Hello my lovelies,
So I am currently 16 weeks into this pregnancy, meaning there is quite a lot to catch you up on…I thought it’s best I start right at the beginning.
About a year ago, my boyfriend and I attended a joint consultancy clinic about planning a pregnancy with Lupus. Given my medical history and the cocktail of medications I take, we decided to plan to give us the most optimal healthy pregnancy and baby. We were seen by a Professor of Rheumatology, and a consultant in Fetal and Maternal Medicine, these two specialists, along with a few others who will be introduced later have played / will play an important role in keeping baby and I stable.
After going through my history, medications and blood results, the specialists together concluded that my condition had been stable enough over the past 6 months to give us the go ahead, however one of the medications I was taking at the time was not suitable for pregnancy and that it would take at least 6 months for it to clear it out of my system. To be honest, the old medication I was taking hadn’t been working well with me so I was glad to finally change it!
So hear we are, 1 year later and 16 weeks in. Pregnancy symptoms wise, I’ve been quite lucky with hardly any. As for my Lupus…I will update more in another post.
Planning a pregnancy is quite essential if you have an underlying health condition, especially if you are taking medications as it will give you the best chances of not only having a healthy baby but also a healthy pregnancy. Having specialists behind it all from the beginning helps ease the tension, doubts and fears, as I can know that we are in caring hands. One thing I will say though, is that nothing can prepare you or the doctors for how your body and condition will react to your new little bun. While it is highly recommended to only try for a baby when Lupus has been in remission for at least 6 months, even if you follow everything to the book and you have the green light to go, unforeseen things can still happen, you’ve just got to keep your spirits high and surround yourself with positivity. Lupus is a highly unpredictable and volatile condition and you won’t know until you try.
It’s amazing how far lupus research has gone over the past 50 years. Previously, having children would have only been a dream, but with new technology, research and information on Lupus, we are able to live a normal life span and even create new ones.
That’s all for today, now time for my next appointment!
Much love,
xXx