Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion Women Only Message Board I'm late

I'm never late. I take BC pills to regulate my periods and we use condoms as a backup because of all the meds I'm on. I've recently started on Remicade, could this be the culprit?

I'm probably overreacting but its hard not to freak out at the thought of being pregnant. eek:

Dear Andie,

I dont know what to tell you?!?!? I am on the pill as well but have been for 23 years and not had a problem even with all the meds I take. How late are you? Do some of your meds say that it can make your pills less effective?

Maybe it is stress???? Do you think you should take a prego test?

Keep us informed and I will be thinking about you and hope you are o.k.

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask... will this be a good thing or a bad thing???

Lynette

I took two different preg tests from the market and they were both negative , but still no period .

I've started my next round of bc. I guess if it happens next month I'll pursue it further with my doc. I had all my hormones checked back in May and they were normal for my age, doc said I was far away from starting menopause.

Last month my period was extremely light and this month a no show. I thought it might be related to the Remicade but I can't find any info about that on the net.

Pregnancy would be a bad thing in my case, I have pulmonary hypertention so preganancy would be dangerous and risky for me and the child.

Thanks for your reply, if I find anything about biologics and menstrual cylcle I'll post it for all to read.

Andie, I have been on the pill for 11 years now (statred at 13yo for acne) and it is "common" for your period to get lighter and sometimes even stop completely if you have been on a high dosage pill for a long period of time. This first happened when I was 18yo and had no chance of being pregnant...

See a GP if you are worried to just check that everything is OK, but you could be one of the lucky ones who doesn't get a period on the pill. My GP just warned me to be careful that I monitor if I am pregnant as I got older to ensure that no period was due to the pill and not due to being pregnant.

My doctor said I was too young for menopause, too, but here it is

I think you should get a checkup, but you may not want to rule out menopause just because the doc says you're too young.

I started perimenopause at age 34. Messed up my cycles big time.

I was on birth control pills with Jane, I always started on a tuesday. Tuesday came and went and on Saturday took an otc "generic"=cheap test. As soon as the urine started passing the screen the line or two (whatever) was there. I would think if the tests came out negative, you are probably not pregnant. Just my experience. In fact, I found out I was pregnant with all three by the time I was 4 weeks pregnant.

Jane and Rachel were both birth control pill babies (gotta take them EVERYDAY) and Kyle was a heat of passion, couldn't stop. Jerry says that why he's a boy (Typical man), and yes, it was me, so Kyle's my fault. But what a beautiful fault he is!!

Stress can really mess up your cycles, though. Especially if you think you are and aren't ready to be. I swear everytime I was late and took a test, as soon as it was negative, I'd start the next day.

I'm kind of scared cuz since I had my tubes tied, I've had very heavy periods. This last one was like a pill period-3 days, 3 drops. That how it was with Kyle, then the next month, nothing. If I'm pregnant I'm going to KILL my OB.


Here's an off topic question though. I stopped breastfeeding in May and I'm still lactating-really lactating. Could it be that Kyle still sleeps in our bed next to me, or should I see a doctor. I really want my breasts back. They've served their time and need to retire to "other things". Any thoughts?

Sarah

We'll I got the blood preg test and it was negative. I hope this is a nice side effect of the BC pills. I wouldn't mind going through menopause either, one less thing to worry about. If it keeps up I'll look into it further.

SarahC
8 months is a long time to continue lactating after stopping the breast. My best friend has always let her little ones sleep with her and has not experienced this side effect but maybe your body is just really in tune with the babies or something. Not to scare you, but I've read there are some breast cancers that have lactating as a side effect.

Time to schedule an appt Sarah. It might be your meds, your stress, your sympathetic reaction to baby in your bed. Or it just might be you need the shot to dry up. Your body might not be able to quit producing milk on their own. Might be hormonal.

Guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and see a doctor. I felt a lump not in my breast but in my armpit one day in the shower. Now I can't seem to locate it ( I have fatty underarms!)

My friend lactated for over 20 months after stopping and she ended up having a pituitary tumor pressing on her prolactin(?) glands. She joked, cuz she casually mentioned it to her gyn and finds out she had a brain tumor. Pissed me off because I've been trying to get drs to do an MRI on Jane because of her growth. I took her to the doctor last week and she has grown two inches in 5 months. She's 8 and 5'1/2 and wears a size 9 womens shoe. Her vision has changed dramatically too which is a symptom. The doctor referred her to an endocrinologist, and they refused to see her stating there wasn't enough criteria for her to be seen!! Well, of course I was upset, then my doc calls (or has her staff do the dirty work) and they don't want to see her because I had to no shows. NO. I had two cancellations. I cancelled as soon as the office opened up and don't think that should be considered a no show.

I even wrote to Dr Phil. I cannot get any help anywhere, and now I have to find a new doctor, have all her records transferred and start from scratch. She's never gone through a "growth spurt", she has continuously grown on the average of 4-6 inches a year since she was born. When she was 4 months old she wore a 12-18 month size.

I know I'm way off topic (I don't want to think about me right now), but Elf, I'm going to email you some pictures of her, the difference in just one year of how much she has changed and see what you think if you don't mind. Let me know.

About me though, I think it's just our closeness, when I was nursing, he was feeding off one and would have his hand on the other one. When I put him to sleep now, I still lay with him and he still puts that one hand on the one he didn't use. I'm trying to break him of it, tried giving him stuffed animals and what not, but it's just a comfort thing. The whole time I nursed, he never took a bottle.

Sarah

Oh, I would be furious!!! I cannot stand a doctor's office that thinks we are all peons and they are the high and mighty doctors! Your child needs to be seen and she should make sure that happens no matter what. I would call her at home. I'm serious.

I'm interested in this because my daughter is 8 as well. She weighs 52 pounds and wears a size 1 shoe. Granted, she is a small one, but I was a bit alarmed when I read your post. Sorry, I don't want to be an alarmist, but I would be worried too.

Please keep me informed.
Michelle

Andie, I hate to get too personal but I will say that for most of my adult life, my periods were heavy and lasted a good 6 or 7 days.

Then I was on the BC Pill for a few years and they of course got lighter and shorter.

Then I went off the pill and started Enbrel (one had nothing to do with the other; it was just timing). And I have noticed my periods are quite light and only last 3 or 4 days.

It could be an age thing, but I'm just 35 so probably not. I guess it could be lingering effects of the BC Pill, but I went off that in April or May, and the gyn told me my cycles should go back to the way they were pre-pill.

So I really think it's the Enbrel.

Ok just an FYI for everyone, I don't know if I am special or not but thought I would let you all know this. I started Remicade in August and my periods seem to really change. Before I stated Remicade I took my BC everyday and would start on Thursday and end by sat. After Remicade my period got shorter. By November when I only had a period for one day I really didn't worry. Then in December I didn't have one at all but again didn't worry because of the changes in my period since starting Remicade. I started getting sick the week before Christmas and went to the doctor they said bacterial infection put me on antibiotics and that was it. After taking the antibiotics for about 4 days and still being really sick - throwing up all the time my husband who is in nursing school said "I don't think that you have an infection I think that you pregnant" I just looked at him and said you have lost your mind I'm on the pill. He insisted that I go to the store and get a home pregnancy test. The whole time I am telling him he has lost his mind because there is no way that I could possibly be pregnant. Imagine my surprise when it came back positive!! After 18 years on the pill without an accident and being very very careful because of all the medications that I am taking I find out that I am pregnant. After talking to my doctor he did say maybe I should advised women to use two forms of BC since there is some concern that biologics can increase fertility. Anyway after a sonogram done in December I found out that I was 8 weeks pregnant. I would encourage anyone who is using biologics to use either a barrier method of b/c or two forms. My husband and I are both adjusting to the idea of being parents but it can be quite shocking when it is this unexpected. I am now 13 weeks pregnant had my last Remicade treatment when I was 4 weeks pregnant but so far baby is growing normally I will see a perientologist (sp) on 02/17 to make sure that everything is ok we are also going to ask for genetic testing and see if there is any way to test for HLA- B27 while baby is still in utero. I did not start having any pain until the last 10 days and my back started aching a little and is now aching a little more not to bad yet. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with the pain while pregnant? Since I did not know I was pregnant for 8 weeks I worry about what baby was already exposed to so I really do not want to take any type of medication for the rest of my pregnancy. I have tired to reach my OB/GYN and ask about a tens unit but she has not called me back and I have this fear that if I plug it in that it will be shocking the baby somehow. Also if anyone has any advised on how pregnancy affected their AS I would really like to hear it. I am 36 year old and have a fused sacral spine and thoracic spine.

Stephanie,
I don't know how much truth there is to this (5 different doctors, 5 different opinions), but I had been taking prescription diet pills for two weeks when I found out I was 4 weeks pregnant with my second child (I'm 5'3 and weighed a little over 200lbs at that time) and my OB said the baby is very protected, esp in the beginning development. If something were to affect it, it would usually end up as a miscarriage. Now that's not "always" true, but try not to worry and add stress.

That's easy advice to give, I would worry too! Sorry. I am trying to help ease your fears though.

I don't think finding out the HLA-B27 status is a good idea. That's just my opinion. If it's positive, it'll be on all the records which could cause a hinderance somewhere down the line, and you will constantly worry, when your child may be positive and never develop symptoms. Just a thought.

I don't have AS, but thanks for sharing that-it'll help many on this board. It's also good to know that you can still have a few periods when you are pregnant. I had one, with my last child.

Please keep us informed on how the tests go and how your pregnancy progresses. We'll help pick out names for the baby!

Sarah

Hey Stephanie,
Your baby will be perfectly fine ! Actually, people who seek infertility treatment, get injected with a chemical substance that is contained in Enbrel and Remicade. This boosts the staying and nurturing of the little baby.egg. Your body did not reject it, and kept it extra warm with those chemicals. up until 10 weeks, no problem.
Before getting pregnant, I did all sorts of research to know whether to start Enbrel or not. I should have because of the things that I found, but was so scared that I did not.
So I went natural through the whole pregancy, working full-time.
So hot bath, help out (not recommended I know, but I did it anyway) Hot pads. And then, the hormones might jsut help you. I cruised through it. I had almost no pain all throughout because of that fact.
Happy pregnancy to you !
B.

We'll everything is back to normal. It came and went right on time. I did have some pretty bad cramping. I'll mention to my OBGYN next time I'm in.

Dear Andie,

WHew!! I am glad that all is well. I don't think it would hurt at all to mention it to your gyny next time. At least now you know if this happens again it is probably the same thing. I am hoping that this is a relief to you. Thanks for the update I was wondering!

Lynette