Hey ladies,

Me too! Well, it's a possibility.

When i was PG with DD i started (around 30wks) to wake up with really stiff knuckles which i put down to water retention (the fingers were always fat when i first woke up and went down after an hour or 2).

After DD was born i lost a lot of weight very fast, which i didn't think much of, but my sore knuckles stayed. Then, when DD was about 3-4 months old i got a goiter (swelling in the neck, caused by an enlarged thyroid gland). It was small at first but by the time DD was 8 months old it was like a large orange so i went to the GP. THey did a thyroid check and the bloods came back showing i had hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's, opposite of Graves). At the time my GP discussed meds but i didn't want to take them as i'd only just stopped BFing and wanted to give my body a chance to recover.

3 months on, my knuckles still hurt when i wake, sometimes so badly that i couldn't open the blinds (couldn't grip the cord). It always wore off after about 20mins though. ANyway, GP called me back for repeat testing, my thyroid was still struggling, but my pituitary gland had stopped prodding it as much and thus my body had a new, very sluggish, metabolic rate. I was feeling the cold a lot, very exhausted all the time, couldn't think straight, and my wrists, hips and knees had started to ache too, though only when i rested.

I started taking levothyroxine on the 4th of April. So far i am feeling much more alert (less fuggy brain) and have more energy, my joint pains have all but gone and my knuckles are less sore and for not as long, though i do still wake to find them red and swollen on occasion.

I run a lot, currently training for a half-marathon, running about 26k a week, and the GP reckoned the regime of supplements i take for this (Cod liver oil 1000mg, EPO 1000mg, Vit E oil 10mg, glucosamine sulphate 1000mg, Well-Woman multivitamin with extra Iron, oh and a Kelp tablet to help my struggling thyroid) has staved off the worst of my symptoms while the running keeps everything supple. I know it's not an option for those already suffering to start exercising, i was just lucky that i was already doing it when my illness came on.

He (GP) couldn't tell me if it was RA or my Hashimotos (which can cause RA symptoms as the slower metabolism fails to replace cartilage at a normal speed) causing the joint pain and he said we'd wait until my thyroxine levels were normal before he did further testing (already looking at 6 more months of blood tests/medication reviews etc.) as that might resolve the issue for me. He said he thought my thyroxine would stabilise when i was on 50-100mcgms per day of levothyrocine, currently i'm on the starting dose, 25mcgms.

I can't believe how common this is though. I've been trying not to think about it. THought of my body disintegrating and even just having to take meds forever makes me feel awful. Sorry for hi-jacking.

Hana