What do we know about joint pain after giving birth? A friend of a friend just had her second baby, and is having nearly intolerable joint pain. This isn't something I experienced, and I've heard woman refer to it in passing, but I guess I thought it was something that lasted for a week or so and then went away.
Did anyone have joint pain? How long did it last? Did you take any supplements that helped any? (I recommend fish oil or flax seed oil, a B-complex, and magnesium for any woman who's given birth in the previous three years anyway.)
Do we know what causes it?
As if new moms don't have enough weird aches and pains to deal with!
my chiro said it was because all the ligaments soften to prepare for birth - you really only need the pelvic ones too, but those hormones work more globally. Then your joints hurt because they aren't really where they should be - they're all flopping around. If it's primarily hip pain, there are belts/girdles that can keep your hip bones squeezed together until the ligaments return to normal. For others, it's a good idea to be very mindful about movement and make sure you don't go out of a normal range of motion, even if your joints can. I'd also recommend vit D and glucosamine in addition to the other supplements.
They do go back to normal, but it takes a while. I attributed mine to the fact that I have hypermoble joints that tend to be weird anyway.
Also not a bad idea to bring up with the doctor in case it' unrelated to childbirth.
Posted by: sueinithaca | July 19, 2011 at 08:49 AM
I didn't have joint pain, but I'd love it if you could direct us to the research about the supplements you mentioned, Moxie.
Posted by: SanFranSarah | July 19, 2011 at 09:35 AM
I had terrible joint pain in my hands -- like arthritis or tendonitis. It hurt to open and close my hand. I didn't take anything special for it...one day I just stopped noticing it altogether; I think it lasted about six weeks.
Posted by: Nmom | July 19, 2011 at 10:09 AM
I'm 18 months postpartum and I still feel like my joints are a weak wreck. When I remember to take supplements (prenatals, flax seed, algae) I feel moderately better overall. The first time around, exercise helped. (I'm sure it would help this time too, but oh irony, I am too sore.)
Posted by: Annika | July 19, 2011 at 10:45 AM
I'm 12 months pp with my second and I've had terrible joint pain, most specifically in the hips, but in other areas (feet/back/wrists) as well. An ortho over here wouldn't treat me and only recommended taking ibuprofren and to come back when I'm done nursing. Gonna be a while.
Posted by: terrilein | July 19, 2011 at 10:48 AM
Yes. YES. my knees. they weren't great before, but oy vey now they are just a wreck. i started hard core working out at about 2 months pp, but that thrashed my knees even more. so now i'm dialing it back and trying walking with a few heavy workouts in there. baby's nearly 15 weeks old...
i'm going to try the fish oil though. my brain seems to be bouncing back (probably the extra sleep?) but i could use all the help i can get with everything else.
Posted by: teachergirl | July 19, 2011 at 10:56 AM
My hips are insane. My second son was 11 pounds at birth and they never really recovered and with pregnancies that came after while pregnant the pain was (and is as I am pregnant with my last kiddo right now) pretty bad. I feel like an old woman and I am pretty sure that when I do actually get older I will eventually need hip replacements. When I am not pregnant I can avoid the majority of the pain by keeping active and not sitting for really long periods of time. Cold weather used to set them off but I moved to a warmer climate so that problem was solved.
Posted by: Awesome Mom | July 19, 2011 at 11:06 AM
I don't remember general joint pain, but my feet hurt every morning until after I stopped nursing at about 15 months. I winced with every step going down the stairs. Once I stopped nursing it went away pretty quickly.
Posted by: Clementine | July 19, 2011 at 11:32 AM
Yup. I'm 12 weeks postpartum with horrible joint pain, mainly in my lower body. At first I thought the knee pain was from carrying my 9 lbs at birth daughter around, but my doctor said it's a normal after effect of pregnancy and probably won't go away entirely until I'm done nursing. I've tried to exercise, but can only manage about a one mile walk before my hip complains. Since I plan on 1-2 more kids in the next few years, this might just be something I need to learn to live with.
Incidentally, I tried taking the recommended supplements, but stopped because I got a little freaked out when they turned my breastmilk bright yellow.
Posted by: Kara | July 19, 2011 at 11:55 AM
Re: Kara's comment about bright yellow breast milk. I know that excess riboflavin (a B vitamin) can turn your pee bright yellow. Alarmingly so. I wonder, if you're taking a B-complex supplement, if breast milk is another way for the body to shed extra riboflavin?
Posted by: Katrina | July 19, 2011 at 12:08 PM
I only had mild pain, but one thing my yoga teacher noticed was that even 18 mos PP my sacrum had like 1/2 inch independent mobility in any direction. I have hypermobile joints in general - the upside was, easy birth - pelvis stretched right on out, but it took a very long time to "spring" back, I'm not sure it ever did, all the way. I didn't do anything particular about it but I think it stopped bothering me for a while once I stopped nursing and before I started carrying a 30+ pound kid. (Yes, then I stopped carrying the kid!)
Posted by: Charisse | July 19, 2011 at 12:11 PM
After all 3 of my kids, I had extra stiffness in my legs and hips when I got out of bed in the mornings for about 9-12 months. My youngest is 18 months and I still have a little stiffness in my low back, but that's probably due to getting older and still carrying around some of the baby weight (which I'm currently working on losing).
Posted by: Susan | July 19, 2011 at 12:38 PM
Depending on how long ago she gave birth and how much this is interfering with her life, she should see her doctor. This might just be a passing issue relating to having given birth or it could be something serious.
Posted by: Brooke | July 19, 2011 at 12:40 PM
@sueinithica got it right, chiropractic care, Massage, Craniosacral can help get things back into alignment. Supplements can help support your body and give back what your depleted in especially with nursing. I also felt a lot of back pain and I think it was due to my epidural that didn't quite take that took a couple of months to feel better. I also did an elimination diet to determine DS food allergies as he had mucus in his stool- I know yum!! Anyway I felt so much better in my body doing dairy free/gluten free and also lost the last of baby weight( bonus) so maybe that was why I felt better.
Self care is important during the 4th trimester our bodies have been through so much and that time is such a blur of sleeplessness!!! Get some bodywork is my recommendation an hour out getting your body worked on and letting someone else care for baby goes a long way!
Posted by: creatingbalance | July 19, 2011 at 12:51 PM
Not sure this is helpful, but there's a post in today's NYT well blog on a new study on chronic pain that finds noticeable proportions of women experiencing it, post-partum (it doesn't say what sort of pain, i.e., joints or what). You can find it here -- http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/18/giving-chronic-pain-a-medical-platform-of-its-own/ . It does stress the value of treating, not ignoring, pain, as apparently ongoing pain can re-route our nerve pathways, and not to good effect.
Posted by: Alexicographer | July 19, 2011 at 01:22 PM
I had SI joint dysfunction during and after my pregnancy, and had physical therapy. I would suggest she asks her doc about SI joint dysfunction. I am also nursing- I had an MRI and a subsequent cortisone injection in S1 because I have a herniated disc. I was in agony from July 2010 until February 2011. I had the shot in Feb, 2 weeks later had a vigorous massage where she worked at straightening me out (I was crooked, hunched over, just a mess). I felt AWFUL the next couple days then I woke up one morning and the pain was GONE. It hasn't returned.
My physical therapist had given me an SI belt but it didn't help because I was hypomobile not hypermobile. I remember my hips hurting quite a bit, which I think is normal, but I definitely suggest getting an MRI and/or seeing a physical therapist just to make sure there isn't anything else going on.
OH and I just want to say that IMO you should not have to live in pain just because you're nursing. There are things you can do. The cortisone injection was a one-time thing, yes it is a potent steroid, but you have to weigh the risks. Is it better for the mother to be in excrutiating pain all day long, or is it better for her not to be in pain and expose the baby briefly to a steroid? OR she could choose to pump and dump for awhile after the injection, and feed the baby from her "stash" (if she has one, I never did). Not even saying that an injection is the only option. There are many things chiropractors and physical therapists can do to help alleviate and manage pain.
Posted by: Kelly | July 19, 2011 at 01:31 PM
Well, I am an outlier, I had hip problems before being preggers. I ended up with a hip replacement after 15 months after my first son was born. There is a hormone in pregnancy which decreases joint pain, and my understanding is that they would bottle up this hormone if they could, but after giving birth, it goes away, and you are left holding your new baby, carrying around your baby etc. joint pain persists. Good thing is that my new hip is awesome, I had another baby after, and 8 months after giving birth to DS 2, am okay. i use the ergo (balancing weight of kid on body), lost all of the baby weight very quickly (joint pain is worse if you are carrying around more weight). My advice: go see doctor right away. They may give you physical therapy, which helps to strengthen the muscles around the joint which helps too. I hardly take advil for pain now, but please take anti-inflammatories for pain. I'm pretty careful not to carry around the big baby carriage car seat thing, but instead use stroller insert a lot. Good luck.
Posted by: Shelby | July 19, 2011 at 01:36 PM
@Kara and others with hip/back pain, go see orthopedist right away. They will look at your hip and determine if you need physical therapy/better drugs. I'm a bit skeptical at the stopping nursing will help hip pain go away theory(what is it that the doctors think is so bad about nursing that they think stopping it in almost every situation is a good thing?) I have a friend who had pain in her back, went to dr, and in addition to slipped disk, had epidural damage that was leading to sciatica. Please go to good doctor. they will set you up with good abductor/adductor exercises, little exercises to do. massage and to a certain extent chiropractor will help. learn good posture and have someone who knows what they are doing helps too. good luck
Posted by: Shelby | July 19, 2011 at 01:42 PM
My pain (14 wks pp) is all my joints- not specifically my hips. I had a lot of SI pain in my 3rd trimester and went to PT for it (in a pool which was AWESOME!). I had general joint pain (especially in my knuckles) at the end of my pregnancy. But now, the times I feel it most is when I'm down on the floor playing with my daughter and I try to get up. It's so hard! And nearly impossible to get up while holding her. I have to hoist myself up quite ungracefully, and then pick her up. It's slowly getting better... but still not great.
Posted by: Emily | July 19, 2011 at 02:19 PM
My chiro and I came up with a name for what I had: Postpartum Angry Tendon Syndrome. It seemed like my tendons wanted to bounce back against the hormonal loosening with a vengeance. For a few months after my daughter was born, I had annoying pain in my IT bands, wrists and the bottoms of my feet (like plantar fasciitis). Every morning, before getting out of bed, I had to stretch my feet and calves, otherwise I would just limp for the first hour or so. And my hands/wrists would throb in the middle of the night. All eventually went away, but I second taking minerals and essential fatty acids to support, and any sort of bodywork she likes - massage, chiro, acupuncture, cranio-sacral.
Posted by: Monkeymama | July 19, 2011 at 02:20 PM
What do we know about joint pain after giving birth? A friend of a friend just had her second baby, and is having nearly intolerable joint pain. This isn't something I experienced, and I've heard woman refer to it in...
Posted by: can i buy cymbalta online | July 19, 2011 at 02:28 PM
Best advice I can give is to find a D.O. who does manipulative therapy. They can gently put everything back where it's supposed to be. It was the only answer to the fairly serious hip discomfort I had after my pregnancies, and all the other aches, pains, and strains associate with carrying children. I liked the fact that, with a D.O. I was dealing with a medical doctor, which is often not the case with a chiropractor. I felt safer that way. Not that there aren't wonderful chiropractors out there, but the D.O.s I met seemed to have more of a whole body approach and ton of solid medical knowledge.
Posted by: T. | July 19, 2011 at 02:46 PM
After the birth of my daughter, I had terrible joint pain and I asked this very question on a local mama site, and there are lots of reponses, potential answers, and information in the comments -- it's one of the longest active threads on the site:http://www.urbanmamas.com/urbanmamas/2007/02/postpartum_join.html
Posted by: Amy | July 19, 2011 at 07:04 PM
I had joint pain and horrible problems with my wrists (and some problems with my knees)until I stopped breastfeeding. I am sure that some of it was related to hormones but then was exasperated by carrying the baby,etc. I can't offer any wonderful advice but will just add that all of the joint problems I had went away very shortly after I stopped breastfeeding. So, it doesn't last forever....
Posted by: clr | July 19, 2011 at 07:53 PM
Funny this topic should come up now. I remember combing this website looking for clues as to why I was having excruciating carpal-tunnel-type pain in my wrists and thumbs. It got worse and worse -- using scissors, turning doorknobs, opening jars, putting on my bra, feeling the bed sheets against my wrists -- all unbearable. Forget yoga or any exercise involving my hands. Worse of all was not being able to pick up my baby (there's a special guilt reserved for wincing and grimacing when picking up ones baby).
The pain started 3 weeks postpartum and only got better about 3 months PP (I'm now going on 16 weeks PP). My doctor said that it might be related to pressure on my wrists and hands from holding my baby while nursing -- she had it herself with all three kids -- but that seems to be only part of the cause. My gut tells me it's hormone related. I'm starting to sense a shift back to my pre-pregnancy hormones (e.g., I've started to lose my hair) and, despite still nursing all the time, my hands are starting to feel better. I recall reading on another blog post (maybe this website?) that one mother had the same problem and suddenly 4 months PP it went away -- that statement alone gave me hope.
For a while I wore wrist braces all day long and my husband was assigned to lifting everything for me, including the baby, while he was home. I still sleep with wrist braces (rec'd by my doctor and a friend with tendonitis) and take a bunch of vitamins (prenatals, omega 3, B multi, calcium/magnesium) to hedge my bets. Massaging the sore spots also helps.
Thanks for this wonderful site. If you're experiencing joint pain know you're not alone. As a PP wrote, it won't be forever. GL.
Posted by: Jennifer | July 19, 2011 at 10:00 PM
@Jennifer, FWIW, I had major pain in my wrists and thumbs for at least 4 mos (maybe 6) post partum. While some of it may have been BF, I eventually figured out that a lot of it was probably due to the way I was craning my thumbs to support DS' head when I was putting him down for naps or sleep. The highest level on our crib was still kind of low down inside the crib, and I noticed that this made a huge difference on the pain when I put DS to sleep in a friends crib that had a less deep top mattress setting. Anyhow, I ended up building a support to put under the mattress to raise it up. It helped reduce the pain immensely (as I wasn't contorting my hands as much) until DS could support his own head.
Posted by: the milliner | July 19, 2011 at 10:20 PM
Wow, glad to hear I'm not the only one! I'm 18 months post partum, still nursing once or twice a day, and have been dealing with unbelievable pain in my hips. Green tea seems to help. I drink 2 cups a day and the pain is almost non-existent. If I forget to drink it, I'm in agony.
Posted by: Tree | July 19, 2011 at 10:55 PM
Actress Quinn Cummings (the child from "The Goodbye Girl") had such bad carpal tunnel from pregnancy that she created a baby sling for mothers with hand pain. It really is a thing that can happen.
I dealt with hip bursitis from only ever being able to sleep on my sides. You know it's hip bursitis when it hurts sharply on the outside of your hip when you get up from a long sit, and when walking (though painful) makes the pain stop. The bursae can respond to anti inflammatories and shorter periods of sitting, or cortisone shots, or surgery to remove them as they aren't even necessary. I learned to side-stomach sleep post partum to keep the pressure off them.
I also came down with plantar fasciitis during the pregnancy but prescription orthotics cured me in a couple of months.
There are lots of mechanisms for making a mom's body hurt as a result of pregnancy; wishing luck to all who are chipping away at the pain from different angles. There is hope!
Posted by: Celeste | July 20, 2011 at 12:07 AM
I had awful wrist/knuckle pain, which both my OB and my kids' pediatrician said was common and would likely resolve on its own. Both recommended wearing a wrist brace at night, which helped, but only marginally.
The good news is that five years later (holy shit, five years?) the wrist pain is gone, although my wrists are now simply weak and kind of cranky. But the knuckle pain has only worsened, and my hands curl in on themselves like a birds' feet gripping a branch.
I should probably see a doctor about this, eh? Until I started writing about it, I didn't realize how bad it really was!
Anyway. I hope all who are suffering joint (and other) pain find relief.
Posted by: snickollet | July 20, 2011 at 12:41 AM
I had pretty awful joint pain after giving birth, and my knees and back were bad until S started walking on her own. I chalked it up to a combo of breastfeeding (less calcium for me!) and holding S all wrong all the time. I held her however she breastfed... After that, I assumed the pain was from bending down all the time. I remember having to put my hands on my thighs, take a big breath, and push myself into a standing position.
It lasted well over a year, getting better slowly, and is now gone 21 months later. I never looked into it, just assumed it would fade. And it did.
Posted by: Tina | July 20, 2011 at 10:17 AM
Joint pain is miserable and often, as in my case, disregarded by doctors when women are pregnant or postpartum and viewed as "normal". Moxie, I feel for your friend. I hope she investigates it rigorously.
During pregnancy, I developed severe hip pain on my left hip. My son seemed to really "love: the left side of my body and I had to have massages frequently to get him to "relocate". By third trimester, I could barely walk. didn't help that my usual 5'2" small frame of 115 pounds pregnancy had ballooned to include an additional 53 pounds! After giving birth to my son of 9 lbs 3 ounces, the hip pain still did not go away and actually worsened. I found day to day moving difficult and sought a chiro 2 months postpartum. When treatments didn't work, I had an xray which revealed that I had advanced stages of avascular necrosis, where the blood supply is cut off to the femur and the bone eventually "dies". I had to go on a course of anti-inflammatory meds which didn't help a lot and made me feel sick. I had a great othropedic surgeon (ego the size of a house) and when my son was 18 months, I had a total hip replacement and my life got back on track. No more pain. My son is 5 years old now and I feel great. I wish I could have those first 18 months back because I felt so miserable that I truly missed the magic of those early months.
Posted by: AM | July 20, 2011 at 11:16 AM
Moxie's friend really should have her pain checked out. There are lots of issues with joints that pregnancy/childbirth/hormonal upheaval can bring on and she shouldn't be in such pain. Really feel for her.
I have hyper-mobile joints so I sort of collapsed in the back department as the weight increased. Also the baby was in a sharply leftward position. Which turns out to be because I am hyper-mobile. Ah well.
I got a sort of corset made of tubular elastic bandage, they make them that wide. After she was born my upper back suffered terribly with the breast-feeding and we didn't go out much. For months I could only feed in one armchair, with cushions day and night.
Here in the UK physio-therapists deal with joints and muscles and skeletal issues. A physio-therapist can safely manipulate, which helped me enormously, but also they can refer you to to the correct orthopaedic or other doctor if you need that.
It's only recently, after herniating discs while dislocating spinal joints, that I saw a specialist in hyper-mobility.
I didn't know that some of the extra loosening in pregnancy, by the relaxin hormone etc. stays forever if you're hyper-mobile and probably for everyone. Pregnancies not carried to term also come with the slackening of the ligaments.
Consequently my joints, particularly lower spine and pelvis/sacroiliac joints are floppier still than before. Other women with the condition say the same thing.
I heal fast and am now improving with lots of rehabilitation exercise, intermediate level Pilates and yes, passive manipulation by the physiotherapist who's great and patient. There's a lot that can be done and I needed no medication at all, so perfectly safe while nursing.
I didn't find breast-feeding hurt the joints, as in other than local strain. Hormonal upheaval now comes with agonising joint pains in literally every joint I have. Very different. Having that checked out. So help is out there but you have to look for it.
Posted by: Wilhelmina | July 20, 2011 at 01:59 PM
My lower back and hips were agony after my second child. I, of course, ignored it even though it required me to sleep in a recliner for months b/c I would wake with fire in my back anytime I attempted to lie down flat. This was fine as sleep with a newborn is nonexistant, and I regularly fell asleep in the recliner nursing anyway. After 4 months I decided that this should be improving. My doc sent me to physical therapy for 3 months as it turns out my hips were out of alignment from the pregnancies and births of my babies. I had been out of whack so long that my body wouldn't let my bones go back into whack easily. I had to go in 3 times a week and wear a hip belt to keep them in place. Now I feel relatively normal (2 yrs later) with only mild recurrent issues.
My point? See your doctor even if you think it's just "normal" post-preggars stuff. It might not be normal and you might be living in pain for no good reason.
Posted by: carmen | July 20, 2011 at 02:12 PM
I had really annoying joint pain (in my hands/wrist/elbow/shoulder and knees) after both of my sons' births. It lasted in both cases about a year and slowly went away on its own. weird!
Posted by: Mom in France | July 20, 2011 at 04:09 PM
@Jennifer - sounds like it could have been De Quervain's syndrome (inflammation of tendons running from the thumb to the wrist). It's really common in mothers. Once it goes away it rarely recurs, according to the musculo-skeletal GP who diagnosed mine.
I've read that the high levels of relaxin last for about 6 months post partum, and that contrary to popular belief, longer term nursing doesn't actually involve many hormonal differences from non-nursing (apart from slightly heightened prolactin levels).
I'm not surprised at hearing that some of the extra loosening in pregnancy stays after the relaxin levels drop. My podiatrist and physio both said I needed to re-train the bones in my joints to move together in the proper way or it would get worse if I get pregnant again.
I have hypermobility in my ankles & wrists, and the wrists have been pretty bad since I had DS, peaking at 4 months or so when the De Quervain's syndrome kicked in too. They're much better now though at 18 months post partum.
Hand therapy (physiotherapy) and back/neck physio have helped too, and new special insoles for my feet to help those.
Co-sleeping made my wrists worse - I think because I move so much less in the night, and they would really ache in the morning. We still co-sleep but I don't get the aches any more.
Posted by: Katie | July 20, 2011 at 07:20 PM
I had horrible SI joint pain (lower back/sacrum) for a year after my son was born. The one thing that fixed it was working out, lifting weights, doing squats, lunges, and lots of planks and situps. Building up the supporting muscles has completely relieved my pain.
Posted by: Andrea | July 21, 2011 at 12:18 AM
I just actually talked to my osteopath about this - I've had weird jaw issues since my babe was born (15 months ago!!!)
Her take on it was this: breastfeeders continue to have the ligament-relaxing hormone emitted which can cause joint pain, especially in people who are hypermobile (i.e. if you are more flexible/double jointed than most).
But osteopathy reallllly helped me with my jaw and I'm no longer in pain with it. Weee! Otherwise I'd give scenar therapy & acupuncture a go :)
Posted by: Goddess Leonie | July 21, 2011 at 05:38 AM
and I thought it was just me.
I think there were two main things, besides the physical stresses of holding, carrying, positioning, etc. a baby: retaining fluid and needing to rebuild muscle. I lifted weights at least once a week, for years, before I was pregnant. And then it just didn't happen afterwards. I did plenty of walking, but it's not the same: I needed exercises specifically to support the joints.
I think retaining fluid tied in with the lack of particular exercise. I really needed to work out a lot of retained fluid from late pregnancy and delivery.
There are probably other factors. I'm surprised to hear so many other moms talking about plantar fasciatis. My heels hurt badly for quite some time, especially first thing in the morning -- so badly I couldn't really walk on them. I suspect it's partly to do with the sheer number of joints in the feet and the fact that it's an extremity -- there are a lot of joints to collect painful fluid in, and it collects with a vengeance in the extremities. But I'm just speculating about a hypothesis.
Posted by: Schwa de Vivre | July 22, 2011 at 02:42 AM
Oh, and the original querent should probably see a doctor, especially if there's something hip/pelvis related. My SIL wound up with a separated pelvis and needed some kind of brace. For some of this stuff, there are treatments available.
And a note on medications and breastmilk, since people have been talking about it: most medications are okay during breastfeeding, but the ones we take for granted might be worse than the ones we think must be terrible. I was shocked to find out, during the worst of my back troubles, that the percocet my doctor didn't want to prescribe to a nursing mom had a more benign rating than naproxen/Aleve (risk of stomach bleeding), which he prescribed to me without a second thought. Check the Hales book, or check with someone that has it, like LLL or poison control if you live in Georgia.
Posted by: Schwa de Vivre | July 22, 2011 at 02:47 AM
If it continues past the postpartum phase (6 weeks) It may be more than just the body being stretched from pregnancy and preparing for birth. Really a new mom should not be doing any housework until she has recovered, a lot changes during pregnancy and birth. If one has hypermobile joints they should be checked for all forms of dysautonomia following childbirth, because many times these two go hand in hand. No running, jumping, excess workouts until joint pain ceases as this can damage your ligaments.
Posted by: Nichole Frost | July 24, 2011 at 08:38 AM
I strongly believe that these will come up regularly and will last hopefully for the next decades.
Posted by: pregnancy quiz | July 25, 2011 at 02:00 AM
I have lower back pain only when attempting to get up from lying on my back or sitting. My hips are excruciating when sleeping and wake me up more than my 9-month-old twins. I had the same hip pain when preg with my 1st, but it went away immediately after delivery (I wasn't nursing). I'm still nursing the twins and I still have the pain, so I figured it was the hormones.
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Posted by: replica watches | July 27, 2011 at 03:33 AM
That was my story exactly. After I had my baby, I began to have joint pains that were nearly debilitating. Excruciating. I had to have my husband help me get to the bathroom, even, and I cried and screamed the whole way as I limped along. It hurt THAT BADLY. Muscle pains, too. My joint pains would "travel"--one day it would be my left ankle, the next it was my wrist, then my right ankle, then my JAW, then my fingers and knees, etc. All excruciating.
I saw doctors, but everyone thought I was either crazy or drug-seeking (even though, when they'd offer me vicodin or percocet, I'd say, "No thank you, don't even bother" because those type of drugs don't work for me and never even came close to touching the pain I felt in my joints). After a crazy long time (something like nine months) of AGONY, my doctor finally figured it out. Postpartum Thyroiditis. I don't know why it took doctors so long to figure out, since joint/muscle pain is a CLASSIC symptom of thyroid issues. It's actually very, very common in postpartum women. It's a health issue involving low thyroid (hypothyroid) and also having the presence of certain antibodies (thyroid peroxidase antibodies, or TPOabs). Postpartum Thyroiditis can go away on its own, but if it remains and becomes chronic, it's referred to as Hashimito's Thyroiditis (which I have).
So, long story short: Have your friend IMMEDIATELY get her thyroid function tested. Tell her to ask her doctor to test for these things:
TSH
T4
T3
Free T4
Free T3
TPOabs
If her TPOab levels are over something like 7, she has Thyroiditis and this is what is causing her pain.
If her GP won't offer such a test, have her go to an endocrinologist who will hopefully recognize these signs as Postpartum Thyroiditis.
It sounds scary, but all she needs to do to "fix" it (manage it) is pop a pill once a day. Her doctor will figure out what level of synthetic thyroid is appropriate and will get her TSH back to normal and her TPOabs down. And then comes the hard part, waiting for the pains to go away, but after a few weeks of treatment, they will.
I feel so much sympathy for her. The pain I felt was indescribable. And no one could help me for so long.
And as a sidenote, the levels that worked best for me were to get my TSH down to 1.0 (even though doctors say that a TSH range of 0.5-5.0 is normal, it's nor normal for everyone. 1.0 is the goal to shoot for. And my TPOab levels were originally 139!! Slowly but surely, taking my thyroid pills brought down my numbers to the 30s or so, and eventually down to 9, I think. I still have flare-ups, but life is livable again. :)
Best of luck to your friend.
Posted by: Jo | July 28, 2011 at 02:49 PM
@ Jo, OMG that sounds awful. I have hypothyroidism so I've been on a thyroid "maintenance medication" for a couple years now. I had no idea that it could have an effect on your joints/muscles, though it makes sense since your thyroid is involved in so many parts of your body.
Posted by: Vacationland Mom | July 28, 2011 at 05:14 PM
I'll reiterate what others have said. The body produces the relaxin hormone to aid in pelvic mobility for birth. It continues to produce this hormone during breastfeeding (one of the reasons that female athletes will specifically choose to stop breastfeeding so that they can begin training again.) That along with the calcium leeching of the 3rd trimester contributes to joint hypermobility and, therefore, pain. You have to find a resource to work with you on joint stabilization. I'm a professional dancer and work with a good friend and has reduced the problems that I had in my 1st pregnancy this 2nd time around. Find someone you trust to work with your body!
Posted by: Rachel | July 29, 2011 at 01:05 PM
In my case, the debilitating excruciating joint pain was my primary symptom of mastitis. When I went to see a Breastfeeding consultant at 1 week post-partum, she noticed the redness in my breast. As soon as the antibiotics for the mastitis kicked in.... I had immediate relief from the pain. Basically it was like flu-related joint pain just kicked up a zillion notches for me.
Posted by: Hapa | July 29, 2011 at 05:45 PM
Get your iron levels checked. For my first 2 babies I had all over joint pain for the 9 months I was nursing. I had my iron levels checked after baby 1 and they were through the floor. On baby 3 I took prescription iron 3 months pre and post natal and no joint pain. Worth getting checked
Posted by: Sky | July 31, 2011 at 11:41 AM
After giving birth to my 3 kids,I didn't experience any joint pain.the worst pain is toothache..
Posted by: Rebecca | August 04, 2011 at 09:00 PM
My best friend was just diagnosed a few months back with Rhumatoid Arthritis. She is 31 years old. Her daughter is now 21 months old. Turns out the extreme fatigue and horrible joint pain was the result of the RA- a disease of the immune system that sometimes emerges after a first pregnancy. If anyone is having very painful joint and range of movement problems, it can't hurt to have a check up to rule out the regular vitamin deficiencies, normal postpartum woes, etc...but if the symptoms continue a simple blood test can be done to check for RA antibodies. Don't suffer in silence! The sooner a woman receives treatment, if she does indeed have RA, the much better her prognosis and quality of life is.
Also, as a side note: In my friend's case, her RA was made even worse by exclusively breastfeeding her daughter for the first six months of life. This apparently occurs in 50% of cases. Not to say one can't breastfeed with RA, but in my friends case it worked as an inflammatory agent which exacerbated the disease.
www.arthritis.org/rheumatoid-arthritis.php
Posted by: Rose | August 09, 2011 at 02:49 AM