Hi everyone I haven’t been here in a while I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in November 2015 after being hospitalized for a week. I know I have asked before about any of you successfully having a baby while having Lupus but now with also having MS I feel more discouraged to even try? Have any of you had successful pregnancies and healthy babies with having these two illnesses? I also have Sjögrens if anyone can give any advice what to ask my OBGYN what meds to get off of I want to try to get pregnant I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much for listening to me. God Bless everyone
Hi Mary, are you a member on our Sjogren's community? I think there are lots of moms there who maybe be able to share their pregnancy and meds experiences so join up if you're not already a member. HERE is a link. JulesG
Hi Mary
I do know a couple of ladies who got pregnant while having Lupus and MS. They had to stop all medicines so they wouldn't hurt the baby. The babies are healthy, but the hardest part is caring for the child when you are so sick. They both need someone with them every day to help with the baby, and even more so as the baby starts to walk and get into things. Having the baby is the easy part. Its the 18 years after that is tough. Lupus can cause 2 birth problems, and each of my children have one of them. One has a hole in her heart that wasn't detected until she was 20, and the other was 2 months premature. Those 2 issues are quite common, but they have been very healthy all of their lives. That's a blessing. If the premature baby had been a boy, or if the baby came earlier, there could have been life long health issues. Best wishes in whatever you decide.
You may want to talk to a geneticist. They would be able to look at your blood and give you an idea of what the dangers are to baby.
Yes I have Lupus and MS Both! My son is now 21. God gave him to me.
Thank you Sheila W, Modsupport, Bill H, and Rachel Sara for your replies I had thought of seeing a geneticist to see what my baby would be prone too. I have read about the heart defects and premature births as well. I thought that if I were to have a boy it would be healthier though than having a girl since 90% of People with Lupus are females compared to the %10 males. I haven’t signed up to the Sjögrens site or MS yet according to my Rheumatologist he says I can stay on some meds at a lower dosage that won’t have side effects on the baby as well as my MS meds but I think the OBGYN would probably know best. Thank you all very much for taking the time to answer my questions.
RachelSara so gald to know you have a 21 year old gives me lots of hope if you don’t mind me asking had you already been diagnosed with both when you were pregnant with him? Was it a normal prgnancy and full term? Did you have a normal delivery or Csection? Was your son born completely healthy? I’m sorry to ask so many questions I just want to be as informed as I can so I can know what to ask my doctors to have the best plan for my baby to be as healthy as can be and if having a normal delivery will make me go into a flare afterwards then I will have a Csection to avoid it so I can care for my baby with as little help from others as possible. What meds did you have to go off of during your pregnancy or even prior?
I was diagnosed with Lupus in 2009, and had my two healthy babies in 2003 and 2005. Obviously, I did not know I had Lupus at the time (and the pregnancy may have triggered the Lupus). I was so sick with the first baby that I almost didn't want to have another one. The second pregnancy was easier, and both kids are perfectly healthy.
The only medication I was on during my pregnancies was Paxil.
Hi again Mary,
The birth problems are random and don't happen with every birth. It has nothing to do with whether the baby is a boy or girl because it's YOUR lupus that causes the problem, not lupus in the baby. If you have a boy prematurely though, it's much harder for them to recover than for premature girls. However, if you have a girl, they would have a higher chance of developing lupus later in their lives, but it's a rare chance. Maybe 10%. I do have a lot of friends where the Mom and daughter both have lupus, but they are part of those 10%. My premature daughter is 30 now, and the healthiest one in the family, and has 4 little ones herself. I was not diagnosed when I got pregnant with each girl, but when I was later diagnosed, they knew I had it for years previously.
Best wishes!
Sheila
Mary said:
Thank you Sheila W, Modsupport, Bill H, and Rachel Sara for your replies I had thought of seeing a geneticist to see what my baby would be prone too. I have read about the heart defects and premature births as well. I thought that if I were to have a boy it would be healthier though than having a girl since 90% of People with Lupus are females compared to the %10 males. I haven't signed up to the Sjögrens site or MS yet according to my Rheumatologist he says I can stay on some meds at a lower dosage that won't have side effects on the baby as well as my MS meds but I think the OBGYN would probably know best. Thank you all very much for taking the time to answer my questions.
Sheila thank you so much for replying to my questions I guess all I have left to do now is make an appt with my OBGYN for a plan to start trying. I just need to know what meds to get off of and for how long before even trying to conceive. Thank you all again for all your advice and wish me luck I figure if it’s meant to be and it’s in Gods plan for us to have another baby it will happen. I had a healthy pregnancy I’m not a drinker or smoker would exercise had a normal delivery wasn’t diagnosed with anything until my youngets was 18 months old and things just happened. I guess that is why I am worried that this time my baby could be born sick because of my autoimmune disorders not just one but three is a lot Sjögrens syndrome, SLE and now MS. I just worry about the medications giving the baby a birth defect or just be born sick plus the fact it could be genetic whether the doctors still haven’t had enough data to confirm whether its genetic or environmental as we all know it’s still worrysome for a mother to think your baby could inherit it especially since no one in my family has any of these illnesses. I’m the only one so we shall see if I work up the courage to try after speaking to all my specialist and most importantly the High risk pregnancy doctor. To be honest hearing your experiences as a fellow Lupus survivors makes me feel more at ease than any article or doctor I have read and talked too. Thank you all again so much hope you are having a great week and God Bless.
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