Surgery while pregnant

[MrsC2403]

Hi I suffer with RA in particular i suffer really badly with my right shoulder and I have been told a need shoulder replacement as nothing else has been working.

I am 16 weeks pregnant and wondered if anyone had experience of anyone having surgery while pregnant? I'm dreading they are going to say I can't have it done as I'm in so much pain can't even brush my own hair and not sleeping at all. I'm 29 years old

Thanks in advance xx

[sylvi]

Hugs darling i think you need to speak to the people looking after you.xxxx

[MrsC2403 in reply to sylvi]

Thanks. I have an appointment but not till June so thought I'd see if anyone had any experience of it xx

[sylvi in reply to MrsC2403]

Don't wait until then contact them and ask for assurance darling,you don't want to be worrying while you should be enjoying this pregnancy.xxxxx

[helixhelix]

WIth the length of the waiting lists on the NHS you may find the question doesn't arrive as it may take 6 months to get a date for surgery...

HOwever, talk to you medical team and ask them about the risks, and then you'll be able to make the right decision for you and your baby.

[MrsC2403]

Thanks for your replies x

[farm123]

I think that only in an emergency is surgery done whilst pregnant and of course there is the waiting lists anyway so any surgery will not happen quickly. Talk to either your maternity team or GP about what medication is available to you that is safe for use during pregnancy. I feel for you as I thought knee pain was bad enough until my shoulder joined in and it is very difficult to find any positions that are comfortable and any movement jars it. Does heat or cold help. I used cold for my knees but an electric heat pad (found that better than wheaty bags as the heat was constant - I had one that turned off after a time in case I fell asleep) for my shoulders. Is the shoulder damaged inside enough for a replacement as after your pregnancy there may be other drug options that will help which they did not want to give you before in case of pregnancy. Farm

[MrsC2403]

Thanks Farm.

Yes I have no gap between the joint and bone so they wanted to do surgery before I found out I was pregnant. The damage is really bad in there now and nothing seems to help. It's funny because the rest of my RA symptons are fine even when taking no pain relief. The only pain relief they will give is codeine which I'm only allowed very sparingly. They have just prescribed some patches for me to wear again I'm not supposed to really have them. You wear them for 12 hours then HDR a break for 12 hours. I think they use them to treat shingles. Xx

[nomoreheels]

Firstly, congratulations! Sorry to hear your shoulder is so bad you're needing surgery at such a young age, it must be in a bad way with them considering it now. I think the only way you'll know for sure if it's ok to go ahead as planned is to speak with your teams directly, they will need to confer & decide if the proposed date for the op will go ahead, that is if it's imminent. As you're in your second trimester (considered the safest time for general anaesthesia) you really need to contact them as soon as poss really.

[MrsC2403]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply. X

[LLee86]

Hi, I know this post is quite old now but just wondered how you're getting on? I also have severe RA and I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant with my third. I'm also in the Sam situation you were in. I have been told that my left shoulder needs replacing and I'm really struggling at the moment x