Well.... remission of ra pain during pregnancy seems to be well documented.
As for the intermittant, sometimes short term pain you feel and the lack of swelling/redness/heat, that seems to mirror the pattern my disease took in the first couple of years. Then of course it became constant pain in my hands, then gradually increased in terms of becoming an all over unbearable debilitating flare with swelling and redness just before I wasdiagnosed and treated.
I'm no expert, but your rheumatologist might have a point, so I'm glad he's given you another appointment and is keeping tabs on your progress.
If breastfeeding is more important for you just now that's understandable, but your long term health and wellbeing is just as important to you and your children. If it is ra, your best option is to treat it asap.
Take care.

Completely agree with Zee. Sounds like it may be sero negative RA, meaning the usual test markers are normal.

I am sero negative. In 25 years since being diagnosed I've never had an abnormal Sed rate.

Your health right now is more important than breast feeding. The earlier you start the meds the more quickly you'll stop progressive, irreversible damage.

Certainly COULD be!!

It sounds like sero-negative RA to me, too! Having that myself, it took me 4 years to show any kind of elevated numbers, although I was completed disabled with RA.

I'm pretty sure that Plaquenil has no side effects, not sure about prednisone. You might want to see a MFM ob-gyn. That is maternal-fetal-monitoring. Even though you are just nursing, they specialize in which meds hurt the babies.

Plaquenil is very mild, and I agree that the sooner you get on meds, the less severe it is supposed to be. I wouldn't know, because 3/4 rheumatologist I saw in the first 2 years didn't know about it. It was so depressing and painful. Then if Plaquenil is not working, you may be close to finishing nursing, and then be able to start on meds that you do NOT want to be taking when you are nursing.

Just a hint- breast feeding is wonderful. But it is not really necessary. Several of my children I couldn't nurse, one because he was a premie and could never latch on, another because I had so many infections, I realized I was doing more harm than good. But those two are just as well adjusted, healthy and normal as the ones I was able to breast feed much longer. So much guilt is placed on new moms these days if they don't breast feed till their children are in school it seems. (Plus, so much harder to wean them when they get old - one grandson is 4 and still nursing, screams till he gets it and won't stop. Not that all children are this way!)

Thank you for your replies!! A couple of you mentioned I might be seronegative, but I did have a low positive rheumatoid factor. Would that make me seropositive, wouldn't it? I guess it does sound like this probably is RA. :( I do think I will start the plaquenil at my next visit bc it sounds like the benefits outweigh the risks.

You're right....you are seropositive.

I'm wondering why plaquenil. MTX is usually the starter DMARD [assuming not breast-feeding].

She wanted plaquenil bc I am currently breastfeeding. I wanted to wait to start treatment until I wean the baby in a year, but am having second thoughts about delaying treatment: It seems like everyone I chat with online agrees to start treatment immediately.

Think about the demo flight attendants present as a plane is taxiing down the runway. Moms take oxygen before babies.

Babies need their moms to be healthy. Take care of yourself....your baby will still thrive. If you don't take care of yourself you may not be able to pickup or diaper your baby.

I don't mean to be cruel. I just want you to get a real picture of the ramifications.

You are right californialynn. Breastfeeding is important to me, but my overall health and wellbeing is more important. I've been in denial about the seriousness of this disease and am having a hard time accepting the fact that I probably do have it. I keep going back and forth between realizing that all the pieces do add up to RA and wondering if it's really that bad and maybe I can just keep ignoring it. I probably need to stop analyzing the situation and just do what my rheumatologist suggests. Thanks again for the feedback.

It's a holiday weekend. Perhaps early next week some moms with RA who were diagnosed before giving birth will share their experiences.

You're doing the smart thing - getting info to make an informed decision.

Sarah, this was me too early on- "Joint pain for the last 8 years (remissions during pregnancies), pain in feet sometimes goes away after 30 min or stays all day, hand pain never goes away fully. No obvious swollen, red or hot joints." I started with foot pain that would go away with a shower usually. I went to my Dr who did the blood work & wanted me to see a Rheumy, but then I got pregnant & it went away. I think between pregnancies (my kids are 3 years apart) I started getting hand pain. After I had my son, the hand pain would be so bad that I couldn't even use a stapler at work. I finally went to the rheumy & have been on meds for over 10 years. I wasn't able to breastfeed for very long, so that wasn't ever really a concern. I started w/ MTX only & was on that alone for about 9 years. When I read people's stories on here, I'm not sure what makes the rheumy decide on what meds to give when. I know was very well controlled on the MTX for all those years. Now I am on Xeljanz & MTX, but just 3/week & am back to mostly feeling good. My hands will sometimes get the red & warm joints, but then usually go back to normal in a few days.
Talk with your rheumy & your pediatrician & see what they say about the meds & breastfeeding. Maybe they can give you something different so you can breastfeed a little longer?

You definitely don't want to take mthx if you are breastfeeding. It is teratogenic. That is, it causes almost certain deformities in the embryo or fetus. Since babies are similar, it would be a no go med if you continue breastfeeding.

How old is your child? Because as far as nutrition, the first months are very important, and of course for antibodies. But after that, other food can substitute, unless it is an issue with cow's milk allergies or something like that.

The thing I regret most in my life, is that I was not put on strong meds right from the beginning, and left to hang out with nothing. My disease is so severe, and I am on 4 meds to control it, and it is still bad today. My rheumatologist says I am the worst case of RA he has ever seen. And that is the booby prize, not the victor's!

I think you really need to discuss this breastfeeding versus meds issue with people like your husband, family members you can trust, even a spiritual advisor if you have one. Then really talk it over with your rheumatologist. Plaquenil is so mild a drug, you may not get relief, plus it takes 6 months to a year to start working. So that is a wasted year finding out it doesn't work. Whereas methotrexate starts working in 6-8 weeks. In my case, this second time round, I could feel benefits after 2 weeks. And it is simply a better drug. But of course, that means no more new babies, either.

Well, let us know which way you decide to go.

Thank you so much for the insight, trisun and Marlene J. In the last 3-4 days, I had convinced myself that this isn't RA because the pain isn't severe lately and goes away after 20 min or so. I'm so in denial! I'm an RN and learned about DMARDS in nursing school and am almost more worried about the side effects than the disease progression. Of course my denial is certainly swaying my thought process and everything is muddy right now. Your posts are helping me put this thing in perspective and I so appreciate that. To answer a few of your questions... My baby is 4 months old. I would like to breastfeed until he's a year, but I wouldn't choose breastfeeding over treating this disease. The problem is that I'm having a hard time accepting that I do have it, and using breastfeeding as more ammo in my denial. But a low positive RF AND joint pain for 8 years is a no brainer, right? Funny thing is that I recently took care of a hospice patient with advanced RA. She was bedbound and her poor body was completely disfigured. She had the worst scoliosis I've ever seen and was almost coiled in bed and had unmanageable pain. Obviously that patient was put in my life within a week of my diagnosis for a reason... I'm done having children and that's the main reason I sought treatment now. I know that I need to take care of myself in order to take care of my 4 little ones. I will discuss all this with my rheumy at my next appt in 3-4 weeks and either start plaquenil and continue to breastfeed or stop breastfeeding and start methotrexate. Again, thank you all so much for the advice insight and sharing a piece of your own struggle with me. I so appreciate it.

Check out palindromic rheumatism. It's inflammatory arthritis and can develop into full-blown RA, and it's "episodic." Sorry I can't tell you what blood markers are prevalent with PA, but it's worth a look.

There's an elephant in the room and I'll start the topic about having kids.