I may have RA. My father has had it for the last 20 or so years and I am just like him in so many other ways. I am a 35 year old female and recently started having pain in several joints (feet, ankles, knees, one hip, wrists). This came on rather suddenly about two months after I stopped taking birth control pills. I went to my family doctor last week and a blood test says I have a positive RA factor. I was referred to a rheumatologist but my appointment isn't for another three weeks. My question is, is it possible ceasing the birth control pills caused my symptoms to appear? And what is the possibility that I would be able to reduce my pain if I started taking the pills again? These are questions for a doctor but I don't want to wait three weeks as the pain gets worse every day. Thanks for your help.
Pain for also started right after child birth. My pregnancy was also extremely painful through the hip region for no appernt reason. My mother-in-law found an article that talk about how women with arthritis in the family history experience their symptoms right after the birth of a child. Lord only knows what I did with the article, but I did find it interesting and when I brought it up with my rhuemy he agreed with the article..
I have had several bad flares after childbirth so I think there is some sort of hormonal connection with RA. We are Catholic and use natural family planning so I don't have experience with stopping birth control pills but it seems as if the premise is the same since birth control pills mimick pregnancy to keep you from getting pregnant. If you choose to stay off of birth control you can work with your doctor to use the least tetragenic medications possible. I am 38 and have 5 children. I use Plaquenil and just started Enbrel. Extreme stress also throws me into flare ups (ie. my mom had a stroke this Spring).
Good Luck and God Bless,
LAK
yes, yes, yes.....ask your doctor about it. at the time i was diagnosed i did the same thing. quit taking BC pills and had horrible pain in my tailbone. well, after all the years now of meds and learning what know, i had my doctor put my daughter on BC pills (at age 13) to control her bleeding, for her skin and mainly to stall off RA if she's going to get it. i think that's what happened to me without me knowing i was doing a good thing. my dad's mother had RA and it was crippling. my dad died pretty young, 57, so i don't know if he had it or would have gotten it. out of all the grandchildren in our family, i was the lucky one to get it. good luck to you and don't forget to go talk to your ob/gyn...melanie
Hi Melanie
I have been SUFFERING with extreme tailbone pain for 6 months, since I quit the BC pills. I did not make the connection, until I saw your post! Did your dr tell you that this could be related? I have been to see my rheumy for the tailbone pain and he sent me to get a bone scan done, saying it could be due to an injury (i slipped and fell on the side of my bum last year Nov) as he does not believe that RA can affect the tailbone (?). The bone scan did not show anything wrong with the tailbone and I was in so much pain that I just left his office, very dissappointed and unhappy, because the pain was severe. I then put myself back on prednisone and I think it has helped (or the pain is subsiding by itself?). Do you still have tailbone pain? I am now back on the BC pills for 3 days and hoping to find a difference...
Do you think it is possible at all that some of your pain is coming from endometriosis? Have you ever been tested for that? I don't want to put more ideas in your head, because I know you are stressed... but what is your bleeding like? If you see a correlation, you might want to consider that as well. I hope you feel better very soon. <3
I have the same issue! Every time i was on birth control Otho 1/35 is the time i feel the best. Now 53 and they took my birth control away (even thought i still have monthly) Say i am too old to take it. Should be my decision! Now i have extreme pain, a back i can't use and other joints are starting to be painful. I hate Dr's that don't think i know why i have the pain. But the birth control and pain that comes with not using it have been going on since my early 20s, my dad had RA so i could have it to. I would much rather take the risk of the pill than live like i have to. To the point of not wanting to live anymore. sometimes the pain is worse that the child labor i had for 26 hours. Why can't the Dr.s see this no way to live. and the quality of live would be much better, outweighing the risk of birth control pills.
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I had the same experience have stopping my HRT (hormone replacement therapy) after menopause. I could'nt get my RA Dr. to acknowledge this. I went to another Dr. in another state and he most definitely agreed the hormones play a major part in RA. He put me back on HRT, but the damage during the 6 years I was off them is done and irreversable. I just want to prevent, if possible any further damage. I would advise staying on birth control pills and after menopause, going on HRT therapy. There are risks to both, but for me the crippling effects of RA, far outweigh the other risks of taking hormones. As the good Dr. said Hormones, affect every organ in our body, and I believe him. I hope this helps.