Meds or baby? | Arthritis Information

 

I have recently been diagnosed w/ RA.  I have multiples joints w/ pain, swelling, and stiffness.  My x-rays did not show any damage, however, my MRI on my hand showed bone erosion and excessive fluid in my finger and wrist joints.  My doctor wants to put me on methotrexate, but my husband and I want to have our first child.   I am 29 years old and have time and possible fertility issues also working against me.  I guess what I'm wondering is, is there anyone else out there who is in a similiar stage in their life w/ RA?  What did you do?  Go on the meds to slow down the disease, or try to start a family first?

Several people that have been here, I don't know if they are still around went off the meds to get pregnant.  There was even a couple whose ra was next to nothing during the pregnancy.  The best advice I can say is talk to your rd and to your ob and try to have them communicate to each other and see if you should get pregnant now or later.  meme

I hope you have a baby.

Ra generally goes into remission during pregnancy. The period of time
before you get pregnant can be tough. During pregnancy you can take a
low does of prednisone to keep off any inflammation. My only caution is
that the RA often comes back with a vengance about 6 weeks after giving
birth. But it is worth it. My son will be 3 on the 30th and I wouldn't
change it for the world.

BeckyThank you all for your advice.  I've been overwhelmed with decisions and information over the past 2 weeks.  I actually was in to see my gyno last week to discuss everything going on.  Based on my age and family history w/ fertility, he suggested I start trying right away and if nothing happens in 3 months, then he would send me to a fertility specialist.   I have another appointment w/ a different rd (I wanted a second opinion) next week.  My biggest concern is if I don't treat myself right away and it takes a few months for me to get pregnant, will I be doing more irreversible damage to myself?  My rd understands my decision to not go on MTX now, but reiterated that I am taking a big risk. I can't imagine missing my chance to have a child though.  I am a teacher and love children.  It's funny how a few weeks ago my biggest worry was what to wear to my cousin's wedding!

Does it make anyone else wonder why so many women go into remission during pregnancy? Is anyone researching that? You'd think that would be a big red light going off "Hey! We might have something here!" Heh. I'm just curious.

 

Katie

The way my dr. explained it is that the body will do just about anything to
protect the baby.    Alot of autoimmue disorders tend to go into
remission. My best friend has asthma and excema and the dr. told her
that both should go into remission and they did. Once again, both came
back after the baby was born.

Wierd huh...does make you think that the dr's could find a connection,
bottle it, and fix us.No joke!!!! Wouldn't that lead you to believe that something in the birth control pill might help? Maybe not the way its set up right now, but if they looked at the components...etc. There is so much history in doctors cross using meds. They do it all the time! Grrr. Wish I was smart enough to make it through med school!!!! I've been married for about a 1 1/2 and my husband and I are starting to talk about having a baby.  When I stumbled upon this message board I was so excited.  It's great to be able to talk to other people going through the same thing I am.  I was curious if any of you used Enbrel during pregnancy.  My rheumy doesn't recommend it, but my OB said it would be fine.I wouldn't (and didn't) use anything during my pregnancies, but I always had a remission during the 2nd and 3rd trimester.  I also took off from medications for a year to nurse.  I don't think I did any major damage to myself in that time and it was well worth it. :) Gibby, this is my story... I have a seven month old daughter who is
the best thing that has ever happened to me. The first sign I had RA
was when I was nine weeks pregnant and it just got worse and worse,
so instead of going into remission my RA made it's first appearance
and I believe it was as a result of hormonal changes, etc, with
pregnancy that set it off. I was put on prednisone and diclofenac
which improved my pain enormously. I actually felt better in the last
trimester (although that's when you have to stop the diclofenac - not
safe in final stages of pregnancy) and I had a natural birth and
successfully breastfed. My pain was dreadful for the first two days
after birth, but then I recovered so quickly that my doctors were
amazed. So then I was cruising along on the prednisone and enjoying
being a stay at home mum when three months later I started to get
really wild mood swings. I would go into a terrible rage for no reason
and it was completely uncontrollable. I was afraid I would hurt my
baby even though I knew I didn't have postnatal depression. I
recognised that it was a symptom of the prednisone so sadly I had to
wean my baby and put her onto a bottle and stop breastfeeding. That
was a trial in itself as she refused the bottle and my mum and I spent
days in tears trying to get her to accept it. In the end we had to
refuse the breast altogether so she would get so hungry she would
accept it. She was a different baby after that... though now she is a
happy little cherub. I was put on MTX and after a couple of months I
was allowed to wean off the prednisone. I'm now down to 3mg of
prednisone per day so I'm getting there slowly.

So my advice is this... do whatever you can to get pregnant now. You
will probably be among a lot of women who go into remission, and
then after your baby is born, you can decide whether you want to
breastfeed or not, and if you do, I also advise you to get your baby
used to a bottle in case you have the same trouble I did. Having a
baby is THE most amazing and joyous thing you and your husband
will ever do, and I think that if you make sure to rest during
pregnancy, take prednisone/diclofenac to relieve the pain then the
damage should be minimal. Good luck, and stay in touch to let us
know how it goes. Shannon80-

If possible, I would go off as many drugs a possible before getting pregnant.

In my opinion, Enbrel is still a relatively new drug of which the long terms effects are not known. I would not be on it when pregnant especially since you have two professionals who do not agree.Since you are so newly diagnosed, I would tend to keep trying for the baby. To up your chances of concieving have you tried the clear blue fertility monitor? That might help quicken the proccess or at least help down the rod to figure out what may be wrong(if anything).

MTX is a very harsh drug and there may be other options while trying to conceive, at least pred may help with the pain during this time. I am on Enbrel and have researched it extensively. I have decided to remain on this med during the time we try and concieve. Then I will try and go off in hope I'll be one of the lucky ones who is blessed with pregnancy remission. I know the long term effects are still unknown and there will never be actual pregnancy studies of those taking Enbrel but there have been many documented healthy pregnancies while on Enbrel and no pregnancies who have had ill effects on the baby due to the Enbrel. So I'll make that decision when the time comes.

Ultimately it is your choice and if you feel that right now is baby time then go for it! Good luck with whatever decision you make! Like a bunch of others - my RA went into complete remission during pregnancy and came back in a crippling way post-partum.  My daughter is nearly 2, a total hoot and the RA is more manageable now - but it's also our primary reason for stopping at one.  I barely make it through most days raising one life and am afraid that two would just do me in....
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