Re: Parenting and arthritis

[Guest guest]

I don't know what to advise, Suzi, but I wish you the best of luck! It's a

very tough decision.

Not an MD

[ ] Parenting and arthritis

> Hi all,

>

> I have RA and a 5 month old baby. I have been managing my RA with

> Prednisolone while I am breastfeeding although I am doing some

> serious damage to my hand/finger joints and must soon make a decision

> as to whether to go back on drugs (Mtx, Humira etc) or have another

> baby.

>

> I am interested in whether anyone has any advice on whether to have

> my babies close together in terms of age or whether it would be

> easier to deal with a toddler and baby (so, go back on drugs and wait

> 1-2 years before having second baby). While my gut tells me that it

> may be easier to " get my pregnancies out of the way now " (I mean that

> in a nice way) and then to get back on all drugs and stay on them, as

> opposed to going back on drugs and then having to detox back off them

> in order to fall pregnant again, I would love to hear what others

> feel about this decision. What would you do?

>

> I would love your views and/or experience of this.

>

> Thanks

> suzi

[Guest guest]

Me, personally, I would wait. I think that having two babies who need to be held

and attended to will add more stress and joint pain. If you wait another year or

two, your baby now can help with a new baby (bring you things, help play with

them, etc.)

Question.....if you were to have a new baby soon, don't they give you some meds

while your pregnant? Are they effective?

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

~Deneen

[ ] Parenting and arthritis

Hi all,

I have RA and a 5 month old baby. I have been managing my RA with

Prednisolone while I am breastfeeding although I am doing some

serious damage to my hand/finger joints and must soon make a decision

as to whether to go back on drugs (Mtx, Humira etc) or have another

baby.

I am interested in whether anyone has any advice on whether to have

my babies close together in terms of age or whether it would be

easier to deal with a toddler and baby (so, go back on drugs and wait

1-2 years before having second baby). While my gut tells me that it

may be easier to " get my pregnancies out of the way now " (I mean that

in a nice way) and then to get back on all drugs and stay on them, as

opposed to going back on drugs and then having to detox back off them

in order to fall pregnant again, I would love to hear what others

feel about this decision. What would you do?

I would love your views and/or experience of this.

Thanks

suzi

[Guest guest]

Suzi - Congrats on your baby!

I'll just share my personal experience....I was initially diagnosed in my late

20s but then seemed to go into " remission " (was very asymptomatic for years). I

had 2 babies back to back (18 months apart) and after the second one, my

symptoms came back very badly, after not having many symptoms for around 10

years (I was 39 when I had my 2nd). Because of my age, I was in a hurry to have

them quickly, but now I wonder if I didn't give my body enough time to recover

hormonally. I remember reading somewhere since then that second pregnancies can

trigger things that first pregnancies didn't. So maybe it's better to wait some

time in between, I don't know. I wonder if it would have helped me. I remember

when I was first diagnosed years ago, I remember the doctor telling me that

during pregnancy symptoms can abate a bit, but that they generally come back

worse afterwards. That was 15 years ago, so I'm sure a lot has changed since

then - but I just remember that vividly from so

long ago.

I have no opinion on it, just wanted to share my own experience. I wasn't on

drugs before or during my pregnancies so I didn't have that concern. I totally

understand your position, though. Good luck!

Bridget

msuzie74 <msuzie74@...> wrote:

Hi all,

I have RA and a 5 month old baby. I have been managing my RA with

Prednisolone while I am breastfeeding although I am doing some

serious damage to my hand/finger joints and must soon make a decision

as to whether to go back on drugs (Mtx, Humira etc) or have another

baby.

I am interested in whether anyone has any advice on whether to have

my babies close together in terms of age or whether it would be

easier to deal with a toddler and baby (so, go back on drugs and wait

1-2 years before having second baby). While my gut tells me that it

may be easier to " get my pregnancies out of the way now " (I mean that

in a nice way) and then to get back on all drugs and stay on them, as

opposed to going back on drugs and then having to detox back off them

in order to fall pregnant again, I would love to hear what others

feel about this decision. What would you do?

I would love your views and/or experience of this.

Thanks

suzi

[Guest guest]

Thank you to those of you who have shared your experiences

(particularly Bridget) and/or been sympathetic to my concerns. I

really appreciate hearing about how others have dealt with this.

Suzi

> Hi all,

>

> I have RA and a 5 month old baby. I have been managing my RA with

> Prednisolone while I am breastfeeding although I am doing some

> serious damage to my hand/finger joints and must soon make a

decision

> as to whether to go back on drugs (Mtx, Humira etc) or have another

> baby.

>

> I am interested in whether anyone has any advice on whether to have

> my babies close together in terms of age or whether it would be

> easier to deal with a toddler and baby (so, go back on drugs and

wait

> 1-2 years before having second baby). While my gut tells me that it

> may be easier to " get my pregnancies out of the way now " (I mean

that

> in a nice way) and then to get back on all drugs and stay on them,

as

> opposed to going back on drugs and then having to detox back off

them

> in order to fall pregnant again, I would love to hear what others

> feel about this decision. What would you do?

>

> I would love your views and/or experience of this.

>

> Thanks

> suzi

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Suzi-

Here is my advise on parenting and RA. Do what you want to do. Have your

babies as far or as close together as you choose. Do not let this disease

dictate how far apart your children are. I was diagnosed with RA during my 1st

pregnancy, at 34, and was told it would be best to wait to have more children. I

was diagnosed with Lupus right before I had my 2nd child, who was born almost

exectly 2 years later. I would not change a thing. Although taking time off all

the drugs except prednisone, might have set me back some, I always wanted my

children to be about 2 years apart; and have never regretted the decision. None

of the drugs I have been on: Enbrel, Orrencia, Retuxin, Metho worked long term,

so I am back on prednisone only and working on a vegan/gluten free diet, which

seems to be working better than any drug I have ever taken

My kids are almost 4 and almost 2, boy and girl, and I am thrilled I choose to

have them when I did. If I let RA dictate my reproduction, who knows how long I

would have waited.

Good luck with your decision, and whatever it is, it will be the right one for

you and your family.

[Guest guest]

Suzi, have you tried Enbrel? It works similarly to Humira and it's class B

meaning there are no known damaging effects to pregnant and lactating moms. I'm

currently pregnant and staying on both Enbrel and prednisone. Best, Kate

[ ] Parenting and arthritis

> Hi all,

>

> I have RA and a 5 month old baby. I have been managing my RA with

> Prednisolone while I am breastfeeding although I am doing some

> serious damage to my hand/finger joints and must soon make a decision

> as to whether to go back on drugs (Mtx, Humira etc) or have another

> baby.

>

> I am interested in whether anyone has any advice on whether to have

> my babies close together in terms of age or whether it would be

> easier to deal with a toddler and baby (so, go back on drugs and wait

> 1-2 years before having second baby). While my gut tells me that it

> may be easier to " get my pregnancies out of the way now " (I mean that

> in a nice way) and then to get back on all drugs and stay on them, as

> opposed to going back on drugs and then having to detox back off them

> in order to fall pregnant again, I would love to hear what others

> feel about this decision. What would you do?

>

> I would love your views and/or experience of this.

>

> Thanks

> suzi

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__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

No I haven't tried Enbrel. I have been on Humira and Remicade so

Enbrel might be next on the list when I decide to go back on drugs.

How far along in your pregnancy are you? Is it your first child? Did

you have to come off other medications in order to fall pregnant (ie.

Mtx?) How are your joints feeling during pregnancy? Sorry for all

the questions but I am very interested in the experience of others.

Thanks

Suzi

>

> Suzi, have you tried Enbrel? It works similarly to Humira and it's

class B meaning there are no known damaging effects to pregnant and

lactating moms. I'm currently pregnant and staying on both Enbrel

and prednisone. Best, Kate

>

> [ ] Parenting and arthritis

>

>

>

> > Hi all,

>

> >

>

> > I have RA and a 5 month old baby. I have been managing my RA with

>

> > Prednisolone while I am breastfeeding although I am doing some

>

> > serious damage to my hand/finger joints and must soon make a

decision

>

> > as to whether to go back on drugs (Mtx, Humira etc) or have

another

>

> > baby.

>

> >

>

> > I am interested in whether anyone has any advice on whether to

have

>

> > my babies close together in terms of age or whether it would be

>

> > easier to deal with a toddler and baby (so, go back on drugs and

wait

>

> > 1-2 years before having second baby). While my gut tells me that

it

>

> > may be easier to " get my pregnancies out of the way now " (I mean

that

>

> > in a nice way) and then to get back on all drugs and stay on

them, as

>

> > opposed to going back on drugs and then having to detox back off

them

>

> > in order to fall pregnant again, I would love to hear what others

>

> > feel about this decision. What would you do?

>

> >

>

> > I would love your views and/or experience of this.

>

> >

>

> > Thanks

>

> > suzi

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

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> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you Shelli, I understand and appreciate your view on this. You

are right that this disease often tries to dictate our lives. I

think I will sit down and work out what I (and my husband) want for

our family - not what the disease dictates. Yes, things are likely

to always be unpredictable with my health so doing what is right for

our family is probably the best thing to do.

Thank you

Suzi

>

> Suzi-

> Here is my advise on parenting and RA. Do what you want to do.

Have your babies as far or as close together as you choose. Do not

let this disease dictate how far apart your children are. I was

diagnosed with RA during my 1st pregnancy, at 34, and was told it

would be best to wait to have more children. I was diagnosed with

Lupus right before I had my 2nd child, who was born almost exectly 2

years later. I would not change a thing. Although taking time off all

the drugs except prednisone, might have set me back some, I always

wanted my children to be about 2 years apart; and have never

regretted the decision. None of the drugs I have been on: Enbrel,

Orrencia, Retuxin, Metho worked long term, so I am back on prednisone

only and working on a vegan/gluten free diet, which seems to be

working better than any drug I have ever taken

>

> My kids are almost 4 and almost 2, boy and girl, and I am

thrilled I choose to have them when I did. If I let RA dictate my

reproduction, who knows how long I would have waited.

>

> Good luck with your decision, and whatever it is, it will be the

right one for you and your family.

>

>

>