Has seeming vanquished GM ever returned for anyone?

[MargaretAnn1977]

Hello all,

I haven't been back on this forum in months, I am so thankful to say. My GM started in 2010 while I was pregnant and continued for several months after giving birth to my little boy. I am thankful to say that I haven't had a flare-up in around two years. My husband and I are considering having another baby, but the chance of GM returning is obviously a scary thought for us. Has anyone had any experience with GM going away for 1-2 years and then returning?

Thank you,
Margaret Ann

[MargaretAnn1977]

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you for responding. I remember your screen name from when I was on this forum all the time. I am so sorry to hear that you are having symptoms again. Now that I'm thinking about it more clearly, I did have a short recurrence of symptoms myself about a year after the GM went away. They only lasted a few weeks, and they were not severe, but the emotional response I had to the pain was way worse than the pain itself. GM IS so frustrating.

My GM seemed to be linked up with my milk ducts in a way that not everyone experiences (I remember another forum member at the time who was successfully breastfeeding her baby during active GM). I started having GM symptoms when I was pregnant, and after I gave birth, I was completely unable to nurse on my GM side--I couldn't bear to try to pump more than a few times since the pain was so intense. I had abscesses that kept filling and bursting, of course, but after my son was born, they started aspirating breast milk from my abscesses during ultrasounds. Eventually every doctor I was seeing  agreed that it was time for me to stop breastfeeding. That, combined with a very long course of antibiotics, seemed to be what I needed to get over the bulk of my symptoms. But I also have trouble remembering all the details from that time. I had really good doctors, too--Dr. Mary Laya (University of Washington) became one of my main doctors, and she was treating a bunch of cases of GM at the time. Seeing a doctor who actually had experience with GM made a huge difference.

Thanks again for responding,
Margaret Ann

[eluriajen]

Hi Margaret,

My GM was the worst during 2010, and 2011....around the same time as you. My symptoms cleared up early last year and were gone for more than a year, but recently they have come back. I know that is not reassuring. I am hopeful that I will improve again soon. This is such a frustrating disease!

Did you do anything specific that you could identify that made your symptoms better?

Jennifer

[MargaretAnn1977]

Oops--I meant "seemingly" vanquished!