Chronic pain and pregnancy?

Parentberries
1

Hey berries,

I know this is probably kind of a unique request (and a total shot in the dark) but I’m just wondering if anyone else on these boards is dealing with chronic pain issues while being pregnant - or TTC’ing? As some of you know already, I had severe scoliosis as a child and had to have a [name]Harrington[/name] [name]Rod[/name] fusion (T2-L2) in 1992 when I was 13. I was lucky enough to follow that up with about 17-18 good years that were virtually pain free… but when I hit about 30, my luck ran out. Since then I’ve had to deal with chronic pain in the parts of my spine that aren’t fused, my neck and low back. And my treatment options have been severely limited due to the fact that I live in [name]America[/name] and didn’t have insurance for quite a few years. Once I finally did get coverage back, thanks to my wonderful husband, they deemed anything relating to my back as a pre-existing condition and won’t cover a penny. My husband and I don’t make a lot of money so needless to say, our hands have been pretty tied in terms of treatment options.

Anyway, so I’m just looking to connect with any other women facing the same or similar pain issues while trying to/having a baby. It’s a really tough situation and I think some mutual support would be wonderful. Ideally, I’m hoping to find another woman with chronic pain issues who has or is trying to have kids and who is up for having a direct message/email conversation about what we’re dealing with and how and all of that fun stuff - so nothing too personal has to be posted publicly in these forums (I understand reservations about that). So I’d love to hear from anyone in a similar boat!

As always, thanks Berries! I truly enjoy and appreciate these forums every single day because so many of you are so open and kind and supportive - it’s a really unique and special thing to find on the internet these days and it means a lot. <<hugs>>

2

Yup, me. I have arthritis in my knees, hip and spine and have other chronic pain issues related to medical problems in my late teens and early twenties. You probably already know me from the TTC thread, but I’m TTC my second child… Being pregnant/giving birth with chronic pain issues is certainly a daunting thought but I have got through it once before and am up for the challenge again! [name]Feel[/name] free to PM me :slight_smile:

3

Although it’s probably not as severe as what you’re dealing with, I have fibromyalgia and more minor shoulder/neck issues (along with less painful medical issues) and a huge concern throughout my pregnancy was whether or not I’d need to take potentially dangerous medications.

Fibromyalgia (in my case at least) tends to have flare-ups and periods of less pain. About halfway through my pregnancy I was having some issues with it…although it was always there, it got worse for a bit mid-pregnancy to the point where it was affecting my ability to function. I decided to wait for a short period and if it didn’t get better, to go back on medication (the medication is generally safe during pregnancy but can cause non-dangerous but unpleasant withdrawal symptoms in newborns and had a very small risk of more serious issues). I ended up not going back on the medication, as my symptoms improved.

I would look into whether insurance would cover certain treatments if you became pregnant. Things such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, etc. can be very helpful, and if it was treated as a complication of pregnancy instead of a pre-existing issue, it may be covered. Also look into pain medication options, how safe they are, etc.