Doctors are at a loss when I present my list of symptoms. It doesn't fit any pattern they're familiar with. In fact usually they only want to deal with a small group of them. But I can't help thinking there's some underlying condition. For one thing, everything either started or got a lot worse at the same time.

That was at menopause, but my symptoms are hard to pin on hormone changes alone. I keep looking for explanations; knowing what's going on would help figure out how to deal with it.

Anyway for the record, here's the whole list:

"Liver attacks" (my term) — see this page

Chronic pain / Cumulative Trauma Disorder

• The problem:
  • Feeling as though nerves are being pinched in wrists, elbows, and spine — see Bibliography on Hormones and Nerve Pinch
  • Arms hypersensitive to any constriction; cuffs with elastic in them make my wrists ache, rolling up my sleeves to cook makes my arms ache.
  • Painful muscle spasms in jaw, neck, right shoulder & back
  • aching in both wrists, more on the right; aching and sometimes shooting pains in both elbows, more on the right
  • Pain around the upper part of the mid trapezius, near spine
  • Muscles can do more than nerves can tolerate: if I overwork (and it’s hard to tell what will be too much) then two days later I’m in a lot of pain from the pinched nerves.
• What helps it:
  • Natural progesterone
  • Manipulating prostaglandins by not eating much carbohydrate in last meal of the day

Dental problems

• An incompetent dentist in France removed amalgams and crowns without first making a model of my bite. That was in 1989. My current dentist is still trying to build a bite that works. The temporary dentures I wear do not permit me to chew anything; everything I eat has to be soft enough to mush around in my mouth with my tongue.
• TMJ

Headaches

• Minor ones every day
• Major ones with liver attacks

Bad digestion

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome, doesn't respond to fiber
• Food reactions at least half the time I eat.
• Supplements I need upset my stomach.
• Abdominal pain / difficulty digesting food; gets extreme with liver attacks

Allergies / Sensitivities — sometimes I talk about my sensitivities as "allergies" because people are more used to that word. But technically, I probably don't have classical allergies. My main symptoms seem to point to a different mechanism. Here's a complete list.

Difficulties with hormone replacement therapy

• Estrogens exacerbate most symptoms
• Natural progesterone ameliorates most symptoms
• Natural testosterone helps with feebleness but also exacerbates the same other symptoms as estrogen. (Severe exacerbation with methyl testosterone, a synthetic.)

Neurological problems

• Difficulty concentrating, spaciness, disorientation
• Dizziness
• Poor memory, especially vocabulary
• Clumsiness / lack of coordination (I actually do walk into doors!)
• Difficulty sleeping (Melatonin helps, but does not eliminate this)
• Panic easily

Bad reaction to exercise

• aching all over
• headache
• migraine aura
• feels just as though I'd eaten something bad or been exposed to a chemical I can't tolerate

Miscellaneous

• Bruise easily, small injuries leave scars.
• Very frequent exhaustion and feebleness
• Muscle cramping in back (calcium helps, melatonin relieves completely)

NOTE: Please do not suggest treatment for these conditions; I have enough possibilities I'm checking out now. I will report here on what helps.

If you're a canary with similar symptoms, if your symptoms are similar to mine, and if you have some idea of the underlying mechanism, I would be interested in . (My research is currently in the direction of investigating mercury poisoning.)