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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / February 2006Update on getting pregnant with RA.
Hi all, Just thought I would update you on my progress to get pregnant and live with RA at the same time. I found out that I have anti nuclear antibodies ANA which is why I have been loosing the pregnancies at an early stage but I can take heparin to help control that, has anyone use heparin to sustain a pregnancy? The RA is running rampid and I'm not sure at the moment which will win, me having a baby or the RA. We are giving it only 2 more months to get pregnant then that's it I don't think I can handle the RA much more after that. I'm trying to stay positive but getting very discouraged. On top of everything else the house we rent has just been sold so we have to move again AHHHHHHHH. Ok thanks for listening to me winge. Susan Dear Susan, I had the same problem. I think that this is the same medication that I used but it was a suppository! If not, ask if you can get it that way! I did not have RA back in those days. Mine are 2-18 yos, and 1-16yo. Yes twins! Good luck! Vickie B. Hi Vickie, the heparin is an injection which is fine, but its good to hear that it works. Do you have ANA also? Susan > Dear Susan, > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Vickie B. best of luck to you on all fronts, susan. do you have lots of help with the moving available? it surely doesn't sound like a good time for you to be taking that on - and that's from one who moved 3 times in the last 5.5 years. can't help you on the ANA/pregnancy thing, but i hope your docs know what they are doing.  SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Thanks nann, yeah moving is ok its the packing and unpacking that I find the worse, but will cope. The two doctors seem to know what they are doing lets just hope they actually do :-) Suz > best of luck to you on all fronts, susan. do you have lots of help with > the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > can't help you on the ANA/pregnancy thing, but i hope your docs know what > they are doing. Susan You should ask about this on the lupus newsgroup. Positive ANA is typical in systemic lupus. Or do you have Hughes syndrome? antiphospholipid syndrome (sticky blood) That's common in lupus too. > Hi all, > Just thought I would update you on my progress to get pregnant and live [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Ok thanks for listening to me winge. > Susan > Hi all, > Just thought I would update you on my progress to get pregnant and live with > RA at the same time. > I found out that I have anti nuclear antibodies ANA which is why I have been > loosing the pregnancies at an early stage but I can take heparin to help > control that, ANA is an antibody usually associated with an autoimmune attack, not directly with miscarriage. Heparin is not used to treat an autoimmune attack, but it IS used to treat excessive clotting which can create problems with the blood sinuses in the uterus that the placenta interfaces with. > has anyone use heparin to sustain a pregnancy? > The RA is running rampid and I'm not sure at the moment which will win, me > having a baby or the RA. We are giving it only 2 more months to get > pregnant then that's it I don't think I can handle the RA much more after > that. There are several techniques that can maximise your chances of conception: - use an ovulation chart and time your sexual activity in the three days before and after the estimation of ovulation (some women can actually feel ovulation after it has occured, others get symptoms which can be used to indicate ovulation approaching, such as sore breasts) - have your partner abstain from sex and masturbation for three days prior to this 6-7 day interval (the actual conception interval is actually only around 3 days, but we're estimating when those three days are) - Do not use lubricants during sex during your ovulation interval - depending on your sex positions, after your partner ejaculates there are positions which can maximise the chances of sperm entering through the cervix (female orgasm enhances this as well). If you're using the missionary position, for example, you would raise your knees and lay on your back for at least 15 minutes after your partner ejaculates. - depending on your partner's sperm count (most people haven't had this measured, but it is a useful variable to know) you may wish to have sex only every other day during the ovulation window. This allows more sperm to become available for the next ejaculation in 48 hours time. 72 hours would be better for sperm counts, but when we're estimating when the ovulation window occurs (and it is only 72 hours, too) you run the risk of missing the egg if you space your intercourse sessions too far apart. > I'm trying to stay positive but getting very discouraged. On top of > everything else the house we rent has just been sold so we have to move > again AHHHHHHHH. > Ok thanks for listening to me winge. > Susan All the best Susan. Make sure you have your doctor explain to you about the heparin please. Cheers, Ari Signaturespammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor: http://www.abmdr.org.au/ http://www.marrow.org/ I was in fertility treatment too long ago. If the doctor knew the reason, he didn't tell me. At that time, I was taking so many medicines I just added one more! Good luck! Vickie B. who is leaving town today to visit that oldest twin! > I was in fertility treatment too long ago. If the doctor knew the > reason, he didn't tell me. At that time, I was taking so many [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Vickie B. > who is leaving town today to visit that oldest twin! Heparin is an anticoagulant (blood thinner in common language) in the same group as warfarin. It would only be given if there was a positive blood test showing thrombophilia (excess clotting or chance of forming clots) because as an anticoagulant it can increase bleeding, something which is best avoided during pregnancy. If a woman has too great a tendency to form blood clots it can cut off supply to the placenta. This is due to there not being a direct venous/arterial exchange between the placental vessels and the uterine vessels. Instead, within the uterus as the placenta develops veins break down in certain areas and form small cavities where the blood accumulates before going back into the veins at the other side of the cavity (known as a sinus). These blood filled cavities are directly adjacent to capilary complexes within the placenta, so oxygen and nutrient exchange takes place here. However, if the mother's blood clots too readilly, these uterine blood filled spaces become sluggish and end up being clot filled spaces. Thus, the fetus does not get enough nutrients to continue development and goes away :-( This isn't directly relevant to you at this point in time, Vickie (but it is to the OP of course) but your kids are getting closer and closer to the age when they'll be trying to decipher what an obstetrician has tried to convey to them :-) Please forgive any minor anatomical discrepancies, it's been a few years since I studied human development. Cheers, Ari Signaturespammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor: http://www.abmdr.org.au/ http://www.marrow.org/ Hi Ari my miscarriages have been directly linked to the ANA unfortunately, and yes have been doing everything you have suggested I think its a matter of waiting..... Thanks Suz >> Hi all, >> Just thought I would update you on my progress to get pregnant and live [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > Ari I'd be curious about Hughes syndrome (sticky blood). Definitely related to blood clots and miscarriages. It's belived that the blood is more coagulable during pregnancy. In one book of mine it says, discussions center around micro emboli, or small clots, from lupus anticoagulants in the placenta. Other theories predict that the antibodies have a direct toxic effect on the placenta and the fetus. Some theories also focus on the fact that the vacillation of hormones in the mother directly affects the state of the mother's immune system- estrogens raise the levels of antibodies, and testosterone lowers the levels. Lupus, everything you need to know Dr Robert Lahita MD Dr Robert Phillips, PHD >> Hi all, >> Just thought I would update you on my progress to get pregnant and live [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > Ari > I'd be curious about Hughes syndrome (sticky blood). Definitely related to > blood clots and miscarriages. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > In one book of mine it says, discussions center around micro emboli, or > small clots, from lupus anticoagulants in the placenta. That doesn't make sense...anticoagulants stop clotting. > Other theories > predict that the antibodies have a direct toxic effect on the placenta and [quoted text clipped - 60 lines] >> >>Ari Signaturespammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor: http://www.abmdr.org.au/ http://www.marrow.org/ It does make sense... it does sound like it's wrong but it's not... here's the definition from medline Lupus anticoagulants are antibodies against phospholipids (a group of substances in cell membranes), which inhibit blood clotting in a test tube, but may be associated with a higher risk of clotting in people who have them in their blood. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000547.htm >> In one book of mine it says, discussions center around micro emboli, or >> small clots, from lupus anticoagulants in the placenta. > That doesn't make sense...anticoagulants stop clotting. > It does make sense... it does sound like it's wrong but it's not... here's > the definition from medline [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000547.htm Ah, it's a misnomer from in vitro observations that act completely the opposite in vivo. The test that resulted in this confusing terminology involves measuring plasma clotting factors in the absence of platelets, if I'm understanding it correctly. >>>In one book of mine it says, discussions center around micro emboli, or >>>small clots, from lupus anticoagulants in the placenta. > >>That doesn't make sense...anticoagulants stop clotting. Signaturespammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor: http://www.abmdr.org.au/ http://www.marrow.org/ Who knows. With this disease, I doubt it will ever be fully understand... and then you add a pregnancy and watch out. I've read of many who've been able to sustain a pregnancy once starting aspirin therapy. Fortunately, I had no problems with either of my pregnancies. I don't understand why the OP's dr doesn't start with aspirin therapy instead of going straight to heparin >> It does make sense... it does sound like it's wrong but it's not... >> here's the definition from medline [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >> >>>That doesn't make sense...anticoagulants stop clotting. > Who knows. With this disease, I doubt it will ever be fully understand... > and then you add a pregnancy and watch out. You can say that again. Antibodies and the mother's immune response to the fetus/placenta are key to fetal development. An insufficient immune response to the fetus means the placenta does not produce enough of a key immunosuppressant/immunomodulatory hormone which serves to locally dampen the mother's immune response but is also vital to keep the placenta developing properly. Without this inter-relationship, misscarriage occurs. However, too strong of an immune response, or one against a specific fetal protein such as rhesus factor (the positive or negative at the end of our blood type), can be equally dangerous. > I've read of many who've been > able to sustain a pregnancy once starting aspirin therapy. Fortunately, I > had no problems with either of my pregnancies. > I don't understand why the OP's dr doesn't start with aspirin therapy > instead of going straight to heparin Stomach bleeding? >>>It does make sense... it does sound like it's wrong but it's not... >>>here's the definition from medline [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >>> >>>>That doesn't make sense...anticoagulants stop clotting. Signaturespammage trappage: remove the underscores to reply I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. Complications in hospital following this resulted in a serious illness. I now need a bone marrow transplant. Many people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please volunteer to be a marrow donor: http://www.abmdr.org.au/ http://www.marrow.org/ Wow heaps of info Thanks, I am on prednisone and low dose asprin the heparin is the last resort. Thanks Suz >> Who knows. With this disease, I doubt it will ever be fully >> understand... and then you add a pregnancy and watch out. [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] >>>> >>>>>That doesn't make sense...anticoagulants stop clotting. Good luck to you!!! have you seen a perinatologist yet? A ob/gyn who practices in high risk pregnancies? I know certain pain meds (opioids) can be used during pregnancy and then you wean off 'em before delivery.... so if pain becomes unbearable, there's that option. I hope your pregnancy throws the RA into remission for the long term. Nicole > Wow heaps of info Thanks, I am on prednisone and low dose asprin the > heparin is the last resort. [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] >>>>> >>>>>>That doesn't make sense...anticoagulants stop clotting. |
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