Which joints are painful? Just the ones in your hands? Have you used any household chemicals lately? Had false nails applied? Anything like that? Sometimes a chemical exposure causes a very localized reaction. Sometimes mild enough that it's hard to identify cause and effect. If the effect is gone now, and was localized to your hands, that may be all that it was.<br><br>
If you have noticed any swelling near your eyes, and/or you feel unusually tired, you may also want to have your thyroid levels checked.<br><br>
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Okay, maybe none of what I am about to say applies to you, and you were just a normal amount of puffy for a few days, or it was just protein, or it was something totally different. Statistically speaking, the info I'm about to share does not apply to the average preg mom. But as an infertility survivor, it very well may apply to you, and I would feel bad if I didn't offer it up, for you to investigate whether it applies to you.<br><br>
If you have sore joints that get better with activity, and especially if those sore joints are not just in your hands, then I'd say research the possibly of an inflammatory process in your body due to vitamin deficiencies -- and maybe consider trying mega doses of folic acid (4000 mcg a day), b6 (300 mg a day) and b12 (3000 mcg a day). These are all water soluble, so an excess is unlikely to harm you. On the other hand, too little can lead to systemic inflammation and all sorts of problems (with the placentas, etc.). Some people have a gene defect that causes them to absorb these particular nutrients very poorly, and therefore, need far more than the RDA, and in the absence of enough, the first symptoms can be swelling, joint pain, chest pain, etc. A nutritional crisis (like growing 2 human beings) can bring out symptoms that were under the surface for a long time.<br><br>
I see in your siggie that you're an infertility survivor. Did you have any genetic testing? Did you get tested for MTHFR C677T? That can cause repeated miscarriages (sometimes so early you never knew you were pregnant, sometimes later), as well as neural tube defects. Sometimes just getting on prenatals can raise your blood levels enough to let you overcome these deficiencies enough to stay pregnant, but then as the pregnancy progresses, your daily need for these vitamins can outstrip the amount provided by (or absorbed from) the prenatals. So, if your RE did NOT specifically test you for MTHFRC677T, you might ask about just taking those mega-dose B's just in case, and if your RE *did* test you for it, and you're negative, well, then, never mind. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment"><br><br>
~ Mumse, MTHFR C677T positive (just finally found out last May), former puffy swollen person, former heart patient (because of the gene thing), former arthritis patient (because of the gene thing), 3 live kiddos (so far), one fetus lost to neural tube defects at 16-20?? weeks gestation (because of the gene thing???), one miscarried at 7 weeks (because of the gene thing?), at least a dozen miscarried (over the last 16 years) before 5 weeks (because of the gene thing?), and finally one 31 week bun in the oven as we speak (Thanks to handsful of folic acid, B6, B12?? At least, I think so!)
