RA and pregnancy

[Guest guest]

I am 26 years old and was diagnosed with RA over a year ago. I have

been taking Enbrel injections for about 9 months with great results. I

am curious about what other young women dealing with RA are doing when

it comes to pregnancy. Are they going off of their treatments? Any

advice? I know there is not enough research with Enbrel to know the

long term effects on a baby. I am not pregnant, but will be thinking

about it in the next year or so. Any information will be appreciated.

Thanks! -Summer

[Guest guest]

Since I was diagnosed with RA at age 33 I have been living a downward spiral

despite all the meds. The BEST period I had without flares was 2 years ago

when I was 37 and pregnant. I have heard that of other women pregnant with RA.

It

lasted until my son was 11 months old and then unfortunately I relapsed.

Can't stay pregnant forever and he is my last (and has been the best experience

I

also have a 15 year daughter I adore) but at least while I was pregnant with

my son I had NO Systems of RA and was completely off meds. Good Luck!

[Guest guest]

Welcome Summer. When I had my two children, I went off of my meds. I was

one of the lucky ones that went into remission with my first. With my

second, I felt good for the first half but then I flared throughout the rest

of my pregnancy. I didn't take anything while I was pregnant. Here are

some links I've collected regarding RA & pregnancy:

http://rheumatoid.arthritis.freehosting.net/Rheumatoid Arthritis.html#pregna

ncy

a

> I am 26 years old and was diagnosed with RA over a year ago. I have

> been taking Enbrel injections for about 9 months with great results. I

> am curious about what other young women dealing with RA are doing when

> it comes to pregnancy. Are they going off of their treatments? Any

> advice? I know there is not enough research with Enbrel to know the

> long term effects on a baby. I am not pregnant, but will be thinking

> about it in the next year or so. Any information will be appreciated.

> Thanks! -Summer

[Guest guest]

,

I had 2 children after being diagnosed, but that was many years ago. My

daughter is 23 and my son is 19. I went into remission with my daughter,

but with my son my disease flared and I spent a great deal of time

bedridden. I didn't take any meds for either pregnancy. I was told after

my son was born not to have any more children.

I've done a lot of reading on diet and arthritis and know how overwhelming

it can be. There are so many different views, and it's hard to know what

to believe. I went on a wheat free diet for 3 months to see if it helped.

I've seen the biggest improvement by giving up meat and dairy.

At our local arthritis support group meeting, we had a very interesting

guest speaker that talked a lot about diet and arthritis. He is a firm

believer that it can be helped with diet, but the diet is very difficult to

stay on and he says it takes on month for every year that you've had

arthritis. That means it will take me over 2 years of a strict diet, but to

me it is worth it. He is a pharmacist as well as a nutritionist. I have an

appointment with him next week. He believes that degenerative diseases are

caused by an imbalance of PH, meaning that our systems are to acidic.

Meats, grains, processed foods, coffee, soda, breads, pasta and sugar are

very acidic. A healthy person should have a 60% alkaline diet, but a

diseased person should have an 80% alkaline diet. It comes down to eating a

vegetarian diet. I've read many articles that say RA is improved with a

vegetarian diet but I always thought it was because of nutrients in the

vegetables that were responsible. This PH balance is very interesting and

is even linked to osteoporosis (which I have).

I'll be sending some articles in for the group to read as soon as I can. I

returned to work recently and although it is only part time, it's kicking my

butt!! Between the holidays and working, I can't seem to find the energy to

do anything. I have a few articles on RA and pregnancy on my website:

http://rheumatoid.arthritis.freehosting.net/Rheumatoid Arthritis.html

a

> Hello, everyone. I am desperately looking for some people who have RA

> and have been/are considering being pregnant while diagnosed. I'm

> particularly interested in what people have done to manage their

> symptoms during and after. I was diagnosed with RA almost 13 years ago.

> It has been thankfully a slow but unfortunately steady deteroriation.

> I have been very lucky to have two healthy pregnancies (my daughter is

> 4 and my son is 11 months). I have taken MTX in the past but stopped

> prior to having my first child. I have taken Enbrel and am on it now,

> even though I'm nursing my son still. The latest data says that it is

> highly unlucky to pass into the bloodstream. However, even with the

> Enbrel I cannot get lower than 10mg/day with prednisone and the

> side-effects of long-term steroid use really scare me. I was hoping to

> have one more pregnancy but my rheumatologist (who is wonderful!) is

> really not encouraging it because she would like to see me in try some

> other meds to help control my symptoms better. I am wondering what sort

> of luck people have had with dietary changes. I have done some research

> about no-sugar, anti-candidiasis, food sensitivities, wheat allergies,

> etc. I just became more overwhelmed and confused. I actually am a

> pretty healthy eater (lots of veggies, whole grains, etc) and I swim and

> exercise daily, so I'm not sure where to start. I still hope for that

> " magic bullet " sometimes, even after 13 years of dealing with the ups

> and downs. This week I am going to try some acupuncture for flares in

> my wrists and ankles. Anyway, thanks for listening. Would love to hear

> any and all suggestions.

>