I wonder if any of you can offer any advise please as my third child is due in a few months and during this pregnancy I have become ill with diagnosed RA 1/160 plus I have under active thyroid plus pernicious anemia. At moment my Rheumatologist is not treating me at all because of the pregnancy but he has warned me of a 'flare up' once the birth arrives due to hormones changing. What i want to do is arrange now so that the minute the baby is out of my body the Hospital can give me medication to try and prevent 'flare ups' rather that waiting until it happens and then try and take pain relief. It is new to me as never had this before the pregnancy - anything you can suggest please??
Most grateful and thankful in advance of any replies!
hand in there. Your doc will probably want you on Methotrexate first and then add in some others. Look up www.nim.nih.gov/medlineplus/rheumatoid arthritis.html for the most informative web page I have found on RA. There is an interesting research article way down the page, " influence of womens reproductive factors on the future risk of developing RA". It may be too late for you now but another research article concluded that breast feeding babies had a lower risk of later developing RA than bottle fed babies. Maybe something for your child. Marcia
I also got sick while pregnant with my daughter who is now 3. They weren't able to complete all the testing and diagnoses until after she was born and really didn't start treatment until my first major flare which was 6 months after she was born. It is true that after baby comes and your hormone levels all return to normal that it is prime time for flare ups. I literally was out for a walk with both kids in the stroller, the new born and my 2 year old, and about 2 blocks from home my body shut down. I remember standing on the street corner with tears pouring down my face wondering how on earth I was going to make it home.
My husband had the day off and said he remembers me arriving at the door and he literally carried me to bed and I spent most of the next month flat in bed with major painkillers and various other drugs to get the flare under control. Initially they got me on prednisone as it's the quickest acting inflammatory control drug, and then added plaqeunil and methotrexate. I AGREEE...talk to your doc in advance, do some research and have a plan in place.
Hang in there and keep writing in, all the support and encouragement really helps.
Becky