I'm 21 and I have RA. I was on 5 meds. -remicade,methotraxate, actonel, prednisone, and folic acid. I'm 1.5-2 months pregnant and i found out when I was already around 3-4wks. and I had took my dose of remicade and methotrexate already. but now I've stopped all my meds. My RA doc. told me that my baby was in high risk of not coming out normal, esp. b/c of the metho stayin in my body for weeks or months and the baby already being affected by it. but I've heard of ladies takin prednisone while they're pregnant. My fiance and I are not tryin to go towards abortion. If there is anyone that can please tell me how to help my baby I would be so thankful!

Not that this helps now, but your dr. is supposed to have you take bloodwork before you start taking metho and most of the other drugs and then every 4-6 wks....I am just so surprised that the Dr would not have made it extremely clear that you are not to be pregnant or trying when you take these drugs or plan to take them. I heard that Prednisone is ok during pregnancy and nursing, but for the others, I am glad you stopped everything, but I would definitely go to your OB/GYN and see what you can do. Hopefully your baby and you will be just fine, so don't panic, you did the right thing by stopping the drugs. I am surprised that with just one dose of Metho, there isn't a way to get it out of your body quicker than just letting it run it's course. Please go to the Dr. I will pray for you. This is not something you want to be dealing with right now, I am sure. If I hear of anything that would help you I will let you know

Well... my doctor did tell me not to get pregnant. I realli didnt mean to. i didnt kno I could take other contraceptives like depo and stuff. see... I did take a blood test and my dr. shouldve gotten the results back. but he didnt say anything to me about them and I found out on my own that I was pregnant by clearblue. but I dont understand why it didnt show up for him that I was pregnant. Thank you so much for your information I realli do appreciate it and I pray everyday my baby will come out healthy :)

Not to freak you out...but yes you really are a high risk pregnancy!!! There were two major things that my doc pounded into my head. Liver checkups and not to get pregnant. Do everything in my power not to get pregnant. He told me when I want to get pregnant I have to have the Metho out of my system for at least 3 months. You have to understand that the medicine can remain in your body for awhile even if you hadn't taken this last dose of Metho. Not to mention Methotrexate (in very large amounts of course) is used to aid with an eptopic pregnancy.

I wish you and your husband, and baby the best but....this is huge. You were on many drugs, Metho one of them and I would just make sure you tell your obgyn everything.

I went to my perinatolagist and my baby's perfectly normal heart beat and everything but he's still little... and I'm goin tommorow again I so excited but my high risk gyn told me my baby would have already been dead most likeyl and since I was taking foic acid It protected my baby more. and since I only took only one dose of 12.5 mg in my early pregnancy I had nothing to worry about. I'm 13 wks today and I call my him/her my miracle baby! :angel:

Hooray Jane! Isn't hearing the little ones heartbeat the best? It makes it feel that much more real. I hope they do lots of ultrasounds to keep and eye on you and the baby. Maybe there are other things they can do too. I am so glad everything looks good for the two of you. When is your due date? How is your arthritis feeling now that you are no longer on any of the meds?

Thanks for writing in, glad to hear good news too:)

Glad to hear you and baby are doing ok. We will keep you in our prayers! Take good care of yourself!

Hi Jane , I with you all the best and hope everything goes well :)

Unfortuantly for me...I had a miscarriage whilst on methotrexate , and was not even informed by my rheumatologist about anything..UNTIL i was pregnant ( which was unplanned ) and by then it was to late..
I lasted 10 weeks into the pregnancy .

After doing some research via the net i found out that methotexate is a drug that is also specifically used in abortion clinic's as another option of terminating pregnancys ..so for anyone who is taking methotrexate i hope they take this information on board before its too late..
Methotrexate is a drug used for mutiple purposes (not just to treat arthritis), It is also used to terminate unwanted pregnancies...

my prayers goes out to you and your baby. most likely your arthritis goes into remission while pregnant even without the medications. i experienced it twice, but i have to warn you that it flares up again after a month or so after you give birth (maybe not everyone's case). i suggest that you really nourished yourself well right after the baby comes and get of plenty of rest, recruit some help ahead of time. i hope everything turns out well for you and your baby. God bless!

Don't ever 'assume' a blood test will show pregnancy. Each blood test has a specific 'name', which means it is tested for different things. Just because blood was taken does not mean the Dr checked for pregnancy, nor would it 'just show up'. If the Dr were checking for pregnancy, a 'specific' blood test would be ordered. In the future, ask. If later you have a question, call him/her. Good luck.

There are critical periods with a developing embryo and/or fetus--and all through the pregnancy. The stages of the embryo begin after the third week after conception. During this time structures like the head, beginnings of spine and brain are taking form as well as the beginning of the cardiovascular system. So the embryo stage is from week 3 through 8 weeks. At 9 weeks throughout the rest of the pregnancy is the fetal period.

Whatever is happening at the time of development when a toxin (methotrexate) is present may adversely affect development. Yes, you are at high risk.

There are tests you can have, i.e., amniocentesis

All medicines, no matter what kind--prescribed or OTC should be avoided when pregnant. Young adults should take multi-vitamins, get up on all their vaccinations--particularly Rubella--and eat a well-balanced diet. Women should take on a regular basis Folic Acid to avoid neural tube defects like spina bifida or anencephaly. See term teratogens for more info about protecting a pregnancy once conceived.