pre natal assessment

[dee123]

Good evening all hope you all feeling better than i do, i am having a reallydown time this week and i have an appointment to see gyno on wed 5th april for a pre assessment all because i want to be pregnant and i have discoid lupus.... i have got a feeling that he/she will tell me that i am not able ot have a child, i would like to know if any body is of going through the same thing, and how they are coping to come to terms with not able to have children or if they have had a pre assessment and what it invloves...
Thank you all for been so understanding...
style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Thanx.gif
speak soon
DEE/x x x x x

[alobreto]

Hi, Dee! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif
There is good reason to have a prenatal assessment when a chronic health issue is involved. You want to be in the best possible physical condition when your pregnancy begins in order to provide the healthiest environment for your child to develop in.

A prenatal assessment consists of those general blood tests that provide a measure of your internal organ function, a urinalysis to make sure the plumbing is okay, and general physical exam to ensure that your pulse, blood pressure, and other findings will contribute to a happy outcome.

It's great that you are planning ahead because that can make all the difference. Many people with lupus have fine and healthy babies and there is no reason to believe you will not be able to simply because you have discoid lupus.

I wish you a healthful pregnancy and a healthy little one!
Angela style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/flowers.gif

[Clare.T]

Dee

If the skin is the only organ affected by lupus and there are no signs or symptoms of systemic disease, there is absolutely no reason at all to be worried about lupus affecting your pregnancy.( Info from my own doctor)

Having said that, a number of people with discoid lesions also have SLE, meaning there's blood work and other symptoms to support an SLE diagnosis and that means they might be at greater risk.

There's a possibility that what's being described as 'discoid' lupus is in fact, the subacute cutaneous type of lupus skin. Before SCLE was identified, SCLE was called 'discoid' and some doctors still call skin lupus that's not associated with systemic disease 'discoid' .

However many people with subacute skin also have other signs of lupus, antibodies and a few symptoms of systemic lupus but not often organ involvement. The most important thing is that one very common sort of antibody in SCLE , called anti -Ro antibody, can cross the placenta and sometimes affect the baby with what's called neonatal lupus. Very rarely this can affect the baby's heart so extra ultrasounds and dopplers are needed to check on this possibility.

There's also the question of what medications you are on and deciding whether to stay on them for the pregnancy.

So the bottom line is that you should check out your lupus status and pregnancy plans with your lupus doctor too.


All the best Dee

Clare