alternatives to predisone treatment- pregnancy

[melanie501]

after a few years of trying to find ojt why my ALT levels were so high I was told yesterday that I have autoimmune hepatitis.   Two years ago my ALT levels were 163 now they are down to 63, still high but better than they have been.  I was upset when leaving the doctors office when she told me the only course of treatment was Prednisone and Imuran.  being in my late 20s and hoping to have kids (not actively trying but wanting) in the next few years was concerned how thia could affect a pregnancy.   after reading more I learnt that miscarriags on these medications could haooen as well as birth defects.   I booked in to see a homeopathic doctor to explore other options, but wanted to do my research before hand, and was wondering if anykne could comment about pregnancy on these drugs, and/or if anyone has tired a different kind of treament and how that went.

[melanie501]

thank you Niko and Jesse for your comments.  I have an appointment to see a functional medicine doctor next Thursday to explore different avenues.   I will definitely bring up your comments.
Jesse congrats on your pregnancy


Well Wishes
Melanie

[TheLightSeeker]

Not all patients experience the same results.
Each case is unique.
I am glad it worked well for you and your baby.

Love & light
Niko

[jessejaaye]

hi I used prednisone when I started trying to conceive and up till I was 12 weeks pregnant, currently I am 21 weeks pregnant with a healthy baby, when I was on the prednisone I read all sorts of horrible things about it and I was sceptical about using it but my OBGYN is a very experienced man and I trusted him

[TheLightSeeker]

Hi Melanie and welcome to the forum.

Official FDA Assignment
Imuran
Pregnancy Category D. Imuran can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Imuran should not be given during pregnancy without careful weighing of risk versus benefit. Whenever possible, use of Imuran in pregnant patients should be avoided. This drug should not be used for treating rheumatoid arthritis in pregnant women.

Prednisone has not been formally assigned to a pregnancy category by the FDA.
However, its active metabolite, prednisoLONE, has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Some animal studies have revealed evidence of fetal harm, although data are conflicting. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. Prednisone is only recommended for use during pregnancy when there are no alternatives and benefit outweighs risk.

The importance of liver health was first recognized in Ayurvedic medicine and medicinal plants were used in treating liver diseases in India as early as 700 BC.
Double-blind placebo-controlled studies on 4 hepato-protective medicinal plants have been carried out : Picrorhiza kurroa, Phyllanthus Amarus, Berberis Aristata and Tinospora Cordifolia.
Source: Ayuverdic Herbs

Please contact a holistic doctor or herbalist to find out if any of these are suited for your condition.

AOR has a multi-herbal formula for liver health under the name of Stimuliv,
which by the way I am NOT endorsing it. It's only for information purposes,
I have no personal experience with it and I only checked it out for a friend who later tried it and she did find that her counts went down after taking it for a while, but I think she had a nonalcoholic fatty liver with something else and elevated enzymes. It's been some time ago,lol!

Hope this helps, but please note that it is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.

Please keep us posted.

Love & Light
Niko