Hi,
I'm sure you have done your research, and I just wanted to say I wish you the very best....to both you and your Husband.
I was 38 when I had my youngest, and the best was I never even knew I was pregnant until I was 7 months (thought I had fibroids .......LOL) Went to the Dr's as my stomach was so big, I hadn't changed my diet at all and I was still taking all my meds etc., and doing all the stuff that you shouldn't during pregnancy, the Dr examined me and exclaimed "but your approx 7 months pregnant!!!"
Just goes to show what will be will be.
Best.......
D x
Well the good news is that for some people their MS gets better during pregnancy, usually during the second trimester if it does happen. There are no guarantees but maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones! Good luck to you!
Oh, and another thing - I am not going for any sort of fertility treatments, as I understand they can cause breast cancer. Au naturel, or not at all - that's my thinking.
I've considered all this, and the first trimester is going to have to be carefully monitored. I want to make absolutely sure that there's no susceptibility for Down's or anything else, and my age is also a factor. I'm prepared to make hard choices; I'm also prepared for nothing at all to happen! I have only three years before I turn 44, and if I don't conceive by then, then that's that.
I know it sounds like I'm crazy!
I'm going through testing right now for APL syndrome, and everything's coming back negative. I was fully prepared to take the unfractionated heparin twice a day if necessary, but at this point it looks like I'm all clear.
That's why I initiated the testing in the first place - if I do get pregnant (less than 50% chance at my age) then I would need to make sure that there's nothing like that lurking in the shadows. Even without APL, I still have to worry about miscarriages, at my age.
I'm currently tapering down on the baclofen, and I'm at five pills a day. I'm kinda waiting to see if I can manage without any baclofen or tizanidine at all - just flexaril. If I can't go from day to day without a category C muscle relaxer, then there's no way I can do this.
I wouldn't even have considered it at this point, but hubby had a heart attack recently, and I figured I'd rather try than not.
Jen,
I hate to be the second party-pooper but I'm with Mary on the clotting issues since you have already had one blood clot and your lupus anti-coagulant is positive you NEED a high risk OB.
The tapers should also be supervised and I would consult your neuro with your wishes and see what is recommended.
With all of that said, I do wish you luck with the planned pregnancy and will be thrilled to hear when you have conceived!
Ren
Holey cow, i just read your intro and spat coffee all over the place, OMG your serious, right? Bugger i'm not wanting to be a party pooper either, not at all, but you totally took me by suprise!
OK to be realistic, i have a totally different genetic concern when thinking of kids, I wouldn't trade my two for anything, though they both have been HARD WORK in totally different ways and i couldn't do it again, errr what am i saying, i'm still doing it! So genetics do tend to cloud my thoughts here but i'm going to throw it out into the pool of thoughts....
If everything goes well you'll end up with a perfect healthy, in every way child which is what we all hope for but what if it doesn't work out that way, what if your child is a special needs child? Do you have it in you to do the hard work for the next 40 or so years?
I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but i do think you need to be prepared for all outcomes, and know exactly what your capable of, both mentally and physically before you turn your world up side down, which is what babies tend to do, and thats even the healthy ones ;o)
At the end of the day, if your sure, really sure then enjoy, peace and go for it!
Cheers..........JJ
Do you have motherisk helpline where you live? In Toronto (Canada) there is motherisk helpline at the Hospital for Sick Children. You can call the hotline and they will answer and questions you have about drugs and there effect on pregnancy. We went in for a consultation about getting pregnant (with my cancer in remission) and they were really wonderful, and answered all our questions. We got the go ahead, and would be followed (probably at sick kids hospital) by a high risk OB doctor. Before you try and get pregnant consult a high risk OB is what I recommend. Not sure what you mean by advanced age but in my case I'm almost 35 and the dr. said my age was not really a factor in my case.
if the link gets delete you can search motherisk and should find the web page.
http://www.motherisk.org/women/index.jsp#bottom
Not to sidetract your happy thoughts..... but I will if I must :(
Did you get a diffinitive answer about the psssibility of an APL (antiphospholipid) problem? If you have a clotting problem it should absolutely be addressed BEFORE attempting pregnancy. With the positive test you told us about recently, I would think any pregnancy attempt needs to be supervised by a high-risk fertility specialist. Abnormal clotting is a well known trigger for early miscarriage.
Personally, I think you should consult a physician or two (neuro and OB/GYN) before proceeding with tapers or plans.
Apologies to anyone who sees me as a party pooper. Better today than next month in my book.
Still wishing you all the best in achieving your desires.
Mary
I'm titrating down on Baclofen right now, and getting chest spasms - I'm a little nervous about what it'll be like when I'm not taking Baclofen at all!
I don't have any input on the meds, but congratulations and good luck conceiving!