Aa
RH Negative Blood Type
So this has me wondering lately and when I did a search, even online it came up with zilch! During my first pregnancy I found out that I have RH Negative Blood (A Negative to be precise) and of course had to have Rhogam during and after (she was a still born and I was in the hospital with infection for a long time almost missing her funeral-very difficult time.)
This brings me to my second pregnancy in which I had to have the rhogam again at 28 weeks and after my son was born (a healthy 9Lb 1Oz boy! whom is now 3-1/2) and I was kept in the hospital while they were checking to make sure they had given me enough of the rhogam because my husband is O positive and my son is A positive so they had to make sure that there were no antibodies in my blood stream.
My issues started after my son was born but of course most of them I was told to wait the standard 1year after pregnancy for your body to return to pre-pregnancy condition before I "worried about them". Then my wonderful primary doctor put me on Ibuprofen because that's a cure all according to her! Some of my issues are MS related and probably did start after he was born - some are not related and are just coincidence (ironically!)
So I guess my question is how many of you on the board have RH negative blood? Does being RH negative with MS have any cause/effect on the situation?
Thank you all knowledgeable ones! MeLissa
This brings me to my second pregnancy in which I had to have the rhogam again at 28 weeks and after my son was born (a healthy 9Lb 1Oz boy! whom is now 3-1/2) and I was kept in the hospital while they were checking to make sure they had given me enough of the rhogam because my husband is O positive and my son is A positive so they had to make sure that there were no antibodies in my blood stream.
My issues started after my son was born but of course most of them I was told to wait the standard 1year after pregnancy for your body to return to pre-pregnancy condition before I "worried about them". Then my wonderful primary doctor put me on Ibuprofen because that's a cure all according to her! Some of my issues are MS related and probably did start after he was born - some are not related and are just coincidence (ironically!)
So I guess my question is how many of you on the board have RH negative blood? Does being RH negative with MS have any cause/effect on the situation?
Thank you all knowledgeable ones! MeLissa
I am beginning to think that RHoneg is a hybrid blood designed to live and having a high level immune system is a blessing not an illness and im realy doing well since i stopped taking ms meds.... No one has ever died from ms but have died from what ms meds allowed your body to recieve. Ie... Pneumonia oregon failure etc.
I am O- and took Rhogam during my two pregnancies and they are both positive blood type. My bigger problems the past few years in regard to my MS (aside from fatigue) is pain. It's rare to not be in pain. I always question whether it's bone, joint, or muscle pain. I would love to see more delving into this connection about MS and Rh factor. Thank you for raising the question.
Ginosmommy your son is not A+ he is half A- and half O+. Karl Landsteiner was ahead of his time when he invented the blood antigen detecter test to see if A or B or RH D antigens are present but it does not reveal if you have one D or two DD antigens or one or two A AA B BB either. It just tells you that D or A or B are present. A and B blood are dominant over O simply because O has no antigens on the surface of its red blood cells. But antigen D is present in O+ blood. Many A blooded folks are actually AO blooded and some B blooded folks are BO blooded as well. That is precisely why the blood type diet work great with some folks but not so great with others. You gave your son an A- ABO copy and your husband gave your son a O+ ABO copy so yes he did test positive for the A blood group he actually is A-/O+. I hope that helps? Sorry for your loss also.
I found all these comments to sound much like my own. I do believe there is a connection between blood types and auto immune diseases. I have had 2 children that are positive blood types and so is my husband. I am A negative. I was diagnosed with MS in 2007 -- my children were born in 1984 and 1986. I have alot of pain now, in my back, hip and knee and I feel pretty much like crap all of the time. My stomach feels bloated when I eat and I feel much worse than I did a couple of years ago. It is just strange that so many people have alot of problems that are RH negative and have had children. I wish there was a answer to make me feel better.
I am reading your story and realize that your post is from a few years ago. I am O neg. blood and received the Rhogam shot for both of my pregnancies. My children are both pos. blood types. I now have numerous problems with my immune sytem attacking itself, sero neg. arthirtis. Bad discs in my back, bi-polar, panic attacks, low blood pressure, pain in knees, numbness in my right foot. I have been to doctors, run tests, take pills, have started PT water exercises. I have chronic pain so I have to take highest dose of cymbalta and also hydrocodone. The exercising helps the muscles around my joints but does not stop chronic pain. Family and friends are always wondering what is the deal, is she crazy or what. I am always reading about symptoms and connections. I think that the RH negative blood type is a clue or something. Have you read the crazy stuff about Rh positive blood some folks call it monkey blood and the negative blood they call reptilian blood....uh, ok...they say that folks from the Basque people (spain which was infiltrated with vikings) that they have the highest amount of the o neg types. I have no record of being related to spain or vikings for that matter but thought you are on the same wave legnth as I am that there is a connection with this blood type, the shots, immune system issues and medical problems no one can quite figure out. It is insanity to live in a small town and have to deal with your local doctor, big town internest, arthitis doctor, psychiatrist dr and physical therapy people all at the same time. You get tired of telling your story over and over. You get tired of insurance companies telling you how much cymbalta you should take (script had to be changed to "for pain AND depression) 120 mgs. You get tired of family members seeing the need to comment on needing hyrocodone as a daily med. (if they have a headache they take an asprin or ibuprophen) I explain that I have to do the same. If I don't take a hydrocodone with 3 ibupro. I get pain attacks, then my body starts freaking out with other weird things like random rashes, itching attacks dry spots the size of a penny in different spots. I attribute this to the panic response. I swear I have something like MS, I havent gotten the brain MRI or the spinal tap, but then I think why bother? What then? I do not think anything actually changes. I have done the steroid shots to the knees they no longer work, I can't take steroids orally, I have had and would have a psychotic break. NO FUN..... There isn't really anything else you can do. Am I missing anything? Thanks any input would be great
2 Comments
I have been looking for this forum. I too am researching and now can go forward and not feel crazy thankyou....... And you are allergic to lectins and many more things get your shots and dont take ms meds its like chemo for cancer...... You'll feel better
I have been looking for this forum. I too am researching and now can go forward and not feel crazy thankyou....... And you are allergic to lectins and many more things get your shots and dont take ms meds its like chemo for cancer...... You'll feel betterand stay away from concentrated sugars and salts and all other foods outlawed in other countries or keep it kosher goodluck
Im so upset. I just finished typing 4 paragraphs and it vanished. What I was saying...
Your article attracted my attention because I do have RH- blood and have had 3 different doses of rhogam.
...And almost 10 years ago while I was working for a durable medical supply companywhere we distributed E.M.S. devices (Electronic Muscle Stimulators). One day my boss came and asked if I would be a guinea pig for him while he gave a lecture to doctors and chiropractors. I agreed. It didnt take very long and it was uncomfortable but didnt really hurt. I sat with small pads stuck at different spots on my head. The pads had wires that were attached to the E.M.S. machine. At the end of the day my boss came to me casually and announced, "I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that your medical insurance kicks in next month. The bad news is that our tests show that you have ms."
I never did see a dr about this rx and although I have had a lot of symptoms that are that of ms. I am 53 yrs old.
Your article attracted my attention because I do have RH- blood and have had 3 different doses of rhogam.
...And almost 10 years ago while I was working for a durable medical supply companywhere we distributed E.M.S. devices (Electronic Muscle Stimulators). One day my boss came and asked if I would be a guinea pig for him while he gave a lecture to doctors and chiropractors. I agreed. It didnt take very long and it was uncomfortable but didnt really hurt. I sat with small pads stuck at different spots on my head. The pads had wires that were attached to the E.M.S. machine. At the end of the day my boss came to me casually and announced, "I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that your medical insurance kicks in next month. The bad news is that our tests show that you have ms."
I never did see a dr about this rx and although I have had a lot of symptoms that are that of ms. I am 53 yrs old.
I am A Negative ...my husband is O positive .. I had the Rhogam shot after each pregnancy. The first I had a miscarriage...so I dont know what blood type the baby had...my other two are both O Negitive...But they gave me the shot anyway...they said to help protect the next baby if there was another pregnancy.
I am AB+. I have anti-nobody in my blood. I am a universal recipient. I don't know of any Rh- / MS connection but that means next to nothing. I will share a little of what I know about the Rh factor from my newborn nursery days (a long, long time ago in a far away place).
Potential problem with antibody production when Mother is Rh+ and Father is Rh- ONLY.
If the baby is Rh- there is NO risk and no need for RhoGam therapy.
There is no risk in the first pregnancy with a Rh+ infant until there is bleeding that could cause the infants blood to make direct contact with the mother's blood and initiate antibody production. These antibodies would attack Rh+ blood only.
As long as antibody production in the mother can be avoided there will be no threat to subsequent pregnancies. It is however, difficult to detect the small amount of bleeding that is necessary to spur on antibody production (I think about 2 teaspoons).
Originally RhoGam was only given after birth. Now it is given much earlier in pregnancy, I believe because it is now recognized that there can be small separations of the placental wall early in pregnancies that result in contact between fetal and maternal blood.
Antibody titers can be done to determine if the mother has produced any anti Rh+ antibodies.
To this day the protocol for administering RhoGam is that it is to be given within 72 hours of delivery or bleeding event to be effective at preventing antibody production. I was told by a reliable source that this standard was established because trials of the drug were done on women prisoners. At the time, hospitalization after childbirth was often much longer than it is today. However, prisoners had to be returned to locked facilities within 72 hours. Since the drug had to be given at the hospital before discharge, it was ALWAYS given in the 72 hour timeframe that, by default, became the standard.
Having written this out, it seems to me that the connection between Rh- mothers and mothers with MS is that both are more likely to see problems stemming from their immune systems only after termination/delivery of a pregnancy. The conditions are quite different beyond that. MS causes overstimulation of the immune system until one is attacking their own body. Rh- is a normal production of antibody to a foreign protein. (At least that's how I see it.)
My sympathies GM. I know the pain fades but is never truly forgotten.
Mary
Potential problem with antibody production when Mother is Rh+ and Father is Rh- ONLY.
If the baby is Rh- there is NO risk and no need for RhoGam therapy.
There is no risk in the first pregnancy with a Rh+ infant until there is bleeding that could cause the infants blood to make direct contact with the mother's blood and initiate antibody production. These antibodies would attack Rh+ blood only.
As long as antibody production in the mother can be avoided there will be no threat to subsequent pregnancies. It is however, difficult to detect the small amount of bleeding that is necessary to spur on antibody production (I think about 2 teaspoons).
Originally RhoGam was only given after birth. Now it is given much earlier in pregnancy, I believe because it is now recognized that there can be small separations of the placental wall early in pregnancies that result in contact between fetal and maternal blood.
Antibody titers can be done to determine if the mother has produced any anti Rh+ antibodies.
To this day the protocol for administering RhoGam is that it is to be given within 72 hours of delivery or bleeding event to be effective at preventing antibody production. I was told by a reliable source that this standard was established because trials of the drug were done on women prisoners. At the time, hospitalization after childbirth was often much longer than it is today. However, prisoners had to be returned to locked facilities within 72 hours. Since the drug had to be given at the hospital before discharge, it was ALWAYS given in the 72 hour timeframe that, by default, became the standard.
Having written this out, it seems to me that the connection between Rh- mothers and mothers with MS is that both are more likely to see problems stemming from their immune systems only after termination/delivery of a pregnancy. The conditions are quite different beyond that. MS causes overstimulation of the immune system until one is attacking their own body. Rh- is a normal production of antibody to a foreign protein. (At least that's how I see it.)
My sympathies GM. I know the pain fades but is never truly forgotten.
Mary
1 Comments
My only disagreement. With this is that not only pregnancy or termination i was miss dx with bi polar and given a horrible med. And i got dx with ms (depakote) it traumatized my liver iwas blind couldnt talk walk hear...i. Shut down and now i am well and do not take ms meds...
i found this very interesting ,i found this
as i was researching about rh negative thought you might be interested i am rh negative and with my first child everything went fine 7 years later with second child i kept asking dr about rhogam shot he kept saing i wasnt rh negative but i knew from my first pregnancy i was so when i was 8 months i had to have blood work recieved a phone call demanding i come back to hospital and they had discovered not only was i rh negative but my antibodies were already killing my baby dr had got my blood and anither girls messed up and she had received rhogam and didnt need it cause she was positive and i was negative my baby had to be sent by ambulance in middle of the night to a trauma hospital and have blood transfusion and almost died at that time they did not tell me the severity of what had happened and 7 years later i got pregnant again this time i used different dr and at 5 months he called me in and said they would have to abort this pregnancy that my antibody count was so high there was no way this baby could survive till i could get to 6 months i refused
and was sent to a large hospital abot 200 miles away they told me his chance of survival was only like 10 % but they would try .and started performing blood transfusions on him at 5 1/2 months every 2-3 weeks at first and as he growed every 1-2 weeks .after investigating cause for the rhogam not working they said was that i had received a bad rhogam
and i would never be able to take another one it just wont work .all the time i was carring him my antibodies were multipling .at 8 months when i went for blood transfusion they said no we have to take him or he will not live he stay in intensive care for a month and received numerous transfusion we finally brought him home and 2 weeks later he had to be rushed bacjk to hospital 2 hrs away and more blood tranfusion but then side effect from transfusion his liver started shutting down from all the transfusions they discussed wiyh us about a liver transplant but tried medicine first and it worked he his now 10 years old he does stay sick alot and complains alot with joint pain and headaches but hes a good kid and thank god every day i didnt abort him when dr told ne i had no choice and i give god the praise for him being here today .but what i thought you might find interesting while he was in intensive care we had some dr come visit us to try and buy my blood said they would pay me every other week to come in and give blood that my antibodies was the highest theyd ever seen and they will never go away,said they would use it for cancer patients and different diseases..i know i should have done it not for the money but for kindnes but it was 2 hr drive both ways and i had new baby with all these complications so time went by and here while back i gave blood at red cross received letter few days later saing that my blood contained large amounts of this antibody and to please come back and give more and to tell person taking it about this antibody .well a girl that lives in my home town husband had heard through friends about this and contacted my family today saying she has something i dont know what cause ive not talk directly with them but they said if she doesnt recieve blood with alot of these antibodies in it she will die would i please give her blood of course i said yes.but thats what i was researching is it diseases that people are dieing from that only require blood with these antibodies to be able to live .and as far as other things yes i have been told i have auto immune disease i was suppose to see a Rheumatoid Arthritis dr and i have good days and bad i stay very tired all the time and some days i really hurt but i just push on hadnt went yet .i have very bad panick attacks that started about 3 years ago and i have to take toprol for severe heart papulations so it would be very interesting to know if any of it has to do with rh factor i do have a low pulse rate and my body temp runs low but have been curious if it will help others would it be just as beneficial for me .could it prevent me from same things that they tell me they need my blood for didnt think to ask when they was wanting my blood and i live in a very small town im sure dr here would just shrug if i ask
as i was researching about rh negative thought you might be interested i am rh negative and with my first child everything went fine 7 years later with second child i kept asking dr about rhogam shot he kept saing i wasnt rh negative but i knew from my first pregnancy i was so when i was 8 months i had to have blood work recieved a phone call demanding i come back to hospital and they had discovered not only was i rh negative but my antibodies were already killing my baby dr had got my blood and anither girls messed up and she had received rhogam and didnt need it cause she was positive and i was negative my baby had to be sent by ambulance in middle of the night to a trauma hospital and have blood transfusion and almost died at that time they did not tell me the severity of what had happened and 7 years later i got pregnant again this time i used different dr and at 5 months he called me in and said they would have to abort this pregnancy that my antibody count was so high there was no way this baby could survive till i could get to 6 months i refused
and was sent to a large hospital abot 200 miles away they told me his chance of survival was only like 10 % but they would try .and started performing blood transfusions on him at 5 1/2 months every 2-3 weeks at first and as he growed every 1-2 weeks .after investigating cause for the rhogam not working they said was that i had received a bad rhogam
and i would never be able to take another one it just wont work .all the time i was carring him my antibodies were multipling .at 8 months when i went for blood transfusion they said no we have to take him or he will not live he stay in intensive care for a month and received numerous transfusion we finally brought him home and 2 weeks later he had to be rushed bacjk to hospital 2 hrs away and more blood tranfusion but then side effect from transfusion his liver started shutting down from all the transfusions they discussed wiyh us about a liver transplant but tried medicine first and it worked he his now 10 years old he does stay sick alot and complains alot with joint pain and headaches but hes a good kid and thank god every day i didnt abort him when dr told ne i had no choice and i give god the praise for him being here today .but what i thought you might find interesting while he was in intensive care we had some dr come visit us to try and buy my blood said they would pay me every other week to come in and give blood that my antibodies was the highest theyd ever seen and they will never go away,said they would use it for cancer patients and different diseases..i know i should have done it not for the money but for kindnes but it was 2 hr drive both ways and i had new baby with all these complications so time went by and here while back i gave blood at red cross received letter few days later saing that my blood contained large amounts of this antibody and to please come back and give more and to tell person taking it about this antibody .well a girl that lives in my home town husband had heard through friends about this and contacted my family today saying she has something i dont know what cause ive not talk directly with them but they said if she doesnt recieve blood with alot of these antibodies in it she will die would i please give her blood of course i said yes.but thats what i was researching is it diseases that people are dieing from that only require blood with these antibodies to be able to live .and as far as other things yes i have been told i have auto immune disease i was suppose to see a Rheumatoid Arthritis dr and i have good days and bad i stay very tired all the time and some days i really hurt but i just push on hadnt went yet .i have very bad panick attacks that started about 3 years ago and i have to take toprol for severe heart papulations so it would be very interesting to know if any of it has to do with rh factor i do have a low pulse rate and my body temp runs low but have been curious if it will help others would it be just as beneficial for me .could it prevent me from same things that they tell me they need my blood for didnt think to ask when they was wanting my blood and i live in a very small town im sure dr here would just shrug if i ask
2 Comments
Yes i too have extremely the same exact story of all these ladies and have been researching the mysterious factors amongst RH O NEG blood......... So happy to know im not crazy
Yes i too have extremely the same exact story of all these ladies and have been researching the mysterious factors amongst RH O NEG blood......... So happy to know im not crazy
Hi Ginosmommy
What a good question. This is something I've also wondered about as a RhNeggie myself. My RhNeg family members also suffer from autoimmune disorders which manifest in different ways. After my first child I had sx for which I had to be MS tested. (Over time most of the sx proved to be related to osteo-arthritis - so, auto-immune inflammation caused by pregnancy hormones?)
Like you, I am surprised that that is so little research or interest in the medical ramifications of this rare blood type. I am convinced there's a link. There are claims that that many/most people who are RhNeg enjoy lower blood pressure, pulse rate and body temp. than RhPos people (as I and family do). You'd think that if the Neg factor can make that much difference in basic body functioning then...it might make quite a bit of difference in a disease scenario: might it exacerbate some diseases whilst ameliorating others?
I look forward to hearing what others have to add
sammyxx
What a good question. This is something I've also wondered about as a RhNeggie myself. My RhNeg family members also suffer from autoimmune disorders which manifest in different ways. After my first child I had sx for which I had to be MS tested. (Over time most of the sx proved to be related to osteo-arthritis - so, auto-immune inflammation caused by pregnancy hormones?)
Like you, I am surprised that that is so little research or interest in the medical ramifications of this rare blood type. I am convinced there's a link. There are claims that that many/most people who are RhNeg enjoy lower blood pressure, pulse rate and body temp. than RhPos people (as I and family do). You'd think that if the Neg factor can make that much difference in basic body functioning then...it might make quite a bit of difference in a disease scenario: might it exacerbate some diseases whilst ameliorating others?
I look forward to hearing what others have to add
sammyxx
I am diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome. I am A rh Negative and my symptoms started 4 months post natal after my second child.
I have never heard of any connection between blood type and MS though.
I have never heard of any connection between blood type and MS though.
Hmmm....It had me wondering because the negative factor actually triggers a response after the birth of a positive blood baby-when the blood mixes into your blood stream it causes an auto immune response to fight the baby's blood mixed into yours. So that on top of having issues (infections) with my first birth I figured is what triggered the MS, but why it is just showing up now after the birth of my son so many years later????
I was just curious if anyone else had any research into it but it doesn't really seam like many people have the RH negative blood on here (well as many as I might have expected I guess!) I know in research I had done only 15 % of the population actually has RH negative blood so it really is not all that common.
BTW Jess Thanks for the hugs, she is always in the back of my mind - that was a long time ago now, she is good hands in heaven!
I was just curious if anyone else had any research into it but it doesn't really seam like many people have the RH negative blood on here (well as many as I might have expected I guess!) I know in research I had done only 15 % of the population actually has RH negative blood so it really is not all that common.
BTW Jess Thanks for the hugs, she is always in the back of my mind - that was a long time ago now, she is good hands in heaven!
I have no clue LOL I'm B+, DH is O- (universal donor). I've never needed the RH shot.
My issues most likely started after the birth of my 3 year old, but faded after about 6 months (and overwhelming fatigue was the main worry for me at that time). They started up again after my youngest was born 14 months ago, within about 8 weeks of her birth. Luckily I was never told to wait a year! It is well-known that pregnancy can cause MS to go into remission, and most with MS will have a flare within 3 months after birth.
Also, ((hugs)) I'm so sorry for the loss of your daughter.
~Jess
My issues most likely started after the birth of my 3 year old, but faded after about 6 months (and overwhelming fatigue was the main worry for me at that time). They started up again after my youngest was born 14 months ago, within about 8 weeks of her birth. Luckily I was never told to wait a year! It is well-known that pregnancy can cause MS to go into remission, and most with MS will have a flare within 3 months after birth.
Also, ((hugs)) I'm so sorry for the loss of your daughter.
~Jess
I have B+ and my hubby A-. The kids are blended: A+: B- and B+. to my LIMITED knowledge this does not predispose to MS. MY DH's grandmother was AB- and did not havebMS.
Ren
Ren
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