Postpartum... Something or Other

After Nathan was born, I experienced what I would describe as a fairly mild case of the baby blues. Nothing major, just your typical stuff (from what I've read and/or heard about from friends). There were some tears, some moodiness and irritability, some irrational thoughts... "This baby hates me. He hates me and that is why he won't stop crying!" All this is pretty common while enduring the postpartum hormone storm and exhaustion that goes with caring for a newborn. And it all pretty much faded away after a few weeks.

But lately, I feel like I'm experiencing some kind of... something. I'm not really sure what to call it. Not depression. I've never really felt anything more than a transient, short-lived bout of moodiness that is often associated with lack of sleep due to a growth spurt or, more recently, a teething baby. My symptoms are more physical, I think. And they seem kind of random:

• Dizziness. Not the light-headed kind but like there is something wrong with my equilibrium. I get it a lot in the afternoons, just walking around the office. And in the car. Especially if someone else is driving. I've never been super-prone to motion sickness, so this is bizarre for me.
• Sleeplessness. I'm going to bed tired and wanting to sleep, but it takes forever to fall asleep. And then if I'm up in the night, I have a hard time going back to sleep. Nathan hasn't been sleeping well the past week or so, but even when I'm able to get him back to sleep with minimal effort, I end up tossing and turning for another hour or longer. 
• Random, middle-of-the-night changes in body temperature. I've been waking up, usually between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m., in the midst of a massive hot flash. Even with the air conditioner running and just a sheet for cover, I'm hot and uncomfortable and I can tell something is off with my core temperature. I'm certain this is making the sleeplessness worse.
• Joint pain. This is the last, and weirdest, of my symptoms. I wouldn't even think it was related it if hadn't all started about the same time. It's the worst in my knees. By the end of the day, they're so tight, and stiff, and painful that I can barely bend them to squat down. And if I do get down, I definitely can't get back up. I seriously feel like I turned 85 overnight and developed extreme arthritis or something! And this started before I started seriously working out more often, so I can't really blame it on that. Furthermore, it doesn't matter whether or not I do any physical activity for the day, or what kind I do, they are still killing me by evening. I've been icing them and smearing them with Icy Hot before bed, but it only helps temporarily. It's the strangest thing!

So there you go. I don't know what's going on. Maybe some kind of delayed, postpartum hormone shift? I haven't changed anything else. I'm on the mini-pill for birth control, but that started quite a whole ago. I haven't gotten a period. I haven't changed the frequency of nursing/pumping lately. Is there even such a thing as a massive hormone shift this long after giving birth? I know there's that hormone, relaxin, that is present during pregnancy to loosen muscles and joints and tendons. Did mine suddenly all go away and leave me stiff and sore? I have no idea.

But it's been going on long enough now. I have to do something about it. I'm off to see my acupuncturist this afternoon. I haven't been in since before I was induced, so I'm way overdue. During pregnancy, and even during the fertility treatments, acupuncture was one of the only things that helped with the crazy hormones and allowed me to sleep. I'm not sure how much it will help with my knees though, so I've also made a call to the physical therapy clinic to schedule a consultation. In addition, I talked to my uncle (a family practice physician) and confirmed that it would be okay for me to take Advil or a similar anti-inflammatory. I've been trying to avoid any drugs on my part while breastfeeding, but this is beyond tolerable. He assured me that there's very little absorption and no risk to the baby, so I'm going to do it. Nathan will be crawling in the somewhat near future - I can't be the arthritic mom who can't keep up with him!

I don't remember any of my friends talking about something like this happening. Maybe it isn't related to being postpartum? Who knows. I just need it to go away!