My husband and I are ready to start a family in the very near future. I am curious to know if any of you with Lupus Nephritis (Glumerulonephritis) have ever been told by your Nephrologist that it was ok to stop Cellcept and switch to Imuran once you find out you were pregnant. I keep hearing that those with Lupus Nephritis should be off of Cellcept for 3-6 months before even trying to conceive but I trust my doctor when he says that it leaves your system right away... and that he'd rather me wait to see a positive pregnancy test before taking me off it. I have all of the new pills he would be switching me to but I wanted to hear of anyone else's experience with all of this. I would also be swithing my Lisinopril to other other medicaitions. It's a lot to take in and understand but like I said I do trust my Nephrologist and I don't think he'd steer me in the wrong direction... and I understand he'd rather me be on Cellcept for as long as I can since it's been helping me the best. I just can't help but to be scared. Any comments would be greatly appreciated it!
http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/cellcept_miscarriage_birth_defects
Please check with your pharmacist, primary physician and another Nephrologist. I have severe lupus nephritis and have been on CellCept for over eight years. I received notification by my pharmacy when CellCept became classified as a class D drug (Positive evidence of human fetal risk.) waiting until confirmation of pregnancy is too risky and late. If possible find out how long it actually takes to actually leave your system and then add some time on to that. If possible see if you can have it checked by bloodwork. Never turn over complete trust to anyone in the medical field. I’ve learned this from my own experience. Be your best advocate!!!
God bless and good luck
I had a baby three months ago, and also have Lupus Nephritis, as well as a host of other autoimmune diseases. I got pregnant while I had an IUD, so it was very unexpected as I was also on methotrexate at the time. I’m very fortunate that I have a perfectly healthy baby, but my pregnancy was not without an onslaught of complications, and needing an emergency induction a few weeks early. Have you spoken with any other doctors aside from your Nephrologist? I had a team – my Nephro, Rheumie, OB and a Perinatologist. Within days of finding out I was pregnant, they had me off of ALL MEDS. It put me in the hospital as they were all coming out of my system and I became very ill…but the perinatologist said that not a single medication that I was on was safe to be taking, including Imuran. I guess I’m wondering why your doctor would want you to stay on that? My Perinatologist said it could cause severe birth defects, which is also what the geneticist said when going over the risks each of my medications could have caused. Good luck! It’s hard, but oh so worth it!
You definitely need a second opinion because when I was on Cellcept my rheumy advised me not to get pregnant while using it. She said that Cellcept causes a lot of birth defects. I eventually switched to Imuran which is a must safer medication as my protein levels dropped. I thinks its better for you to double check your decision. You don't need any extra stress right now knowing that Nephritis itself can be life threatening. Be safe!