Autoimmune diseases/RA and hyperemesis

Discuss the lasting impact from HG on moms and babies: long term health issues, child development, and other ways HG continues to impact your life.

Moderators: txmomma, Trudy, teddi

Postby julliam » Dec 06, 2006 1:43 pm

Well...I'm really beginning to wonder about the HG - autoimmune connection. I have been ttc #3 for over a year after surviving severe HG twice.

I just had bloodwork done that indicates that I am having an autoimmune response to early pg. My immune cells are basically attacking and destroying all of my embryos. I am also coming up positive for thrombophilia which causes blood clotting problems and can also starve an embryo.

I conceived my DD and DS in less than 3 months each. I have never felt myself physically since giving birth in 03. I wonder if the autoimmune response began then? I'm ashamed to say that I never went in for even a physical after my back to back HG pgs (not until recently).

I can't believe that HG is still making things so hard for me! :cry:
Bonni
Mom to Julia (4/02), William (9/03),
and Thomas & Patrick (10/07)
3 HG pregnancies, 4 miracles
Image

Image
julliam
Been There Done That
 
Posts: 310
Joined: Oct 26, 2004 6:04 pm
Location: New York

Postby JulieinMinn » Dec 15, 2006 12:28 pm

This certainly is an interesting topic.

In the last year and 1/2 I have had the most odd things happen to me. It started last year with dizzy spells, not debilitating, but just feeling "off" in the head. It would last for a while and then disappear. I have experienced anxiety, shaking in the body and hands, tired muscles, achy joints (always had those), continual sinus trouble, fatigue, and now as of recent, numbness and tingling in the toes. Just yesterday I had a very long day out of the house with my 5 children and today I am utterly exhausted, and on the dizzy side again. My right hip joint, I can hardly lay on, I have this muscle pull sensation in the gall bladder area, etc. These things all come and hang around for a while, then go, then something else weird pops up. Just the other day I had a HUGE dizzy spell, not like the others, where it just hit me and the whole room was wobbling for a while. It subsided, but scary.

The frustrating part:

This last year I have seen the following:
Chiropractor/natural path ~ his tests say stress and anxiety
Endocrinoloigst (I have thyroid nodules) ~ lab work for here keeps coming back completely normal
Nuerologist 2X ~ Tests and blood work have come back fine and normal and even the second time I went in to see him for repeat weird sx, he did his testing again and sent me home saying..."I don't have anything........." and pretty much gave me the stress diagnosis after telling me that he wants to catch things that are going on and not attribute sx to stress (makes sense, he wants to cover his bases)
OB ~ just to check in with him. He examed, and thought it was stress also
counselor ~ ok, maybe I'm just nuts, huh! He had me pegged for severe anxiety and depression. Thing is I don't FEEL depressed, except when I'm having these unexplained junk go on that takes me away from my motherly duties for a day or 2. I think that would be pretty normal, wouldn't you?
nurse practitioner ~ thought I might be having allergies :roll:

I have had blood work drawn 4- 5 times this year. All come back normal.

For a year or so, I have been feeling this way. If it is not one thing, it's another, I rarely get a goofy symptom break and frankly it just makes me tired to be dealing emotionally with this all the time. I did have 1 break recently for a week. My family and I took a lovely vacation south about a month ago, and we had no obligations whatsoever. I felt completely fine, anxiety, nuerologically, mentally, energy wise, except a sore hip joint which was tolerable and a bad cold. It was heaven to feel good for this week!

I just don't know where to turn anymore. I just go to doctor to doctor, and they all tell me similar things. Who do I see next? Do I just ignore this stuff cuz I'm sick of running to doctors? Frankly, I am terrified of what's going on and I'm sick and tired of living in fear of what symptom the next day is going to bring and if I overdo it, I'm out of the game for a day. I feel like I'm half of I was. I also wonder if I'm going to make it to see my children grow up at the rate things are going.

I am a 6X HG'er, 5 living babies, 1 in heaven, I have had IV zofran for 4 of my pgs, all fist/second trimester HG, then my last 2 babies, zofran/unisom/b6 combo throughout the end or I would end up throwing up 24 hours after my missed dose.

It really is the only connection I can make to all these things.

If you've been with me thus far, I thank you. I guess I'm just commiserating with you all, and looking for answers wanting to live outside the fear........................
Mom to 5 blessings,1 with the Lord, 6XHG survivor!
JulieinMinn
New Member
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Jun 11, 2006 10:53 pm

Postby StevesArmyWife » Jan 31, 2007 2:23 pm

It is strange that I found this. I have tested positive for ANA but nothing else on the lupus panel. This was right when I got pregnant. I had been having lupus symptoms before I was pg. Now I have no symptoms but have to wait until after the pg and go back to the doctor in Texas for a full battery of tests they didn't want to do while I was preggers. Funny thing is the rhuematologist knew more about the HG then any other doctor I know! Hmmmm, connection maybe!
<a><img></a>I like that it has to remind you not to have a "food" name!
StevesArmyWife
Been There Done That
 
Posts: 308
Joined: Jan 24, 2007 2:08 pm
Location: FT Hood TX

Postby stephensmam » Feb 07, 2007 3:10 pm

Hi I also have some auto imune things after my second pg iv never felt right since my daughter was born my ankels are still swollen iv been to loads of drs they all tell me its something different i ended up in the er a few weeks after sarah was born because my ankles we so swollen i couldnt walk he said i had fybromyalgia, my ankles took about 3 months to go down but two years on they swell up every day and by the ebnd of ever days ion a few puonds hever that the morning with fluid i have problems with my wrists to numbness ect anopther dr said i had rhumatid arthritis another one said no so i dont know im just not right at all , so its interesting to find out im not the only one.
lots of love and hugs Jacqueline
HG pg no 1 28/04/98 darling son Stephen ivs only,pnd
HG pg no 2 01/09/04 darling daughter Sarah ivs , zofran, steroids, meclizine, b6.http://lilypie.com/Kids_Birthday_code.p ... y_code.php#
stephensmam
Been There Done That
 
Posts: 240
Joined: Apr 06, 2004 12:08 pm
Location: Ireland

Postby TraciWilliams2 » Mar 06, 2007 3:42 pm

I know this has been going on for a while, but I have rheumatoid arthritis which I've had since I was young. It has not been horrible for me until after my last HG pregnancy. Now I have preoblems even reading a book or going on long walks. And the cold kills me! This does run heavy in my family, but thought it interesting that it's flared up somuch since my pregnancy.
http://www.myspace.com/st2kids
MacKenzie (mild HG)
Dominic (severe HG)
Image
TraciWilliams2
New Member
 
Posts: 14
Joined: Feb 27, 2007 2:55 pm
Location: Polson, MT

Postby karin1013 » Mar 07, 2007 8:29 pm

cobysmom: I was also on Zofran-- only for a few weeks. It caused severe constipation. I was also wondering if that might be the connection to the AI disorder. Many people with AI disorders say they had chronic constipation problems. Perhaps toxins being released into the blood stream triggering an AI reponse?
What do you think of a Zofran/constipation/AI connection??? ~Karin


[quote="Cobysmom75"]OMG!!! I just came across this post. I just finished up my horrible 9 month pregnancy and delivered a baby girl on October 12th after suffering the entire 9 months with HG. Took Zofran up until the day I delivered, HG went away the second I pushed her out. I have always in the back of my head thought that there was a connection between HG and autoimmune disorders. Before becoming pregnant I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and a connective tissue disorder. They were going to start running some tests to determine why my ANA levels were so elevated. Lups and RA were suspected. Lupus was ruled out. My mother suffers from Autoimmune Chronic Hepatitis and my brother has Systemic Lupus. My joints ALWAYS hurt me. Before getting pregnant my inflamation tests came back 9 out of 10 was taking Mobic for it. Now that Ia m no longer pregnant I will go back for more tests to see if they can pin point exactly what I have. I just know that there has to be a connection here. I did not have any of these problems when I was pregnant with my son 9 years ago. I hope they find an answer for HG sufferers one day. Because of HG I will not have any more children, I am too scared to go through that again.
[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/Cobysmom75/HPIM1685.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/Cobysmom75/HPIM1687.jpg[/img][/quote]
karin1013
New Member
 
Posts: 19
Joined: Mar 30, 2005 10:35 am

Postby karin1013 » Mar 07, 2007 8:32 pm

[quote="stephensmam"]Hi I also have some auto imune things after my second pg iv never felt right since my daughter was born my ankels are still swollen iv been to loads of drs they all tell me its something different i ended up in the er a few weeks after sarah was born because my ankles we so swollen i couldnt walk he said i had fybromyalgia, my ankles took about 3 months to go down but two years on they swell up every day and by the ebnd of ever days ion a few puonds hever that the morning with fluid i have problems with my wrists to numbness ect anopther dr said i had rhumatid arthritis another one said no so i dont know im just not right at all , so its interesting to find out im not the only one.[/quote]

You need to see a rheumatologist and have your sed rate, CCP, CRP, and Rh factor tested! ~Karin
karin1013
New Member
 
Posts: 19
Joined: Mar 30, 2005 10:35 am

Postby karin1013 » Mar 07, 2007 8:38 pm

[quote="JulieinMinn"]This certainly is an interesting topic.

In the last year and 1/2 I have had the most odd things happen to me. It started last year with dizzy spells, not debilitating, but just feeling "off" in the head. It would last for a while and then disappear. I have experienced anxiety, shaking in the body and hands, tired muscles, achy joints (always had those), continual sinus trouble, fatigue, and now as of recent, numbness and tingling in the toes. Just yesterday I had a very long day out of the house with my 5 children and today I am utterly exhausted, and on the dizzy side again. My right hip joint, I can hardly lay on, I have this muscle pull sensation in the gall bladder area, etc. These things all come and hang around for a while, then go, then something else weird pops up. Just the other day I had a HUGE dizzy spell, not like the others, where it just hit me and the whole room was wobbling for a while. It subsided, but scary.

The frustrating part:

This last year I have seen the following:
[b]Chiropractor/natural path [/b]~ his tests say stress and anxiety
[b]Endocrinoloigst [/b](I have thyroid nodules) ~ lab work for here keeps coming back completely normal
[b]Nuerologist 2X [/b]~ Tests and blood work have come back fine and normal and even the second time I went in to see him for repeat weird sx, he did his testing again and sent me home saying..."I don't have anything........." and pretty much gave me the stress diagnosis after telling me that he wants to catch things that are going on and not attribute sx to stress (makes sense, he wants to cover his bases)
[b]OB[/b] ~ just to check in with him. He examed, and thought it was stress also
[b]counselor[/b] ~ ok, maybe I'm just nuts, huh! He had me pegged for severe anxiety and depression. Thing is I don't FEEL depressed, except when I'm having these unexplained junk go on that takes me away from my motherly duties for a day or 2. I think that would be pretty normal, wouldn't you?
[b]nurse practitioner [/b]~ thought I might be having allergies :roll:

I have had blood work drawn 4- 5 times this year. All come back normal.

For a year or so, I have been feeling this way. If it is not one thing, it's another, I rarely get a goofy symptom break and frankly it just makes me tired to be dealing emotionally with this all the time. I did have 1 break recently for a week. My family and I took a lovely vacation south about a month ago, and we had no obligations whatsoever. I felt completely fine, anxiety, nuerologically, mentally, energy wise, except a sore hip joint which was tolerable and a bad cold. It was heaven to feel good for this week!

I just don't know where to turn anymore. I just go to doctor to doctor, and they all tell me similar things. Who do I see next? Do I just ignore this stuff cuz I'm sick of running to doctors? Frankly, I am terrified of what's going on and I'm sick and tired of living in fear of what symptom the next day is going to bring and if I overdo it, I'm out of the game for a day. I feel like I'm half of I was. I also wonder if I'm going to make it to see my children grow up at the rate things are going.

I am a 6X HG'er, 5 living babies, 1 in heaven, I have had IV zofran for 4 of my pgs, all fist/second trimester HG, then my last 2 babies, zofran/unisom/b6 combo throughout the end or I would end up throwing up 24 hours after my missed dose.

It really is the only connection I can make to all these things.

If you've been with me thus far, I thank you. I guess I'm just commiserating with you all, and looking for answers wanting to live outside the fear........................[/quote]

Julie: You need to see a rheumatologist and have all your labs looked at. They will do more specific lab tests like RF, CCP, sed rate, CRP, ANA, etc. It could be MS, hypothyroid, diabetes or something... The numbness in the toes scares me. ~Karin
karin1013
New Member
 
Posts: 19
Joined: Mar 30, 2005 10:35 am

Postby karin1013 » Mar 07, 2007 8:46 pm

Megs: The immune system definitely lowers during pregnancy so we will not reject the fetus. That is why many people with RA go into remission during pregnancy. The immune system is lowered so we are not in pain. You need to see a rheumatologist, too! H pylori! That is fascinating! It is now implicated in ulcers. Many people believe that RA and other immune disorders are ignited by bacterial infections like H pylori. Interesting. Hashimoto's is definitely an autoimmune disease. ~Karin


[quote="megs4413"]this is fascinating to me.

does anyone know if the body suppresses the immune system during pregnancy to keep the mother's body from rejecting the fetus? is that true or am I making it up? it would make sense, then, that pregnancy itself is an autoimmune disorder of kinds and would leave open the door for more autoimmune reactions (possibly HG?). I wonder what kind of research has been done in this area.

I myself have:
pernicious anemia
seizure disorder
hashimoto's chronic thyroiditis
arrythmia (that developed DURING my HG pg with DD and didn't go away!)
early onset osteoarthritis, believed to be due to overuse (jinx suzanne!)

there are other conditions they have suspected or i have had in the past:
anemia (iron deficiency due to endometriosis)
endometriosis (can only be verified through surgery and um...no....)
RA (never confirmed)
MS (tested negative)
lupus (never been tested)
factor V leiden (suspected)
Mobitz II (just depends which doc you ask!)
autoimmune deficiency disease (as a kid)


I also had h pylori as a teenager.....

this all has to add up somehow! i can't believe how many of us have these rare conditions.[/quote]
karin1013
New Member
 
Posts: 19
Joined: Mar 30, 2005 10:35 am

Postby Proudmama » Mar 08, 2007 4:43 am

http://forums.helpher.org/viewtopic.php?t=17000

I did not want to rewrite my post so I thought I would link it. I guess you can add me to this ever growing list of post-HG complications (whether my neurologist believes it or not).

Why is it that we suffer to bring our babies into this world and we suffer once they are here? It is not fair. It is just not fair...
Jamie
DS born 2004-HG (Week 6-Week 20)
DD born 2006-HG (Week 5-Delivery)
Proudmama
Master of HG
 
Posts: 3234
Joined: Jul 31, 2005 8:49 pm

Postby stephensmam » Mar 08, 2007 1:02 pm

thanks karen I dont know what all those things mean but iv written them down and ill get an appointment and get tested thank you :hugs:
Jacqueline x
lots of love and hugs Jacqueline
HG pg no 1 28/04/98 darling son Stephen ivs only,pnd
HG pg no 2 01/09/04 darling daughter Sarah ivs , zofran, steroids, meclizine, b6.http://lilypie.com/Kids_Birthday_code.p ... y_code.php#
stephensmam
Been There Done That
 
Posts: 240
Joined: Apr 06, 2004 12:08 pm
Location: Ireland

Previous

Return to Long-Term Impact from HG

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest