rsd and pregnancy

karwowski · Newbie Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 17

hello! Almost a year ago I broke my leg in a car accident and soon after diagnosed with rsd. I have been on medications to reveal the pain, did physical therapy and exercises. Now, I am pregnant and I am afraid to think about it. I am so happy to finally being able to start a family but I don’t know. I have some questions: Are there treatments for women that are pregnant? what will the pregnancy do to the RSD?

kenner · Newbie Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 14

Hi there! I also suffer from rsd but talking about pregnancy and this disorder is pretty tough. It is hard enough without being pregnant!!!! I think you need help from an expert. One must be very persistent to go through therapy without being pregnant. I suppose this will be difficult but if you have made up your mind, then I wish you all the luck in the world!!!!

Jandt · Guest

Hello - Congrats on your pregnancy!
I will be 29 when I deliver my third child, and have had RSD since I was 9. I understand your concerns with being pregnant and having RSD and I agree - you will need a professional to help you through your treatment while pregnant. When I was preg with my first child 8 years ago, my mom and I looked for a LONG time to find someone to guide us. Finally we found someone who had RSD and two healthy children and uneventful pregnancys. We followed her birthing plan and things have gone pretty well. If you would like to talk further about the specifics of that plan I would be more than happy to do so, however I do think it depends on the point your RSD is at.

coreshadow · Newbie Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 1

Hi,
I saw the post from Jandt re. past pregnancy and rsd. I have had RSD for several years. We believe I may have developed it after emergency surgery for a tubal pregnancy rupture and gallbladder removal. I started having pain during the third trimester of my pregnancy with my last child. Then after ongoing pain for a few more years, a doctor did a laproscopy for my abdominal pain to perform abdominal adhesion lysis but she converted it to a laparotomy and after that the pain was so intense, I never could go back to work. I had a tubal ligation with my second C-section.

I remarried and we wanted more children so I've had two in vitro fertilizations. I'm in my 40's so I assumed the first one might have been age of my eggs but the second was an egg donor and it didn't work either. My RSD has progressed since this last IVF and in 6 months I won't have IVF coverage anymore. I've been debating about whether to try IVF one more time. I don't know if my RSD or my pain meds affected the IVF and I couldn't find any doctor who really knew. My pain doctor didn't know much about pregnancy and my reproductive endocrinologist didn't know anything about RSD.

I was wondering what kind of specialist I could go to that would know enough about pregnancy and RSD to discuss my situation.

C.

FredPorter · Newbie Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1

We are trying to get some information on women with RSD and Pregnancy. Did anyone experience a decrease in pain levels during the early stages of their pregnancy. Also, did you experience your pain level return during either late stages or after pregnancy?

Please respond....

Thanks
Fred

Jandt · Newbie Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 1

I felt awesome during my first pregnancy. My RSD is in my right leg and I had no problems at all! I felt better than I ever had before. Unfortunately, after delivery my pain did go back to normal. During my second, it was horrible. I started having problems and at 20 weeks was put on bedrest because at that time the OB wasn't sure how it would affect the baby - the coldness was spreading upward from my leg into my thigh and we didn't want it going any higher. I went to PT during that time too which helped a little. After delivery, I did have continued pain, however I had a torn miniscus (sp?) which needed to be repaired. When that was finished, I returned to normal. - well, my normal anyways. This last pregnancy (I delivered in August) everything was just a little harder - not like number 2! This was due to not being able to take my meds - I was stiff, it was hard to get going, etc.

Hope this helps - good luck with your pregnancy!

Jess

annieplus3 · Newbie Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 2

I have 19 month old triplets and was wondering if anyone else has had a HOM pregnancy with RSD. I am having a hard time keeping up with the three and although some symptoms have gone down other's have gone up. I was on bedrest for 8 weeks in the hospital which did not help. I had to eat over 5,000 calories a day and am having a hard time taking the weight off. I know if some of the weight came off it would help since mine is centralized in my right knee. My Pain Doctor has recommend the stimulator again and I don' t want to do that quite yet.

I was just wondering how other's felt after their pregnancy and if anything helped?

KelleyVDC · Newbie Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 2

I have RSD in my right foot and now it has moved into my left foot as well. I also 12 weeks pregnant. The meds that I take, Cymbalta, have not been tested on pregnant ladies so I am hesitant to take it, but at the same time I feel icky and my disease has gotten worse.

I am supposed to go this Friday to see the maternal fetal medicine docs who specialize in this stuff. I was wondering what drugs other people have taken so perhaps I can look into them if they are safer for pregnant women.

Thanks,
Kelley

issullivan · Newbie Joined: 29 Nov 2007 Posts: 1

Hi everyone! I am 31 years old and we are expecting our first child in May. I've had RSD/CRPS since I was 9, in my left leg and back. Luckily, the pain does eventually go away (or at least becomes more tolerable), but I am concerned about a flare up caused by delivery. Does anyone have a birthing plan for a patient with RSD? One of the previous posts mentioned following a certain birthing plan. All of the other info I've been able to find suggests having a C-section with a very dense regional block instead of the regular anesthesia. If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. My email is ssull1976@gmail.com, in case anyone has a birth plan they could send me, or any other suggestions.

Thanks!
Shawn

bandsmoody · Newbie Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

I am 31 years old and diagnosed with RSD at age 9. It is now primarily in my right leg. I have had 3 births and 4 children since 2004. Each time I was pregnant I felt better than I have ever felt and had no complications. Each of my births were 14 months apart, so really had no down time and felt great. My youngest was born 19 months ago and the pain has been progressively getting worse with time. I haven't had luck finding a doctor and treatment and not looking forward to dealing with the pain. Would love to talk further to anyone... bandsmoody@insightbb.com.

rsd and pregnancy

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