It's far too complicated....help! steriodal drugs in early pregnancy?

[thinkingmum]

Ok....I'm about 6 weeks pregnant (maybe) I've been bleeding for a week, went for an external scan and is too early to tell if baby is ok or not so am waiting to have my second blood test to check my hcg levels to see whether I'm still pregnant or not. I have colitis which is flaring up at the moment. My specialist has prescribed Prednisone, which is a oral steroidal drug (apparently safe in pregnacy) this is in an attempt to put me into remission. I am doing a longhaul flight in 3 weeks with my three year old too which is probably stressing me a tad. I should start taking the drugs today really, why do I feel so nervous about this I just want to trust my specialist but I just don't like him very much really (that is so unreasonable, I'm just feeling all emotional and dont know what to do.....

Have you tried googling the drug to see what you can find out? The other alternative is to ring the drug company that make it and ask them. My GP did this for me when I was pregnant. Could you try your GP as another option if s/he is sympathetic? Sorry you're feeling low. HTH.

Thanks Pinkteddy, The drug has a weird american website which I found very hard to navigate, but that maybe due to my confused head state, I shall try again when I feel in a clearer state, the Gp is probably worth another shot although last time she just implied I should listen to my Specialist. My midwife has checked all her books and although she understands my reservations of taking something like this in the first trimester of a somewhat shakey pregnancy, she has assured me the books say they are safe. I wish I didn't have to wait so long to find out if everything is ok or not, it's so frustrating. The possible side affects of the drug make me nervous, which isn't helping... I think deep down I know I have to take them, it just goes against the grain so much.

I know what you mean it does go against grain but lots of women have to take drugs in pregnancy who have chronic conditions eg: epilepsy, diabetes etc. It sounds like you have spoken to a number of health professionals who have all been reassuring. Don't feel bad about asking GP for 2nd opinion though.

Prednisone is a steroid that is supposed to help decrease inflammation from the inside out. My son has severe asthma and it is part of his emergencey asthma plan. Almost all medication has some sort of risk during a pregnancy, usually, your doctor will weigh the risk versus the benefits of the drug. When I was pregnant, I got in a really terrible car accident and the doctor wanted to prescribe me pain meds I refused them.
If you are this insecure about taking the medicine it may be a good idea to get a second opinion from a separate doctor. Another consideration when making this decision, is what are the consquences of not taking the drug. If your condition is not treated will that hurt you or the baby.

I am going to write a list of questions and go back to my GP. I really appreciate your comments as it helps me to formulate the questions I need to ask, thanks.

Ok, number one try and take a deep breath mentally. Easier said than done but you have a lot on your plate.

I'm no expert at all but I have some experience of Prednisone/Prednisolone (I take it daily) and also it's use in pregnancy (my sister took it for the first 12 weeks). It is the most commonly used steroid and has been is usage for a very long time - therefore it has a very long and established track record for safety and effectiveness. I have a friend with colitis who has had a lot of success using it to treat her condition. My condition, also an inflammatory auto-immune disease, has responded reasonably to it, although I also take a whole other cocktail of drugs so it's difficult for me to isolate the success of one!

With regards to taking it in pregnancy I have quite an amazing story I think. My sister had 3 early miscarriages. She was being seen by a consultant at Liverpool Women's Hospital where they were just starting a trial regarding Natural-Killer cells and pregnancy. These NK-cells were fighting the foetus as if it was a foreign body, like in auto-immune diseases like colitis the body is effectively attacking itself, in this case the foetus. Therefore on this trial, which my sister got on to, the women were given prednisone for the first 12 weeks. My niece and nephew are now here as proof that it worked! So not only were they safe to take in pregnancy, they actually enabled my sister to hold a pregnancy which naturally she wouldn't have been able to do. Obviously I only have anecdotal evidence here as the trial is still underway (I think) but I hope that is a positive story for you.

Speak to your GP rather than your consultant if you like, they should be able to put your mind at rest regarding the side effects etc.

I really hope all works out ok and you get some relief from the colitis soon.

Thanks for the advice, I think after last night it may all be over....so I shall get my blood tests to be sure, then it's try to get into remission and try again..... but maybe just not meant to be...real user name, can't be bothered to change it now

my god Weegle, the implications of that information are very hard to process, if I'd been armed with that knowledge this time three weeks ago I might have avoided this miscarriage. I feel very angry with my specialist, he never told me any of that, so I was more worried about the drugs than the colitis, mind you all my symptoms dissapeared when a couple of weeks ago so I was advised by the gastro nurse not to take the meds if it looked like I was going into remission anyway. the symptoms only returned a few of days ago and that's when the spotting became more serious. I have to try and move on from this, it may have be a normal miscarriage anyway, but I'm 41 so don't have much time left. I really want to try again but this time armed with the facts, thankyou for informing me, I just have to keep my head up now, I have the most beautiful 3 year old boy and a loving partner...

kjaysmum - I'm so sorry to hear this, it's a very hard time for you. The thing is the general medical profession would not yet know about these results as it is still a clinical trial so no results have been published - my sister's tale is purely anecdotal. No real help to you now though I understand. And I truly hope that by posting that info I haven't made what you're feeling now worse I hope you can home in on your DS and DP and get the support and love and distracton you need.

Please don't feel bad Weegle, You were absolutely right to share that information with me as I said it's good I have heard about this. I'm coming over to the UK in a few weeks so I shall do some research while I'm there. Noone could have forseen this so please don't worry. Hey I'm so happy for your sister and it does give me hope for myself and anyone else with an Auto immune disease, thanks for being here, it 's helped just to talk. It's swings and roundabouts now, I just hope it doesn't hit too hard when those results come in.