Updated 3 October 2026
At a glance
- A normal blood result and ongoing aches can exist together, because menopause guidance leans on symptoms and age.
- Record each ache by site, side, activity and the week it started.
- Bring lab result dates, the type of each test and the medicines you were taking when it was drawn.
- Frame visit questions as "Is it worth reviewing this result together?"
- Menopause Journey keeps aches, lab dates and medicines in one dated history that opens as calendar, weekly and monthly views.
A lab report can come back within range while knees, hands, shoulders or the lower back still hurt. The visit then risks ending with the result and without the symptoms. A dated record keeps the aches on the table.
This guide covers what the guidance says about tests, how common muscle and joint pain is, which details to write for each ache, how to record lab dates and medicines, and a bring-list for the visit.
What normal lab results can and cannot show about menopause aches
NICE guidance on menopause says that perimenopause and menopause can be identified without laboratory tests in otherwise healthy people aged 45 or over who have menopause-associated symptoms (NICE). Perimenopause is identified from recently started vasomotor symptoms and changes in the menstrual cycle. Menopause is identified after at least 12 months without a period, when hormonal contraception is not in use.
The same guidance lists hormone and imaging tests that should not be used to identify menopause in that age group, including estradiol, inhibin and antral follicle count. A normal result on one of those tests therefore does not remove the symptoms from the picture. The symptoms and the dates are the main evidence.
What a clinician can use from you:
- Which symptoms are present now and which have changed.
- Whether periods have become irregular, lighter, heavier or absent, with dates.
- Which tests were already done, when, and what each was ordered for.
Related reading: when perimenopause symptoms are dismissed.
The Daily check-in in Menopause Journey (by Health Journey Labs) records physical symptoms every day, and the Period Tracker records start and stop dates, flow and how heavy or light bleeding felt. Together they give the clinician dated symptoms and period changes, which are the facts the guidance points to.
Muscle and joint pain across the menopause stages: what the numbers show
Muscle and joint pain across the menopause stages
A 2026 systematic review pooled 37 observational studies covering 93,021 women. Muscle or joint pain was reported by 40% of premenopausal women, 57% of perimenopausal women and 59% of postmenopausal women (PubMed 41523660). The authors note that the findings come from observational studies and that specific causes of pain are underreported.
An earlier meta-analysis of 16 studies estimated that 71% of perimenopausal women reported musculoskeletal pain (PubMed 33299396). Studies use different questions, so the percentages differ.
NICE lists musculoskeletal symptoms, for example joint and muscle pain, among menopause-associated symptoms (NICE recommendations). The NHS adds that joint pain can continue after menopause (NHS symptoms page). Aches are therefore a recognized part of the symptom list, and they belong in the record alongside the hot flashes and sleep entries that usually get more attention.
Aches that never get a place in the list are easy to lose at a visit. In Menopause Journey, the Custom symptoms feature lets you add labels such as knee ache or hand stiffness, and the Daily check-in then keeps those labels in the same dated history as hot flashes and sleep.
Site, side, activity, and onset for each menopause joint or muscle ache
A general note such as "everything hurts" gives a clinician little to work with. One line per ache, with five details, is more useful.
Table of site, side, activity, and onset
Menopause Journey records site, side, activity and onset.
| Detail | What to write | Sample wording |
|---|---|---|
| Site | The joint or muscle group. | Right hand, base of thumb. |
| Side | Left, right or both. | Both knees, left worse. |
| Activity | What you were doing when it appeared or worsened. | Climbing stairs, carrying groceries. |
| Onset | The week it first appeared and whether it has changed. | Started the week of 8 September. |
| Function | What the ache limited. | Could not open jars on four mornings. |
From Menopause Journey, we recommend writing what the ache limited on the same day, since function is easier to describe in the moment than from memory at the visit. Swelling, redness or warmth in a joint is worth writing as its own line, so a clinician can see when it started.
The Daily Journal in Menopause Journey has room for what the night limited and for visit debriefs, and voice entry covers the days when typing a full description is hard. Each ache line stays on its own date, so the onset week is already written when you are asked when it began.
Menopause lab results: dates and the reason each test was ordered
Lab result checklist, by Menopause Journey
A result without its date and purpose is hard to interpret later. For each test, write:
- ☐ the draw date
- ☐ the test type
- ☐ the result as printed
- ☐ the reason it was ordered
Include results from earlier years if they are on hand, since they show what was checked before the aches began.
The NICE recommendations describe a narrow role for hormone tests. A serum follicle-stimulating hormone level may be considered to confirm menopause only in people aged 40 to 45 with menopause-associated symptoms, or in people under 40 in whom menopause is suspected (NICE guidance). The same guidance says not to use that test in people using combined estrogen and progestogen contraception.
Because a test has a narrow role, a normal result answers one question only. Ask which question the test was meant to answer. Phrase the follow-up as "Is it worth reviewing my blood counts together with the ache dates?"
Which symptoms were active in the week of each draw? My Labs in Menopause Journey records result dates for blood counts and other tests, and it reads against symptoms and function, so a result is never separated from the week in which the aches were logged.
Menopause symptoms that change over 7 to 9 years
The NHS says menopause and perimenopause symptoms usually last 7 to 9 years, sometimes longer, and can change during that time. It gives the example of hot flashes and night sweats improving while low mood and anxiety appear, and it says joint pain and vaginal dryness can continue after menopause (NHS).
For a record, this means the question covers more than today's ache. A clinician also needs to see which symptom came first, which faded and which stayed. Keep one list with these columns:
Symptoms over the years checklist, by Menopause Journey
- ☐ The symptom name, such as hot flashes, sleep waking, mood or joint ache.
- ☐ The month it first appeared.
- ☐ The month it eased, if it did.
- ☐ The current weekly pattern.
The MedlinePlus overview of menopause lists changes in periods, hot flashes, trouble sleeping, mood changes and bladder problems among the symptoms of the transition (MedlinePlus). Checking each against your own list shows which ones are missing from the visit conversation.
Insights in Menopause Journey strengthen as the history grows, so a few months of Daily check-in entries show which symptoms rose, eased or stayed. The monthly view colors days by intensity, which gives the symptom-by-month list a visual form for the visit.
Hormone therapy, contraception, and other medicines with menopause as dated facts
Hormonal contraception changes what the cycle looks like. The NHS notes that it can make it harder to tell whether perimenopause or menopause has been reached because it affects periods (NHS symptoms guidance). NICE also says not to use a follicle-stimulating hormone test in people using combined contraception (NICE). Whatever you take belongs in the record as a dated fact.
For each medicine or supplement, write four facts:
Checklist of hormone therapy and medicines, by Menopause Journey
- ☐ The name as it appears on the label.
- ☐ The date it was started or last changed by the prescriber.
- ☐ The date it ended, if it did.
- ☐ The ache entries of the surrounding weeks.
Do not infer a cause from the sequence. Bring the dated list and ask "Is it worth reviewing the start dates together with the ache entries?" The clinician who prescribed the medicine can interpret the order of events.
My Meds in Menopause Journey records medicine names and timing, including HRT or other options you already use as prescribed. It reads against sleep, hot flashes, energy and the rest of the history, so the start dates and the ache entries appear on one dated record.
A one-page menopause bring list and the wording for the visit
Visits are short. A one-page bring list lets the dated facts come first and the discussion second.
Steps for a one-page bring list, by Menopause Journey
- The ache list: site, side, activity, onset week and what each one limited.
- The weeks with the most aches, taken from the weekly or monthly view.
- Lab dates with test types and the reason each was ordered.
- Medicines and contraception with start and end dates.
- Two or three questions in the form "Is it worth reviewing this together?"
A sample opening: "My labs came back in range. I have kept a record of joint and muscle aches for six weeks, and here are the days they limited me." The sentence states the result, then the record. From Menopause Journey, we recommend adding the visit answers to the log under the visit date (Menopause Journey checklist). Related reading: preparing for a short perimenopause visit.
The Doctor Report in Menopause Journey is a one-page summary exported from the logged history with dates, symptoms and how you functioned. My Care Team holds clinicians and short visit notes for preparing what to ask and bring, and AI companions can help word a visit question using your logged history.
Calendar, weekly, and monthly views of ache days with menopause
Four weeks of dated entries can show things a single memory cannot. Check three patterns before the visit.
Table of calendar, weekly, and monthly views
Menopause Journey reads the log by calendar, week and month.
| Item | What to write |
|---|---|
| Clusters | Whether ache days gather in certain weeks of the month or follow a change in periods. |
| Companions | Whether the worst ache days also carry poor sleep or hot flashes. |
| Function | How many days an ache limited a usual task. |
A month with clusters points to a question about timing. A month with one ache on every day points to a different question, about the ache itself. Both are useful to a clinician and neither requires a guess about the cause.
Flag days that are clearly worse than a usual week and write one line about each. A short list of flagged days is easier to review in a visit than a month of daily notes. Related reading: perimenopause, joints and sleep.
The calendar view and the weekly and monthly views in Menopause Journey color days by intensity, and the Flare Tracker flags a day clearly worse than a usual week. Weekly Goals holds one small aim, such as one line per ache day, and records whether it held.
How Menopause Journey can help
A paper notebook can hold this record too. When comparing apps by what they record, the Best Menopause Apps 2026 guide describes the choices for symptom, medicine and lab-date logs.
Menopause Journey is a personal menopause tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. With Menopause Journey, you can keep each ache with its site, activity and onset week, add lab dates and medicine start dates, and open the result as a calendar, weekly or monthly view. At the visit, the one-page Doctor Report puts those dated facts in front of the clinician together with the normal lab result. Below is what you can use and how each part helps.
- Daily check-in — A guided daily pass over physical symptoms, emotional state, nutrition, sleep, exercise, medicines and external factors, which puts aches in the same entry as the rest of the day.
- Daily Journal — Free-text and voice notes covering what the night limited, clothing changes, partner talks and visit debriefs, which give each ache its context.
- Flare Tracker — Flags a day clearly worse than a usual week, so one-off rises can be told apart from repeating patterns across weeks.
- My Meds — Medicine names and timing, including hormone therapy or other options you already use as prescribed, read against sleep, hot flashes and energy.
- My Labs — Result dates for blood counts and other tests, read against symptoms and function in the same weeks.
- Weekly Goals — One small aim and a record of whether it held, checked against real daily entries.
- Learn — Short education topics and prompts that you can read alongside your own logged weeks.
- AI companions — Clara for general chat and specialist companions, all able to see your logged history, useful for visit wording or a calm partner script.
- My Care Team — Clinicians and short visit notes, used to prepare what to ask and bring, to take notes during the visit and to review afterward.
- Doctor Report — A one-page summary exported from the logged history with dates, symptoms and how you functioned.
- My Assessments — Structured check-ins beyond the daily scores, plus onboarding questions about life and social context.
- Food Tracker — Meal or drink lines and alcohol, read against nights, sleep, hot flashes, mood and energy.
- Period Tracker — Start and stop dates, flow and how heavy or light bleeding felt, read against sleep, energy and mood.
- Weight Tracker — Scale or body notes for the record.
Everything you log builds one history, and insights get stronger as it grows. Custom symptoms let you add your own labels.
We make Menopause Journey at Health Journey Labs. This guide is educational and does not replace medical advice. Diagnosis, medication decisions, and urgent care decisions belong with your treating clinicians.
Sources
- NICE — Menopause: identification and management (NG23), recommendations
- PubMed — Musculoskeletal Manifestations of Perimenopause: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 93,021 Women
- PubMed — Musculoskeletal Pain during the Menopausal Transition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- NHS — Symptoms of menopause
- MedlinePlus — Menopause
FAQ
The answers below draw on the sources cited in this guide, and the app they mention is Menopause Journey (by Health Journey Labs).
My labs are normal and my joints still hurt. Can it still be menopause?
NICE guidance says perimenopause and menopause can be identified without laboratory tests in otherwise healthy people aged 45 or over who have symptoms, so a normal result does not settle the question. A clinician can assess the whole symptom pattern.
Menopause Journey keeps aches, period dates and lab dates in one history, so you arrive with the symptom pattern and the result together. That gives the clinician the facts the guidance relies on.
Which lab results should I bring to the visit?
Bring every result you can find from the past few years, each with its date, test type and the reason it was ordered. Include results from other clinics if you have them, since earlier values show what was already checked.
My Labs records result dates for blood counts and other tests, so you can read each one against the symptoms logged that same week. The visit then starts from a dated list, not a search through paper.
How many weeks of notes do I need before the visit?
Four to six weeks gives enough days to see clusters and a few flagged days. If the visit is sooner, bring what you have, since a short dated record still beats an estimate made from memory in the waiting room.
The weekly and monthly views in Menopause Journey color days by intensity, so even a few weeks show which days were worst. You can point to those days on one screen during the visit.
How do I describe aches that move from joint to joint?
Write each location as its own line with its own date, and add a line for the order in which they appeared. Moving aches become easier to describe when the sequence is on the page, since the pattern is the useful part.
Custom symptoms let you add a label for each site in Menopause Journey, and the Daily check-in keeps those labels in one dated history. You can then see which sites overlap in the same week.
What if my aches are called normal aging?
Ask what the clinician would expect to see if the aches were related to the transition and what would suggest another cause. Then bring dated entries showing when the aches began relative to period changes and other symptoms.
Because the Daily check-in and the Period Tracker share one dated history in Menopause Journey, the onset week of an ache can be read against your period changes. That lets the question about timing rest on dates.
Should I log hot flashes if my main problem is aches?
Yes, briefly. NICE and the NHS list aches together with hot flashes, sleep problems and mood changes as menopause-associated symptoms, so a clinician is likely to ask about the others. A short line each day is enough.
The Daily check-in covers physical symptoms, emotional state and sleep together, so recording the aches and the other symptoms happens in one pass. Insights then show whether the aches rise and fall together with the hot flashes.
How do I record stiffness that is worse in the morning?
Write the site, the time of day it was worst and what it limited that day, for example "both hands stiff on waking, could not open jars". A repeated phrase across days makes the pattern easy to read.
Voice entry in the Daily Journal helps on mornings when your hands are stiff, because you can speak the note and keep it on the date. The entries then line up with the week's sleep and activity.
What if the aches began after I started a medicine?
Write the start date of the medicine and the first ache date as two separate facts. Do not draw a conclusion about cause. The prescriber can interpret the order, and the question can be phrased "Is it worth reviewing this medicine together with the ache dates?"
My Meds records medicine names and timing, and it reads against sleep, hot flashes and energy. With the Daily check-in in Menopause Journey, the start date and the ache entries appear on one record.
When should I contact a clinician before the scheduled visit?
Contact a clinician sooner when symptoms change quickly or cause worry, such as a sudden change in how a joint looks or works. If there is danger, call your local emergency number. Do not wait for the booked date.
The Flare Tracker marks days clearly worse than a usual week, and the Daily Journal holds the details. When you call, you can read out when the change began and what it limited.
Does hormonal contraception change what I should bring?
Yes. The NHS says hormonal contraception can make it harder to tell whether perimenopause or menopause has been reached because it affects periods. Bring the name of the method and the dates it was started or ended.
My Meds in Menopause Journey records names and timing, and the Period Tracker records flow and bleeding dates. Reading both together gives a clinician the context for any cycle changes and for any ache that started in the same weeks.
How do I log a day when the aches are much worse?
Write the site, what you were doing, what the ache limited and anything that was different that day, such as an unusual activity or a short night. Keep it factual and leave out a guess about the reason.
The Flare Tracker flags a day clearly worse than a usual week. Over several weeks, the flagged days show whether the rise is a one-off or a repeating pattern that is worth raising at the visit.
Is it worth bringing old test results that were normal?
Yes. Old normal results show what was checked and when, which shows how long the aches have been present. Write the date and type for each result, even if the printout is missing.
My Labs records the result date and test type, so older results stay in the same history as current aches. The clinician can see what changed between the two periods, and you can point to the exact date of each earlier result without searching through paper.
Is it worth asking an AI companion to help write visit questions?
It can help with wording, and the final questions should still be yours. Ask for two or three that start with "Is it worth reviewing", and check that each one refers to a fact in your own record.
AI companions in Menopause Journey already see your logged history, so the suggested questions can refer to your real ache dates and lab results. That keeps the wording specific to your record and avoids generic questions that fit anyone.
How do I compare this month with last month?
Count the ache days and the flagged days in each month, and note which sites were involved. Two numbers per month are enough, and they make a change in direction easy to say aloud at the visit.
The monthly view in Menopause Journey colors each day by intensity, so two months can be viewed one after the other. You can see whether ache days are becoming fewer, staying the same or rising.
How do I keep privacy in check with my health log?
Notes on hot flashes, bleeding, sex and mood are personal, and partners or coworkers may see an open screen. Use a screen lock, keep the log off shared devices, and decide which entries go to the visit about menopause care.
Entries in the app are your own health notes. The app's privacy policy explains how data is stored and handled, so read it before adding sensitive details. Ask a clinician for medical advice about what you notice.