Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Question about pregnancy

I haven't posted much on this site but I read what everyone else has said quite often. I have gotten a lot of info this way and now I'm hoping for more.

I'm 32 and I have recently been diagnosed with AS. Classic symtoms - Hip pain for 7+ years. Back pain (all over not just lower) for 4+ years (really painful and frequent over the past 1-1/2 years) Iritis twice. Almost fused in left and right SI. Swelling in knees and ankles. Fatigue. Mouth sores and more.

I've taken several NSAID's with very little results. Now the rheumy wants me to take Methotrexate or Enbrel but I won't do it. I've read that it causes severe birth defects (Methotrexate mostly) so I don't think I want to take it until I have had another child (my husband and I really want two children - we have a 9 month old already). Since I said no to that drug the doc wants me to take Sulfasalazine but he says that I'm wasting time by not taking the stronger drugs. Does anyone know anything that could help me decide what to do? We really want to have another child - even though having the last one seemed to make the AS worse. I keep thinking to myself - With all of the things that can go wrong with a pregnancy even when you do everything right, why would I want to risk taking those drugs? Then again - am I harming myself unneccesarily?

AS sucks!

Side note: I'm starting the LSD as of today. If that doesn't work I'll try the NSD. Maybe - just maybe none of this will matter.

Thanks, Stacey

I'm having good luck with Enbrel, but then again, I've already had my kids. My sister has AS, and wants another child, so she is not taking anything. She is allergic to NSAID's, and only takes an occasional narcotic. There will probably come a point in her life when she will have to have something more. I had bad luck with sulfasalazine, but it has helped some here. Methotrexate is a poison. Period.

Although this doesn't happen for everyone, it does for some of us. I have 4 children, and experienced remission during each pregnancy. Not a practical way to treat AS.

Good luck with the LSD/NSD. I hope it helps you.

Hugs,

Cindy

I am only one; but still I am one.
I cannot do everything.
But still I can do something;
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.
Helen Keller

Hi

If your ready to have another baby in the near future, I wouldnt take anything at all.
I gave up NSAIDs 3 months before conceiving on the advice of my GP. Enjoy your next pregnancy, and then get yourself on something that helps your condition, if medication is the way forward for you.

During a 'flare' a few months back, I really needed something to help ease my pain. My GP went through her books of drugs and their contraindictions incase there was something that was OK in pregnancy. As expected, none of the NSAIDs were safe, especially if taken in the last 3 months. Even of they had of been OK, I doubt I would have actually swallowed any!

I'm 6 months now, and have 'survived' the bad days so far. Like you say, with so many worries about pregnancy anyway, why add another risk to the list?

Good luck with your future choices,


"Amber"

Hi Stacy. First, what a beautiful baby. Congratulations.
I would call your OBGYN. They would be the most updated. Also your pharmicist. I certainly agree that you don't want to compramise a little life. Lots of love, Nancy

Hi Stacy. First, what a beautiful baby. Congratulations.
I would call your OBGYN. They would be the most updated. Also your pharmicist. I certainly agree that you don't want to compramise a little life. Lots of love, Nancy

Hi, is it the case that Sulfasalazine is fine to be taken before and during pregnancy? What about glucosamine and chondrotin, do you know?

Thanks.

lws3

Congratulations on the new baby. It must be hard to be free of all medications. We want to have a child within the next 1-1/2 yrs. but it may be sooner. Children are amazing!! The other day I was upset and said to my husband "How can I consider having another child when I can't pick up the one I have half of the time?" then she smiled at me and my heart melted.

The LSD I think is working a little. I have been on it for three days now and this morning I woke up feeling better than I had in a long time. It could be a coincidence but I hope not.

Thanks for the advice.
Stacey

Oh Stacey, your baby is sooooo beautiful! Congratulations!

You sound like me when I was having kids. I stopped taking all forms of drugs, against my doctors wishes . I wouldn't even drink a glass of wine. At the time I became pregnant with my first I was 23 and on a pretty good dose of Plaquenil (Hydroxychloroquine) plus 15 aspirins daily. I stopped immediately. I was also dealing with the SI joints fusing but I didn't know at the time because I was dx w RA. I also had a history of knee problems.

I was one of the lucky ones as my first pregnancy went great. I had been pretty sick the years before and was anxious to have a family especially not knowing the future. I became pregnant with my second child 9mos after the first was born. I think for me it was good that it happened that way as my SI joints became so inflamed I was having severe sciatica pain (after 2nd baby) and it continued for years on and off. Back then the doctors had no clue what was going on with me. I wanted 3or4 children but when the doc said I would be flat on my back through pregnancy well, that clinched it for me. .

Having children is such a major decision under the best conditions, but when we have health issues it makes it even more challenging. I wish you good luck in whatever you decide. I also hope the diet work out well

peace & love
Kathy



"The most beautiful stones have been tossed by the wind and washed by the waters and polished to brilliance by life's strongest storms."

I know that sulfasalazine causes temporary infertility in men (drop in sperm count) and that if you are female and planning to become pregnant / are pregnant or are breastfeeding the advice is to talk to your doctor about sulfasalazine

although there is no evidence of problems associated with female fertility. You may find this interesting

Teratogenic effects: Pregnancy Category B. Reproduction studies have been performed In rats and rabbits at doses up to 6 times the human dose and have revealed no evidence of impaired female fertility or harm to the fetus due to sulfasalazine, There are, however, no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, this drug should be used during pregnancy only if clearly needed.

A national survey evaluated the outcome of pregnancies associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In 186 pregnancies in women treated with sulfasalazine alone or sulfasalazine and concomitant steroid therapy, the incidence of fetal morbidity and mortality was comparable both to that of 245 untreated IBD pregnancies as well as to pregnancies in the general population.

A study of 1,455 pregnancies associated with exposure to sulfonamides including sulfasalazine, Indicated that this group of drugs did not appear to be associated with fetal malformation. 2 A review of the medical literature covering 1,155 pregnancies In women with ulcerative colitis suggested that the outcome was similar to that expected in the general population. 3

No clinical studies have been performed to evaluate the effect of sulfasalazine on the growth development and functional maturation of children whose mothers received the drug during pregnancy.


hope that helps and good luck


Take care
Justine

Thanks for the information. It sounds like Sulfasalazine is ok, right? I did ask the doctor once actually and he said he thought it should be fine. But I still feel not sure about it. After all, it is a drug. I don't know if anybody has ever had any experience with it.