1 reply to this topic

[Rachel75]

Hi,

have recently found out that I'm in the early stages of pregnancy-am about 5 weeks. My husband and I are both happy about it but so far I must say the spinal unit haven't given me much support, just pointed out the doom and gloom i.e. potential constipation, UTIs, breathing difficulties etc. Of course it is important to point these things out but they have already done it on several occasions and what would actually be much more useful to me at this stage is good, sound advice about the best way to manage things so I stay on track as much as possible. Good job I have a fantastic homeopath at hand.

Anyway, I really would just like to compare notes with any pregnant/post pregnant ladies out there. It seems being a pregnant tetra/quad makes me a bit of a minority case in itself. I only know 1 other tetra who's had kids. Obviously, there are some issues which affect us all, tetra or para, so I'd really like to hear from a cross section of levels if poss. What are/were your experiences? Did you have a hard time coming off meds? How are you managing/did you manage to avoid complications like constipation, UTIs, skin problems etc. Is anyone/did anyone still take senna/movicoll anything to help bowel management? If not, how did you cope?

I am still taking senna as my body NEEDS something, even though my fibre. water levels etc are high. I have had a real battle coming off oxybutinin hydrochloride/ditropan as have been experiencing the most hideous cold sweats where everything I wear gets drenched and sticks to me as soon as I put it on and makes me all shivery. Hopefully, I am at the end of this now as yesterday was the first day I didn't wake up in a pool of cold sweat.

Bowels aren't great and still need manual evac but nothing's changed there. Taking the normal stuff like folic acid, manuka honey etc. Some vits are ok but not others.

Anyway, that's stuff from where I'm sitting at the minute. Really hope I hear from some of you lot.

Thanks for reading and hope to hear back soon.

Rachel
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[luckiestman]

G'day Rachel,

Where are you? I'm guessing NZ.
My wife is C5/C6 and we had our baby boy two years ago here on Australia's Gold Coast. There is no doom and gloom. As they say in America, "It's all good!" So, I hope things are still going well, and we would be happy to be a friend to you during this time (Because God knows, we didn't have much help)
My wife didn't go off her meds, but she did cut down as much as possible. Our research and our reasoning was that there was no known side effect that was worse than the possible effects of not taking the medication. If you are in constant nerve pain and spasming all over the place, what effect is THAT having on the little sprog. So, without telling her what I was doing, I gradually reduced her meds as much as I could. It was important that she didn't know because otherwise she would worry about it. So she ended up on 100mg of Neurontin, 15mg of baclofen and 7.5mg of ditropan daily. A piddling amount really, and after the birth she gave up the neurontin altogether, because apparently it could pass on in the breast milk.
Bowel care continued as normal. Normacol is routinely given to new mothers to get them going again after the trauma of childbirth so you can be sure that's OK. Stool softeners such as coloxyl and senna are natural and ok to continue with. When pregnant it is normal to eat more fruit and vege, which is also very good for the routine. AVOID commercial pregnancy supplements such as Elevit, as they are loaded with iron and that will cause constipation. Just eat red meat with vege, you'll be fine. Iron does terrible things to your poo. Check all vitamins and supplements to make sure they are not loaded with it. Discuss with your doctor if iron is a problem, there should be an alternative.
My wife has an SPC. Our concern was that it would get harder to change as the baby grew. The advice was to keep it in without changing for as long as possible. Eventually it did pop out (Completely freaking me out) but I put in an in-dwelling cath and took her to hospital. The IDC stayed in until after birth.
UTI is a problem and can cause miscarraige. Our GP put her on a low dose antibiotic as a preventative measure, and that seemed to do the job.
INTERESTINGLY, As the pregnancy progressed my wife's spasms decreased to almost nothing. I speculate that the pregnant body releases a hormorne that relaxes muscles and ligaments to accommodate the growing baby. I wonder if any other SCI mums have had this experience?
Lower back pain did increase, and required almost total bed rest in the final trimester.
My wife thinks she had a wonderful pregnancy, but really, that's because it was wonderful to be pregnant. She had morning sickness, but lacked the abdominal muscles to actually throw anything up so usually all you got was a terrible noise. She had pain, she was confined to bed, but, it was wonderful.
We have private health insurance and gave birth in our local private hospital. a Caesarian Section was recommended so that anaethetists would be able to control autonomic dysreflexia and we certainly didn't want to be heroes. The health of mum and bub take priority way over any society expectation that we should have a natual birth. We had two OBGYNs, Two anaethetists, a cast of thousands, but we also had great good will, music, and joy from a wonderful group of professionals who were thrilled and touched to be a part of, as you say, a rare experience.
You should see an OBGYN immediately, and if you don't like them, see another. I assume you have a good GP, there are several tests that are standard for pregnant women. Iron, rubella, something about Hepititis. Also think about where you are going to have your scans. Many places are small and cramped and may not be able to accomodate you. And, of course, where you are going to have the baby. It doesn't have to be the spinal unit.
I do hope everything is going well, and my wife and I would be delighted to provide whatever help we can.

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