posted
It has been quite sometime since I posted and visited this site, I have been told it has changed quite a bit with much less debate and much more support.
At the time I left there was quite a heated debate regarding potential pregnancy and lyme. I have 4 children already that were infected during a time I did not know I was infected.
I was divorced and remarried almost a year ago and did not plan to have more children mainly because of my health.
Seems God had other plans as my husband is basically infertile according to sperm counts and we were using birth control just in case.
We did 3 tests this weekend and all were def positive. So there are lots of mixed emotions and concerns.
Because of this I don't need anyone posting that they would never have another child, or how could I be selfish etc.....I guess I am a little defensive as I keep thinking how in the world did I let this happen??!!!
I feel as though I am taking a risk of condemnation just by posting but I need support and advice so I am hoping that will not be the case.
There is an OB/GYN locally who is semi-lyme literate from what I have been told by one of his patients. From reading some of the posts regarding Dr J, I just need to know if he is still practicing or accepting phone calls for consults or accepting new patients?
My nurse practicioner is willing to treat with antibiotics but I need to know what to tell her until I can get in to see the OB guy. And will just pray he will be willing also.
Any answers?? I have done a search but my little lyme brain is not comprehending much at this point.
Thanks so much in advance
God Bless
Cheryl
Posts: 204 | From kentucky | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Cheryl, I do not think anyone will blame you for getting pregnant, obviously you were taking to proper steps! And like you said God has the ultimate decision.
I personally do not know about pregnancy and lyme other than I possibly passed it on to my children also. I have heard that people were able to take abx to lower the risk of exposure, I am not sure what abx or when, but I have heard of it.
I would think your best bet would be to have the world's best pediatric lyme specialist in CT (we all know who he is) consult with your OBGYN. If you do not know who I am talking about you can private msg me.
A life is a precious thing and never to be taken for ganted, I know you may be upset right now and I will pray for happiness and acceptance for you. Also for a healthy lyme-free baby!
Good luck and please don't be nervous to post anyone who would attack you should be ashamed of thereself!!!! Keep us posted as to your progress and God bless!
-------------------- I'm gonna get that lyme !!! Posts: 61 | From Erie, PA | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
Cheryl, I see no room for debate or judgement. You took extra precautions. It looks like the prevention control was taken out of your hands. Please don't blame yourself.
This is from my files:
Notes as sent by Randy Sykes, Director of Hartford Lyme Support Group, Hartford, Connecticut Pregnancy and Lyme- Update 2005
At the 'Hope to Heal' Lyme Conference in Reston, VA, (2005), Dr. Burrascano and Dr. Jones both spoke about Lyme and pregnancy.
We all are thankful they are doing this research and continue to help mothers and children. A while back I promised to report anything I heard about this topic.. and I will do so now for those with Lyme who are considering becoming pregnant. This is only a small portion of the report. Please order a recording of the programs for more detailed information.
**Any stage of active Lyme can affect the fetus at any stage of pregnancy. Problems include- miscarriage, still birth, serious birth defects, apparently healthy babies who become ill later on, and sudden infant death.
Study of 66 women concluded: If the mother is kept on appropriate antibiotic therapy for the duration of the pregnancy.... (IMPORTANT- Antibiotics should begin **BEFORE** conception and be continued until AFTER delivery), then no adverse fetal outcomes were reported that were related to Lyme disease.
No adverse effects for the baby from the antibiotic therapy. Breast milk can carry the Lyme spirochetes and can possibly be infectious to the baby. Serious post partum depression is VERY common and should be expected.
Parents MUST arrange for help at home for at least the first month after delivery. Mothers MUST follow a rigid schedule. Antibiotics can be specific for the mother and safe.. and can include orals, IVs, and/or injections.
Antibiotic levels must be monitored regularly if orals are used. NO breast feeding. At delivery the babies cord blood and the placenta should be tested for Lyme, Bartonella by PCR and culture if possible. Babies urine must be tested monthly for Lyme by PCR. LLMD to follow babies progress.
Best wishes for you and your baby, Sue G.
Posts: 61 | From Florida, USA | Registered: Aug 2005
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Linda LD
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6663
posted
Sweetheart you are fine!
Everything will be o.k.
I don't know how old you are, but at 42 I can't imagine how strong the "Oh my Gawd, what have we done," feeling would be. We planned both our kids and I felt that way! And I didn't know I was sick!
You've been through this four times before--you know it can be hard--but oh so worth it.
The baby will be FINE! Have you contacted Dr. J? You need to get on abx for the duration!
This is happy, happy news--I promise it will be o.k. And I suspect your husband is strutting around proud even if he is not admiting it.
This a baby from God--you were suppose to have this baby, it is part of God's plan.
Please be happy--my two are fine--they were sick at first but they are getting better every day and such joyes! They aren't teenagers yet...
Dr. J says however long you have this cut the time in half and that is how long it atakes to get well.
This baby is a blessing, God has a special path for him/her. It will be o.k.
My biggest problem is blaming myself I gave the kids Lyme. You have the chance to consult with one of the best docs in the country on this illness.
This baby is going to be fine.
Please private message me your address 'cause as soon as you find out what the babies sex is--I'm buying an outfit! Oh, I have "Hope to Heal" DVDs--give me your address and I will mail them to you!
Linda
Posts: 1171 | From Knoxville, TN US | Registered: Dec 2004
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Thanks so much for the support, I started crying when I read the posts. I don't think the reality of this has truly sunk in.
You are right, proud pops does have his head in the clouds!!! He is truly the best step dad I could imagine for my children as basically the biological father of my first two is deceased and the father of the second two is anything but a father......
He has never had children of his own and would adopt mine if the father would drop off the face of the earth, which we sometimes wish....oops that was bad lol.
His biggest concern for me is my health and that of the baby. I made him read tons of literature when we first started dating just so he would b e clear as to what he was getting into. I thank God everyday that he thinks I set the moon and no doubt I feel the same about him.
I did make an appt with my NP for in the morning, so will get started on the Amoxicillin then. I've taken it before in the early days of the disease and never seemed to herx or get any better with it.
I was also glad to hear that alot of women feel better while pregnant. With the last 3 pregnancies I was so sick but did not know it was lyme, just thought it was just the pregnancies and working full time and basically being a single mom.
At least this time I know and will def take better care of me and have lots of family to make sure I do.
Linda I tried to PM you but it said your box is full! Looks like you got some reading to do lol! I live in Campbellsville (central part of the state) I will be 40 in the fall so age I guess will also play a factor in this. My husband is 43.
Will keep you all up dated, maybe this is Gods way of me helping out someone else too.
Thanks sooo much!
Cheryl
Posts: 204 | From kentucky | Registered: May 2003
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posted
I will be praying for you and your little one. God has a purpose for this baby and for you being their parent. You just keep your eye on Him and what He has for you.
Love In Christ,
Janjan
Posts: 30 | From warrenton, virginia | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Cool! Happy news! As long as you follow the plan for protecting your baby as best you can, everything will be fine! Just keep a close eye for Lyme symptoms the rest of his/her life.
Congratulations!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
Cheryl called me this morning and told me she posted this. She was afraid I would read it and freak before she had a chance to talk to me.
I heard happiness in her voice when I answered the phone. I thought she was going to tell me she is feeling sooooo good. Last week when we spoke things were going haywire for her.
No wonder things were haywire, the woman's hormones were going wacko. LOL
I'm still in a state of shock girl. But you know I'll support you. See, I told you this support group had taken a very good turn in supporting and very little bashing.
God Bless you. 5 children!!!!!!
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6478 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
I know that Dr. K. has treated pregnant ladies with herbals, etc. without ill effects. He discussed pregnancies at a recent seminar held for MD's, etc. , but I would not want to comment here other than either he, his former assistant, etc. would probably tell you what they know with relation to Lyme and pregnancies. Contact me if you wish.
Take care.
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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WildCondor
Unregistered
posted
Congratulations!
When you go on the Amoxicillin which is hopefully ASAP, make sur eyou have your blood levels tested to make sure you are on the correct amounts. Please make absolute sure that you follow the guidelines posted above by Sue G. it is essential for you to have a healthy baby.
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posted
I can't contribute anything more to this thread in terms of advice for what to do correctly to help you and the baby. Everyone has very good advice on how to proceed. Follow it.
I am writing because I have very virulent lyme and co's and everyone that reads my threads knows this. Before my lyme struck, I was a pediatric home care nurse who took care of seriously ill kids at home. I am writing to tell you (1) I'm proud of you (2) I wanted to congratulate you and your husband and (3) I truly believe that with you being proactive that you and your child will come through this fine !! ( 4) I will also keep you in my prayers and thoughts. Posts: 719 | From Delaware | Registered: Jan 2006
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I too just recently found out that I am pregnant and we were using birth control too! It was an esp. big shock for us since we were planning on adopting instead of having biological children, because of this illness.
I just wanted to say that if you ever want to talk to someone in the same situation as you I would love it!
My LLMD has Lymes and so does his 20 yr old daughter.
He told me she only treated with rife and herbs & supplements and is currently about 50% better when she found out she was pregnant.
She had a healthy 8Lb baby boy three week ago.
There is hope! Congratulations! I'll send you good energy. love & light, Yemaya
[ 21. February 2006, 11:45 AM: Message edited by: Yemaya ]
Posts: 188 | From NM | Registered: Feb 2006
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
Cheryl and Naomi,
CONGRATS to you both! Naomi, I loved your idea of you & Cheryl having many PMs or regular emails as your own support since you are walking in each other's shoes. As everyone else, best wishes, and keep the advice handy by printing this out ok.
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posted
Cheryl, Please, please, please let me know how this is going for you. I am so happy for you.
I am 42 and am getting married in May. My fiance and I want to conceive shortly after that and I recently posted a question about Lyme and pregnancy myself.
This would be my first child (and probably only chance at having one) so I have no idea how it will impact me. I hope we can support each other and share information on this.
If you find that docs will treat you with abx while pregnant, please let me know how that goes.
I am pulling for you guys...I am confident that all will be well and the baby will be such a special gift! Posts: 331 | From virginia | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
I haven't seen any updates to this....I'm definitely a newbie, only discovered the site about two hours ago, but I feel like I've finally found a place where someone might understand what I'm going through and be able to point me in the right direction.
Cheryl, I can totally commiserate with you right now. I'm 36, been told since I was 18 that I was infertile and my doctors and repeated tests continued to prove that they were right. In January, I finally met a LLMD and I laughed in her face when she told me that she thought I had chronic Lyme. Turns out she knew exactly what she was talking about. After adopting a boy three years ago, we did a lot more fertility treatments and finally ended up getting pg in Dec '03. I had been feeling horrible, but once morning sickness passed, I felt better than I had in years. All of my joint and muscle pains went away and I felt like I was on top of the world. He was small for his gestational age which really surprised my doctors since I had gestational diabetes, and as he aged, we noticed more odd symptoms with him which I later found out were classic signs of a baby born to a mother with lyme.
When he was six months old, I suddenly started feeling all of the aches and pains again, and they just intensified. I went to doctor after doctor who all agreed that something was wrong, but it wasn't in their field. I was tested for MS, Lupus, etc for the next year. Finally in January, I found this new doctor which could have only been by the hand of God since I was looking for a doctor to treat my PCOS. She did the most complete workup I had ever had done including sending me to Igenex.
As soon as we got the diagnosis, we began in immediate treatment of herbal remedies since I am allergic to both penicillin and sulfas. Even though I had never gotten pg on my own, we still made sure that we took extra precautions and she put me on anti-fertility drugs so that there was no chance that I could get pregnant.
Apparently, God had other plans for us because within a month of starting the Lyme treatment, I became pregnant. I did not even consider that it might be a possibility even though I was almost a month late. I just assumed it was a side effect of the treatment. I mentioned it to my LLMD and she sent me for a beta test just to confirm all of the negative HPT's that I had gotten. Somehow, all four of them were wrong.
We immediately stopped the naturopathic treatment and switched to oral abx which I did not tolerate well. Whether it was from the size of the pill itself of the morning sickness, we don't know. Within days of switching protocols, all of the improvements that I had already been seeing started diminishing to the point that within two months, I went from feeling almost completely pain free, to having to be pushed in a wheel chair because the pain in my legs and hips were so bad that I could not touch the ground without screaming in pain.
I worked with my LLMD to get approved for a pic line for IV abx, but as soon as we talked with my OB, she immediately demanded that I stop all treatment because she didn't believe the dx and wanted me to get a 2nd opinion. Since she was admitting me to the hospital anyway for extreme hypertension, she requested that he visit me in the hospital. After talking with me about 5 minutes and reviewing my labs, he came back and said that he completely supported the LLMD and her treatment protocol and would be glad to provide the treatment himself if the other doctor's offices were too far to travel. My OB still disagreed and would not allow the treatment.
It's now been over three weeks since my visit to him and she will not even discuss treatment with me except to tell me that she thinks I need to go back on the oral meds because a pic line is too dangerous for the baby.
I'm really at a loss for what to do at this point. I don't want to pass this disease on to another baby, and I did all I could to prevent conception. With all of my other congenital issues that will probably already be passed down, along with the fact that it is quite likely that I've already passed this along to one child, I just don't want to do anything else to this poor baby that isn't completely avoidable.
I guess I'm just asking for some direction about where I can go to get information to provide to this doctor about what is safe.
Please forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong place. I'm just really lost as to what to do and I can feel my symptoms getting worse every day.
TIA,
Sunshine
Posts: 2 | From Northern California | Registered: May 2006
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mlkeen
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1260
posted
Congratulations!
From what I understand, because you know you have lyme and will be on the right drugs(treatment) soon, this child is likely to be very healthy.
Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Pregnant moms are advised to up their folic acid intake levels. The sooner, the better.
For complicated reasons, this is a very, very good idea...in addition to the recommended prenatal vitamins with minerals.
To be healthy we need a LOT (!) of "acids" and normally a few minerals...and glycogen ("alkalines").
It's about balance.
Drink chocolate milk and eat PB&J sandwiches on whole wheat bread. For you and baby. For the jelly...make it something like blackberry preserves. Eat and drink only healthy things.
There are many additional protective factors that will kick in to help. Owing to "preservation of the species"...the child will get from you the nutrients needed to grow, to develop normally, to fight any infections you and he/she are in contact with, so it is important YOUR nutritional status is good.
When preganant, there is a huge hormonal shift. Hormones are acidic. They come from the breakdown of cholesterol. Bb follows the cholesterol path. It causes us to make too much LDL cholesterol. It needs cholesterol for its outer cell walls.
Since it takes Mg to make cholesterol, it maybe that additional Mg was pulled out of YOUR storage (Mg-ATP...lots ! is stored in the liver) and this resulted in the lessening of the lyme symptoms...protecting the fetus...and you.
Understand? Let me try to put it another way: The baby's brain and heart develop first. It takes a LOT of "energy" to think and for the heart to beat lifelong. We need to make a lot of ATP, the energy transporter, which is present as Mg-ATP inside the cells.
So...it the early months, the fetus gets a LOT of Mg (and other nutrients 'natch) from mom. It has to come from her supply. There is a LOT of Mg stored in the liver...more than anywhere else. The liver has 2000 mitochondria PER CELL. These are the powerhouses of the cells where Mg-ATP is stored. It is vital to the rest of the system that this "detox" organ be working efficiently.
For the "toxemia" of pregnancy...what is given? Mg sulfate, right? Too much can be dangerous for the child though (respiratory mainly). It can be countered quickly with calcium.
Delivery "happens" when cortisol, another acidic hormone, rises. This causes an influx of calcium INTO the cells, causing them to contract....labor pains as the muscles contract (Ca in),then relax (Mg in). This is the Ca-Mg pump.
Docs won't give paracervical block upon paracervical block (too close together) because the "locals" block/lower cortisol and delay delivery. The muscles stay "relaxed".
Quite honestly, if you can "handle" natural childbirth, you might just supply the baby with more cortisol to "fight". Being a L&D nurse and a mom who had a frank breech birth (#1) and the second at 9# 8oz and 22 inches...I know what I am asking...OUCH.
Finally...docs tend to cut the cord too fast. There is a right time and a wrong time. Stem cells are harvested from the cord...
Do you see how this all begins to "fit together"?
Once again, many factors are coming into play as your body is supplying your child with the nutrients needed to fight, to grow, to be healthy. So make sure YOU and YOUR BABY have lots of good nutrients. You know what's good and what likely isn't. We all do.
Wishing you a healthy pregnancy, delivery and a healthy child.
[ 30. May 2006, 03:32 PM: Message edited by: Marnie ]
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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Congratulations! No judgement here except to say my hat is off to you handling 4 children already and being pregnant again.
Make sure you get what you need to stay healthy too. Sounds like your husband will be a great deal of help.
I have absolutely no medical advice to offer as my daughter and I contracted Lyme at the same time (we think) and definitely not while I was pregnant. There are good resources out there and I wish you all the best! Posts: 460 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2005
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My heart goes out to you.. Do you HAVE to see this particular OB? She seems to be making a bad situation even worse. Would she be prescribing the i.v.? Have you tried asking her how she could be so definitive about a disease that is not well understood?
I just recently had my 4th child and was met with similar opposition, although it was in regards to taking high doses of amoxicillan during pregnancy.
This post may be overlooked due to the fact it is posted on another thread. Maybe you would like to start a new topic and copy and paste your post to get more replies..there is a lot of great help on this board.
Good luck and blessing to you and your family.
Posts: 89 | From Ohio | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
First I want to say congradulations. I know what the whole lyme arguement is on this. I want you to know that God will make your baby healthy, just trust him. I have had lyme for about 21 years and most of those years I spent completely an invalid. I was to the point I was on my feet a bit again and was able to get married. I conceived right after we got married and had received some negative thoughts about this. It was a happy thing and a scary thing all at the same time. My mom was panic stricken because of what she had seen me go through. However despite what the odds were medically speaking we ultimately trusted in God to bring us a healthy child. She is almost two years old and never had a problem. We even had my cord blood and the placenta tested and also the baby's urine. All is fine and I give God all the glory for it.
Posts: 47 | From WV | Registered: May 2006
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