sore joints since birth of dd

[pesme]

Hi, dd is 4.5 months old, since her birth I have had really stiff & sore ankles, feet and knees. I thought it was some post birth thing but it hasn't really cleared up. I am more sore in the morning - find it really hard to walk down stairs before I have had a hot bath. Anyone else had symtoms like this? Am going to see doctor next week but would like some information. Dreading being told I have arthritis

Went to see doc the other day as my feet are so painful. Thought it should have cleared by now as dd is 18 months old (still bfed though) but apparently it's still due to the pg and bfing- am in agony at times with it. Any suggestions as to anything i can take for it. Try to remember to take glucosamine but that doesn't seem to be working

I was sent this thread too. Thank God it's not just me with aching joints!! I'm losing hair by the bucketload too - but mine is thick too. Hope it stops at some point though.

Don't worry about the thinning hair. During pg we lose less than normal. Now that the pg hormones are going, the hair that would have fallen out ages ago are now doing so. Your hair is only going back to its original thickness.

I've got the carpal tunnel in the left wrist - I think from the way I hold dd while b/f. Trying to alter the way I hold her. easier said than done.

Just thought I'd resurrect this thread as I went to the GP today about my aching joints (among other things) and she says I have rheumatoid arthritis . I'm getting blood tests done but she says I have classic symptoms.

Later on looked it up and found this!

\link{http://www.allaboutarthritis.com/AllAboutArthritis/layoutTemplates/html/en/contentdisplay/document/condition/arthritis/generalNews/Arthritis_and_Childbirth.htm\all about arthritis}

and this

\link{http://www.thedoctorsdoctor.com/Diseases/rheumatoidarthritis.htm\I searched for 'postpartum' and found this:} "However, the postpartum period has been highlighted as a risk period for the development of RA. Furthermore, breastfeeding after a first pregnancy poses the greatest risk."

Hope everyone else's hormones and aching joints went back to normal and it's just me!

verso, sorry to hear about your diagnosis - but will it mean you get some helpful treatment??

Spooky thread, didn't see it before but I had very painful knees and ankles after having my DS. Felt like an old lady coming down the stairs...luckily for me mine did clear after a couple of months.

Good luck verso!

Thanks for the kind words. I'm going back next week for the results of the blood tests. In the meantime, she just said to keep taking painkillers as it's incurable. Nice bedside manner, eh?!

Verso, I do hope you are ok and that you are not suffering from RA. My daughter is also suffering these joint pains and it is comforting to read that others have the same problem as I have never heard of it before. DD's blood test was positive but GP said that very often these tests show false positives. I believe that some medication that interfere with the results. I would like to know what your diagnosis was in the end and I do hope you are ok. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Annie

so glad i found this thread! i have been meaning to post one for months now as i thought i had something wrong with me... aching balls of feet every morning, hobbling downstairs, ankles aching. i went to an podiatrist and he said my feet were fine so couldn't help me.

i've only just realised that its completely gone now and baby is 11 months old, mind you its only just disappeared in the past few weeks. i'm 33 and thought that it was the lack of proper exercise that i used to do before baby..

such a relief!!!

Wow! Not read whole thread but god am I glad I've found it.

I'm 25 and gave birth 6 months ago. SOmetimes I am so stiff and sore in the ankles and knees in the morning that I can barely make it downstairs. My left wrist also gets very tender and sometimes 'locks'.

Thank god I'm not a freak

Hi Wilkie, Your symptoms with your hands could be carpel tunnel syndrome which can come on after childbirth. It is something to do with fluid retention I think. Putting splints on your wrists can help a lot I believe. Look it up. It IS amazing how these start after childbirth but nobody knows about it. I was talking to a colleague today who told me that her mother started with RA after giving birth to her some 50+ years ago so it is nothing new! How come nobody tells you these things eh? Look on Babycenter too as there are messages there relating to this. It does help to know that others are suffering the same. My daughter is feeling much better by the day so let's hope that she is on the road to recovery. I think a lot of it is hormonal. Sounds like symptoms experienced during the menopause! Regards, Annie

I am just wondering if those mothers who were having aches and pains a couple of years ago are now ok. I know that pregnancy can bring on RA and I am hopeful that it goes as quickly as it comes. Could somebody please let me know what happened with them and what diagnosis they had if any. I read that many people are NOT diagnosed with RA when they do have it. Perhaps some just put up with the pain and then it goes...... Any information gratefully received. Thanks. Annie12

hi, yep the aches and pains eventually went away. i was checked for RA at the time and came back negative. funny that is so common but the GP seemed to have never heard of it.

Having spent a lot of time investigating RA and the diagnosis of it I find that many people have RA and never know it. It is very odd that women's symptoms seem the same and yet some are diagnosed and some are not! So, probably hormonal type of RA disappears as soon as hormones settle. RA can also be triggered by a virus or bacteria and stress/shock. Was your pain in your hands, feet and knees? Was it hard to clench your fist etc.? Did you feel tired? I am so glad that your symptoms disappeared but it is not easy looking after a new baby when you can hardly pick them up and undo babygros etc.!

Take care

Hi again, Can I resurrect this thread to ask how those mums with aches and pains are now. I just hope that everybody is getting back to normal. My DD may be starting with RA medication. She is managing quite well with the anti-inflammatories but of course they don't stop the joint damage, they just help with the pain.

I was doing OK until the weather turned colder, so the aches and stiffness are back again but I'm coping better than before. I still have to pace myself otherwise I feel it - she says typing rather gingerly after going for a 3 hour stroll yesterday with the pram

It took a good 7 weeks of being on salazopyrin before I felt any real benefit and I have my first review with the rheumatologist next week. My work have asked me to be seen by occupational health to check I'm OK to go back in January as I have asked to work my 37 hours over 4 days instead of 5 and they are worried I may not be able to cope.

On the plus side, I was seen by occupational therapy last week and the lady is fantastic. She has given me some new wrist splints, and is coming to visit to arrange things I may need around the house i.e. bath board, perching stool, grab rails. I did treat myself to a loo seat raise after getting stuck in the middle of the night. I could have got from OT for free, but seeing as I was referred at the end of August and it's taken until now to see them I couldn't wait. The bath board is only to give me a change from the shower. I have managed to have a bath, but it took me about 10 mins and several attempts to get out because of dodgy knees, so I won't be doing that again soon.

The other thing I have found helps is to reduce my intake of sugar and processed foods. Unfortunately I have rather fallen off of that wagon recently and keep promising myself I will get back on it.

Hope your daughter sorts herself out.

Hi Vole3, Sorry to hear that the cold weather has set you back. Are you any better now? If you were feeling the benefit from the medication did you still need grab rails etc.? There are just TOO many young mums with this condition but it does seem to go away. Have you looked up Reactive Arthritis? I wonder if this is what my DD has contracted through childbirth. Another avenue now is using Tetracycline if the specialist agrees. Have been researching the work of Dr Thomas Macpherson Brown rheumatic.org/ Thousands of RA sufferers have been cured by the use of antibiotics. There is a book you can buy The New Arthritis Breakthrough. He reckoned it was all to do with mycoplasmas. All beyond me but there are many testimonies about the amazing results.

Did your specialist explain the side effects of these DMARDs? Which has the least? I assume that one is closely monitored. I don't have a lot of faith in these specialists. I just think they want to chuck drugs at you and not really find out what the cause is and sort that.

My DD is quite good at the moment. Fingers a bit stiff in the morning and wrists too but of course that is made worse by carrying a 20lb baby about all day! She is trying to cut down to 1 Diclofenac per day (as per hospital) and sometimes manages, sometimes not. She gets worse at certain times of the month and when she has had sugary food, eg chocolate. At least we know that the condition can be controlled by Diclofenac but of course that drug does not stop the damage does it? She is taking cider vinegar/manuka honey/cherry juice and taking Epsom Salt baths.

Bye for now

Take care

Annie

The DMARD's are working - my blood results say so, so why everything is sore is probably just down to the change in the weather and doing more, oh and lumping a 15 pounder around who is starting to teethe.

I have been measured for the grabrails, but won't get them unless absolutely necessary. At least this way if they are needed it will only take 1 phonecall and less waiting and I am never signed off from the rheumatology OT in case I need other things. Next week I am being fitted with thumb splints as pushing the pram seems to be hardest on them. I don't wear splints all the time, only for certain tasks that I know will be tough on the joints.

I have tried cider vinegar tablets, but they made me gag, so will give them another go and I will try and find some cherry juice.

I will also find the link about the antibiotics and take it with me on Monday.

hello

I had this with DS1, not DS2. I think it is a hormone reaction, as you know pregnancy makes joints softer. plus I was carrying an extra 4 stone... I went to a physiotherapist who prescribed some muscle-strengthening exercises, which did help. it did clear up eventually though. are you bf'ing? I think it is hormones, and it does clear up

Yes I am bfeeding, but the biochemistry does not lie as I have a positive rheumatoid factor even though ESR and CRP are now nearer normal

Hi, I am so glad to stumble across this website. I am 32, wasn't able to breast feed and my baby turned a year yesterday. I have become quite low because a year on I have still not lost my baby weight. I put my incrediably sore ankles and swollen feet down as a symtom of carrying excess weight. However it has become worse, not better and now I have such sore index fingers I can no longer use them to get coins out the cash register at work. A google search brought up this thread, but also Hashimoto's Disease. Has anyone heard of it?

Hi again, Just discovered that Mumsnet also has a thread on Hashimoto's Disease!

The symtoms are very similar - muscle slow-down leading to tiredness, reduced body metabolism causing dry skin, hair loss, constipation and weight gain. Joints can swell up, and shortage of breath may develop due to effects on the heart. In women, periods may become heavy. Slower brain activity results in memory loss and poor concentration.

I am not suggesting that all of you may have this, however think all mums should be aware of this as it can kick in 4-5 months after giving birth - not necessarily straight away. A blood test is all the Doc needs to do and a prescription eventually puts you back to normal.

Sorry to go on a bit, but thought this was important. I am booking an appointment in the morning.

Hi, I am now 7 months post partum and have the stiffness too! It came on at around 3 months PP plus I got nerve type tingling too at around 4 months PP, mostly in my feet and left hand (which I use most often to feed etc). I was keen to check with those that had the tingling/pins and needles - did it ever go away? Also where was the tingling most? My stiffness has gone mostly except for my ankles which are soo stiff first thing in the morning still. But I did have it in my knees, elbows and fingers too - but it seems to have subsided now. 4 out of 8 of my antenatal group had the stiffness but the doctor doesn't seem to know much about it strangely enough? I am getting blood tests for loads of things just waiting for the results.

Snufflebug are you still bad? I've just started a new thread on this, I'm currently 7 months post partum.