Pregnancy & Fibro - experiences, advice?

[Ghostgirl]

Hi all!
I’m new to the forum! I’m Maggie, and I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a month before my first pregnancy in 2014. Because of the fact that I was new to both, I wasn’t sure how it affected my pregnancy. I had a rough go of the whole 9 months and had a 28 hour labor followed by an emergency C-section.
The last three years my fibro waned a lot, until these past 6 months when it’s ramped up significantly. Last week I found out I was pregnant again (yay!) but I want to get a better idea of how to handle it. I don’t want a repeat of last time when I was in a lot of pain and had a terrible labor.
Could you all share any stories or advice about pregnancy and fibro? The Internet has surprisingly little info, and my OB/GYN is not well versed in it at all.
Thanks, I greatly appreciate anything you can tell me!

 

[jteer123]

Hi, Maggie,

I'm brand new to the forum as well. I'm sorry - I don't have any advice on fibro and pregnancy; however, I'm hoping to become pregnant soon. I'm very nervous so I definitely appreciate your post. I hope you don't mind a question - were you on any fibro meds during your pregnancy? I'm on Low Dose Naltrexone and Cymbalta. I'd love to get off both, but I'm not sure how I'll respond.

 

[Ghostgirl]

Hey!
I had been on a high dose of Aleve before I found out I was pregnant, and had to discontinue that, but wasn’t on anything else for Fibro. I was on Prozac at the time, and the Dr was ok with that. Good luck in your future pregnancy adventures! Hopefully you’ll have an easier time of it than I did

 

[jteer123]

Thank you! Good luck with your pregnancy! I hope you feel better this time around.

 

[Eyesup]

Congratulations! You didn't say what your doing or taking now so I'm not sure what to advise you to do. Your doctor that diagnosed you should have some tips but run everything past your obgyn. Every pregnancy is different just as every fibro sufferer responds to different treatments. I have found some very simple things to help. Vitamen D, mineral supplements, molybadum and alpha lipoic seem to do a lot for me. I take a quality fiber and avoid foods that trigger my high pain. Getting a little sunlight everyday (I never sit in direct sun) helps both with vitamen d but also depression. I'm assuming your fibro isn't off the scale so you probable can get a little stretching and e exercise in. If you can, get a strong support system in place for both you and you babies. Don't make the mistake of not asking for help because your body will need extra rest and recovery, it will only make you a stronger mother.
My fibro started during pregnancy so I often wonder how much hormones play a role in it.
Best of luck

 

[jteer123]

Thank you for the info! I really appreciate it. I'm taking Low Dose Naltrexone - helps a lot. Which foods do you avoid?

 

[Eyesup]

I can not drink coffee at all anymore. With the exception of herbal teas I seem to respond negatively to all brown drinks with or without caffeine. I was tested years ago for food intolerances (Ige Elisa test) and discovered I was consuming things everyday that my body couldn't process. Onion being the worst culprit as it seems to be in everything from mayonnaise to soup broth. I tested good for coffee but a few years ago we had a car accident that triggered high pain all over. I started doing an elimination diet a few months later and coffee was the last thing I checked. Lol I tested the water several times over a few months until I gave up and accepted it. Trigger foods are different for different people. Lactose and glutin are the most common. A naturopath tested me so I'm not sure if a mainstream doc would do it on request or not. I don't recommend the elimination technique while your pregnant. I would also make sure your doc keeps an eye on your hormones. Pregnancy puts them all over the board but you don't want to much of the wrong kind. I've read that many FMS/CFS do better in pregnancy so don't worry to much, you may actually feel better for this pregnancy. Keep us posted.