Hi guys!

My hubby and I have been discussing having a baby for some time now. I've had RSD for the last 2 years and I have some concerns about getting pregnant while dealing with this. Doctors only have so much information, and mainly they want to tell you that everyone's body is different. Does anyone have any stories that they would mind sharing about how RSD affected their pregnancy. It could be about if it affected trying to conceive or the pregnancy itself. I really don't want to be on any meds, but I'm not sure how realistic that is.

Hi, I am 5 months pregnant with a baby girl. My doc took me off of all pain meds when we found out I was pregnant. My RSD went into remission up until the 5th month. Now I am having RSD pain in all limbs and can only takeTyenol. The other meds I take are prenatal, blood pressure, nexium, and some psych meds. Hope this helps you.

Thanks so much for sharing and congratulations! The pain that came back, is it super intense or is it manageable with the medicine that's available to you? Also, since you have RSD does your OBGYN consider you to be high risk? I really hope you're not in too much pain, you should be able to enjoy this time in your life!

Thank you for asking this question, because although im not wanting a baby right now, i do want to have babies in future. I hope more people chime in to help. And i hope it gets to be a good experience for you, like it should be.


And to the mommy to be congrats, and i hope the pain goes away pronto!

A few things to keep in my mind, even if you can manage the pregnancy, can you manage the care of a child for the next 18 years? My son was in elementary school when my RSD began. It was not easy for him... I was a single parent but had significant family help. You want to make sure your husband understands that your health may decline. You should have a plan in place if you needs additional support with cleaning, running errands, driving, etc. And, what would happen if you became a single parent? I hate to bring it up, but divorce, or being widowed are possibilities that are so much harder when dealing with this type of illness.

Secondly, if you do decide to move forward, don't assume you'll experience normal fertility. It has been discussed that remission can happen temporarily or permanently while going through pregnancy in the early stages, BUT miscarriages can become a problem after you've had RSD for a while. You should probably be off all meds 6 months or so prior to trying to become pregnant... As difficult as it will be to care for a healthy child, caring for a child with special needs can be a 24 hour job.

You may want to consider being a foster parent? Or offer to watch relatives or friends children for an extended period, etc.

Good luck

Congratulations to the mother to be. I have to agree with Lit Love, you need to be careful in concieving. I also agree that you should be off your medications for a while, because each of them can cause issues for the baby.

Ask your doctor what the wash out time is for each of your medications, prior to becoming pregnant.

Good Luck!

thanks all for the congradulations. Tyelnol helps a little bit, so does moving around, and heat. Yes I am considered high risk.

Lit Love those are wonderful points to bring up. Some I had considered and others I had not. My husband and I have and continue to talk in depth about the "what ifs", and he reads what people are kind enough to share about their experiences. I know taking care of child, especially while dealing with RSD isn't an easy task. We have a 6mo old god daughter that I babysit on a daily basis and it's been an experience, but I feel that I have such a strong support system backing not only me but my husband as well that one of our own we can manage. We absolutely plan on talking in depth with my doctors to ensure I'm not ingesting anything that could be harmful to a baby and before we go ahead with anything we want to make sure we have a good plan in place for managing pain and flare ups during a pregnancy. I know suffering from this awful disease isn't going to make this life journey any easier, but I want to be a mom so badly! Thank you so much for the advice and great things to make sure we have taken into consideration!

I don't know where your RSD is but will you actually be able to handle the baby. My 9th Grandchild was born 22/10/2010. I've never picked him or held him he caused it to start in my legs when he began to walk and came up to me with his hands out and trod on my toes.

lol.....know how I knew you weren't from America ?

That's a great point though.....and expands on what LL was talking about. I could hold a small baby for a bit, but after they passed 20 pounds, that would be excruciating after a few minutes. There is NO WAY I could do it 87 times a day as a Mom would have to do. Even if I had help for several hours a day, if there was ANY time I was alone with a baby/toddler, it would be awful. I just can't do the lifting.

Everyone is different..... In how our bodies manage pregnancy and how we are dealing with the challenges of RSD. I'll pray for mild symptoms for BBF ! (Congrads !)

CW, good luck making the best decision for you and your family. I hate to sound too discouraging, because I couldn't imagine life without my 2 boys. Motherhood has been such an important part of my life. I just can't imagine doing it over again with RSD.

Nevermind the raising of a child while managing RSD, I can't imagine getting through the pregnancy. If I was off all pain meds (Neurontin, Cymbalta, MSContin, Vicodin) for a few months to clear my system, my husband would have to use a turkey baster, because there is no way I'd be in the mood to make love with no meds. I'd really NEED to have one of those fabled pregnancy remissions. Otherwise, I'd just be bedbound trying to grin and bear it for nine months......and that's certainly not ideal for the baby's health and well being.

How are you managing now, CW ? I'm disabled even with meds, so that certainly 'colors' my thoughts on managing a pregnancy and childraising. Where is your rsd ? How functional are you now ? Do you still work ? How much help, exactly, could you get from friends and family ?

I remember the fantasy of pushing a babycarriage through the park and thinking life was perfect. Make your plans not based on that vision.....or on your worst pain day. Make it after someheartfelt talks about all the pros and cons, risks and rewards, emergency plans, etc.

Best of luck !