My pregnancy and the pain of arthritis.

d out she had a long-term ars ago.

JULIA Aspin found condition four yea Having experience first appeared in h old was diagnosed and has since lear daily aches and pa She said: "Being d condition has chan things I can do.

ed excruciating pain which her shoulders, the 30-yeard with rheumatoid arthritis rned to live with severe ains all over her body. diagnosed with a long term nged the way I live and the "The pain is often can be controlled w will need to take fo "The parts of my b affected are my ha impacts quite sign routine -simple th turn on the showe able to carry heavy even being able to "I've also had to re I am not allowed to joints so things lik do quite regularly unbearable but thankfully with medication which I or the rest of my life. body which are mostly ands, wrists and feet which nificantly on my daily hings like not being able to er in the morning, not being y bags and sometimes not o drive.

educe physical activities as o put pressure on my ke running which I used to are no longer possible."

Julia, who lives with husband, Gareth, in North Tyneside is upbeat about her condition.

"Sometimes the pain is so bad it can reduce you to tears but then other days I feel fine and I just forget about it - living with arthritis has just become second nature now, it is part of my life", she explained.

Julia attends Newcastle's Freeman Hospital every six months for a check-up and has received various treatments from the NHS, initially taking a daily medication before switching to a stronger weekly injection to control her pain.

Having married in 2007 the young couple were keen to start a family but having a baby involved meticulous planning around her long-term condition as Julia, who is now six and a half months pregnant, explains. "I had to come off my medication four months before even trying to become pregnant which in itself was difficult and I had to learn how to manage my pain with steroids," she said.

"The steroids made me put on weight and coupled with the fact that it took us a very long time to then conceive, I did start to feel quite down.

"Since becoming pregnant I have continued to take steroids which are the only way I can safely control my pain without harming our baby. "During breastfeeding, steroids are still the only safe way to control my pain and so depending on how much pain I am in, this will affect how long I am able to breastfeed." Thankfully rheumatoid arthritis is not a hereditary condition.

Julia added: "Everyday tasks are a little bit harder but there are people that have been dealt a much worse card than me.

"The most important thing is knowing where to go for help and support and what I can do to help self-manage my condition. I have regular appointments with my local NHS and know where to turn when things get worse."