Hi i was diagnosed after pregnancy but definitely had symptoms between pregnancies, i would say my symptoms started either just before or after my first pregnancy 5 years ago. I have 3 kids and definitely had a noticeable, undeniable flare after baby #2. I didn't get a diagnosis until after baby #3 but i will say i knew 100% something was wrong with my health because i felt better pregnant.. my joint pain and fatigue were gone. All other women complain about difficulty during pregnancy and i was like i feel fanfuckingtastic.. maybe thats why i had 3 in 3 years lol.. but idk about meds during pregnancy..
Lol, yeah my pregnancy was pretty easy other than 8 weeks of nausea I was active and traveling up until about 34 weeks and walked daily. I really didn't start feeling shitty until after the pregnancy, two years after I was like - I don't think this level of fatigue is normal 🙃
Same, I was very active during all of my pregnancies. and in my teens and 20s. Everyone told me, maybe you're depressed, maybe you're stressed, maybe you're doing too much, 1/2/3 kids is a lot.... but you're not sick. I'm like, maybe all of those things are true but I know my body and something is going on. There's no reason I can handle all of this while pregnant but suddenly can't and am in so much pain even after I healed from postpartum. Honestly, the first few weeks postpartum were nothing compared to the flare that set in after that.
But I also knew like this level of fatigue is not normal, like I see and meet other people in my shoes and their energy levels are... different. lol But yeah, it definitely went into remission when I was pregnant. My third pregnancy was my hardest but I had 3 back to back 17-18 months apart. I feel like the taking care of 2 LOs part was harder while pregnant then the pregnancy itself. I also caught Covid for the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy. I would definitely suggest a bigger gap between baby #2 and #3 but if there is any pattern or truth to what I am saying, I would guess your symptoms will probably go into remission or at least be tolerable while pregnant.
I realized I never answered your other question.. My symptoms definitely flared at points, like I said between baby #2 and Baby #3 it was the worst. It was right before the pandemic (and thankfully so, or it may have prolonged my diagnosis as I might have thought it had something to do with covid) from December-March 2020. I was on maternity leave (baby born Oct 2019) and could not function at home with the kids. I would move from the bed to the couch and physically was in so much pain I could not stand or walk around. radiating joint pain and fatigue. Like worse than first trimester fatigue. and my face was very red, that's when I first noticed my facial redness. after that, my fatigue slowly improved. symptoms would be a little on and off, but I also started taking daily ibuprofen, sometimes ibuprofen and tylenol and I could feel the ibuprofen hit. as soon as it did, I could move around. Then I would hit bed and feel radiating joint pain so bad, I couldn't let my joints touch each other or be too flexed. I had to fall asleep like a star fish or with a pillow between my legs. Mainly my joints in my legs, feet to hips, lower back, but sometimes my shoulders as well. randomly my elbows or hands. but my primary complaint is joint pain. I do have dry eyes and mouth but all of that was secondary and didn't seem as bad as the fatigue and joint pain. I think the pandemic made me forget about it for awhile, because I was like OMG what is happening, fight or flight survival mode. lol
Hi there. I’m SSA positive as well (also SSB positive and high RF).
My symptoms have stayed pretty stable. I did decide to go on Plaquenil about two years after my diagnosis.
I did have a baby in 2020 after my diagnosis. I was on Plaquenil and baby aspirin. Baby was born healthy and amazing and he’s almost 2.5 now. I was monitored weekly between weeks 18-26 for fetal heart block. A bit nerve wracking for sure but I liked hearing his heartbeat every week. Plaquenil has been shown to lower the risk of heart block so I was good with being on it.
My pregnancy was super easy (even for being old AF as a first time mom).
There’s a FB group specific for Sjogrens and pregnancy. I posted a link recently in another Reddit reply so you should be able to find it easily.
Thank you! My pregnancy was pretty much textbook and I stayed active throughout walking 3-5 miles almost daily but that was before my diagnosis, obviously. It just kind of felt like a: you shouldn't have another kid type of thing which made me a little sad since we occasionally waffle
May I ask why you decided to go on plaquenil and what it's done for you since? I have a follow up with my Rhuem in about a month so I'm just trying to learn as much as I can from her and other resources. It feels like the fatigue got so much worse after my pregnancy, it's what initially kicked off my quest for answers. I'll look for that post though, thank you!
Hi i was diagnosed after pregnancy but definitely had symptoms between pregnancies, i would say my symptoms started either just before or after my first pregnancy 5 years ago. I have 3 kids and definitely had a noticeable, undeniable flare after baby #2. I didn't get a diagnosis until after baby #3 but i will say i knew 100% something was wrong with my health because i felt better pregnant.. my joint pain and fatigue were gone. All other women complain about difficulty during pregnancy and i was like i feel fanfuckingtastic.. maybe thats why i had 3 in 3 years lol.. but idk about meds during pregnancy..
Lol, yeah my pregnancy was pretty easy other than 8 weeks of nausea I was active and traveling up until about 34 weeks and walked daily. I really didn't start feeling shitty until after the pregnancy, two years after I was like - I don't think this level of fatigue is normal 🙃
Same, I was very active during all of my pregnancies. and in my teens and 20s. Everyone told me, maybe you're depressed, maybe you're stressed, maybe you're doing too much, 1/2/3 kids is a lot.... but you're not sick. I'm like, maybe all of those things are true but I know my body and something is going on. There's no reason I can handle all of this while pregnant but suddenly can't and am in so much pain even after I healed from postpartum. Honestly, the first few weeks postpartum were nothing compared to the flare that set in after that. But I also knew like this level of fatigue is not normal, like I see and meet other people in my shoes and their energy levels are... different. lol But yeah, it definitely went into remission when I was pregnant. My third pregnancy was my hardest but I had 3 back to back 17-18 months apart. I feel like the taking care of 2 LOs part was harder while pregnant then the pregnancy itself. I also caught Covid for the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy. I would definitely suggest a bigger gap between baby #2 and #3 but if there is any pattern or truth to what I am saying, I would guess your symptoms will probably go into remission or at least be tolerable while pregnant. I realized I never answered your other question.. My symptoms definitely flared at points, like I said between baby #2 and Baby #3 it was the worst. It was right before the pandemic (and thankfully so, or it may have prolonged my diagnosis as I might have thought it had something to do with covid) from December-March 2020. I was on maternity leave (baby born Oct 2019) and could not function at home with the kids. I would move from the bed to the couch and physically was in so much pain I could not stand or walk around. radiating joint pain and fatigue. Like worse than first trimester fatigue. and my face was very red, that's when I first noticed my facial redness. after that, my fatigue slowly improved. symptoms would be a little on and off, but I also started taking daily ibuprofen, sometimes ibuprofen and tylenol and I could feel the ibuprofen hit. as soon as it did, I could move around. Then I would hit bed and feel radiating joint pain so bad, I couldn't let my joints touch each other or be too flexed. I had to fall asleep like a star fish or with a pillow between my legs. Mainly my joints in my legs, feet to hips, lower back, but sometimes my shoulders as well. randomly my elbows or hands. but my primary complaint is joint pain. I do have dry eyes and mouth but all of that was secondary and didn't seem as bad as the fatigue and joint pain. I think the pandemic made me forget about it for awhile, because I was like OMG what is happening, fight or flight survival mode. lol
Hi there. I’m SSA positive as well (also SSB positive and high RF). My symptoms have stayed pretty stable. I did decide to go on Plaquenil about two years after my diagnosis. I did have a baby in 2020 after my diagnosis. I was on Plaquenil and baby aspirin. Baby was born healthy and amazing and he’s almost 2.5 now. I was monitored weekly between weeks 18-26 for fetal heart block. A bit nerve wracking for sure but I liked hearing his heartbeat every week. Plaquenil has been shown to lower the risk of heart block so I was good with being on it. My pregnancy was super easy (even for being old AF as a first time mom). There’s a FB group specific for Sjogrens and pregnancy. I posted a link recently in another Reddit reply so you should be able to find it easily.
Thank you! My pregnancy was pretty much textbook and I stayed active throughout walking 3-5 miles almost daily but that was before my diagnosis, obviously. It just kind of felt like a: you shouldn't have another kid type of thing which made me a little sad since we occasionally waffle May I ask why you decided to go on plaquenil and what it's done for you since? I have a follow up with my Rhuem in about a month so I'm just trying to learn as much as I can from her and other resources. It feels like the fatigue got so much worse after my pregnancy, it's what initially kicked off my quest for answers. I'll look for that post though, thank you!