Lupus. Pregnancy. What could go wrong?
April 6, 2011 7:41 AM Subscribe
Anyone ever been pregnant w/lupus w/kidney involvement?
Unlike what House says... it really is lupus. With some kidney impact. Currently at 93% kidney function.
Do you or anyone you know have been pregnant with their first child under these conditions? What happened? Did it end well? What meds were you on?
Unlike what House says... it really is lupus. With some kidney impact. Currently at 93% kidney function.
Do you or anyone you know have been pregnant with their first child under these conditions? What happened? Did it end well? What meds were you on?
IANAD, but lupus runs in my family (possibly including me... we'll see what the latest round of tests says). I do know that if you have anticardiolipin antibodies, this is really bad for pregnancy. Active anticardiolipin antibodies can attack the embryo/fetus causing miscarriage, stillbirth, pre-eclampsia, mental retardation and/or birth defects.
Babies can also be born with active SLE if they are born during a lupus flare. But it's also pretty rare, and many people with lupus are able to have healthy, normal babies.
In my own experience with [mystery autoimmune disorder that might be SLE, without kidney involvement], pregnancy was pretty miserable. My joints were totally effed, and I could barely walk in the last 5 weeks from the sciatica and hip pain (seriously, I walked with a cane and slept downstairs on the couch). I had ridiculous amounts of swelling and in the last week or two developed mild pleural effusion. But my baby was healthy and perfect.
I highly suggest talking to your rheumatologist and/or an OB/GYN about it, because they'll be able to evaluate your real risk better than random people on the internet.
posted by amberwb at 9:47 AM on April 6, 2011
Babies can also be born with active SLE if they are born during a lupus flare. But it's also pretty rare, and many people with lupus are able to have healthy, normal babies.
In my own experience with [mystery autoimmune disorder that might be SLE, without kidney involvement], pregnancy was pretty miserable. My joints were totally effed, and I could barely walk in the last 5 weeks from the sciatica and hip pain (seriously, I walked with a cane and slept downstairs on the couch). I had ridiculous amounts of swelling and in the last week or two developed mild pleural effusion. But my baby was healthy and perfect.
I highly suggest talking to your rheumatologist and/or an OB/GYN about it, because they'll be able to evaluate your real risk better than random people on the internet.
posted by amberwb at 9:47 AM on April 6, 2011
I know this isn't quite what you're looking for, but I have a friend with lupus who just entered the 2nd trimester of her first pregnancy (with multiples, no less). She is maintaining a blog -- MeMail me if you're interested in the link.
posted by BurntHombre at 10:17 AM on April 6, 2011
posted by BurntHombre at 10:17 AM on April 6, 2011
I was going to recommend what I suspect is the same blog BurntHombre mentioned. You can MeMail me too, at the risk of getting a duplicate answer.
posted by pyjammy at 10:19 AM on April 6, 2011
posted by pyjammy at 10:19 AM on April 6, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
I don't mean to be alarmist, but there you go. This was, however, in the early 90s so perhaps there have been significant developments in medical options during the interim, aside from individual mitigating circumstances.
posted by PepperMax at 8:05 AM on April 6, 2011