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Fertility and fibro, other health concerns

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in October 2013 Moms

I have a younger sister who was planning on starting a family soon, but has been having some health concerns.  Most of her life she has had back pain & knee pain, and now she's learned she has fibromyalgia (sp?).  Also rheumatoid arthritis (sp?), possibly Reynaud's disease (sp again?) and a blood clot was discovered in her neck. 

She's not even 30 yet and being a mom is her biggest dream in life.  She's pretty down right now.  She was told that being pregnant could increase her chances of blood clots, and increase her chance of a miscarriage.  Plus she's concerned about the pain she will be in.

Any moms out there deal with this, either yourself or someone you know?  Advice, tips?  I didn't know if I should ask anywhere else because it's not my own situation, but should I consider it?  I just want to help her if I can.

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Re: Fertility and fibro, other health concerns

  • mancila60mancila60 member
    I would go to the high risk board! They are amazing over there and I'm sure they could give you advice.
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  • ksimo6ksimo6 member

    I have RA, Fibromyalgia and degenerative disc disease.  On top of that, I have Factor Five Leiden (blood clotting disorder). My risk for a clot increases while pregnant.  Here's what I did while pregnant with DD to manage my health:

    RA, Fibro & Back:  Chiropracter and massages every other week.  I also took a muscle relaxer at night (Class B drug - safe during pregnanacy like Tylenol).  Maintain physical activity (walking, biking, cleaning house... the point is to stay as active as possible). 

    Factor Five Leiden:  I took heparin and a baby aspirin to manage this condition.  The heparin was self-injected twice daily. 

    To be honest, I felt REALLY good while I was pregnant.  I had to spend a lot more time at the doctor's office than mygirlfiend who was pregnant at the same time as me, but having a healthy pregnany and a healthy child is possible.  I have had 2 miscarriages and 1 live birth - miscarriage is always a risk, but even more so when you have a clotting issue. She shold prepare herself for that...

    As you know, pregnancy can be hard for ANYONE, but if your sister wants to be a mother, she can be.  I would suggest she get a rheumatologist and an OBGYN looped in now.  I would also suggest they she discuss a plan of care for when she is pregnant with both doctors.  It will help her know what to do when she gets that positive test!  Good luck to her!

    • Married 6/1/2012
    • BFP #1 - 11/17/2012 -  MC 12/10/2012
    • BFP #2 - 2/12/2013 - EDD 10/17/2013 - DD Born 10/10/2013
    • BFP #3 - 1/29/2014 - Ectopic pregnancy discovered 1/31/2014
    • BFP #4 - 9/28/2014 - EDD 6/4/2015 - DS Born 5/31/2015


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  • Jalee85Jalee85 member
    edited February 2014
    Hi, I have the majority of those issues. Except I have Lupus instead of RA. The blood clot is probably APS and if she has this she would need to go on heparin while pregnant. Many of the medications that are used for RA are incompatable with pregnancy, like methotrexate. If she finds a good rheumatologist who works with a hi-risk perinatologist, I would say she would be okay. She may get lucky like me and get a remission of symptoms. If you want to ask any questions I'll help the best I can. I write a blog about connective tissue diseases so I might be able to send you in the right direction.
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  • Jalee85Jalee85 member
    edited February 2014
    The increased chance of miscarriage is from blood clots. It's a VERY easy fix. She should really take baby aspirin every day. Then once you get near your 2 nd Tri they will put you on Lovenox or Heparin if she actually has APS.

    My Raynauds disappeared with my pregnancy, but even if it doesn't that should have no impact on a pregnancy. It can affect the nipples though and that can make it hard to nurse, but it's not a given.
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  • SnoopyLuvSnoopyLuv member
    Jalee85 said:
    Hi, I have the majority of those issues. Except I have Lupus instead of RA. The blood clot is probably APS and if she would need to go on heparin while pregnant. Many of the medications that are used for RA are incomparable with pregnancy, like methotrexate. If she finds a good rheumatologist who works with a hi-risk perinatologist, I would say she would be okay. She may get lucky like me and get a remission of symptoms. If you want to ask any questions I'll help the best I can. I write a blog about connective tissue diseases so I might be able to send you in the right direction.
    THis would be my advice. I have fibro and arthritis. I had remission during both pregnancies. However, both times about 3 months post partum my symptoms came back worse than before. It can be done, and it's not something I'd actively worry about unless her disease is unmanageable.
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  • Slap8outSlap8out member
    I have RA, symptoms for me went away as soon as the first trimester, and because I am bfing they have not returned so far, I did have a flare up but managed with ibuprofen.
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  • huntjulhuntjul member
    I have fibro and Raynaud's and had a perfectly normal time getting pregnant, carrying, and delivering.  I did have to hit up the chiropractor with some frequency, but it wasn't a problem.
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  • Jalee85Jalee85 member
    @huntjul

    I bet it's nice to be in Caribbean with Raynauds. Raynauds can be such a pain in the winter.
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  • huntjulhuntjul member
    Jalee85 said:
    @huntjul I bet it's nice to be in Caribbean with Raynauds. Raynauds can be such a pain in the winter.

    Yes, much better here. However, I can still get symptoms if a place is heavily air conditioned. Thankfully (?) we're too cheap to air condition our house :)
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  • Jalee85Jalee85 member
    huntjul said:


    Jalee85 said:

    @huntjul

    I bet it's nice to be in Caribbean with Raynauds. Raynauds can be such a pain in the winter.



    Yes, much better here. However, I can still get symptoms if a place is heavily air conditioned. Thankfully (?) we're too cheap to air condition our house :)

    Yeah air conditioner or shopping in the freezer section of a store can be a pain.
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  • sooner1981sooner1981 member
    I have raynauds, and it sucks.

    But two pregnancies and breast feeding seem to have kept it at bay for the past three years, which is amazing!

    I have read that many auto-immune disorders are affected positively by pregnancy, so maybe she should get an in depth consult with a high risk MFM, who can more precisely tell her what she may be dealing with?
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