Hi Meri,

I went off my meds when I was 3 weeks pregnant.  I didn't get pregnant on purpose so no I wasn't anticipating it.

What changed in my life was my sleeping went back to nil, which happens after having a baby anyways.  I haven't worked since my accident that gave me the RSD, but at the time I got pregnant I was going to school full time and their were times that I couldn't complete my homework on time.  At times I wouldn't be able to leave the house for a few days, because of the lack of sleep, but the baby was well worth it.  I guess you could say that it affected my sleep and that was about it.  The effexor helps with the pain.

I was taking kolanpin and serquil.  I paged my doctor immediately after discovering that I was pregnant.  He told me to stop taking them right away and I thought that he would give me something else to take while pregnant and their wasn't anything else that I could take.

Oh, one thing that I did have a little bit of a problem with while pregnant was my RSD affected limb (my left foot) swelled up something fierce.  My right foot only swelled up a little bit, until about 6 days until I had the baby.  The swelling went down completely after having the baby.

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From: "Meredith_Anderson" <[email protected]>
Reply-To: "RSD Helpline Support Group" <[email protected]>
To: "RSD Helpline Support Group" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Pregnancy
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 07:06:05 -0800

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From: Meredith_Anderson Hi Kara,   Thanks so much for your input!!!  Do you mind if I ask you which meds you had to go off of, and when?  Did you stop taking them before getting pregnant in anticipation, or did you go off of them when you found out about being pregnant, or at 3 months, 6 months, etc.?    Obviously you survived being off of your medication - what changed in your life?  Were you able to continue working, socializing, etc.?  Were you on bedrest as a result?   I have asked several doctors, but I still haven't received any answers.  I greatly appreciate your experiences!!!   Best, Meri

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Hi Meri,

You bet I would go through the pregnancy again.  I would also like to have another one.  On the average I would consider my pain to be at a 3 usually, but it can go up or down.  Basically I fought this disease with force and was able to reduce my pain levels a lot. 

I chose to breast feed because I knew that I couldn't go back on my meds anyways.  I was on small doses, but it was still too much and I would never be able to get up as much as you need to with a baby.  I am with the baby's father and due to his occupation he is gone a lot so that leaves me to take care of the baby most of the time(he is a pilot).

I don't think that I could really ever get used to the pain.  My pain level used to be at a 10++++ and boy was my foot discolored.  I now take sonata so I can sleep and it is fast acting and I am still able to wake up and take care of my son.

My son doesn't have any ill affects from being born addicted to my Effexor.  He just was breathing really fast after he was really jumpy.  Other than that he was fine.

No I really don't wish that I had my son any sooner.  Because my RSD pain was so bad that I was bed ridden for months.  I cannot even say the word "pain" with out crying unless I take at least 150 mgs of effexor.  If I stopped taking my effexor it wouldn't be such a good idea.

Oh no there was nothing that I could take to decrease the swelling.  I have pictures of my foot, but I am in the middle of a move so I can't get to them yet.  The swelling was so bad that I had to have an ultra sound done on it to make sure that I didn't have a blood clot.  The doctors determine that it must be from my RSD.  I did get some compression stocks and that did help a little bit. 

I didn't have any increased pain from the pregnancy.  I will tell you one thing that I did to make my experience better was to tell my OB doctor how I am with severe pain.  I suffer from depression from the RSD pain.  I was worried about the pain from labor.  I told her that I would like all of the meds I could have right away, because I didn't want to suffer, because it scares me.

Well I had a C-section so I didn't have to experience and labor pain.  I had a c-section, because my son was breech and I had pre-clampsia. 

Planning the child and going off my meds before becoming pregnant would have been a lot easier.  I wasn't addicted to my meds, because I was on such a small dose, but I relied on them to put me to sleep.

Kara

Keep them coming:)

---

From: "Meredith_Anderson" <[email protected]>
Reply-To: "RSD Helpline Support Group" <[email protected]>
To: "RSD Helpline Support Group" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Pregnancy
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 13:23:01 -0800

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Reply to Sender   Recommend Message 5 in Discussion

From: Meredith_Anderson Hi Kara,   Thanks for answering my questions.  Of course, I have a million more.    Would you go through your pregnancy again?  Did being pregnant add to the RSD pain?  On average, what would you consider your pain scale number to be, from 1 being the least painful and 10 being the most painful?    Why did you chose to breast feed instead of bottle feeding so you could go back onto your medications?  Have you been able to "get used to the pain"?    Since your son was born addicted to effexor, is he in any danger due to the addiction he had?    You said your left leg swelled up - could you take Advil to decrease the swelling?  How did you manage the swelling and pain during this time?  Was there anything you found helpful in reducing the pain?   I guess you could say I am scared of going off of my medications.  I'm afraid of the increased pain, as it is already so bad.  Obviously, if I were pregnant I wouldn't have a choice but to go off of the meds, I guess.  If I do decide to have kids and RSD, I would rather do it sooner than later.  Do you wish you had your son earlier, now that you've been through the experience?  What do you think could have made the experience easier?   Thanks!!!!! Meri

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From: theMatrix777
Message 11 in Discussion

My husband took himself off neurotin cold turkey and it  caused brain 
seizures in him. So I would be very careful doing that. Please make sure and 
talk to your dr.first. My husband didn't and paid a big price.

Trudy


>From: "RSD Helpline Support Group" <[email protected]>
>Reply-To: "RSD Helpline Support Group" 
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>To: "RSD Helpline Support Group" <[email protected]>
>Subject: Re: Pregnancy
>Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 15:59:27 -0800
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>               For what it's worth--- I stopped Neurontin after taking it 
>for 4 years.  Just overnight-- no withdrawal or anything.  But of course, 
>you should ask your doctor.  I just wanted you to know it's possible.
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>Annie
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