Has anyone decided NOT to have anymore children because of their Lyme diagnosis?
Is it because of your own health or fear of passing it to the baby?
I am only 30 and had planned on having one more child.
I am now unsure because of this.
Posted by ByronSBell 2007 (Member # 11496) on :
IMO, don't make a kid go through a lifetime of sickness
Posted by CD57 (Member # 11749) on :
hey Jenty! Both my LLMDs say there is a 40% chance of passing this on to your kids. But also, according to them, kids treat easily! Both my LLMDs say you have to go on with your life and not let Lyme and co rule it.
I think the standard advice is try to go a year or two without symptoms before getting pregnant.
There are lots of moms on here, several are treating their kids right now. Perhaps they will be along.
My point is.....live your life, and do what you want to do! If that means more kids, go for it!
Posted by yanivnaced (Member # 13212) on :
My wife, who has Lyme wants have another kid after she recovers. I am totally against that idea.
I'm thankful we had one healthy child pre-lyme and don't want to take a chance. To me the risk/reward ratio is not worth it. But she feels differently.
Posted by TS96 (Member # 14048) on :
I got my tubes tied back before I knew I had lyme at 32yo.
I got the Fibro and CFS diagnosis and knew that if I got pregnant one more time I'd probably DIE. Sence there was no cure for Fibro I made the decision for my own safety. Dr. told me Fibro wasn't a disease I could pass on so it was best my three children have a mother than no mother at all.
Now that I know it is lyme I probably would have waited, got treatment and tried to have more children.
I regret getting my tubes tied for a long time but now I'm at peace with the decision now.
I really don't want to have another surgery for reversal.
My husband and I really prayed about this decision. He really wanted to have more but went along with me because I was in such debilitating pain.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
Don't cross that bridge yet.
I had my first child at 36 and my second at 37.
That is years from now.
You need to concentrate on getting well.
In my very humble opinion, if I were younger (much!)
I would not say yes or no to another child just yet.
If I got to remission, I would still ask to be covered by amoxi while pregnant.
I am pretty sure one of my children is congenital.
The other I don't know for sure.
What I do know is that our environment is probably more likely
To be the major contributer of lyme than me.
Take a deep breath. You have time.
Time to get well and then decide.
Sending you prayers of comfort and hope.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by tailz (Member # 10014) on :
I had a hysterectomy, and I'm sure it was Lyme-related. They didn't find endometriosis the second time - just a "boggy uterus".
I regret it. Then again I have no man because there seems to be a colony collapse disorder in humans, too, thanks to the wireless boom. So I guess I regret the scar and lack of organs more than anything.
I'm weird. I miss my period. It never bothered me. In fact, that's when I felt best.
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I had all my children while I had Lyme. I did not know it was Lyme at the time.
I would not let Lyme stop me from having more, I would just be working with a good LLMD throughout my pregnancy.
Once we found out what was wrong with me and I got better, we actually talked about having another as we didn't have more because of my health. In the end, we decided against it, but it was because of my age, not because of the Lyme. I am 44.
One of my kids is adopted, but of the other five, only one has Lyme. She was treated and symptom-free after 4 months, but treated another 4 (for a total of 8 months) because she had had some cognitive involvement and we wanted to error on the side of keeping her on meds too long than error on the side of possible relapse.
I don't know that she got the Lyme from me as she has also had tick bites of her own.
From what I hear, many LLMD's have good results from keeping a pregnant mother on amoxicillin to protect the baby.
Posted by maureen2174 (Member # 11471) on :
I have full intention of having more children. I read that Dr. Burrascano said if you treat with abx. during pregnancy, you will most likely not pass it to your child.
My LLMD office goes along with this.
I am hoping to be in a position to get pregnant by the end of the year (I am 35 now and want 2 more).
Posted by steelbone (Member # 14014) on :
What about a guy with lyme. Is it OK to ket is perfectly healthy wife pregnant?
any thoughts
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
Steelbone, that is a good question. My LLMD thinks sexual transmission of Lyme is unlikely. He thinks it's more likely that couples both have Lyme because they go to the same places and are exposed to the same ticks.
Other LLMD's say differently.
So, basically, they do not know.
Once you get it under control, I, personally, think you are safe ... but I'm not an expert. Posted by CricketSC (Member # 11111) on :
Several years ago I wanted to have another child. At the time I had many symptoms and I knew I was sick but doctors could not find any answers as to why. Now that I know my illness is lyme I am so glad that I did not have another child. I do not want to take a chance at passing it on to a child.
Posted by dbourne (Member # 13833) on :
Deciding to have a child when you are worried about passing Lyme is hard and a very personal decision for you.
I was bit at 8 months pregnant and am working with a LLMD to get my daughter tested at our first appt this summer. She does not have any symptoms but I just want to be safe.
My husband and I have talked a lot recently about having another child and I can completely relate to what you are going through.
On one hand do you bring a child into the world that may or may not get Lyme, or do you go another route such as adoption?
My own feelings (for my situation etc) are to wait until remission, treat with high dose antibiotics when pregnant, and to not breastfeed after birth.
One reason for this is that my LLMD told me that at least I was going in with my eyes wide open and can take all precautions necessary to ensure our best chance of a healthy birth.
Truthfully, I am equally as scared of giving my child congenital Lyme as I am of sending her off to summer camp and her being bit by a tick there. It seems to just be everywhere now!
Please just think on it and make an appointment with a good LLMD who can walk you through treatment options through pregnancy.
I know some mommies take shots in hips, some use orals, and some go the IV route. From what I hear the muscle injections are the most effective although the most painful as well.
Yahoo has a great group for pregnant Lyme mommies that you should check out. They are all going through the same thing as you.
One more thought, Lyme gets really scary and awful when it goes untreated and masks itself as another illness over a period of time.
With your child you will immediately check the placenta, cord blood, etc. to diagnose Lyme and begin treatment immediately. Lyme has a greater success rate in young children especially when treated immediately.
At the end of the day it is just a hard decision that has really good points on both sides. You will have to do what is best for you...good luck!
[ 19. February 2008, 06:18 PM: Message edited by: dbourne ]
Posted by DolphinLady (Member # 6275) on :
For me it is a terrible risk to take. I'd rather consider adoption.
Posted by je (Member # 14653) on :
I've read some really scary stuff about stillborns, heart defects
There is a new study at Columbia linking lyme with autism.
I would at least wait a few years for the medical community to come up with some answers.
I think they just don't know and its a big risk.
Posted by ICEiam (Member # 7519) on :
My daughter is 27 has a 5 year old that was born with Lyme. She got pregnant before we knew she had Lyme. The 5 year old is doing OK, she relapsed so is back on Zith for now.
She would like another child......we know someone with LYme that has 2 lyme free children. She took Amoxy while pregnant. Monitored by her LLMD and a high risk OBGYN.
Daughter would like one more if she gets well....has also thought about adoption. The topic came up that how would she know if the one she adopted was Lyme free????
It is every where. At least if you have your own you can do the preventitive things.
HUGS,
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
I'm 33 and have not had children yet. Although I'm not ready for kids yet, I figure I will decide whether I will have them naturally or through adoption when it is time. It will depend on what my state of health is.
Many people who have been treated for Lyme have healthy children. Why not focus on getting healthy now and, when you are healthy, decide if it you want and feel comfortable having more children?
Personally, I would not have kids while I was symptomatic. First, I am terrified it would exacerbate the symptoms. Second is a fear of passing it on to the child.
If you do have another child, Dr. B has a protocol he used to reduce the possibility of passing Lyme through pregnancy. I'm sure some LLMDs are aware of it or would be willing to speak with him about it.
As you said, you are only 30. There is time.
Posted by catskillmamala (Member # 12536) on :
VERY hard question. I think getting pregnant with indecision of any type is not ideal. While you do have some time, 30 is not young and your fertility does begin declining after 30.
I have three kids. My 8 year old had a tick bite with classic EM rash, treated with 6 weeks amox, and got better. My 5 year old had a tick bite with fever, treated with 6 weeks amox and never got better--we found out this child has babs also. I also have a 3 year old who appears to be symptom-free.
BUT what we don't know is if the 5 and 3 year olds got it in utero since I appear to have lyme and babs as well.
Having children has been the best thing in my life, even with a lot of career and creative accomplishment prior. But having a child sick with tick-borne-diseases has also been the most challenging and difficult and painful thing in my life.
If I were you, I would try to get as healthy as possible before trying and then maintain tx under a good llmd during pregnancy.
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