Fibromyalgic Pregnancy and Motherhood Concerns

(Excerpt from my book!)

 

“What, you have fibromyalgia? You are too young to have fibromyalgia. Oh, no. You can never have kids with fibromyalgia! If you think that you are nauseated now and that you are sick now, just wait until you’re pregnant. You won’t know what hit you. Now, what kind of birth control are you and your husband using?”
 

“We are using a contraceptive gel, and I am charting my cycle. I know when I am ovulating. We have been using this method for over a year now, since I became sick, and I haven’t become pregnant. We are really careful.”
 

“Oh, you will surely become pregnant within this next year, surely. at type of birth control always fails. You can’t play around with it. Your husband needs to get a vasectomy right now! He needs to get a vasectomy. e procedure is very simple these days for him. He needs to get scheduled for one as soon as possible, unless you want to become pregnant now. This is serious, and you are so ill. You will become pregnant within this next year, unless he gets a vasectomy. I can guarantee it.”
 

That was my wonderful OB-GYN appointment with a female doctor who shall remain nameless—eight years ago, when my husband and I were both thirty-three years old and in our second year of marriage.

 

I did not become pregnant within that next year of seeing her. Nor did my husband have a vasectomy. Oh, we debated it. at doctor planted more doubts in my head about fibromyalgic pregnancy and motherhood.
 

Indeed, eight years ago, I left that well-respected doctor’s office shaking, rattled, and nearly in tears. But I never looked back. Instead, I fired her! She clearly wasn’t the right doctor for me.

However, she does exemplify the typical medical treatment that most of us with fibromyalgia receive. Yes, for every great doctor we encounter, we have to endure—with time, energy, and money— at least two or three lousy ones. She was the second doctor who had advised me against having kids. I have always wanted children but was too afraid to even seriously consider becoming pregnant with the medications that I was still taking.
 

So when we moved to a new city in August 2005, I met with a new OB- GYN that September. I liked her right away; she was young and energetic. She had a positive out look, and although she wasn’t familiar with the Guaifenesin Protocol, she was open-minded about fibromyalgia and assured me that if I wanted to have a baby, there was no reason why I couldn’t. It was just best that I do it before age forty. This gave me hope.
 

Note to the Reader: Reaching beyond fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome can take on many diverse meanings. For me, after my fibromyalgia “crash,” my immediate challenge was going from “bedridden to beyond the futon mattress on our living room floor.”

Ultimately, I had three goals: to become well enough to fly from Michigan to California to meet and thank Dr. St. Amand in person; to become well enough to become a mother and experience the joys of first-time motherhood; and to return to full-time employment. us far, thanks to the Guaifenesin Protocol, I have completed the first two.
 

Thee following passages are excerpts from my personal pregnancy journal, my account of what pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding were like for me after being on the Guaifenesin Protocol for three years. I must add that my pregnancy was an unexpected, yet very welcome blessing.
 

Please keep in mind that no two pregnancies are the same, even for women who don’t have fibromyalgia.

However, this is my story. By sharing it, I hope to inspire you. It is not intended to replace the advice of your medical doctor. Always consult your medical practitioner.