There was a very helpful thread about joint pain and breastfeeding some time ago, but I wanted to bring the topic up again, to see if anyone else has had a similar experience.
When I was first breastfeeding, I had horrible joint pains every morning (and all day, but getting better as the day went on). When I say every joint, I mean EVERY joint - neck, hips, big toes, thumbs etc etc. Anyway, it calmed down a bit as time wore on and with the reassurance I got on MN I stopped fretting (for a while, anyway ).
Anyway, I'm now in the process of weaning DD - down to one feed in the morning and a short feed last thing before bed, and the pain has totally come back! DH thinks it's my hormone levels readjusting, and I imagine he's probably right, but has anyone else had this experience? I feel really really middle-aged . (I'm in my mid-thirties, so I suppose I am, but I don't like feeling it!)
I don't think it will put me off having more babies - but I'd like to know if this is likely to happen every time. (Why do none of the books talk about this stuff? They all stop at the birth and start talking about the baby, as though you cease to exist once you stop being pregnant!)
(My GP was a bit useless. Said I 'probably' have rheumatoid arthritis, which wasn't what I needed to hear when suffering from sleep deprivation and PND. We never got around to doing the blood tests, partly because I didn't push for them as others on here had had a similar thing when breastfeeding.)
Sorry for the epic post!