Question on Joint Problems

[ruth]

I have a 7 week old baby. In my 6th month of pregnancy, I started to get sore wrists and knuckles. I hoped it would go away after delivery, but it didn't. I now have stiffness and pain in almost all of my joints, but the worst is in my fingers.

I am looking for possible causes and solutions. Has anyone ever heard of this before? It doesn't seem like Osetoarthritis because it doesn't seem like it would start so suddenly. Could it be hormonal? Diet? Allergies?

Please let me know if you have any knowledge of this, or even an opinion, but please be sure to give your opinion as such, so that I'll know what I'm working with.

Thanks!
Ruth

[JCsMomma]

Ruth,
I have experienced the same thing with my first pregnancy. The doctor told me that since my pregnancy was high risk and that I had so many complications, it was just a natural reaction. (Due to the swelling, high blood pressure, etc). I now have severe carpal tunnel in my right hand (my dominant one) and minor in my left.
I did receive the rubella vaccine right after the c-section (the next morning). I have read that the weak wrists and sore & tingling hands & fingers are all possible side effects of that particular vaccine.
I hope this helps... let me know if you find out anything else! It has gone away for the most part, but every once in a while, I lose strength in my wrists again... just yesterday I was leaning over the bed to change the sheets and my wrist gave out and I fell on the bed. Who knows???
Cherise

[Mom2boys]

Hi Ruth, I am not sure why you are having the stiffness and soreness, but you could try Apple Cider Vinegar to see if you find relief. It actually washes the crystalizations out of your joints and works wonders for people with arthritis.

Try taking 1 Tablespoon in a glass of water three times a day. I hope this helps you.
Tina

[Carmen]

There is such a thing a pregnancy induced carpel tunnel syndrome. I had this with my last pregnancy and found out that it is not all that uncommon. It remained the same for several weeks after my son was born, and it probably took a couple months before it was completely gone.

[stackeyha]

This also can be caused by Fifth's Disease if caught by adults (ask me how I know)...Fifth's disease is a pretty common kid disease and it's one of those dumb ones where you have NO idea the kid has it until the rash shows up and by then he's not contagious anymore. In adults it can cause systemic arthritis that is often misdiagnosed as fibro myalgia.

What I did was drink a TON of black cherry juice basically as much I as I could...I had been to the point of not being able to walk and while it still took 3 days to recover all I did was black cherry juice and I'd been getting worse every single day for several weeks.

Like ACV it flushes the acidic crystals out of your joints. Since my experience with black cherry juice I've read over and over how this helps with all arthritis and joint conditions...so at least it's an avenue you might want to try especially if you are nursing and want to avoid medication.

[ruth]

We had Fifth Disease in our home about a year ago (before I was pregnant). I had joint pain at the time, but it went away. Do you think this might still be related?

[stackeyha]

Yes it could be...most of what I read said that it was pretty long term...into the years before it resolved.