Arthritis in pregnancy??

[Thandiwe]

I have been having horrible pains during this pregnancy...my back and hips, etc, which are to be expected, I understand. Well, in the last month or so, I've been having another, horrible pain, that seems to be getting progressively worse. During the night, my fingers (namely the middle joint of each finger) get really swollen and unbelievably painful. To the point where last night when I got up, I could hardly wipe myself after peeing. During the day, the pain is better, though not gone. Those specific joints are especially swollen during the day, too. I'm not having major edema otherwise, and my blood pressure is actually low (it was something like 98/56 this past appt), so it baffles me. My midwife said, "Oh, it's carpal tunnel," but it feels more like arthritis.

Anyone else have this happen?? What can I do to make it better?? Is it just another sign of the changing hormones preparing for labor?? HELP!! It hurts so bad at night!!

[bygones75]

I have arthrtitis, and pg really makes it flare up.

The only thing that really helps is acupuncture. So I'd recommend a session.

I also take homeopathic rhus tox.

In good news, it usually goes away once you have the baby! Sorry you're suffering through it.

[Noelia430]

My thumbs have really been bothering me over the past 2 weeks or so. I've also been a little swollen so I thought that was why. It's bearable though, it doesn't sound as bad as yours.

[ASusan]

I've been having the same symptoms. Hands hurt at night and in the morning - get much better during the day. Middle fingers are worse, and the left middle finger pops in and out of joint. I also have low blood pressure.

I looked into pregnancy-induced arthritis, and I don't think it is that. I have lupus, but I don't think it's that, either.

I think it's just that circulation to my extremities is worse at night. The pain and swelling is always worse in the hand on the side that I'm lying on. And if I flip over, it gets a little better.

In the morning, it's painful to get breakfast together.

[Lukas's Mama]

Thank you so much for posting about this! I'm having the exact same thing and I've googled and found that such a thing as pregnancy arthritis does exist! It should resolve after delivery but OUCH! I have exactly the same symptoms, much worse at night, still bad during the day, swollen painful middle joints in my fingers.
I don't have any ideas although I might try the accupuncture someone suggested. I just wanted to commiserate!

[Thandiwe]

Thanks much for the support and comments!! I'm not sure how things will go tonight, but today feels a little better. I tried an experiment, and I'm wondering if I'll get some results. I had recently begun vit E supplementation to help maybe prevent tearing and possibly help my scar tissue from my episiotomy. I began noticing these symptoms occured about the same time as my increase in vit E. Cut that down, and by today I'm feeling a little better. We'll see what happens tonight....

[mamatomax]

I have inflammatory arthritis in the distal joints of my thumbs, and it's basically stayed the same since getting pregnant. It hasn't been confirmed if my back pain (HORRIBLE!) is arthritis-related, but I do know that pregnancy is really aggravating it. I hope that yours goes away after pregnancy! I had my first flare after DS started nursing less (when he was a year old), and that's is where all of this crap began for me. I'm pretty sure that it's rheumatoid arthritis, but I only fit 3 of the criteria (and it takes 4 to fit the diagnosis). It sucks, so I really hope that it's only temporary for you!