Trying to get pregnant and coming off medication

AbbyPink

Hi, I am new to the forum! I am a 38 year old woman who has had Psoriatic arthritis since I was 31. I am normally on methotrexate and leflunomide. I have had the lefunomide wash our and stopped taking methotrexate 3 months ago to try for a baby. We are now at the stage where we can try but I am already flaring up and on steroids to temporarily try and control it. However I have been told I wont be able to stay on prednisone for long before I need to go back methotrexate.

Has anyone else been in this position? We really want to try for a while. Any tips on how else to control PSA while trying? Has anyone successfully come off medication and got pregnant?

Anna

Hi @AbbyPink ,

Welcome to the online community!

Trying to get pregnant and deciding what to do about the meds you're on is certainly a challenge. Perhaps other members on the forum will be able to share their experiences with you.

Meanwhile, here's a link to a short article on pregnancy and arthritis that might be helpful.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/pregnancy/

Wishing you all the best - do let us know how you're getting on.

Anna

AbbyPink

Thanks Anna. Would love to hear from anyone else you has gone through this process!

MrsWalker

Hi @AbbyPink I’m 30 (diagnosed at 26), have PA and have recently found out that I am pregnant 💜

I had to stop taking my biologic injection (cosentyx) in order to start trying and it has only been 2 months off the injections and I’m struggling to walk (when I switched from methotrexate to cosentyx I had 12 weeks with no medication and I was on crutches) We were expecting it to take a lot longer than 5 weeks for us to actually get pregnant (pretty sure hubby has super sperm haha) but now that it’s happening all the worries are coming into my mind.

Thankfully, I have an appointment with my Rheum Dr next week and the midwife so here’s hoping they ease my mind. I’ve read quite a few articles online that give me hope though, most stated that 60-70% of women see an improvement in symptoms as the pregnancy progresses, so I have my fingers crossed for that! Haha.

I hope your symptoms start to ease soon and best of luck with the baby making xx

Tish87

I was diagnosed with PsA at 30 yrs old, 10 months after the birth of my daughter and was started on sulfasalazine. It controlled my disease well for nearly 2 years and although u can take it during pregnancy we were struggling to conceive again. Came off it as I had an infection and we ended up pregnant so I decided to stay off the meds if I could. My arthritis was just in my feet and I was able to manage ok but was warned that I would have a big flare after the baby was born. Fast forward to feb 2020 I had my son and the first few weeks were fine then as I got worse I requested to go back on the meds but due to covid I was refused as it reduced the immune system and they weren’t starting anyone on the meds at that point! My flare continued to wreak havoc for months and when they finally gave me sulfasalazine again it wasn’t enough and I have spent the last 18 months trying various doses of sulfasalazine, methotrexate & steroids but now I’m waiting for biologics as the disease has spread so much and they can’t get it under control.

sorry for my long winded post but that’s my experience and if u do get pregnant be prepared for a big flare post baby! If you are struggling while off medication it might be an idea to talk to your consultant about trying sulfasalazine while u try to conceive as I was told it was ok for pregnancy even though I struggled to conceive on it.

I wish u all the luck in the world and hopefully u get a positive result soon!

Sharon_K

Hi @AbbyPink

there is a great website called Arthurs Place that has a whole section called project mum. It includes people's experiences. You might find it useful.

We have had one community baby born before. I believe he is about 5 now.

Good Luck

Sharon

https://arthursplace.co.uk/life/project-mum/2019/04/09/mums-arthurs-social-pass-words-advice-women-considering-motherhood/

Sharon_K