Feel and look like dog poop - is this ageing?

[Namechangedforthis25]

I’m only 38..: but feel like 68 recently. Actually 78 - my mum is fitter than me

i had my second baby earlier this year but have had a heap of issues with my body. And I feel and look quite rough - I was never a supermodel but even last year i felt and looked quite young. My bmi is within range.

but I had piles, a C-section infection, an eye infection - and that was one month after birth

then I had and have a bad foot pain/tingling in one foot - can’t bear weight on it. Need to start work soon and dreading wearing work shoes. Gp said it was breastfeeding related - what?!?

i have tingling in my shoulder and discolouration - the gp said it was due to breastfeeding… hunching over….

then I have skin discolouration on my neck and face now - honestly it feels like it’s vitiligo starting

I often feel quite weak and fatigued - but then I have two kids so maybe that’s why.. I don’t know

my knee has started hurting when I walk- as well as one thumb. Gp said it wasn’t arthritis

and obviously the rest - sudden wrinkles in my eyes, a few grey hairs. but that’s just normal - I can deal with that if my body worked properly

is this 38? Or postpartum? Or just me and I need to get it sorted

feel so down. Like I can’t better myself/exercise/get healthier because I’m quite immobile compared to normal.

Your GP sounds obsessed with breast feeding.

Thanks to your post, I've just discovered I've got notalgia paresthetica! Had it since childhood; my gran told me it was where a fairy had touched me 😂

I very much doubt your foot discomfort's due to breast-feeding, either! Can you be sure you haven't got diabetes? It can be triggered by pregnancy, and peripheral neuropathy is one symptom. There are many other causes, though. See the NHS page I've linked.

Skin patches can also be a diabetes symptom. It also has many other causes, most of them non-serious although frustrating.

It's absolutely normal to be knackered & run down after having a baby, particularly as you suffered an infection and now have a baby plus a young child. However, this collection of symptoms could indicate a more pervasive issue.

To be on the safe side, I'd suggest getting a diabetes test (pharmacy can do it), and taking a high-strength B12 supplement along with a daily multivitamin and mineral.

So, at 38 you could be entering peri menopause territory. Do you know how old your mum was when she started ?
First of all I’d take some vitamin B complex to give you some energy. And I’d add in vitamin D over winter.
Does the foot pain go the more you walk on it ?
Did the GP do any blood tests ?

Definitely go to a different GP. Get the blood tests.

Thank you- I do feel fobbed off as it seems that everything is caused by breastfeeding - which basically meant no solutions were offered (as obviously they can’t tell me to stop breastfeeding)!

anyway it’s good to know that this isn’t an inevitable side effect of ageing - even if it’s potentially linked to perimenopause.

wjll definitely push for a blood test

and @GarlicGrace thank you for that link - I think that’s what I have - the symptoms match exactly. Are you able to to treat yours somehow?

I had foot pain and difficulty weight bearing for a while… it was related to the hormones produced during breastfeeding. When I stopped breastfeeding at one year, the pain went - my tendons and ligaments started working again. I do sympathise re the constant niggles, infections and Illnesses. It’s hard when you start to get run down as it seems never ending.

I would actually go to your GP and get some bloods done, specifically vitamin D. Or if you can't be asked with jumping through the hoops, get them done privately. Should cost about £60 or so.

I had quite similar neurological and joint pain symptoms, plus just feeling absolutely exhausted. It turns out I was vitamin D deficient - also right around the time I went back to work, so I think it was postnatal/breastfeeding related. I was just really depleted.

If you are deficient, it's very easy to sort out, but you will need quite a high dose of vitamin D (have a google and make sure you're taking the right amount as GPs often don't know and just advise to take a standard dose like you'd get from Boots).

Wow! I didn't know that could happen! Is there no end to the weird effects of hormones? 😳

I don't treat my 'fairy' shoulder blade, @Namechangedforthis25, I just scratch it! I tend to use a small pair of scissors that are just the right length - meaning the area's always slightly grazed, and my clothes are prone to wearing through at that spot.

Following @Mouthfulofquiz's reply, it seems yours might be a consequence of BF hormones and I have badly misjudged your GP!

Yes it’s an increase in oestrogen and relaxin. I thought I was going to be hobbling around forever…

I think it’s the breastfeeding too. You’ll feel better when you’ve stopped. I know many people who had similar things. Being tired too makes you more prone to getting infections.
In the meantime, do some exercise, eat healthily.

My ankles went to shit for about a year after pregnancy. I didn't even BF. Hobbled around for a good twenty minutes every morning, I was like
An old lady.