“我想控制关节炎的疼痛，我不是在考虑更年期。”

在最好的时候患有关节炎是很难的，但是当您处理更年期时，这可能会更具挑战性。  

The menopause is a natural part of ageing that usually happens when you’re between 45 and 55 years old. It’s when your oestrogen levels decline, you stop having periods and can no longer become pregnant naturally.

From hot flushes and irregular periods to mood swings and stiff joints, menopause symptoms are not something to downplay.

They can have a significant impact on day-to-day life and, sometimes, they can even overlap with arthritis symptoms, which can make it even trickier to get a diagnosis.

As well as sharing similar symptoms, the menopause can also make pre-existing arthritis symptoms worse1. For instance, you might find that menopause disrupts your sleep, which can make you feel fatigued and more sensitive to pain.

Another concern is that menopause increases your risk ofosteoporosis和心脏病 - 如果您患有炎症性关节炎，您已经患有较高的风险。

Thankfully though, with the right treatment and support, it is possible to manage menopause symptoms.

Here, Sarah shares her story about the menopause, as someone with osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and osteochondritis

莎拉的故事

我的名字叫莎拉（Sarah），我53岁。我被诊断出患有骨软骨炎，这是一种影响12岁时膝盖的骨骼和软骨的联合疾病，我被告知我会长大的话 - 我没有。

I had one knee cleaned up and the other a partial膝盖更换at 47. I also developed arthritis in my lower back, shoulders, tops of my feet and hands, mainly in my thumbs.

I was diagnosed withfibromyalgiain 2015. Some years have been easier than others, and you just try to manage the best you can. Along with the physical pain comes the emotional and mental challenges, or as I call it ‘yuk and stuff’.

When did you notice something was changing with your hormones?

I can't say. I never really noticed a huge change, I had been taking the contraceptive pill since I was 18, and since my 40s I had been taking it daily with no gap.

我的GP在40岁时将药丸交换了。我记得48岁左右的夜间汗水，情绪波动和痛苦。据我所知，我所有的血液检查都很好。

I wanted to get my pain under control, I wasn’t thinking about the menopause.

Did you start to experience any additional arthritis symptoms?

I went to my GP a handful of times as I had been having a few difficult months and every time my bloods were okay. I was then referred to rheumatology, offered counselling and anti-depressants. Also, I was advised to go back onamitriptyline由于我的痛苦和fatiguelevels.

The next time I called my surgery, I spoke to a female GP and she said, ‘Has anyone spoken to you about menopause?’ and I said, ‘No, I haven’t thought about it.’

We had a fantastic conversation and she suggested that I start on the HRT pill first, this did nothing and so I went onto the HRT patch. I didn’t know what to expect as I didn’t know if the pain and fatigue were due to my arthritis or something else.

逐渐地，我注意到我的心情升高，这有助于我更好地控制痛苦。在我在联网活动中遇到的顺势疗法的建议之后，我决定避开避孕药。我没有一段时间，只有一些最初的“斑点”打开和休息和周期疼痛。

我失去了性欲，自从进入HRT补丁以来就回来了！

Did you get the support and advice you needed?

现在回顾过去，我觉得我没有得到足够的支持或信息。每件事都受到分开治疗，肠易激综合症，疼痛，情绪波动等。当我进行自己的研究时，我所能找到的只是有关纤维肌痛的信息，而不是有关与更年期的链接的任何信息。

I just learnt to get on with life and focused on sorting everyone else out, not always taking time to give myself attention.

What has helped you?

Training in various holistic and alternative therapies and always exercising has been really helpful for me. I didn’t really talk about my health to my family and friends.

I ended up trying therapies from a homeopath as she described how I was feeling. I think she was the first person to suggest that the reasons could be due to lack of oestrogen. Before that, I never thought to bring this up with my GP.

Why do you think it is important to talk about the menopause and arthritis?

It’s important to talk as you are not alone, everyone if different and once you talk, you can take back some control, gain an understanding, and feel empowered to live your life, not to just exist and make do!

您会给经历更年期的其他人提供什么建议？

At any age, if you experience mood swings, fatigue, pain in the body, a change in periods, mild hot flushes always look into hormones. Maybe you could benefit from the HRT pill or patch to ensure your levels are correct. These are questions to ask your GP.

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