Postpartum joint pain. This phrase had never even crossed my mind until about 8 weeks after I had my second baby. Then those three words became the highest google searched term ever. Every waking moment I was either searching possible causes, reading other’s accounts of their experience or researching treatment options that were safe while breastfeeding. But, let me back up just a bit. I’ll give you a rundown of exactly what happened to me and what I did about it. My hope is that this will give you some answers, as I felt lost in this search for months. If something similar is happening to you, my wish is that you don’t give up hope and that you do ADVOCATE for yourself.
No one will ever care about you and your health like you do.
UPDATE! 10/29/20
I have finally found something that has changed my life and has taken ALL of my swelling and pain away. I’ve just written about it here with full details.
My Story with Postpartum Joint Pain
I was 6 weeks postpartum and cleared from my OBGYN, so I began a little workout video at home. The day after, I noticed my knees felt funny. I thought I may have just worked out too soon, because it wasn’t going away. They weren’t sore per say, they just felt a little funny. The following week, a few side planks resulted in the same funny feeling in both my wrists. It was like a tightness that would ease up with stretching. The following week, I woke up and felt all my fingers and toes were swollen. My rings wouldn’t fit. Something was wrong. So whom, other than google, did I turn to?
Postpartum joint pain, when googled will result in an overwhelming “rheumatoid arthritis” results. My heart fell into my stomach as I read a bit about this “debilitating and crippling” disease that has no cure. Despite being in the medical field, I had never really looked into details of what RA was. In a nutshell, I learned rheumatoid arthritis is commonly developed in the postpartum period and results in painful, swollen joints that will eventually destroy your body. Okay. There had to be another explanation. I was 32, extremely healthy and in great shape with no family history of this disease of any other autoimmune disorder. And so my search began.
I ran across forum after forum of mothers in their postpartum stage going through the same thing, explaining the same symptoms. I recall one forum consisted of 42 pages of people suffering in the same way. Eager to see if people had posted a follow-up, I read each and every entry, robbing my precious breastfeeding time, replacing bonding with worry. It so happened, that a handful of people had followed up and said their pain diminished after 6, 12, 18 months postpartum. HOPE. Maybe this will all go away. Sadly, others did end up with an RA diagnosis. But most just didn’t post a follow-up.
So exactly what was I feeling? In the morning I was so, so stiff as a board. My joints were so stiff and sore I couldn’t move until hours after I awoke. Throughout the day, all of my joints were swollen but the pain was really not too bad. It was mostly an uncomfortable feeling, like I had been working out constantly and my muscles were fatigued. I realized most of my pain was actually in my tendons. Then the sun went down. When I sat down for the evening after both babies were in bed, I would begin to stiffen up and feel more and more pain. Bedtime was the worst. Every joint, tendon and muscle was on fire. My fingers would claw like a hawk during the night and my right hand would fall asleep, keeping me up all night. It got to a point where I couldn’t lift the covers up over my shoulders in the night. Never have I felt such a gnawing, chronic, awful pain. I was awake every hour of the night, then 5 am hit and it would all of a sudden get a better so I could get a decent 2 hours. Despite this, I wasn’t too tired in the daytime.
I visited my PCP and had blood drawn. My results were all negative and well within the normal range.
There’s not many things more frustrating than having signs and symptoms of a disease/disorder but not having your bloodwork reflect it. I certainly was hoping for negative results, but on the other hand, having the negative result only provided me with confusion. Again, HOPE was glimmering, so I was determined to figure out why I was suffering so much.
A few weeks later, a visit to the rehumatologist rendered me speechless. I described my symptoms (symmetrical joint pain and swelling that was worse at rest, in multiple joints) and he diagnosed me with RA on the spot and began to immediately explain medication options. I was a flabbergasted he didn’t even wish to draw more detailed labs! I ended up convincing him that labs were in order.
A fantastic article, Decoding RA – Shedding the Light on the Hidden Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis, pointed out that genetics, infections, hormones, leaky gut and heavy metals could all be at the root cause of the issue. I was fairly certain mine was directly related to hormones.
The rheumatologist who authored this post indicated he checks for estradiol, prolactin, DHEA, cortisol and testosterone in attempt to balance endocrine systems.
This doctor’s response to my lab request was, “Oh, interesting, that’s a good idea”. Really? I wasn’t even going to start thinking about medication until I had some proof of blood work with an attempt to address the root cause first. Long story short, I had more detailed labs taken. Result? All normal. Happy? Yes, but the joint pain was still unbearable. Obviously something was wrong. The only good thing I got from the doc was a prescription for prednisone which made living life possible again. Thank heaven for steroids.
Be sure to check out 8 Surprisingly Simple and Unique Ways to Help Heal.
Things I’ve Tried to Heal & Deal with Postpartum Joint Pain
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links.
Physical Attempts
Throughout this process, I’ve tried acupuncture, lymph massage, myofascial release, chiropractic care and tapping for emotional release
Food Sensitivity/Diet Change
While I was seeing the acupuncturist, I opted to do a food sensitivity screening. Guess what? It was negative. (I did array 4. She said if any of these were positive, I would also likely be sensitive to gluten.) Regardless, I have been following a gluten-free diet since all this went down. Is it working? I don’t think so? But there are just so many people who have benefited from cutting gluten (and sugar and dairy) that I am still trying. Where did I get this idea? I have really learned so much from a Facebook group called Rheumatoid Arthritis Healing Naturally Support.
Most people in the above group will tell you in that they reduced their pain by cutting sugar, gluten and nightshades (white potatoes, eggplant, bell peppers and hot peppers). On a side note, everything I thought I knew about nutrition was being thrown for a loop, but that’s another story… I also learned much about the different programs aimed at healing your gut, as it is now thought that a leaky gut is responsible or at least associated with autoimmune diseases. To name a few: AIP Paleo, Paddison Program, Whole 30, No Grain No Pain…the list goes on.
I started adding grass-fed collagen, beet powder
Integrative Medicine
I then went to see a functional medicine doctor (not covered by insurance… oh the joy) who did another round of blood tests on me. One was micronutrient testing. Results showed I was borderline low on multiple nutrients and low in oleic acid. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid that helps to make up the phospholipid membranes of all cells. He said this may be causing permeability and therefore the joint pain. He wasn’t convinced I had RA. The doc gave me a laundry list of supplements to take and said that it would take 3-4 weeks to see improvement, but he was sure it would help.
Supplements
Here’s a list of supplements, brand specific, I’m taking:
- Serrapeptase
– It’s a chemical taken from the silkworm helps the body break down protein which is thought to decrease inflammation (2)
- Lactoferrin
– shown to help protect synovial fluid (3)
- Reduced L-Glutathione
this and the following are the brands recommended by the functional medicine MD
- L-Glutamine
- Phospholipid Complex
- CoEnzyme Q10
- Zinc (Citrate)
- Vitamin D3
– It’s a chemical taken from the silkworm helps the body break down protein which is thought to decrease inflammation 
– shown to help protect synovial fluid
this and the following are the brands recommended by the functional medicine MD
Alternative Treatments
I have looked everywhere to find options to rid my body of this swelling and pain. At first I could only do things compatible with breastfeeding, so I couldn’t really do much. Now that I’ve sadly weaned, I was able to try other options.
Fresh Whole Aloe Juice
I read that aloe can heal leaky gut as well as a plethora of other conditions. Aloe contains over 300 phytotherapeutic substances, is an incredibly strong detoxifier and immune modulator to restore the body. The book Aloe Isn’t Medicine, And Yet . . . It Cures!
Chinese Tea
I ran across a man who has won numerous awards in China for his formulation of herbal tea to cure Rheumatoid Arthritis. At one time he was bed-bound due to the severity of his RA. After treating himself with a potent Chinese herbal tea for 6 months, he was completely healed. This is his website here. There is a video that explains the whole story of how this tea came to be. Long story short, it is available now in the US. So am I trying it? You bet I am.
Prayer and Meditation
Daily prayer has been my crutch. Crying out in hopes of a miracle is the only thing that has gotten me through. I have HOPE that I will be healed one day. That fact pulls me through. I wrote this detailed prayer to help guide me through: A Prayer for Healing. I also made it a practice to lie in bed for at least ten minutes a day and meditate. I focus on asking my body to heal itself and asking God to allow that.
Where I am Now
Most recent updates:
(2/2020) Naturally Managing my Rheumatoid Arthritis
18 month update (8/2018) Postpartum Joint Pain 18 Months Later
As of June 8, 2017 I am 4 weeks into the laundry list of supplements, through one batch of aloe and one week of tea. My pain and swelling is 90% improved when comparing to onset. I’ve fully weaned my way off the prednisone. Oh, yes, I also found out my mother’s brother developed RA last year. Would have been nice to know this fact a few months ago! Due to this new info, I have resigned myself to accepting that I actually may have RA despite all my labs.
So with that, I wish all of you going through the same thing to keep faith, never stop trying to get the root of the problem and to try alternative methods of healing! I know that those first few weeks of pain were absolutely horrendous, mentally and physically. So if you’re going through something similar, I wish you and your family the best of luck and will help you in any way I can.
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. All content information is intended to be for general informational purposes only. Please see your doctor with regard to information attained from the above article if you are concerned with the health of your child. The content above is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. NEVER NEGLECT YOUR DOCTOR’S PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ.
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Hello Jessa,im Amalia from Argentina. just read your article on postpartum joint pain, i feel very identify, im at the stage of trying an integrative doc, i have an appointment tomorrow, so i hope he can make it better, my postpartum had been so great, my baby sleeps great, eata perfectly, I enjoyed it so much, and now, around 3/4 months after, everything is tainted with this awful pain and fear. Anyways, thanks for the article and hope you are still getting better and better.
Bye!
Amalia
Amalia,
I am sorry you are dealing with this problem too. I wish you the best on your healing journey.
Thanks for your post. I am 5.5 months postpartum, still nursing and got hit with massive joint pain and inflammation with ankles knees wrists and elbows affected – red, hot and sore. The pain! I’ve had some blood tests and am awaiting referral to a rheumatologist but so far RA is suspected
I am miserable and terrified. Makes it hard to take care of a baby! HOPEFULLY there’s some relief coming. Did you wean so you could start steroids? I wanted to breastfeed til about ten months but I will definitely stop early if it means I can get this under control.
Thanks again for the post,
Andria
Andria, I am so sorry to hear of your suffering. 🙁 It will get better, it just takes time… each month mine improves, especially with the hormones regulating out. I did take a small amount of prednisone while bf so I could function. I had to stop so much earlier than I’d hoped to so I could start alternative therapy. I feel for you, I know what you’re going thru… it was the hardest year of my life. BUT you will get through it. Stopping bf did reduce the pain, but certainly did not make it stop. I feel as if diet change and essential oils have been the most helpful for me after all that I’ve tried.
Thanks for your reply. Knowing that I won’t be in this flare up forever and things will get better helps a lot. Trying to be hopeful and positive, for sure.
Hi Jessa, I feel as if I could have written this story myself. My pain started after my second pregnancy and I didn’t think much of it, as my pinky was just swollen and sore (I figured I jammed it or something?!). A month ago, my dad passed away and my entire body flared up. Now I have a huge swollen joint in my foot and have different pains every day. My bloodwork also came back negative, so I am waiting for my appt with rheumatologist. My grandmother had RA, so I am convinced I have it. I feel panicked, especially reading everything online. Can you give an update as to how things are for you now? How did you eat over the fear of what is to come, especially with children? Thanks so much for sharing your story.
I am so sorry to hear you’re going though this. 🙁 What I’ve learned through panic, worry and lots of pain is that “what will be will be”. The pain has subsided to a tolerable level so I manage things with a gluten-free diet with minimal grains and essential oils for pain. When I was in agony, yes, I would worry about my future, but after having this for a bit over a year, I’m just used to it, I suppose. It’s a way of life now that I just have to manage the best I can. I can truly tell you that worry and fear DO NOT help the situation. Positive thinking and gratitude DO.
Hi, I’m going though the same thing 🙁 blood work negative! My reumatologist said it might be hormonal imbalance I even have a red rash…. I do have a very strong gastroenteritis….but I’m in a breaking point! Can’t take it anylonger! Please let me know if your blood work is still negative! Are u 100% sure is rheumatoid Arthritis? My baby is 3 months but I stared feeling weird right after my c-section, I also experienced a bad headache after the epidural…..I was not able to lift my head, and was too sensitive to light….for 10 days I was just laying flat on my back, no pillow no nothing!
My goodness! That sounds terrible! I’m so sorry you are dealing with this. Yes, my bloodwork is still negative yet my Rheumatologist still says I have RA. The rash is scary though, do you live in an area with ticks?
Look into autoimmune progesterone dermatitis/urticaria (APD). Especially if it is cyclical and flares while ovulating.
I also could’ve written this myself! Babe # 4 is almost 9 months, I’ve been having joint pain/stiffness, overall body weakness since 6-8 weeks pp. I don’t know what to do but I am miserable. I also haven’t lost any weight, with my others it all came off by now. Eating as healthy as possible, exercising as much as possible but I feel awful. Have you learned anything new that has helped since you wrote this? Which oils do you use?
I’m so sorry to hear of your pain. I try to limit grains and dairy from my diet. (I’ve also been gf from the start of this.) I take oregano and a cellular complex daily plus Frankincense under my tongue. Please email me if you need more help!
I am 5 months postpartum and breast feeding. I have the achy joints and stiffness and fatigue. I’ve had bad pain in my foot and have been limping. My question is has anyone stopped and weaned from breast feeding and the symptoms got better? Thanks!
Tray, I’m so sorry to hear of your struggles. My pain improved when I weaned, unfortunately. It is not gone, but improved…
Hi Jess! I just came across your post because I am experiencing the exact same thing. All tests came back negative and rheumatologist says it’s hornones. I just find that so hard to believe. Prednisone made me feel amazing but now my symptoms are back. How are you feeling these days? I just need reassurance that this will get better with time. I am seeing a naturopathic doctor next week so hopefully I’ll have some other answers.
Thanks!
Melissa
Isn’t prednisone amazing?! It is the ONLY thing that got me through the first few months… Things have improved, but still I suffer with stiffness and swelling. 🙁 I truly hope you find some answers. KIT
I am reading from Mexico. This happened to me twice, unfortunately. With my first baby it started 3 days after delivery. Two months after my baby was born I had stiffness and swelling made me hard rock, I could not sit on the floor and had a lot of trouble standing up and pain even when trying to sleep. All tests were negative for autoimmune diseases (lupus, RA,fibromyalgia etc) I tried acupuncture and physical rehabilitation therapy and it did improve to the point of being perfect one day approximately 11 monthts after my daughter was born. 3 years and a half after, my second baby was born. I was perfect for the first 3 months and one day all the nightmare started all over again, not as hard as the first one yet I am in pain. Again all tests negative and hoping to cope the stiffness with ibuprofen and indometacine… between pregnancies I was really good! Just do not understand why… theory of reumathologist is reactive arthritis to the prolactine and relaxine… I had to stop bf my baby girl… I have been sick for one month now, let’s hope for the best and this nightmare to stop soon!
Wow, Susana, thank you for sharing. I feel like my story is the same! I am now just over 2 years pp and am healing to the point where I’m almost perfect. I’m thankful beyond the shadow of a doubt, but I, nor ANY doctor, can tell me what has happened. I truly hope you will end up with ultimate healing. I will add you to my prayer list.
Hi Jessa – did you feel the chinese herbs/tea helped at all? Or try any infectious disease treatment for dysbiosis/infections? I’m about 8 months pp, but the joint pains started around month 3 and has been getting progressively worse. I’m pretty much on an autoimmune paleo diet but it’s not stopping the progression.
Sue-
To be honest, now that I look back, I don’t think so. I had testing done for heavy metals and such: all negative. And I never wanted to try the antibiotics, as I am a firm believer that antibiotic use should only be used as a last resort. Plus I was never in any foreign country or live/do anything funky. The whole time, my husband told me it was all hormones and that diet wouldn’t help a bit. Of course, I didn’t listen… I just found out not too long ago that I have PCOS. Now what came first? I don’t know. But I do know that the treatment for the PCOS (spironolactone and birth control are helping more than anything else has)- my hormones are regulating out I suppose.
Hello Jess, I have been going through the same thing for months! But all my mom friends and husband shake it off with “oh I’m sure it’s normal.” They don’t realize how excruciating it gets! I can’t take steroids as I always have adverse reactions to them so I was researching the list of supplements you provided. I found sources that say some are BF friendly and some sources say they’re not. Could you tell me which ones you used while BF? Thank you so much for the post and your time!
Oh! I’m sorry to hear of your struggles… no one understands just how awful it feels. To be completely honest, I don’t fully recall at what times I took the supplements- meaning before or after I was forced to stop. I would just play it safe, so if you have read of any precautions, I’d wait till you’re done.
Thank goodness I’ve found this! I too am experiencing all of the above. I’ve felt so alone in all this but reading all your experiences let’s me know that a) I’m not making it up and b) I’m not alone. After giving birth for the second time, I developed crippling symptoms about week 5/6 postpartum. Mornings and night time are the worst. To the point where I can barely walk and my husband has had to take the kids to work with him as I can’t even pick them up. My mental health has taken a huge hit. The pain is constant. I cry most mornings because I can’t do simple things like put my shoes on, lift the kids, play on the ground with them, turn on taps etc… I do these things but the pain is excruciating. I’ve just had a FaceTime appointment with a Rheumatologist and he believes it’s RA although all my tests are negative. I’m to start on the drug Plaquenil. I do hope it makes a difference. It’s meant to take a month or two to really kick in and reduce the swelling.
Just reading all these stories makes me feel more at ease so thank you everyone for sharing.
Christina,
Your story makes me tear up. I am so sorry you are going through this. As you read, I understand completely. I truly hope Plaquenil works for you. The only thing that helps me through a huge flare is steroids for a few days (thank God for them).
You WILL get through this. I know you’re in the worst of it all right now… it will get better…eventually.
Hi, stumbled on your page with a google search about post partum joint pain. Just thought I’d share what happened to me a few years ago.
In April 2012 I was has fit and healthy as I’d ever been. I ran the London marathon, I went to the gym all the time, did yoga, you name it. Then one day in July I woke up with horrendous joint pain all over my body but in particular my neck. I hadn’t injured myself, I’d literally just woke up like it. I tried everything to get rid of it and nothing worked. Some days my neck was so bad I couldn’t lift my head off the pillow or even swallow I was in so much pain. The doctors were useless, they just prescribed pain killers and said oh it’s arthritis or it might be fibromyalgia and sent me for physio which didn’t do anything. Almost a year later I was still in agony, I was trying to live with it but it was horrendous. People described rheumatoid arthritis pain and this fitted exactly how I felt. Like a red hot dagger was stabbing me in the neck.
Still I refused to believe it was arthritis. I googled and Googled researching everything. I eventually stumbled on an article about a woman who’d had food poisoning and ended up not being able to eat dairy. She described her symptoms and i may as well have written it myself. …….. cue two weeks of flatly refusing I could possibly have an intolerance to dairy because I loved cheese so much. Then one day the pain was so bad I thought what the hell, I’ll give it a go. I totally cut out dairy and eggs. 7 days later, absolutely unbelievably I was completely pain free. My energy rocketed and I felt great.
I was still skeptical. Then one day a well meaning friend gave me a dairy free cake that it turned out had egg in it. I didn’t think to check and had no idea. 4 hours later and the horrific pain was back. I was in bed for 2 days but sure enough a few days later I was well again.
Lots of research later and it turns out my pain started about a month after starting protein shakes for my workouts. I also had food poisoning about a year before. The docs think I’d upset the balance in my stomach and was coping with small amounts of dairy and egg but by having a massive amount in the protein shakes was too much and my body reacted.
In 2013 I did a complete elimination diet supervised by a dietician at the hospital. The results were really surprising. I now know I can’t eat dairy, gluten, egg, soya, corn or large amounts of fructose. I am still
I recovered and ran the marathon again in 2014. 6 years later and I still feel great. I have the odd blip if I’ve eaten something without realising but on the whole my joints are very normal.
I’ve taken the time to share because, even 7 years later I am still in shock that food could cause such horrific pain. I share my story with anyone who will listen because it may well help them. I do wonder how many people have stuck with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or RA when it may be an intolerance to something they eat.
I’m4 months post partum at the moment and have been suffering a bit with some mild joint pain. I don’t know if it’s hormones or something I ate so was googling and ended up here!
All the best and I hope you find out what is causing your pain soon.
Lizzy
Hi, I also feel like I could’ve written this myself, our stories are so similar. I was wondering if you ordered the tea from the website or you were able to get it from the states? I’m glad you are doing better now.
I’m sorry to hear 🙁 yes, I did get the tea from the states – they were actually pretty close to my old residence. I hope you are able to find healing!
Years later, do you still suffer or is it gone? Exact thing happened to me. It happened as soon as I delivered my son and last whole time I was breast feeding.. once I stopped it went away. I chalked it up to hormones but always wondered if it was from tdap vaccine given to me in hospital… I always think of that pain. I could barely walked. I just remember the aching. Hope you are better. I also saw rheumatologist and labs were fine.
How strange…. It has not completely left 100% but it is managed extremely well. I’m happy for you that yours went away!
My mother in law gave me a book written by Dr. Henry Wright called “A More Excellent Way” – Be In Health. It is a very interesting read and has a lot of testimonies of people applying his principles through the word of God to their lives.
I got severe food poisoning after having my third live birth. With the food poisoning I have sore knees and wrists and went away briefly after antibiotics for the food poisoning but has came back and gotten a whole lot worse. I’m unsure what it is but am glad you have a natural way to look at it! And the other comments give me wonderful ideas of what to try!
May God bless you and keep you! And may you continue to grow in His love for you!
Thank you for your comment!!
What is crazy is that I too was gifted this book (many years ago)!
How funny!
I do completely believe that my healing had a spiritual component to it, 100%.
God’s blessings to you!