a busy day
And that is the point
When i had no life or happiness i was always upset unsure in pain to the doctors
When you have a full life you have less time to focus on yourself
I have severe arthritis damaged spine and many other issues
Changed my life
No menopause medication
And i have just been out in the rain planting a tree
Still have pain but it does not rule me
Of course see your gp for pain and investigations
But the choice of getting old sitting in a chait unhappy is up to you
We all get older its how you deal with it
Just lost a stone
Will lose one more
Then those leather trousers are mine

You'll get thrush.

I would first go to your Dr and try and get a batch of blood tests done first, this will show up any problems, e.g. lack vit D I would also change my exercises to water base ones or cycling. All kinder on the joints.

I would also invest in a pair of good quality running trainers for walking around. I was recommended to this by the rheumatologist, if wold seem they cushion the joints.

At the onset of the menopause, my sister suddenly developed arthritis, suffering all the joint pains you describe. I would definitely go back to GP. Try HRT if you have no issues that would preclude it. It will keep you young.

go back and see the doctor .or actually change your doctor .pains in the legs are not to be ingnored. i get awful cramp in mine, but not so much since i had my spinal injections. give up on exercise and go swimming or something a little more gentle.find a local group that caters for gentle exercises....get some woolly tights or leg warmers....i ache all over during winter months. and take ibruprofen......wish i could take HRT again...i gotr 34 percent working kidneys so i tend to get tired easily..

Hello all, I’m new to posting here.
I suffered from joint pain and on a friend’s recommendation I started taking turmeric and black pepper capsules. The effect was better than anti inflammatory meds! Took about a week to kick in. Worth a try.

Have you considered you may be doing too much exercise for your joints. You say you have a physical job, why do you need to exercise every day. Reduce the amount if time you are exercising say every second day and see if that helps though you may well have done damage already. Sorry, trial and error to see if you improve and if not then you may need xrays to see if there is anything causing pain.

Hi Scentia what exercises do you do at the gym and is there adequate supervision? If you're training with weights it's imperative that each exercise is done correctly and over time, we can all slip into bad habits.

Do you run on a treadmill? I was advised against this as it can be jolting to your body so I use an air walker instead. If you enjoy walking, make sure you have good shoes as even doing this on footpaths can aggravate aching joints.

If your pain is bad enough to be impacting on your everyday activities then IMO seeing your GP isn't unreasonable.

I hope you can find something to help.

Scentia - really glad you wrote this post and for all the people who responded. In similar situation, don’t want to go back to doctors, joined gym and getting to sleep and staying asleep due to pain is awful (combined with hot sweats/menopause). Given the responses on this post, I’m going to aim for swimming and going out for hour’s walk daily rather than treadmill. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

I hope my experience may calm any fears about your future health.
When I was going through the menopause I developed pains in joints, particularly my hips and knees. I also developed nodules on my finger joints that were especially painful. Naturally I thought it was all downhill from that point. This depressing outlook seemed to be confirmed when the doctor said it was osteoarthritis and that I would probably need a hip replacement in a few years time.
Well it’s 15 years later and I haven’t needed any joints replaced! In fact as soon as I was through the menopause the joint pains subsided and my mobility was not impaired in any way. My finger joints only hurt intermittently when a new nodule appears so all in all I’m not in bad shape for a nearly 70 year old.
My advice is to look upon it as temporary (hopefully) and to try very hard to avoid any heavy duty painkillers. Keep doing gentle exercise (tai chi is a good choice) and taking walks on flat terrain plus swimming if you enjoy it (I don’t). If possible treat yourself to some chiropractic treatment or similar. If the pain gets too bad to bear take a combo of aspirin and paracetamol. By the way I would certainly have blood tests to make sure there is no other underlying cause: I was tested for rheumatoid arthritis. Apart from that I found the doctor of little help.
Hopefully you will improve once through your menopause and I wish you all the best.

Another vote for vitamin D, I’m 63 and have joint pain in fingers and knees.I’m not over weight and my part time work is physical. For me, exercise doesn’t help or make it worse. Mine all started mid 50s half way thru menopause Dr just told me it was part of hormones reducing. If mine gets to bad I take anti inflammatory for 24hrs then I’m ok for few weeks, also Vitamin d definitely helps I notice the difference if I don’t take them. Maybe trial some things out before you make a visit to the Drs.

I referred myself to our surgery physiotherapist when I experienced terrible hip pain expecting to have to have a hip replacement - he fixed it with a couple of astonishingly simple exercises for me to repeat daily for a couple of months. He sorted the other one the same way 11 years later. All free too!!

Scentia
All this exercising your doing. Do you know that Jim Fixx who 'invented' jogging died of a heart attack while jogging.
You can over do it, you know.