Tysabri and pregnancy

[als5445]

Hello everyone,

Just looking for some personal experiences here. I've been on Ty for about 4 years now, DX with MS for 9. Me and my husband had been talking about having kids for a couple of years now and have finally decided to start trying.

I started taking prenatals a month ago and weaned off my antidepressant recently so all that's left is waiting for the washout from Tysabri. I see my neuro in 2 weeks so I will see what he says, but currently I don't plan on taking any treatment while TTC.

I am only 25, so age isn't an issue with TTC. However, obviously im worried about how being off Ty is going to affect me. I'm not worried about MS once I get pregnant, but I'm so afraid we won't get pregnant within the first few months and I start having issues. Tysabri has allowed me to improve my life so much, i don't want to give up what I have accomplished.

Has anyone else gotten pregnant after being on Ty? Did you think that Tysabri made it harder to conceive at all? Did you have any major relapses while TTC? Did you have a rebound relapse while pregnant?

Thanks for any replies, I hope someone has a similar experience. Also, my mind is set on getting pregnant despite the risks, so please no trying to change it

[dyin_myelin]

I'm TTC while actively taking Ty. So did this woman: http://inhealth.cnn.com/living-well-...of-your-dreams I am not suggesting getting pregnant on a class C drug, but people do conceive with both MS and Ty as a washout or accidentally while on it (or rarely on purpose).

You can use a fertility center to maximize your chances, and it may be covered by your insurance. It typically takes up to a year to conceive, so you have to figure that into your risk tolerance and how active your MS is. I assume it was very active because most people taking Ty have upgraded their DMD.

Copaxone is class A and I tried to convince my neuro to let me take it until I got pregnant. She said no because it would take four months to reach saturation. Well, four months later and no pregnancy. Not even sure if it was a good idea, but maybe you want to ask your doctor about it. Good luck!

[als5445]

Thanks for your reply!

I did think about going on Copaxone, but it did nothing for me when I was on it on the past so I figured it wouldn't be worth it now.

Me and my husband actually decided to start trying the other night. If nothing else I might ask my nuero if I could do infusions every 2 months if we don't get pregnant right away.

[MrsBones]

Copaxone is actually Class B. Studies on animals have shown no danger to the animals, but as we know from failed treatments, what goes for a rat or rabbit, doesn't always hold true for a human. Class A drugs have been studied in humans and proven safe, which is not the case with Copaxone. No thorough studies have been done on humans in relation to pregnancy and Copaxone.

That said, I've known of people who have taken Copaxone while pregnant, not just while TTC. I wouldn't risk it, myself, if the dr can come up with better options, but that's me.

It does seem to be the least risky if you must take a DMD while TTC. The others are Category C.

http://www.copaxone.com/Resources/pd...nformation.pdf

[Aviah]

I got pregnant on Ty!

Hi!

I am currently 25 weeks pregnant, got pregnant on Ty on stopped taking it. My Ob/Gyn says that my baby (girl!) is just fine. A friend of mine that also got pregnant on Ty has a gorgeous kid.

The pregnancy so far is pretty quiet (my ms is usually not…), excluding two events: The first was immediately after I conceived. I was really really dizzy and was unable to stand several hours every day (early mornings to the afternoons). I was not aware of the pregnancy then and went to the ER as I gathered that I was relapsing, where they made me take a pregnancy test. It was probably caused by the pregnancy hormones combined with the ms, and it went away after a week or so. The second episode was about a month ago, I was dizzy again and had to take steroids.

[tspaulding]

I was dx w/ RRMS at age 21 and at 26 I thought I was pregnant so I went off Copax. I was not pregnant so went back on.

My son was born when I was 32, and I chose to take no meds during that time. He was born at 30wks, and is now almost 8 and healthy.

Take care and GL

[als5445]

I got to see my nuero a couple weeks ago to discuss it. He was optimistic about me getting pregnant at least. He didn't have a problem with me not waiting for the 3 month wash out to start ttc, but he said if I started to have problems before getting pregnant it was either I'm trying for a baby or I have MS (basically he won't put me back on Ty if I want to keep trying).

[DexterMorgan]

Thanks for the reactions! Well I got a response back from my neurologist and because I'm still having trouble breathing she is quite certain that it has nothing to do with the Tysabri. Which to me really sounds like ***, you are not going to tell me that I had trouble breathing all on my own? That it was all just a coincidence?

I don't know I'm quite mad now and definitely not looking forward to next month. Let's just hope that it was a 1 time thing.

[DexterMorgan]

wrong topic, so sorry!

[als5445]

Update

So I thought I would post an update in case anyone else searched this topic

I did start noticing MS symptoms trickling back about 8 weeks after my last infusion, but luckily no full blown relapse. Me and DH were lucky enough to get pregnant on my first cycle after stopping BC. I'm currently 28 weeks with our little girl and so far my MS has completely subsided.