I am a male who is taking both Humira and MTX. Previously, before I was prescribed humira I came off the MTX for 9 months before trying for a baby. My wife and I now have a little girl. We are thinking of having a second and obviously I would have to come off the MTX again. In your opinion, should I come off the humira also? I am a little fearful, as the psoriatic arthritis I have has responded really well to the humira.
Thanks,
Ray
I would like to thank Dr. Borigini for writing about Anti-TNF drugs during pregnancy. I work for the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS). As Dr. Borigini had mentioned, OTIS is currently conducting an ongoing observational study on autoimmune diseases and pregnancy.
The OTIS Autoimmune Diseases in Pregnancy Study began in March 2000 and will continue through 2012. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the risks to the fetus from autoimmune diseases, as well as the safety of medications used to treat these diseases during pregnancy. Pregnant women who have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, or who may have been exposed to an Anti-TNF drug during pregnancy may be eligible to participate.
OTIS is a non-profit organization made up of individual teratology information services located throughout North America. Teratology Information Specialists (TIS) provide information over the telephone about possible risks to the fetus from environmental exposures that occur in pregnancy. Health-care professionals and the general public may use this free and confidential service by calling our toll-free number.
For information about the OTIS Autoimmune Diseases and Pregnancy Study or if you have questions about exposures during pregnancy, please call our toll free number 1-877-311-8972 or you can email raandpregnancy@ucsd.edu. To learn more about OTIS, please visit us online at www.otispregnancy.org.
Featuring Content From:
By using this service, you accept our Terms of Use. Please read them. The consumer health information on is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. You should promptly seek professional medical care if you have any concern about your health, and you should always consult your physician before starting a fitness regimen. Copyright © 2012 Remedy Health Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hi Dr. Borigini - thanks for this information. Just wanted to comment that I used Enbrel during my first trimester of pregnancy following infertility treatment. I had a previous pregnancy during which I discontinued usage after discovering I was pregnant, then miscarried just before my second trimester. I continued the Enbrel for 16 weeks to try to avoid another miscarriage. My rheumatologist strongly believes that I was failing to get successfully pregnant at least in part because of my RA (I'd become easily pregnant before my diagnosis) and therefore recommended continuing the Enbrel through the first trimester.
I also took prednisone, 800 mgs of folic acid and progesterone in oil. This was a combination of things I'd read about in the past that seemed to aid in continuing pregnancies. During my third trimester I heard that a study in Europe showed a doubled success rate for women with previous miscarriges using these four drugs during their pregnancies. Are you familiar with this study? I believe I might owe my lovely, healthy twin daughters (now 8 months old) to this combination of drugs during my first trimester.
Thanks again for discussing this topic.
Hi Trina
Were you diagnosed with RA and infertility? what kind of infertility was that? I mean some RA patients have fibroids, hypothyroidism, endometriosis etc. Some have unexplained infertility. Also by progesterone oil do you mean injection progesterone? Was it IVF which helped you have your twin babies?
Guna
Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 08:00 PM
Hi Guna - here are the answers to your questions:
Were you diagnosed with RA and infertility? diagnosed w RA august 2000; diagnosed w infertility june 2004.
what kind of infertility was that? my reproductive endocrinologist's diagnosis was unexplained, esp since i'd gotten pg naturally w my son (prior to RA diagnosis) within just a few months of trying. two rheumatologists, however, suggested my infertility may have been due to my uncontrolled RA.
Also by progesterone oil do you mean injection progesterone? yes, injected daily from embryo transfer through entire first trimester. i'd previously tried suppositories, but miscarried during that cycle.
Was it IVF which helped you have your twin babies? definitely. here are the things we tried before we were successful:
* one year of timed attempts on our own using herbs and different natural methods
* 6 rounds of AI, four of those w injectibles, resulting in 5 negatives and 1 miscarriage at 8 wks.
* 3 rounds of fresh IVF transfers, resulting in 2 negatives and 1 miscarriage at 12 weeks, post heartbeat.
* 1 round of frozen transfer resulting in my beautiful girls, now 4.
i only used the '4 drug cocktail' during my frozen cycle. i had a great RE who listened and was willing to experiment w each IVF try. he really wasn't wild about the progesterone injections and didn't think they'd help, but prescribed it after i begged and showed him the research i'd read about how much more effective it was than suppositories.
to be fair, another possibility besides the drugs i took post-transfer is that my body may have been less swollen bc of the frozen, not fresh, transfer, and thereby less likely to attack the embryo. but after reading the study of previously unsuccessful women who took the same combination of drugs i did leading to a significantly higher level of babies delivered, it seems just as likely that it was the 'cocktail' that kept me pregnant. i'm grateful everyday that i was willing to try everything i could when i look at my beautiful girls!