My wife has PsA pretty bad. We are just now pregnant, and this happened right after she went back on Enbrel, only 2 doses. She has now quit the Enbrel, and the pain is really starting to get bad. We understand that the pain should subside sometime during pregnancy, but that time can’t come soon enough. We are trying to balance the safety and health of the baby with that of Momma. Has anyone here dealt with this? Does the pain ALWAYS go away, or does this happen only in some cases? Either way, when does this happen? She is 5-6wks and if the answer is the 2nd trimester, that might be bad news. The other issue is that if we risk it and she goes back on the Enbrel, it may work, but it takes a little time to get into your system so what we perceive as Enbrel may actually be the pregnancy since there’s really no “control” for us. Also, any resources you can point me to would be great… Thanks
Hi gotmike,
I think you are very sweet to be on here looking for help for your wife; she is lucky to have you! I have no experience with PsA and pregnancy, as I was fortunate enough to have my children before it hit. We might have had a third except I didn't think I can handle it. One thing my rheumotologist always says to me is not to make too many changes at once because as you mentioned you don't know what worked and what didn't. The only thing I can say is that every pregnancy is different, and its impossible to predict how she will feel in the future. I know that is is possible to take prednisone during pregnancy in lower doses, maybe that could help her get through this? I'm sorry I have no answers for you, but I wish you the best. IMHO the first trimester and the very end are the hardest, hopefully she will get some relief in the second trimester. I suggest she take it one day at a time, and take comfort in the fact that it is not forever, and having a child is worth all the sacrifices. Modern medicine has come a long way with high-risk pregnancies, and hopefully she can be managed well.
Best wishes, Carly
Hello there, I was pregnant with twins, they are much older now 22, and we did not have the same medications, pain did get easier, but I felt that walking helped me alot during pregnancy. After the pregnancy I was good for about 6 months and then a major flare up, but in saying that at the time the main thing they were giving was MTX. I did not do to well on that. During the pregnancy I chose no drugs, it is of course a a personal choice, but it was important in my case because I was considered a high risk pregnancy. I hope she gets relief during her pregnancy, and all the best to the soon to be new family!!!!!!!!
Thanks to both of you. The PsA got REALLY bad since that post to the point she couldn't walk more than about 30ft. It also started spreading from her limbs to lower back and even into the jaw. She is only 30yrs old and she moved around worse than her 92yr-old grandmother. It was really sad. So, after reading almost everything I could find on the internet, plus some medical resources I gleaned from friends in the medical field, we decided to start back on the Enbrel on an as-needed basis. The interesting part about the studies I found was that almost all of them concluded that etanercept was safe, but the studies weren't properly executed or large enough to be statistically significant results. Further, the one study that did find an increased occurrence of miscarriages couldn't distinguish whether the cause was the Enbrel or the arthritis. All the studies are on Rheumatoid Arthritis anyways, because it doesn't seem like there is a single study out there for Psoriatic Arthritis, conclusive or not. The other significant factor in our decision was any sort of disfigurement or permanent joint damage. Given the severity of her Psoriatic Arthritis, we were very concerned about having significant joint fusion at such an early age. I hope we made the right decision, unfortunately there aren't any straightforward answers in this situation...
Hi again GotMike,You are right, each person has to make there own decisions and at times can be very difficult. Your wife is blessed to have someone like you holding her hand through all of this. Sounds like her PsA is very painful at the moment. It's so important to read up on information and make good choices based on what you hear and read. Very delicate situation, but you sound very clear headed, and obviously doing your homework well, you will both make good choices in regards to your wife and child. You have come to the right place for support!!!
gotmike said:
Thanks to both of you. The PsA got REALLY bad since that post to the point she couldn't walk more than about 30ft. It also started spreading from her limbs to lower back and even into the jaw. She is only 30yrs old and she moved around worse than her 92yr-old grandmother. It was really sad. So, after reading almost everything I could find on the internet, plus some medical resources I gleaned from friends in the medical field, we decided to start back on the Enbrel on an as-needed basis. The interesting part about the studies I found was that almost all of them concluded that etanercept was safe, but the studies weren't properly executed or large enough to be statistically significant results. Further, the one study that did find an increased occurrence of miscarriages couldn't distinguish whether the cause was the Enbrel or the arthritis. All the studies are on Rheumatoid Arthritis anyways, because it doesn't seem like there is a single study out there for Psoriatic Arthritis, conclusive or not. The other significant factor in our decision was any sort of disfigurement or permanent joint damage. Given the severity of her Psoriatic Arthritis, we were very concerned about having significant joint fusion at such an early age. I hope we made the right decision, unfortunately there aren't any straightforward answers in this situation...