who do people contact when they're in agony?

jenzie06

So last night my hubbie and I had approx 2hrs sleep due to me being in intense, intense pain.
My left shoulder was agony to the point where I thought it was dislocated. I became extremely distressed but we didn't know who to contact.
I'm 13wks pregnant so a lot of the meds are out of bounds.
If I was a 'normal' person I would have been at a&e via ambulance thinking I was having a heart attack!!
Eventually called out of hours doc who said I could take codeine and to come in and see them in the morning, which we did and was told I could take morphine but the baby would be addicted.

I do feel that because of the RA we're left to suffer on our own, to put up with absolute agony with no support. What does anyone else do in the wee small hours?

I did think after last night labour is going to be easy!!

tkachev

I am so sorry to read about your pain.I always felt on my own and just suffered and cried (even though I hated the children seeing me cry and to worry or upset them).
The Rheummy always said to ring if I felt bad although I still had to wait for a spare appointment.I never bother with GP.
When I was pregnant I didnt suffer badly as my R.A was not as aggressive as later on, but I still took mild painkillers when required and was on sulfasalazine throughout.
I hope you can get something to ease the pain.
Best wishes Tkachev

c4thyg

I'm so sorry you are in pain Jenzie. I can't believe your Dr told you that your baby would be an addict! :shock: I want to assure you that it is unlikely that morphine would cause your baby to be addicted. If that was the case then my daughter would have gone through severe withdrawal after birth. I had so many gall bladder attacks while pregnant i can't count. I took a lot of codeine while pregnant and in the last 2 months also a lot of morphine as Meg had her foot in my gall bladder!! The main concern with morphine (and codeine to a lesser extent) is that the baby's heart rate can be suppressed. I had a baby monitor on in the later months when I had morphine and Meg was the opposite and became hyperactive with it while I slept! She is absolutely fine despite the number of pain meds I had while pregnant. I know that you would rather not use them but sometimes you have to weigh the pros and cons.

If you really need help out of hours I would call the out of hours Dr or NHS direct for advice. You need your rest more now than ever so please don't suffer in silence. What treatment are you taking for the RA now? There are some that are safe in pregnant. Alternatively, if you have one joint in particular that is causing you trouble you might be able to have a steroid injection in that joint. I used to have my shoulder done every 3-4 months and after the 2 days of throbbing it was so much better.

I hope you are feeling better now.
Cathy

suzster

i to had to take morpine whilst pregnant and sarah was fine.
they kept us in hospital an extra day after she was born just to make sure, but there were no problems at all.
i really hope you feel better soon.
sue

jenzie06

Thanks for the replies.
I'm gonna ring the consultant tomorrow and try and see him. Do you think I'll get to see him before the baby is born?!!

The pain has been more manageable today but its pretty bad now as I've been trying to use it so it won't stiffen up too badly.

I'll keep you posted to what the doc says when I can see him.