No question - this post is for information-sharing only. I didn't see a pregnancy message board, so I figured the RA board was the next best place to post since that's what I deal with every day.
I have had severe RA for 4 years (most of the time taking MTX, Enbrel, Vioxx, and Pred). I am now only taking Enbrel (50mg once/wk) and was finally successful at becoming pregnant. I am now finishing up the first trimester, have had no complications so far, and have seen an improvement in the RA since becoming pregnant.
Here is a quick timeline of my experience for anyone going through the same thing: May 03 - Stopped MTX (must wait 3 - 6 mos before trying to conceive), August 03 - Stopped Enbrel (RA dr wanted to speak with his mentors before advising me to continue, although OB-GYN said it should be fine since it is a Class B drug like Tylenol), Sep 03 - began trying to conceive, April 04 - Stopped Pred (shed 30 lbs - woo hoo!) and started back on Enbrel (RA dr's mentors agreed w/the OB-GYN), Nov 04 - stopped Vioxx (due to recall - dr's had said it would have been okay to continue it until conception though), Mar 05 - conceived.
I know this is a long post - congrats to those of you who have made it to the end! Since there have not been any studies in pregnant women though, I thought I should share my experiences with those struggling to make the decision of whether or not to continue on Enbrel while pregnant. For anyone interested, I'll post again either at the end of the second trimester or if any complications should arrise before then. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Have a great day
Mandi Lou :)
Welcome to the group Mandi. I don't know of anyone here that's pregnant now; but several who had it pretty rough when they were.
There was recently a post about conceiving though...so I know many will find your information useful.
Please join us as often as you can. It's important for us all to hear different stories and situations.
One question for you. How long had you been on MTX before you became pregnant?
Congratulations on your pregnancy! Thanks for sharing your experience/info with us! I pray that you continue to have a wonderful and uneventful pregnancy :) Love and gentle hugs, JuliahThanks Lovie. I've been visiting this site ever since I was first diagnosed in March 01, but don't post a lot, mostly just read. You guys are so quick most of the time that someone has already given the same answer/advice that I would have, so I don't bother repeating :)
To answer your question, I was on the highest dosage of injectable MTX for a little over 2 years before I stopped taking it. That and the fact that I was on BC pills for 7 yrs probably contributed to why it took a little while for us to be successful. There were times when I thought it would never happen - but once I quite worrying about it everything just kinda fell into place!
That's interesting. I questioned that because there has been some discussion lately about early menopause and the relation to MTX. I've been on it for 3 years and am now in menopause...and Marcy and I (who are in simular situations) wondered if there was a connection. Both of our doctors think there could be...but hesitate to blame it on MTX alone.
I wish you the best of luck for a healthy pregnancy and a successful delivery. Please continue to post and keep us up to date on how things are going....the birth of a child would be so exciting for all of us. We'd love to share in your excitement.
Hi Mandi,
It would be great if you kept us updated about the progress of your pregnancy and meds. I am really interested in hearing about how things go with Enbrel. Are you planning on taking it throughout the pregnancy? I meet with my ob/gyn next week to discuss what medications I should or should not be on when I start trying to conceive in July. It'll be interesting to hear what her take on the situation is.
BTW, I had read that use of NSAIDS can reduce one's ability to conceive. You mentioned being on Vioxx for about a year while TTC. I wonder if that may have contributed to how long it took to get pregnant... But anyway, you're pregnant now, so congratulations and I hope the rest of the pregnancy goes smoothly!
Hi Willow,
I do plan to take Enbrel throughout the entire pregnancy, and hopefully that will be enough to get me through (I hate to take Pred!) My OB-GYN looked it up in a book and said it was fine because it is considered a Pregnancy Class B drug, so your OB-GYN should be okay with it too. It was my RA dr who wanted to discuss it with other Rheumys before giving his OK. I hadn't heard about NSAIDs and trouble conceiving - that's interesting to know.
Thanks for the info. I'll probably check in again in a few months to let everyone know if the Enbrel is still working okay for me.
Have a great day!
Mandi :)
P.S. to Willow - you are about to begin what could be a long and stressful project. Just remember that worrying about it too much (charts, temps, tests, etc.) will just stress you out and could cause irregular cycles. My OB-GYN advised me "Just do what married people do, have fun with it, and eventually it'll happen." After a year of trying without success a couple is officially deemed "infertile" - so you can imagine my disappointment when I went in the next year without having been successful. Eventually I said to myself, "If God wants me to have a child, he will give me one. If not, maybe I'm just meant to be the best Aunt I can be. Maybe He knows the physical requirements would be too much for me. Maybe I just need to accept what He has planned or me instead of trying to force my own way." Once I accepted that, I completely quit worrying. Not too long after that I found myself looking at a postive test. So stay positive, don't stress-out, and keep faith that you will be blessed.
Best wishes for a quick success!
Mandi :)
HI. I just tripped on this message board and thought it meant to be. I have had RA for 2 1/2 years and just had a baby while on Enbrel. I started on Enbrel (the 2 injection version) in November of 2003, became pregnant in May of 2004 and welcomed a beautiful baby girl (Anna Grace)Thanks for the information about your pregnancy. I talked to my OB, and the plan is for me to stay on all my meds (Enbrel, Prednisone, and Plaquenil) until I conceive and then only be on Prednisone. I am not too confident though that I'll be able to survive the first few months on just prednisone. Even with all my meds, I've been in this annoying flare this past week (throbbing pain in my wrists, foot pain so bad that I limp), and I imagine that things would be even worse if I wasn't on all the meds. Luckily, I tolerate prednisone really well (no weight gain, no mood changes), so perhaps I can make do with an increased dose.
Anyway, congrats on the baby! It's great to hear that you didn't have a horrible post-partum flare, but it does suck though about the breastfeeding. :-(
Welcome to the board!
Hello,
I was on prednisone while I was pregnant with my last child about 8 months ago. I did not have any problems with weight gain. I figured I would balloon up to almost 200lbs, since I was already weighing in at 154 and with my first pregnancy I went from 118 to 156 then after birth to 133.
BUT I only gain a total of 14 pounds thru out my pregnancy. And my after birth weight was 152.
I ate like I wanted to. I ate ALOT of Mickey D's -- 2-6 times a week--(big mac meals super sized), Wendy's -- 1-4 times a week-- (spicey chicken sandwich w/only mustard), LOTS of pizza from Pizza Hut -- 2-3 times a week, lots & lots of milk, tons of sugar, I ate M&M's for 1 month straight. I ate everything, including fruits & veggies, but not many. The only thing I did not have while preggos was cokes. I drank water. I did not want UTI's that pregnancy like I did my first.
I did not watch what I ate. I did not exercise much either. I would get hubby to take me to different Wal-Mart's at least 2-3 times a week, that is not exercise when you are pregnant...lol. I mostly laid around all day and slept.
I was very happy that I only gained 14lbs. I really do not think that taking pred while pregnant was a bad choice. It was only 5mg/daily. I still had bad days, especially after I did too much walking or did not get enough sleep. And there were some days where I could go a couple of days without it. I believe if I was on a higher does of pred I would have gained more weight.
I did not want to take other meds that would be more of a risk of my baby being born with something wrong. I did not and still do not think I could have managed to take care of a baby with problems, PLUS myself.
Well, I just thought I would share.
Not sure if anyone is still checking this one - I hope so, though... My husband and I are trying to conceive, 4 months now... and I've stopped the Enbrel, but I'm dying here! The pain is getting too great. My dr.s have said it's best not to be on it, but that's not what I'm hearing from all you!!! (This is great news!) I'm hoping that once we conceive, the pain will go away, I've heard this happens, but am so nervous that it won't. I'd love to hear from more of you who are going through this, or have been through it, and how it affected you/the pregnancy/the baby... Thanks!I just wanted to mention that I was on Enbrel while trying to conceive, but I only did injections during the two weeks prior to ovulation each month (I used a fertility monitor and could pinpoint ovulation). I read on the following website ( http://www.hopkins-arthritis.som.jhmi.edu/rheumatoid/rheum_t reat.html) that Enbrel has a half-life of 70 hours after a standard 25 mg dose. So, I figured that if I took my last dose at ovulation, most of the Enbrel would have decayed by the time implantation occurred (5-6 days later). However, my OB/GYN thought it would be fine to continue on the Enbrel until I got a positive pregnancy test. I chose to stop taking it at ovulation just as a precaution.
I wouldn't recommend that you try this on your own without consulting your OB/GYN and RD, but this worked well for me and I was relatively pain-free during the three months it took me to conceive.
Cindy
Thanks Cindy,
My husband is actually more nervous than I am - I just know of so many people that got pregnant without evern knowing and were out drinking, smoking, maybe even a little worse than that - and taking things like Tylenol - and when they found out they were pregnany, they stopped all that stuff, and everything was fine. Of course I don't want to endanger a possible baby (!!!) like I could if I was on methotrexate, but the pain is so bad, I can't even think about doing what I need to do to GET pregnant!
Anyway - I really like that there is this forum so I can hear from others who are in this situation - it's not like I have friends with AS on Enbrel who are trying to get pregnant that I can bounce things off of. So thanks :)
- JJ
Mandi,Hi painrelief,
You must have read an old post - I haven't logged into this site in a while! Today is my first day back at work. I had a healthy baby girl on 12/6/05. The doctors had different opinions about breastfeeding while on Enbrel, so to be safe we went with formula. All in all it was a smooth pregnancy. My Rheumy was cautious about the Enbrel during pregnancy at first, but he discussed it with my OB, who felt it would be okay since Enbrel is a "Pregnancy Class B" drug. Your dr is doing what he thinks is best, but you have to listen to what your body is telling you. Pred in large doses is not good. I'm sure you know all the side effects. I hate being on any Pred at all - I'd rather pop 4 Advil several times a day than take even 5mg Pred. If you are having a hard time with your Rheumy, find a new one who will work with you and let you help determine your treatment plan. Good luck with everything!
I am so glad to hear that it is possible to live a somewhat normal life when diagnosed with RA and pregnant. I was diagnosed with RA when I was 24. I am now 26 and recently married. My husband and I are hoping to start a family in the next year or so and I am excited, but terrified due to my RA. I don't think my RA is severe and I have only one slightly swollen joint on my little finger when taking Enbrel and Plaquenil. However, I remember the significant pain in my hands, wrists, and feet before I was accurately diagnosed and I don't want to go through that again. I scared to go off my meds due to the pain and risk of losing my independence. But I'm even more scared to endanger the development of my unborn child. My rheumatologist wants me to go off all meds, but I'm not sure I can work and remain independent without the meds. I would love to hear from some of you regarding your doctors concerns regarding RA meds during pregnancy. In addition, did any of you not take any medications during pregnancy and experience the relief of your symptoms as your pregnancy progressed?
I'm so glad I found this website. I have had RA since I was 10 years old. I am now 36. I had a beautiful baby girl almost 2 years ago, took no meds during pregnancy and did great. But WHAM...as soon as she was born the swollen joints started....I dealt with the pain and didn't take anything b/c I was breastfeeding. I stopped breastfeeding her at 6 months and within one week I was in the hospital with the worst pain of my life...and blood work all over the board. The doctors thought I had cancer but it turned out it was just a miserable flare that lasted 5 months until I started Enbrel. First I was just on Pred and MTX which didn't help (they helped prior to pregnancy), then Remicade which made me worse, and then Enbrel.
I DESPERATELY want another child. We are on an adoption waiting list b/c my Rheumy says "no way" to staying on the Enbrel. But my OB/GYN says it's fine and I am seeing a high risk doctor next week. Any advice would be great.
I also have osteoarthritis of the hips and my rheumy is worried about the baby weight. I gained 23 lbs. with my first. She says I'll need new hips in a few years, so my thought is, what the heck...if I'm going to need new hips either way....why let that stop me from having another biological baby.
Help!
Hi,
I'm new to the forum, but wanted to offer some HOPE TO THOSE PREGNANT OR TRYING TO GET PREGNANT WHILE ON ENBREL. I was diagnosed with AS about 12 years ago. I went through every NSAID in the book and got no relief. I started Enbrel about 3 years ago and my life has changed completely. When I'm on the medication, I am... normal!! I had my first child in 2003 and took Enbrel throughout the pregnancy. He is a happy, healthy, bright child and it made my pregnancy bearable, even enjoyable. I was advised not to take ENbrel while I breasfed, so I quit and took prednisone. It barely helped and I was miserable.
Baby #2 came in FEb and I took ENbrel while we tried to conceive and throughout that pregnancy, too. (AGain, happy, healthy baby!!!) I quit Enbrel to breastfeed and am MISERABLE. I found an article that said Enbrel molecules were too big to get into breastmilk, but am too scared to try it. Has anyone else out there taken ENbrel while they breastfed?
Hello!
Hi!
I have had RA for 10 years. I have been on Enbrel for about 7 years and took it throughout my pregnancy and breastfeeding. My little guy is doing great, although he does get sick a lot. I worry that it was from the Enbrel, but am told that is unlikely and daycare germs are rough. I got mixed information on the breastfeeding, but what made sense to me was one doc's opinion.... it does get into breastmilk, but is destroyed by baby's gastric juices. It makes sense to me because that's why we have to inject it. Anyway, there is a published study out there on Enbrel in pregnancy I found at www.raandpregnancy.org. I also found useful information at www.momswithra.org.
Good luck to you all!
Welcome to the forum Towanda. And thanks for the links. I know they will be helpful to several on this board.