Aa
arthritis?
Im a 22yr old soon to be mom. Im 32wks now. Around 21/22wks I started having serious pain in my hands and wrists. I crochet a lot (like at least 6-8hrs a day). So I thought it was just building muscles. But it got progressively worse to the point I cant even move them til I work them out a good couple minutes every morning. They are sore throughout the day and at night when im sleeping they stiffen, painfully. I reached out to family, since a good 10 or so biological memvers have MS, thinking pregnancy could be enhancing this in me, but then they told me just as many people in my family have severe arthritis. Is it genetic? Could this be arthritis? I dont know anything about arthritis really.
I didnt consider that pregnancy would loosen all the tendons. Thank you for that! I see my doctor tomorrow, so I will mention it to him first and go from there. But Ill still be researching until then. Thank you so much! I will definitely keep you updated!
Hi there! First of all, congratulations for your soon-to-arrive baby!
For women who already have autoimmune disease, pregnancy often causes the immune system to "stand down" and they actually feel better. Until the baby is born, which is a whole different story as fluctuating hormones, lack of sleep, and stress can make symptoms worse.
A few women find that pregnancy triggers autoimmune problems, but this is much more rare.
Something to keep in mind is that pregnancy hormones cause the tendons in your body to soften. This is to help ease the passage of the baby out of your pelvis when the time comes. The problem is, it causes ALL your tendons to be more stretchy, which *could* be causing the discomfort in your hands and wrists, which you're using a lot. It also contributes to the classic "pregnant woman's waddle" in late pregnancy. :)
Because of your family history, you're right to be vigilant. Visit a rheumatologist if you're unsure, and read all you can find about classic onset symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, keeping in mind that every patient is different - there is no one size fits all in terms of symptoms, treatment, or disease characteristics and progression.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
For women who already have autoimmune disease, pregnancy often causes the immune system to "stand down" and they actually feel better. Until the baby is born, which is a whole different story as fluctuating hormones, lack of sleep, and stress can make symptoms worse.
A few women find that pregnancy triggers autoimmune problems, but this is much more rare.
Something to keep in mind is that pregnancy hormones cause the tendons in your body to soften. This is to help ease the passage of the baby out of your pelvis when the time comes. The problem is, it causes ALL your tendons to be more stretchy, which *could* be causing the discomfort in your hands and wrists, which you're using a lot. It also contributes to the classic "pregnant woman's waddle" in late pregnancy. :)
Because of your family history, you're right to be vigilant. Visit a rheumatologist if you're unsure, and read all you can find about classic onset symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, keeping in mind that every patient is different - there is no one size fits all in terms of symptoms, treatment, or disease characteristics and progression.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
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