Did pregnancy cause you to flare/worsen?

[Friedbrain]

Brooklyntina, {{hugs}}!  btdt  I had a miscarriage at 7 weeks and was so afraid to go through that again, that we kept putting off trying.  A year later, I actually got pregnant on accident (condom baby) and was thrilled.  The pregnancy wasn't perfect (see below for additional supports that helped me sustain it) but the outcome was completely worth it!  I would recommend seeing a specialist before getting pregnant again and be followed by a specialist when you get pregnant. 

Even though I had no problem getting pregnant, I self-referred (my OBgyn was completely unconcerned about my miscarriage, literally patted me on the head and said that many women have them, no biggie and try again....er, bite me) to a reproductive endocrinologist after my miscarriage.  I wanted to be fully checked out to make sure I didn't have other health conditions that may have contributed (and would contribute again) to a miscarriage!  He listened to my history and then ran a bunch of bloodwork, which is how I found out I had antiphospholipid antibodies (which can....tada.....cause miscarriages).  He also discovered that I had weird hormone cycling so when I did become pregnant, he had me get immediate bloodwork measuring my progesterone level (and hCG etc).  My progesterone was too low to sustain a pregnancy.  I was started on daily baby aspirin and progesterone supplements (this, only for the first trimester) and 8 mo later had a baby boy!  I did the same with pregnancy #3. 

Aussiemum, you may be right.  My understanding is that there is supposed to be immune suppression so that the body doesn't attack what is essentially a "foreign body" growing in the mom.  For those of us with autoimmune disorders, perhaps we are even more likely to attack it (I wonder if that's what happened before my first miscarriage because I did feel poorly before it happened).  At the time, I apparently had low levels of progesterone and I later was diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency, so maybe my body simply didn't do enough on its own to reduce the immune response (and maybe the exogenous progesterone helped in that way?).

[brooklyntina]

Thank you so much Friedbrain! I have been to a hematologist and a high risk person- both said I was fine. I didn't take aspirin last time... I too get pregnant extremely easily despite not being a spring chicken. But during the pregnancy the sudden BP drops/ racing heart symptom started and so did the raynauds. They got a little bit better as time has gone on (almost a year now) but now I'm stuck with these extremely annoying symptoms I didn't have before. I'm afraid that if I try again the Sjogrens fairy will bring me a new gift. Is it worth it if I'm not even sure I can sustain a pregnancy successfully?

By the by, I've read that 10 1/2 weeks is the norm for SS's miscarriages. Something about the placenta forming being tricky. It's a pivotal time for blood clots and sometimes we don't make enough amniotic fluid... ugh. I wish I had a crystal ball. I'm so tired of every decision being so difficult. I am going to have my mercury fillings out and see how I feel.

The worst part is that I am hyper fertile since loosing the baby! I am totally aware of my egg drop and I avoid my husband completely during that time (even though RARRR! I don't want to hehheh).

Hugs ladies. Thank you so much for sharing and bringing this to light. It's a biggie.