Steroids

[BlueEeyore]

I've had severe HG twice. Both times it lasted the entire pregnancy - once it kicked in around 5-6 weeks. Both times I took zofran with very limited results. This last time, I was on a PICC line and getting TPN.

Methylprednisolone was my savior. I was on 20 mg a day for about 5 months. I weaned off of the steroid over the course of 3 weeks post partum.

I am now 4 months post partum to the day. I have had joint pain ever since weaning and incredible heel pain - plantar fascitis?

I think the heel pain may have developed during the pregnancy and the steroids, being anti-inflammatories, masked it.

But I'm wondering about the joint pain. I feel like a 90 year old arthritic woman. Could it be due to steroid withdrawl and my adrenal glands producing inadequate amounts of corticosteroids?

I have hope the joint pain will subside totally one day. It's a little less now than it was immediately after I weaned from steroids. And if I had to do it all over again, I'd definitely do the steroids again.

Anyone have a similar experience? Anyone end up with joint issues?

Perhaps it is coincidental.

[aaronsmommy]

We've had at least 2 other people (Jacqueline-stephensmam and Marla-Mar2 from the old board) who were on the steroids for the whole pg who had the same symptoms. Marla was diagnosed with a chronic parvovirus infection.

I'm not sure whether either of them come to the board anymore, but you can try sending them a pm or email and see if they are still around.

The steroids are sure great for some people, but there sure are a lot of risks to weigh when you are talking about taking them long term.

[BlueEeyore]

Thank you so much!

[teddi]

Wow. Yes, I had joint pain, primarily in my hands immediately after delivering my son. It's gotten better, but it's still there. It was much worse immediately post partum w/the twins.

But the heel pain! YES I absolutely have that, and it started immediately after the girls were born. At first I thought maybe it was due to the fact our new house has hardwood floors. But, it's 6 months now, and they still hurt. They should have adjusted to the flooring already! I never thought it was related to the HG.

I took prednisone w/my son (about 5 weeks), but didn't w/my girls.

[Carcully]

Hi,

I took Prednisone with my son almost 4 years ago, and didn't have any subsequent problems from them (I took them from about 16-20 weeks, tapering from 60 mg on down).

I am currently taking them with my current pregnancy. I got a bad case of HG even earlier on this time, and since the Prednisone was the only thing that was able to get me under contol last time, my doctor started me on them at 6 weeks, as I was already hospitalized and nothing else was working!

I am currently in my 12th week, and am still taking 40mg. I have tried to taper down twice, but so far, I relapse if I take less than 40mg. Hopefully as the first trimester passes, I'll be able to wean off of them, but for now, they are sustaining me. So far, I don't notice any side effects...but I will keep you posted. Sure am glad this is our 2nd and last time of doing this....regardless of how well they are helping me, I still hate the idea of taking anything for very long, and I'm not going to subject my body to this again!

Hope your symptoms fade soon!

[alisonc8]

I had methylprednisolone for about 6 months during my last pregnancy. I didn't have the heel pain you describe postpartum (but I've had plantar fasciitis twice and it was NO fun - Vioxx took care of it at the time).
BUT, the joint pain... I now have Avascular Necrosis, in both of my hips. I had both of my femoral heads capped in January when baby was 9 months old. The surgeon said it is a common side-effect of steroids that very few people know about and most general physicians have NO CLUE about.
AVN is painful. It causes your femoral heads to slowly disintegrate but if it is caught early, there are less drastic interventions than what I had to do (took 6 months before anyone figured out my problem). Mine started with groin pain that got progressively worse. It can really only be diagnosed with an MRI but a good radiologist should be able to see it on an XRAY if they know to look for it (mine didn't).
If you have groin pain, go to an orthopedic surgeon. Tell them you had steroids for a few months and you want to be sure that you don't have AVN. Don't let your GP send you for physical therapy until they have ruled out AVN either (happened to me, was the worst thing they could have done.

Alison
Two dd's
3 ^i^'s
All HG
AVN survivor too.

[IslandDreamer]

Hi Blue,

So good to see you, but so sorry you're having joint pains.

I wasn't on steroids, but I did have a lot of fatigue and joint pain postpartum. Several years after my hg pg with Chris, I was diagnosed with fibromylagia. PG can do all sorts of lovely things, eh? I'm not sure if my autoimmune issues were triggered by pg (lots of this sort of stuff in my family), or if the overdoses of B6 (no one watched dosages...and I didn't realize the possible damage) caused it.

[BlueEeyore]

Suzanne,
Have you been tested for hypothyroidism? I've been recently wondering if it is my thyroid contributing to the pain. All that stuff is so interconnected...

And I have heard that there may be a link between HG and hypothyroid disease.

Anyway, joint pain and heel pain are symptoms of thyroid troubles. As are many of my other symptoms.

And I do know that pregnancy can screw up thyroid functioning.

I'm thinking about requesting the doc do a full thyroid panel of tests instead of just looking at TSH.

alisonc8,
Thanks for the info! I'll ask about that. I have lots of hip pain, but most of the women in my family have.

[IslandDreamer]

When you request the full panel, make SURE they do the antibody. I've requested the full panel three or four times and even specifically asked for the antibody screen twice, and the numbnuts don't do it. This new doc will for me, I'm sure. But can you imagine a doc denying a requested test? Duh.

[BlueEeyore]

Good to know! Thanks.

(What antibody do they test for?)

[IslandDreamer]

A thyroid antibody of some sort...can't recall the name.

[BlueEeyore]

Ok.


Now I just have to wait for my insurance to kick back in so that I can make an appt.

[stephensmam]

Hi sorry im only finding this thread now, i was on stroids from week 12 till week 27 and I have the excat same symptoms you have iv had several diagnoisis fybromyalgia, arthritis ect but i dont htink they know whats wrong the sweelling has gone down very slowly over the year but im still very stiff getting u8p in the morning and my feet burn if iv been on the for few hours dont know what the outcome is but my sarah wouldnt be here if i didnt take the steroids , the saved my sanity this pg .

[BlueEeyore]

That's interesting to know you've had the same issues.

For what it's worth, I am now almost 8 months post partum and feel significantly better. I learned to stretch out my feet before getting up every morning and that resulted in a quick and nearly complete recovery from the heel pain. The joint pain is still present, but it is so minor in comparison, I don't really notice it.

My biggest issue right now is that I've lost a lot of flexibility and just kind of feel old. Getting off the floor is a struggle now. My knees aren't as strong as they once were. But, I've also gained weight, so that might be contributing to that problem.

[petsparkle]

I haven't been on steroids with my pregnancy (so far) but they have had me on MANY pain meds before hand. I was in a car wreck just before Christmas and they have been adding meds left and right. Ultram, Flexarol, Tylenol-3, Lortab, Neurontin, Mobic, you name it. My point is this- I was having worse trouble on the medications than off them. I am in Physical Therapy 3 times a week (have been since January) and I see a really awesome OMT doctor (who used to work in Labor and Delivery, so works out well for me!) Those solutions have been so much better.

When I found out I was pregnant they told me to stop everything immediately. Not the smartest move, and I went through detox for about a week. That was hell, but after that, I felt much better. My problem is in my neck and multiple areas in my back, and I have found the pain reduced after removing the meds.

I know that medications can help (goodness I couldn't survive without my Phenegan) but don't let them keep adding things arbitrarily. Only take what you need, sometimes it is better for your body to feel a bit of the pain so it can work on healing itself.

Of course my improvement may just be that I am not noticing it so much since I am throwing up all the time, but I thought I would mention it. I certainly won't be going back on those medications after my baby is born.

Regarding Thyroid issues- I have had a hypothyroid for years. They prescribed me Synthyroid, but Thyroxin is much better if they will put you on that. My doctor figured it out from a physical exam. I mentioned my Mom has a Thyroid issue when he asked me about family history so he felt my neck and said he could feel my Thyroid and shouldn't be able to, so put me in for blood work. It only took a couple of days to get the results. You might ask your doctor to try the physical exam first if there is an issue about having blood work. Also, if there is ANY history in your family, get it done ASAP because it is incredibly hereditary.

Take care and I hope your pain does reduce soon!

Lissa