ShelleyTab
07-09-2007, 06:29 PM
MSNIk,
I saw your question about pregnancy on another thread and thought I might start one up on it. I am not pregnant, nor have I been, however, my husband and I are getting to a stage where it's going to be "that time" in our lives soon. I have done a lot studying on this, because we weren't sure if we would after I was dx. Almost everything I have seen shows people with MS do very well while pregnant. It's like your immune system forgets about the MS and concentrates on bringing along the pregnancy. My docs tell me a relapse during preg is almost unheard of. However, most people do tend to have mild relapses after delivering and are more likely to suffer from post pardom.
Anyone who has been pregnant after MS dx please let me know how it went. I am a little nervous to come off all my medications for 9 months plus the time to conceive - which is an indefinate period of time. Not to mention the extra energy that will take out of me!
- Shell
I saw your question about pregnancy on another thread and thought I might start one up on it. I am not pregnant, nor have I been, however, my husband and I are getting to a stage where it's going to be "that time" in our lives soon. I have done a lot studying on this, because we weren't sure if we would after I was dx. Almost everything I have seen shows people with MS do very well while pregnant. It's like your immune system forgets about the MS and concentrates on bringing along the pregnancy. My docs tell me a relapse during preg is almost unheard of. However, most people do tend to have mild relapses after delivering and are more likely to suffer from post pardom.
Anyone who has been pregnant after MS dx please let me know how it went. I am a little nervous to come off all my medications for 9 months plus the time to conceive - which is an indefinate period of time. Not to mention the extra energy that will take out of me!
- Shell
Sponsor
Bearygood
07-09-2007, 11:34 PM
It's believed to be about hormones and the fact that many women experience this phenomenon during pregnancy has led to studies about the role of Estroil to possibly treat MS (studies have also been conducted on men and testosterone). Postpartum relapses came up recently in another discussion and I was curious so I looked it up. Most things I found suggested the culprit might be a sharp decrease in a stress hormone after pregnancy.
That's just information I've come across and while I can't contribute any other answers, not one woman with MS with whom I've interacted and has gone through pregnancy (some had an exacerbation, some didn't) regretted their decision for a second. Personal choice -- just listen to your heart. :)
That's just information I've come across and while I can't contribute any other answers, not one woman with MS with whom I've interacted and has gone through pregnancy (some had an exacerbation, some didn't) regretted their decision for a second. Personal choice -- just listen to your heart. :)
anxiousme
07-10-2007, 12:19 AM
I couldn't imagine life without my 6 and 2 year old. It gives me many reasons to focus on living healthy and happy and takes my worry about myself away. I was not diagnosed with my 2 year old. Looking back I probably had MS related symptoms before conception but no reason to think that something was wrong. After that pregnancy, is when my true MS symptoms began. It started with migranes and then a bout with vertigo. The next summer (2006) was the exacerbation that led to my dx. I have really thought about having #3 but my husband says no way. I know that I will be here for a long time for my kids. I'm not sure what shape I will be in, but I will be here! That is what I focus on. I live everyday for my family. For me the hardest part is the fatigue. I work full time and run around from school, daycare, dance classes, oh and clean up after everyone. But that is all by choice and my health so far is allowing me to.
This is a very personal matter. It really depends on how your MS is progressing. I think it is important to begin MS treatment right after delivery. It may lessen the likelyhood of an exacerbation. What ever you decide should come from your heart. If you see your life with kids, go for it. If you decide not to have children, then that is a very respectful decision. Good Luck to you. Be at peace with yourself.;)
This is a very personal matter. It really depends on how your MS is progressing. I think it is important to begin MS treatment right after delivery. It may lessen the likelyhood of an exacerbation. What ever you decide should come from your heart. If you see your life with kids, go for it. If you decide not to have children, then that is a very respectful decision. Good Luck to you. Be at peace with yourself.;)
MSNik
07-10-2007, 08:38 AM
ShelleyTab,
First of all, I have to be honest, I wish you hadnt brought this up now. Im not sure which message you had seen where I asked about pregnancy...more than likely, you saw one where I asked about birth control, NOT PREGNANCY...as I learned about 7 months ago, that I would NEVER be able to have children....this is both confusing and upsetting to me, and Im really not clear why you addressed this to me. IM not upset with you, just upset in general, as I try to avoid the subject of getting pregnant at all costs...
Let me tell you this, as Bearygood mentioned, there is a study going on, and at one time, I was part of it, concerning Estriol. Estriol is a hormone which pregnant women get abundance of during pregnancy....during this time, there is NO chance of a relapse...however, as Bearygood said, the severe decrease in hormones at the time of delivery is a guarantee of a relapse. I know of 4 people who all had children with MS. 3 of them would give ANYTHING to change the clock back and not have become pregnant, the fourth is doing fine....
Personally speaking, I have been on birth control pills for 20+ years. I take a low dose estrogen pill, which is NOT the same thing as Estriol....part of the reason I left the study was because I was told by my GYN that I HAVE TO GET OFF THE B/C pills, which is funny. Here I am in a double blind study, taking my regular b/c pill and possibly taking another one on top of it which included the Estriol...I started having female problems out the ying yang! After two surgeries, I found out that I cannot concieve anyway.....now, on top of that, IM taking the B/C pill because my MS SPecialist tells me that it is preventing relapses....first of all, I got MS while being on B/C for over 20 years...Ive had 3 relapses in one year...and my GYN wants me off of them. The question of whether to quit cold turkey is a big one. Im being told that I will probably relapse in a huge way....IM also having more surgery in November, and wont consider going off of them until then. I dont want to be sick the rest of the summer....
As far as pregnancy goes...I have 3 step children, one of which is with us almost fulltime....I think that takes care of my need to have "kids". Its actually birth control in a way...Im 40 years old, I have no energy, I have been in relapse mode almost all summer long...the last thing I could handle right now is an infant or toddler...I couldnt keep up.
As it was stated, it is a personal thing. I dont know how old you are, and you might be stronger than I am and more capable. I also dont know your financial situation, or your husband's thoughts on this. My husband, because he already had 3 kids, was only willing to have another one, if I was truly capable of taking care of the baby...hes not a hands on father...had I been healthy, I could have accepted this; however, being that some nights, I cant even make dinner these days, and that IM still fighting to go to work each day, having a child just doesnt make sense.
I wish you well, whatveer you decide..and again, not sure how old the post was that you were reading, but I wasnt EVER talking about getting pregnant...simply about whether or not to quit the b/c pills?
Hugs
NIkki
First of all, I have to be honest, I wish you hadnt brought this up now. Im not sure which message you had seen where I asked about pregnancy...more than likely, you saw one where I asked about birth control, NOT PREGNANCY...as I learned about 7 months ago, that I would NEVER be able to have children....this is both confusing and upsetting to me, and Im really not clear why you addressed this to me. IM not upset with you, just upset in general, as I try to avoid the subject of getting pregnant at all costs...
Let me tell you this, as Bearygood mentioned, there is a study going on, and at one time, I was part of it, concerning Estriol. Estriol is a hormone which pregnant women get abundance of during pregnancy....during this time, there is NO chance of a relapse...however, as Bearygood said, the severe decrease in hormones at the time of delivery is a guarantee of a relapse. I know of 4 people who all had children with MS. 3 of them would give ANYTHING to change the clock back and not have become pregnant, the fourth is doing fine....
Personally speaking, I have been on birth control pills for 20+ years. I take a low dose estrogen pill, which is NOT the same thing as Estriol....part of the reason I left the study was because I was told by my GYN that I HAVE TO GET OFF THE B/C pills, which is funny. Here I am in a double blind study, taking my regular b/c pill and possibly taking another one on top of it which included the Estriol...I started having female problems out the ying yang! After two surgeries, I found out that I cannot concieve anyway.....now, on top of that, IM taking the B/C pill because my MS SPecialist tells me that it is preventing relapses....first of all, I got MS while being on B/C for over 20 years...Ive had 3 relapses in one year...and my GYN wants me off of them. The question of whether to quit cold turkey is a big one. Im being told that I will probably relapse in a huge way....IM also having more surgery in November, and wont consider going off of them until then. I dont want to be sick the rest of the summer....
As far as pregnancy goes...I have 3 step children, one of which is with us almost fulltime....I think that takes care of my need to have "kids". Its actually birth control in a way...Im 40 years old, I have no energy, I have been in relapse mode almost all summer long...the last thing I could handle right now is an infant or toddler...I couldnt keep up.
As it was stated, it is a personal thing. I dont know how old you are, and you might be stronger than I am and more capable. I also dont know your financial situation, or your husband's thoughts on this. My husband, because he already had 3 kids, was only willing to have another one, if I was truly capable of taking care of the baby...hes not a hands on father...had I been healthy, I could have accepted this; however, being that some nights, I cant even make dinner these days, and that IM still fighting to go to work each day, having a child just doesnt make sense.
I wish you well, whatveer you decide..and again, not sure how old the post was that you were reading, but I wasnt EVER talking about getting pregnant...simply about whether or not to quit the b/c pills?
Hugs
NIkki
ShelleyTab
07-10-2007, 11:43 AM
Thank you to those of you who responded, I appreciate the feedback.
MSNik, I was looking back at posts throughout the month and must have misread what you (or someone else:confused: ) wrote. I apologise that I may have upset you, please understand it was not intentional. I appreciate your feedback as well.
Shell
MSNik, I was looking back at posts throughout the month and must have misread what you (or someone else:confused: ) wrote. I apologise that I may have upset you, please understand it was not intentional. I appreciate your feedback as well.
Shell
MSNik
07-10-2007, 10:35 PM
Shel-
I dont get offended...so please dont think that. I get upset when I think about all the wasted time I put into NOT getting pregnant....only to find out I had this awful disease and then CANT get pregnant. I was pregnant at the age of 22 and miscarried- I was married then, to a man who actually died in a fire, he was a firefighter. It was horrible...He died before we could "try again".
Then, I waited almost 15 years to fall in love and get married again...in between I did everything NOT to get pregnant....then, I was on this study, and of course taking B/C...I find out I have MS...I find out that I cant conceive unless I want to go thru invitro, and even then there is a HIGH risk that I cant carry to term...and then I turned 40 in the middle of all this, and put myself into an even Higher NO-NO bracket. So, I spoke to alot of people asking about getting off birth control.
There are so many studies, my own doctor (ms spec) is doing one which is national, but he runs it from his office...alll about how estriol protects you from relapses...so, now they are trying to answer the question: Does being on B/C with estriol in it, help prevent relapses. Like I said earlier, Ive been on B/C forever...but I got MS. Would I have gotten it sooner? Who knows. I also was on it when I was dx and in relapse. Ive had 2 or 3 relapses since...did being on B/C make it any less severe? Again, who the heck knows...so, I did put out many questions about b/c..asking if anyone went off of it, did they relapse? Did they experince any changes with their MS? Many people responded, I didnt get any conclusive answers....to this day, my MS doc and GYN are still arguing about this. I personally plan to have the tubal in Nov and stop the B/C cold turkey...if I relapse, at least it will be cool out and Ill know why. ..then, I can start worrying about menopause, hot flashes, and probably get put on an estrogen supplement! Life is never easy.
I wish you well. Its a very personal decision. You need to really think about where you are with your MS, and how much support you have and what you can handle. I dont have any family in this state, so I would have been risking this, doing it all alone..and truthfully, with my extra expenses these days, we dont have the money or me to stop working at this point...I had alot to lose. You are younger, hopefully healthier, and hopefully have a better support system. No one can tell you NOT to do this..if its something you really want, you have to do it. I was always told I could adopt..guess what? With MS, so far, I cant...no one will get me past the first screening..so if you truly want a baby, then you should do it NOW while you are healthy...at least get thru the infant stage..a child is easier to deal with then a baby when you are ill...
I wish you well.
Nikki
I dont get offended...so please dont think that. I get upset when I think about all the wasted time I put into NOT getting pregnant....only to find out I had this awful disease and then CANT get pregnant. I was pregnant at the age of 22 and miscarried- I was married then, to a man who actually died in a fire, he was a firefighter. It was horrible...He died before we could "try again".
Then, I waited almost 15 years to fall in love and get married again...in between I did everything NOT to get pregnant....then, I was on this study, and of course taking B/C...I find out I have MS...I find out that I cant conceive unless I want to go thru invitro, and even then there is a HIGH risk that I cant carry to term...and then I turned 40 in the middle of all this, and put myself into an even Higher NO-NO bracket. So, I spoke to alot of people asking about getting off birth control.
There are so many studies, my own doctor (ms spec) is doing one which is national, but he runs it from his office...alll about how estriol protects you from relapses...so, now they are trying to answer the question: Does being on B/C with estriol in it, help prevent relapses. Like I said earlier, Ive been on B/C forever...but I got MS. Would I have gotten it sooner? Who knows. I also was on it when I was dx and in relapse. Ive had 2 or 3 relapses since...did being on B/C make it any less severe? Again, who the heck knows...so, I did put out many questions about b/c..asking if anyone went off of it, did they relapse? Did they experince any changes with their MS? Many people responded, I didnt get any conclusive answers....to this day, my MS doc and GYN are still arguing about this. I personally plan to have the tubal in Nov and stop the B/C cold turkey...if I relapse, at least it will be cool out and Ill know why. ..then, I can start worrying about menopause, hot flashes, and probably get put on an estrogen supplement! Life is never easy.
I wish you well. Its a very personal decision. You need to really think about where you are with your MS, and how much support you have and what you can handle. I dont have any family in this state, so I would have been risking this, doing it all alone..and truthfully, with my extra expenses these days, we dont have the money or me to stop working at this point...I had alot to lose. You are younger, hopefully healthier, and hopefully have a better support system. No one can tell you NOT to do this..if its something you really want, you have to do it. I was always told I could adopt..guess what? With MS, so far, I cant...no one will get me past the first screening..so if you truly want a baby, then you should do it NOW while you are healthy...at least get thru the infant stage..a child is easier to deal with then a baby when you are ill...
I wish you well.
Nikki
Jill1221
07-11-2007, 10:14 AM
Shell - Just to add my 2 cents - I had a coworker who was diagnosed with MS while pregnant with her first baby. She was walking in to work one day and just fell down. Next thing was Bells Palsy. Next thing she had an MS dx. The good news is that since she was now "high risk" she had the best prenatal care and had lots of ultrasounds to check on her baby's growth. Also, I guess it wasn't too bad because she went on to have another child (she has since moved away). Like the others have said, this is a personal decision and you have to decide if it is right for your life. Having said that, I have four children (the oldest is 5) and am just now having symptoms of "something". So I guess there are no gaurantees! I do know that if I can't teach my kids to ride their bikes etc. that my husband will do it. In fact, he will probably do it anyway! I don't think anyone should live their life predicting worst case scenarios, but it is very responsible to think about the what if's and have a support system. It sounds like you know that you want a family but are nervous about the pregnancy? Good luck to you whatever you decide!
Jill
Jill