Myasthenia gravis and pregnancy
in Women's Health ·
You are so welcome, dear. I truly hope that someone might find even a little bit of value in this, if it helps at all 🙂
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Myasthenia gravis and pregnancy
in Women's Health ·
Alright, let's get this thread started. 😍
Hmm, where to begin? To start with, I am officially 7 weeks and 3 days pregnant, according to my doctors. Of course, everyone knows they calculate from the first day of your last period, so in reality, I’m actually 5 weeks and 3 days along (I know this precisely because I’ve been tracking my cycles and ovulation since we decided to start trying for a baby 🙂). I’m not entirely sure if conception success rates have any correlation with my myasthenia, but here is the scoop—it took three tries. For those first two cycles, we were really aiming for 😉, basically "covering" every possible window, both fertile and less so. I was even using those famous LH ovulation strips; we were certainly putting in the effort, yet nothing stuck. Having spent so much time deep-diving into everything online regarding conception, I can say now that we actually did quite well; succeeding on the third attempt is excellent when you consider the statistics for healthy women 👍
. Now, as for how I’m feeling. Regarding my myasthenia symptoms, I’d say there has been a slight worsening overall. My symptoms feel more pronounced than they were before pregnancy. It isn't necessarily every single day, but there are more days when I feel unwell compared to how things were before. I should mention that during those three months of trying, I gained about 7 or 8 pounds (I lost my job, so I was home all the time eating, and since it was winter, I wasn't getting out much). I mention this because it feels to me like the flare-up in my symptoms is a combination of that extra weight, the pregnancy hormones, and my mental state (for instance, my husband and I both lost our jobs in December and have been living on unemployment benefits—you can imagine how that feels).
Regarding medication—I was previously on 3 Mestinon daily, and I’m still managing that, though it doesn't feel as easy as it used to. For example, I sometimes feel incredibly exhausted in the evening, making it difficult to move around. This usually hits me around 8 or 9 PM, and since I’m heading to bed shortly after, I don't want to take an additional pill just for that. My myasthenia has always primarily affected my arms, legs, and eyes, and that remains the case; the symptoms are more intense, though I haven't noticed them spreading to other muscles yet. I must mention the HORRIBLE double vision I've had for months leading up to the pregnancy. Back when I was working, it was present, but mostly in the afternoons and evenings, so it didn't interfere with my job. It would usually hit for two weeks before my period, then I'd have two good weeks, and so on. But ever since I became pregnant, I have it every single day. Every day. It still tends to show up in the afternoon, and occasionally even before noon, but it is a daily occurrence now. It’s frustrating, but I suppose if this is the worst of it, I’ll take it 🙂. My neurologist previously mentioned that Mestinon doesn't typically work well for those ocular muscles and suggested corticosteroids for the double vision, but I didn't want to take them just for that, since it didn't disrupt my daily life as long as it only appeared in the late hours 😉
. Since this post is already getting quite long, I’ll write about the situation with my OBGYNs and my prenatal checkups in the next one. For now, I’ll just say that I had an ultrasound three days ago, and I heard and saw the baby's little heart beating and the circulation—and it's a whopping 9 mm! Such a little sunshine.
Anyway, I won't overwhelm you with too much information at once, and I want to make sure I have enough material left for a follow-up, so I'll stop here. Talk to you all again soon!!
Kisses to everyone!
Hmm, where to begin? To start with, I am officially 7 weeks and 3 days pregnant, according to my doctors. Of course, everyone knows they calculate from the first day of your last period, so in reality, I’m actually 5 weeks and 3 days along (I know this precisely because I’ve been tracking my cycles and ovulation since we decided to start trying for a baby 🙂). I’m not entirely sure if conception success rates have any correlation with my myasthenia, but here is the scoop—it took three tries. For those first two cycles, we were really aiming for 😉, basically "covering" every possible window, both fertile and less so. I was even using those famous LH ovulation strips; we were certainly putting in the effort, yet nothing stuck. Having spent so much time deep-diving into everything online regarding conception, I can say now that we actually did quite well; succeeding on the third attempt is excellent when you consider the statistics for healthy women 👍
. Now, as for how I’m feeling. Regarding my myasthenia symptoms, I’d say there has been a slight worsening overall. My symptoms feel more pronounced than they were before pregnancy. It isn't necessarily every single day, but there are more days when I feel unwell compared to how things were before. I should mention that during those three months of trying, I gained about 7 or 8 pounds (I lost my job, so I was home all the time eating, and since it was winter, I wasn't getting out much). I mention this because it feels to me like the flare-up in my symptoms is a combination of that extra weight, the pregnancy hormones, and my mental state (for instance, my husband and I both lost our jobs in December and have been living on unemployment benefits—you can imagine how that feels).
Regarding medication—I was previously on 3 Mestinon daily, and I’m still managing that, though it doesn't feel as easy as it used to. For example, I sometimes feel incredibly exhausted in the evening, making it difficult to move around. This usually hits me around 8 or 9 PM, and since I’m heading to bed shortly after, I don't want to take an additional pill just for that. My myasthenia has always primarily affected my arms, legs, and eyes, and that remains the case; the symptoms are more intense, though I haven't noticed them spreading to other muscles yet. I must mention the HORRIBLE double vision I've had for months leading up to the pregnancy. Back when I was working, it was present, but mostly in the afternoons and evenings, so it didn't interfere with my job. It would usually hit for two weeks before my period, then I'd have two good weeks, and so on. But ever since I became pregnant, I have it every single day. Every day. It still tends to show up in the afternoon, and occasionally even before noon, but it is a daily occurrence now. It’s frustrating, but I suppose if this is the worst of it, I’ll take it 🙂. My neurologist previously mentioned that Mestinon doesn't typically work well for those ocular muscles and suggested corticosteroids for the double vision, but I didn't want to take them just for that, since it didn't disrupt my daily life as long as it only appeared in the late hours 😉
. Since this post is already getting quite long, I’ll write about the situation with my OBGYNs and my prenatal checkups in the next one. For now, I’ll just say that I had an ultrasound three days ago, and I heard and saw the baby's little heart beating and the circulation—and it's a whopping 9 mm! Such a little sunshine.
Anyway, I won't overwhelm you with too much information at once, and I want to make sure I have enough material left for a follow-up, so I'll stop here. Talk to you all again soon!!
Kisses to everyone!