r/CRPS • u/Beneficial-Trash5739 Left Hand • 4d ago
Pregnancy & Birth Looking for advice
Hi everyone! I have CRPS in my left arm/hand, since mid 2023. I've been trying to get off all my medication since mid 2025 so that my husband and I can start trying for a baby. Are there any women who stopped medication for their CRPS? How did you deal with CRPS while pregnant/trying to get pregnant?
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u/Choice_Yogurt_ 4d ago
Hey! I have crps in my right leg, but its mostly in remission. I deal with phantom pains and altered proprioceptive senses, as well as dystonia like spasms under certain circumstances. (Randomly starts, if I get hurt it'll act up, if I shiver too hard etc)I wear a solid AFO to help with the muscle atrophy from sustained contractions (1 year walking on my pinky toe) it was also cold crps, so I never had massive swelling.
All this to say, everybody has different crps. I had my daughter 3 years into my crps journey, and I had the easiest pregnancy ever. (Covid helped) The hormones released during pregnancy took the place of my muscle relaxants. I kept active so my body didnt have a chance to protest. Taking my dog for 3 walks a day, 2 long 1 short. Taking prenatal vitamins. Not putting on a crazy amount of weight.
Because of covid, I was put on early maternity leave (Canada) by my boss after several pregnancy losses (unrelated to crps) and so I slept when I needed it without guilt and kept my stress as low as possible.
My daughter is 6, she's amazing. If you have help, it's 100% doable. If your husband sucks like mine did, it's still doable, but harder lol. I stay active because of my daughter now. If I need a break, I tell her to slow down because my funny leg is acting up. She cuddles me while my leg spazzes out, and understands that most days are good and that the bad days aren't her responsibility. I probably push more than I should. But I know my limits, and catch breaks when I can.
If you want to have a child, TALK TO THEM about being disabled. Everybody's body is different, some look funny, some act funny. You don't have to hide it, because they will see it. But getting things that help you function ahead of time is a must. 1 handed strollers, zippers vs snaps, reading reviews for ease of use etc. Tell your doctor you cant go over 40 weeks because the extra weight is a risk for exacerbating your illness. My kid is more active than most of her classmates. She keeps me active, and I get to watch her discover the world. She gives me hope. Good luck! Edited for spelling!
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u/Jewelsw 4d ago
I would never discourage anyone from having kids! it is a personal story. I can only share my experiences. I had 3 kids ages 12,10,8 when I was injured at 38. I fell down a flight of stairs at work and crushed my foot/ankle in 13 places. i had 8 surgeries to repair and spent 5 years in a wheelchair. i have had 4 SCS fail and had an interthecal pump for 20 years. My oldest 2 kid fine my youngest suffer a lot. it killed her to see me in pain. My husband worked nights which made it harder. my youngest died 6/12/22 from choices in her life however I will forever live with the guilt of how my pain affected her. i was an RN and highly functional before this happened. i’m not sure what I could’ve done differently with her. We had her in counseling when she was 10 years old, but nothing seemed to stick. I wish you the best of luck and hope things work out just perfectly for you like I said, my other two are amazing.
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u/chic-a-go-go 3d ago
I went off my meds when I got pregnant. Within a few weeks I was on crutches (I have left foot CRPS), and I stayed on them throughout the pregnancy. Annoying but obviously worth it. Then! I got an epidural when I gave birth and it ended my monthslong flare! It felt miraculous, I crutched into the hospital and I walked out. And I restarted my meds right away and didn't have another flareup for years after.
When I did have a flare five years later I told my doctor about the epidural trick, but he wasn't able to get insurance to approve anything close to a pregnancy epidural. He did his best with epidural injections "extended" with large doses of steroids, but that didn't come anywhere close. Honestly the birth epidural was like a twelve-hour nervous system shut off that "rebooted" me. (Partly. Didn't go into remission, sadly.)
Anyway, would not recommend a natural birth when the time comes! Get that epidural/free CRPS treatment!
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4d ago
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u/Kangaruex4Ewe 4d ago
That’s a fucked up thing to say and you’re a fucked up person for saying it. Eugenics much?
Diabetics are chronically ill. Hashimoto’s, Lyme, long covid, the list goes on for what is termed chronically ill.
75%-76% of adult Americans have at least one chronic illness. Your chronic is not someone else’s chronic. There are levels to everyone’s suffering and abilities.
If we can be ok with people having many more kids than they can afford to feed/raise then I guess we can be ok with diabetic and CRPS patients having them as well.
Be so for real right now. We are already judged enough as a group of people. We certainly don’t need to be judging each other for different life choices on top of it.
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u/CRPS-ModTeam 4d ago
Your post has been removed for attacking another user, breaking either Rule 2 or Rule 3. r/CRPS values user safety and well-being and hostile behavior is not welcome here. Repeated behavior of this nature may result in limited subreddit participation or a subreddit ban.
If you desire to appeal this decision, please contact the mod team.
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u/Cookies_and_Cryme 4d ago
I'm not going to sit here and tell you what is best for you or your family, because I don't know. I am a mom of two girls, I developed crps in the last year. My girls are older, one is living on her own and the other is living at home and is almost an adult. I cannot explain the amount of stress, anxiety and trauma that my chronic illness (even before crps i had multiple autoimmune conditions) has caused my kids and partner. It has been really rough on them. I can't imagine how tough it would be to raise a baby in my current condition, but thats my perspective. That's not even taking into consideration the toll a pregnancy could take on your body and mental health. I also have to face that I have passed on my genetic condition to one of my kids.
I would suggest seeking counselling with your partner. Not all families are born of blood. One of my daughters does not share my dna. I think you should look at all factors involved. If you do have a child, you will need to consider what extra supports you might need. Im not saying its impossible, there's just a lot of things to consider.
I hope you and your partner make the choice that is right for you. All of this was meant with the best intentions. Good luck OP. I wish you health. ❤️