PLease tell me I;m not alone! JOINT ACHE all through pregnancy.

[Tracy551162]

Hello,

I'm 5 months pregnant with my first baby,and from about 8 weeks in I have had the most agonising joint ache.

It started in my shoulder and came out of nowhere. I just reached to pick up a cup from my desk at work one day, and my arm just flopped down by my side with the most horrific shooting pain I have ever felt.

The ache was always in my neck and shoulder at the start, both on the right side, and then was in each shoulder intermittently. So one day it would be in my right shoulder, and overnight it would transfer entirely to my left shoulder. As the weeks went on it began to go into my knees, ankles, fingers, hands, and elbows - I think every joint in my body!

The odd thing is that there seems to be a limited amount of pain, so if it's in more than one joint, the intensity of the pain is less than if it's in one joint alone. It tends to come on in the evening, usually when I'm just standing or sitting still and then keeps me awake at night, before subsiding again in the morning.

Has anyone had this problem too? It's so depressing. With my bump making me less mobile as it is, it's so frustrating that I now can't use my arms to push myself from sitting or lying down.

I've obviously been to the doctor but she just puts it down to pregnancy hormones. Painkiller nor deep heat seem to help. Next stop is the osteopath, but given that I might go in one day complaining of aches in my right shoulder, and then the very next day of aches in my left knee, I suspect they won't know where to begin!

Please let me know if you've been affected in a similar way as I'm feeling very alone on this one.

Thanks!

i had this and sciatica through my pregnancy its because being pregnant your muscles and joints become supple and its not uncommon it did ease slightly nearer the 6th month so fingers crossed it will for you too

I'm in the same boat at 36 weeks. I saw a physio about back pain and she gave me some exercises, which helped a bit. I now have awful carpal tunnel syndrome and am struggling to move my fingers and wrists (seriously curtailing my internet use!)- I wake in the night with my fingers cramped up and pins and needles/numbness. Also have back and knee pain. I can hardly get off the sofa/bed sometimes!
Not much to advise, I'm putting up now because I haven't got long to go (I hope)
but at 5 months I would get it looked into.
It is caused by relaxin being released, which basically messes with your joints. Excess fluid (as with my wrists) is also a factor

i too suffered with carpol tunnel in my wrists and behind my knees which i didnt know could exist also in groin area

i too had exercises to follow was bed rest for 3 weeks with sciatica not very nice at all still suffered with wrists year and half after ds born and still do often in cold weather he is 2.7 now

it isnt uncommon as i said earlier and have no miracle cures apart from add cold onto areas deep freeze or them freeze packs you can get as heat brings out inflammation more you need cold to help inflammation go down

hope you feel well soon it was hard work i know but think of the bundle of joy at the end seems long way off when feeling like that evry day

my dp couldnt get near me for so many pillows as everything just ached i was barracaded lol

Read about carpal tunnel, but not heard of sciatica, what is that? Just being lazy there as I can look it up on the net.

Will def try the cold packs. In the shower when I blast hot water on the particular area that eases it a little unti I get out.

If I get exercises from the osteo/physio to do there's no way that will happen as it hurts like buggery to just lift my arm when the ache is in my shoulder. Is this what you experience too when actually moving the joint where the pain is? It makes me cry out when I move it accidentally.

i know what you mean sciatica is back pain where it travels don your bum and leg and can be very painful

i had it before pregnancy but due to pregnancy and joints becoming supple it came back with avengence you'll know if you have it

but defiantly keep heat off i diod this for ages with heat and found i could barely move after then went chemist and they sell gel packs that you pop in freezer and that helped so much more and deep freeze so relieving

It was quite a while ago when when I had dd so details are rather sketchy but I do remember a period of my pregnancy where I was in real agony. My knees and back esp because I remember not being aable to sit or get on the bed and pranced around the room continuously. Eventually when I did manage to be able to sit I remember holding hot flannels on my knees! What I would say though is it didnt actually last to long for me so fingers crossed it may go away as quickly as it came. x

thanks everyone for sharing your pain experiences. I can handle it until the baby (or is that DS - still getting into all this jargon) is born so hopefully it will go after that.