My son will be a year old in two weeks. My RA completely went away while I was pregnant, so I got to go off meds completely. I got off about 3 months before trying to get pregnant, and I waited till I hadnt had any symptoms for about a year. Then I got pregers and was completely off drugs for almost two years now. RA started flaring up about 6 months post partum, and I got a few cordisone shots since then, and this last month (after baby was 10 months) I got on prednisone, which is okay during breastfeeding (Still breastfeeding btw). Anyhoot, I feel like 5mg prednisone is no longer working, but i plan to wait for another week or two, and start baby on cows milk at a year, and start back with plaquinil and meloxicam then. Point of story- -- no one thought i could get off drugs, but I did completely while pregnant and breastfeeding for almost a year!!! Ussually, when you get pregers arthritis goes away or gets a lot better. It happened for me, so dont think the worst. Try to stay postiive. GOod luck! If your RA is super bad, and you think there is no way to not take drugs, I would consider adopting!!! I think im gona adopt my second!
Well I have had RA since I was 19. I am now 38 and just had my 2nd child 8 wks ago. I also have a two year old. I once thought I couldn't have kids, but it wasn't because of RA. It was because I have endometriosis. I was taking Remicaid when I got pregnant with both kids. When I got pregnant I stopped taking my meds and it went into remission. I stayed off of my Remicaid until he was 5 months old. After I went back on I was still able to continue to BF him and I BF him until he was 13 months old. Remicaid is completely safe when you are BFing. Prednisone is also safe to take if you are pregnant or BF. I found that being pregnant actually helped my fatigue. My husband helps me out a lot with the kids. Also exercise helps. Don't give up wanting to have a baby if that is your dream. If it's meant to be God will bless you with children. Keep your head up and stay positive.
I still remember where I was the moment I decided not to have children. I was 17, coming out of my rheumatologist's office who'd told me that the kind of RA I had was genetic (despite no one else in my family having it, except for a distant aunt). That was 30 years ago and I've since found out that the chances of a first-degree relative (sibling or child) having RA is 5%. Which means that there is a 95% chance that your child won't have it. However, I didn't find that out until it was too late to have kids. For a long time, I thought about adoption, but given my physical disability, I very obviously needed to have a willing partner and co-parent and that never quite happened. I have found other ways to include children in my life — I am a devoted aunt to my friends' kids and my niece and nephew and I spoil my furry child-substitute (aka cat) to bits. I have made it be enough, but sometimes I think about the me that exists in a parallel reality. She has two beautiful girls.
thank you for sharing your thoughts on this topic, Carrie Beth.
I am currently just over 12 weeks pregnant with my first child (due in August), and I will say my journey has not been an easy one. I knew when I was diagnosed with RA in March of 2011 (at 27) that my husband and I were planning on starting that summer to try for a family. My rhuematologist was supportive, even finding the smallest bone erosions in my toes to allow me to be put on Enbrel that June, skipping over the no-no drug methotrexate. Despite recommendations from my OB-GYN to come off my Enbrel and all other drugs (I was taking diclofenac and plaquenil) while starting, I stayed on all of them at the recommendation of my rhuemy because I hadn't felt so good in a long time. We tried for 7 months with no success, and then I stumbled on an article discussing the effects of NSAIDs on ovulation - turns out even just taking an asprin on the day you are supposed to ovulate can cause it to be delayed. I had no clue what taking them twice a day every day was doing to my ovulation. So I dropped the diclofenac and two months later I was pregnant. Unfortunately, I miscarried at 10 weeks. The baby never developed past 6 weeks, which coicided with when I was crazy ill with some kind of infection. This infection, I believe, was caused by doubly suppressing my immune system by taking Enbrel up to the positive test and by being pregnant (my doctor's aren't as convinced). As soon as I miscarried, my RA came back with a vengance, but I had made the decision to not go back on Enbrel (or anything). That lasted for about 2 months, when I was prescribed prednisone. I suffered through taking prednisone for 3 months - but I found out that prednisone is often prescribed to patients going through IVF to decrease the amount of swelling in the uterus and encourage implantation. I timed one of my tapers around ovulation and it worked. I had given myself 3 more months to get pregnant before going back on Enbrel, but I needed a week! We heard the heartbeat this week, and couldn't be happier - I still have a bit of stiffness in my hand and feet, and the fatigue is killer, but the way I looked at it - it will all be worth it in the end for my family. I would be devestated if RA took away my ability to have a child.
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This is a beautiful piece, poignant and a little sad, but it does address the crux of the issues when dealing with chronic illness and the desire for children. Thank you for the respectful way you handled the topic. It says everything that my wife and I have thought about ourselves.