I have RA and am currently off my medications to try to conceive my second child. Obviously, the gal who needed some answers in 2008 has probably moved on now that it's 2011. Hopefully she got pregnant and never gave this blog another thought. But, I thought I'd share my info for others who come across this page. I conceived after 1 1/2 years of trying when I was 31 years old. I had RA then, and was taking sulfasalazine and prednisone when I got pregnant. I went into a comfortable remission while I was pregnant and went on methotrexate after I stopped nursing. I did really, really well on methotrexate for the following seven years.
For the young woman who just got a diagnosis and is worried about parenting with the disease, please do not get distracted by "natural health" web sites and vitamins. Or, rather, go ahead and take them if you want, but you MUST start taking the powerful pharmaceuticals right away. It's hard to adjust to the idea that you need them, but you don't want to mess around. You will need your joints later and don't want to damage them irreparably now. You might also be amazed at how much better you feel, and you might find that you can feel qutie normal on most days. Just think what a miracle it is that you don't live in 1911 when such drugs were unavailable. You would likely never have been able to marry or have kids, and you would have been hopeless, miserable and in a wheelchair. What a shame it would be not to use the medications that are available to you!
Now that I am 39, I have been off the methotrexate for over a year to try to conceive again. I tried to only take sulfasalazine and 5mg daily of prednisone, but I was in such severe pain after 8 months that I agreed to try Enbrel. After figuring out that the stomach was a better injection site for me (had painful grapefruit-sized welts on my leg), I am doing okay. On Enbrel combined with 5 mg of prednisone daily, I feel like I'm at 70% most of the time. It's tolerable, but I'm always skimming right on the surface of intolerable pain and achyness. I keep telling myself that I can go back on methotrexate at any time (if I want to give up on baby #2) and that this suffering is for a good cause. Because I don't think I can stay off methotrexate much longer and I am nearly 40, I just started seeing a fertility specialist a few months ago.
I would recommend that anyone who has RA and hasn't conceived after a few months (no matter what your age) should go straight to a fertility specialist. They can do a workup to make sure you aren't wasting your time while in pain. For instance, why spend a full year in RA pain and then discover you had endometriosis or weren't even ovulating the entire time? Also, my fertility doc said that it's possible that RA makes it harder to conceive due to inflammation, so why waste time with cycles that aren't even capable of producing a baby? My doc never said it was an insurmountable barrier to get preggers with RA, and I have never heard that RA patients should just give up. It might slow the process a bit, but all the people I know with RA who wanted to have children have had them.
Keep in mind, also, that age and other unrelated factors make MANY women have fertility problems, so you shouldn't just jump to the conclusion that your medications or your RA are preventing you from conceiving. I hope this info helps. Keep trying! Don't give up! Good luck!
Hi, i have had Ra for over 21 years. i've been trying to get pregnant for over 2 years. I know what fears you have and I understand completely. I too fear not being able to take care of my children but I'm hear to tell you that you will find the strength you need, God doesn't give anyone anything they can't handle. My advice to you is to take control of your health, explore your options, because I have to deal with Ra for the rest of my life I have decided to take the natural approach as much as possible because I don't want toxic medicines in my body all my life. I would visit mercola.com, he is a great doctor that take the natural approach for treating Ra. He has been treating Ra this way for over 20 years. Good luck to you and I pray everything goes well as you.