Chronic Pain Illness and TTC - Pregnancy and Par...

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Chronic Pain Illness and TTC

Katy180 profile image
2 Replies

Hi, I'm 31 and have Joint Hypermobility Syndrome and Fibromyalgia among other things. My partner and I are starting to think about starting a family in the next few years but I am concerned about combining my illnesses with pregnancy will affect me.

Firstly I'm on a high amount of pain killers and medications including the max allowance of Gabapentin and Buprenorphine which is a strong opiate. Obviously I'm aware I'd need to come off of my painkillers before getting pregnant but I'm really worried I won't be able to cope with the pain. I'm not a strong or healthy person but not overweight and my illnesses give me a very low threshold for pain. In the early days of getting my medication correct I spent a lot of days in bed and could barely get to the toilet alone, luckily my meds have changed all that although I'm not without pain.

Has anyone else gone through this? I'm really not sure who to go to for help, the GP didn't seem interested when I broached it a while ago just told me to come back when we were actually TTC. And I don't think the pain management department at the hospital would be helpful when it comes to pregnancy (I also didnt like that doc). It would be great if others could share their experiences of this and also how their pregnancies went in relation to these illnesses. Someone on Mumsnet mentioned an obstetrician but I can't see anything available at my local hospital for women not yet pregnant... I really want to do my research so I know what to expect as much as possible so I can make an informed decision whether to do this. Thanks x

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Katy180
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Arya10 profile image
Arya10

Hi Katy, I have fibromyalgia (and am hypermobile) and am currently 25 weeks pregnant, I’m coming up for 36. We waited a couple of years later than I would have liked to start TTC as I wanted to do as much as possible first to improve my pain/condition before getting pregnant. However it took 2 years 7 months to get pregnant, we were on the IVF waiting list with ‘unexplained infertility’ but fell naturally - and I believe the issues with my body that cause the fibro were/are also the same issues that probably caused fertility problems.

Everyone is so different with fibro, so I can only tell you what I’ve done. Before TTC I used to be on Tramadol but it stopped working for me. After that I didn’t take any medications (I personally found the side effects weren’t worth it for little relief), instead I tried all sorts of alternative therapies and learned lots about my body and movement methods. So I can’t help with coming off meds, but perhaps replacing them (over time and with medical advice) with things like chiropractic, massage and acupuncture, yoga would be an option? They definitely help loads with the pain.

Those have all helped me with both my pain and fertility. Along with PiLates (very gentle), yoga and Gyrokinesis. And looking at an anti-inflammatory diet.

After 2 years TTC i turned to acupuncture and I so wish I had done this sooner - if you can I’d see an acupuncturist for your fibro with a view to preparing your body for TTC. I believe it was the acupuncture that rebalanced whatever was out of whack with my body and got us pregnant.

As for pregnancy and fibro, again every pregnancy is different and as this is my first I have nothing to compare it to... weeks 6-16 were pretty awful for me, I was completely exhausted (mostly bed bound) and nauseous and it’s hard to know if I would have had symptoms this extreme if I didn’t have fibro (lots of people do). Since then it’s not been too bad but it is hard to manage the fibro and the pregnancy does seem to have aggravated my pain - but not unbearably, it’s like getting flare ups that take longer to calm down. I’ve had to take it really easy.

I really believe it’ll be worth it though and please don’t let fibro scare you or put you off getting pregnant. I think having fibro has actually made it easier to take the difficult periods as I’ve dealt with so much worse. I’ve also read that some people’s fibro disappears during pregnancy!

As for labour and fibro afterwards... to be continued!

Sorry for the crazy long post, hope it’s helped in some small way. Let me know if there’s anything specific you want to know? xx

Katy180 profile image
Katy180 in reply to Arya10

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I do a bit of yoga but should really do more. Never tried acupuncture but I heard the effects were really short lived and for it to be beneficial it would cost quite a bit. I may look into it more though. Never heard of Gyrokinesis but definitely going to google it! I never really thought about my illnesses making it difficult to conceive but I'll certainly look into that more too.

To be honest I'm a little terrified at the thought of having a baby now, I still feel too young and barely able to look after myself with how tired I get, pain issues and how severe my IBS is over the past two years. I just know we want to do it at some point and we aren't getting any younger! I think we are aiming for TTC when I'm around 35 but I really think I need to use these next few years to do my homework and try and get my health the best it can be with as little medication as I can deal with!

Funny you should mention about pregnancy making fibro disappear for some though. My cousin got pregnant with twins using IVF 9 years ago and she has also got JHS and Fibro. Her pain symptoms actually disappeared while she was pregnant and for a couple of years after, she thinks it was something to do with the hormones. Here's hoping that it would be the same with me!

Thank you again and best of luck to you and the rest of your pregnancy xxx

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