Pregnancy and sjogren's

Hello fellow Jennifer. I am sorry you are receiving such negative comments at this stage in your pregnancy, and life. 33 years ago I was already 4 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child when i was diagnosed. I lived in USA at the time and was having my baby at the wolrd-famous Johns Hopkins Hospital in a high-risk pregnancy unit following repeated miscarriages for reasons unrelated to SS. The ONLY SS-related issue with that and my next pregnancy also was the small possibility of a heart issue. This was checked with a fetal heart ultrasound around 26 weeks, and IF a problem was found, it was to be treated simply by giving me steroids. I had no problem with eiither of the 2 pregnancies. I believe i also had undiagnosed SS by the time of my 1st baby which was also complication-free. My 3 sons have no signs of SS or any health issues at all. You need top-rate care, help during your heavy-fatigue period (which is also common in non-SS pregnancies) and uninformed people to stop giving their opinions. No-one is guaranteed a successful pregnancy, but yours has the same chance of success as everyone else provided you have great care. Best wishes. 

Hi Jennifer:

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

American born and bred with SS and a couple of other & bigger health issues (bigger for me), and I stay away from American forums because they're too negative. As an example: my ex "was told" by others on an American site that he was in end-stage COPD, 6 frickin' years ago. He has been sitting around waiting to die ever since. I tried to get him into PT years ago, but he & his bump on a log of a doctor said no.

NOW he's been forced into PT & OT. Better late than never but at 71, he lost so much muscle mass in the last 6 years which he can't recover.

So stick with the Brita & this site. Please don't consult either Dr. Quack Quack Google or American sites as they're injurious to everyone's health. And you just might want to stay out of ALL forums and just enjoy your pregnancy.

Wishing you all the best.

 Hii Jennifer, I am 63 now and have had 2 children without being aware I had sjrogren syndrom. I was 27 with my first, both boys and healthy, one is 35 and the other is 28.

? The only thing I can say is take it as it comes. my sister who is 2 years younger doesnt have S.S and two boys too!!  It is easy to worry too much as I thought about having another child in my late 30's but thats when I was told about some of the risks with heart problems. I found I was border Anemic with both children but that can be normal for most pregnancys anyway. I was fatigued too. I agree with your GP. Be happy- you will most likely have a normal baby like me. Look forward. You are better informed than I was. Yet If i had know Id be worrying like you too.

?Make the most of the rest while you can you will soon be busy when your baby is born

Thankyou all so much for your kind replies! I do think that sometimes we can 'over Google' and end up worrying ourselves sick! (Which I am definitely guilty of!) I will definitely take all your advice and comments on board and learn to take it week to week and just deal with the here and now as it were rather than over thinking things! I do think some sites almost scare you with the comments and experiences but I suppose we are all different and no two pregnancies will be the same. I will try not to worry so much and all of you have put my mind at ease so thankyou again for that, it means alot! Xxx

Hi Jennifer,

I have Sjogrens and had a baby. If I could do it over again, I would have probably choosen to eat a better diet to help my health and my babies health without the negative side effect of medication.

I have a friend who also has sjogrens, she is having her third baby. Her way of coping with sjogrens is using medications. She still has symptoms and depression, but as far as I can tell, she does not have trouble having babies.

Treating yourself through natural means, such as diet( more plants, less sugar, etc.), lowering your stress, avoiding chemicals, getting enough sleep is probably the safest route. Every individual needs to figure out the formula that best works for them.

However, I will mention that I recently read a study that showed that pregnant women could have an impact on their unborn child- in helping reduce the chances of your child having asthma or eczema by including apples and fish in their diet. However, since fish contain mercury, my naturopath recommends fish oil or Alaskan King wild salmon the as better choices. I am sharing this because I would have loved to have known about this (my son has had both asthma and eczema). Also eating probiotics is looking like it can be beneficial to your baby if you are able to incorporate it. These are meant to be helpful, not to stress you. The healthy diet is a well balanced diet including a variety of foods.

Remember you know yourself best. We are all biologically different and can react to foods differently, so if possible, I think a naturopath would be helpful in helping you find the best diet. And please forgive all this information if you already treat yourself through diet and other natural means.