PFTs and Pregnancy

B

bec4t

New member
Hey ladies,
I am 23 weeks pregnant and just went to my CF appt, where i saw that my PFTs had declined by a couple percentage points.  My docs are not concerned and said that it can be a result of less space in your body for your lungs to expand and should increase to where they were post pregancy, but may not.  In your experiences, is this common?  Were you able to get your PFTs back to where they were pre-pregnancy?  Thanks any advice is greatly appreciated...I would just like to know what to expect in the future...! Thank you!
 
B

bec4t

New member
Hey ladies,
I am 23 weeks pregnant and just went to my CF appt, where i saw that my PFTs had declined by a couple percentage points. My docs are not concerned and said that it can be a result of less space in your body for your lungs to expand and should increase to where they were post pregancy, but may not. In your experiences, is this common? Were you able to get your PFTs back to where they were pre-pregnancy? Thanks any advice is greatly appreciated...I would just like to know what to expect in the future...! Thank you!
 
B

bec4t

New member
<p>Hey ladies,
<p>I am 23 weeks pregnant and just went to my CF appt, where i saw that my PFTs had declined by a couple percentage points. My docs are not concerned and said that it can be a result of less space in your body for your lungs to expand and should increase to where they were post pregancy, but may not. In your experiences, is this common? Were you able to get your PFTs back to where they were pre-pregnancy? Thanks any advice is greatly appreciated...I would just like to know what to expect in the future...! Thank you!
 
E

ep1713

New member
Hi Becca!

My PFTs TANKED during my pregnancy. My lungs did not like me being pregnant at all. I'm typically a very mild CFer and my PFTs are typically in the mid 90s. I was hospitalized at 20 weeks for 2 weeks of IVs and my PFTs after 2 weeks of IVs were in the high 80s (I don't even want to know what they were before the 2 weeks of IVs). I had to go back in at the end of my pregnancy (around week 34) because of lung issues again. They didn't have me do PFTs because they knew I would get to upset to see how bad they probably were. I will say that as soon as my baby was out (immediately) I felt a MILLION times better.

I think a lot of it wasn't necessarily the baby putting pressure on my lungs, but my lungs just became VERY sensitive to everything. I couldn't tolerate hypertonic saline any more... any type of perfume, cologne, scented items, cleaners would send me into a horrible coughing wheezing attack. Once I wasn't pregnant everything went back to normal for me. I was really scared that I did permanent damage because of how horrible I felt...

My PFTs are actually slightly higher than they were before I ever became pregnant (which was a first at my CF clinic and they were all very happily surprised). I think not working any more has really helped with that because I have more time to do my treatments properly (even with Sam) and I'm not exposed to a ton of germs via my co-workers anymore.

This got a little long...sorry! Hope this helps!!! Wishing you a very healthy remaining pregnancy!
 
E

ep1713

New member
Hi Becca!

My PFTs TANKED during my pregnancy. My lungs did not like me being pregnant at all. I'm typically a very mild CFer and my PFTs are typically in the mid 90s. I was hospitalized at 20 weeks for 2 weeks of IVs and my PFTs after 2 weeks of IVs were in the high 80s (I don't even want to know what they were before the 2 weeks of IVs). I had to go back in at the end of my pregnancy (around week 34) because of lung issues again. They didn't have me do PFTs because they knew I would get to upset to see how bad they probably were. I will say that as soon as my baby was out (immediately) I felt a MILLION times better.

I think a lot of it wasn't necessarily the baby putting pressure on my lungs, but my lungs just became VERY sensitive to everything. I couldn't tolerate hypertonic saline any more... any type of perfume, cologne, scented items, cleaners would send me into a horrible coughing wheezing attack. Once I wasn't pregnant everything went back to normal for me. I was really scared that I did permanent damage because of how horrible I felt...

My PFTs are actually slightly higher than they were before I ever became pregnant (which was a first at my CF clinic and they were all very happily surprised). I think not working any more has really helped with that because I have more time to do my treatments properly (even with Sam) and I'm not exposed to a ton of germs via my co-workers anymore.

This got a little long...sorry! Hope this helps!!! Wishing you a very healthy remaining pregnancy!
 
E

ep1713

New member
Hi Becca!
<br />
<br />My PFTs TANKED during my pregnancy. My lungs did not like me being pregnant at all. I'm typically a very mild CFer and my PFTs are typically in the mid 90s. I was hospitalized at 20 weeks for 2 weeks of IVs and my PFTs after 2 weeks of IVs were in the high 80s (I don't even want to know what they were before the 2 weeks of IVs). I had to go back in at the end of my pregnancy (around week 34) because of lung issues again. They didn't have me do PFTs because they knew I would get to upset to see how bad they probably were. I will say that as soon as my baby was out (immediately) I felt a MILLION times better.
<br />
<br />I think a lot of it wasn't necessarily the baby putting pressure on my lungs, but my lungs just became VERY sensitive to everything. I couldn't tolerate hypertonic saline any more... any type of perfume, cologne, scented items, cleaners would send me into a horrible coughing wheezing attack. Once I wasn't pregnant everything went back to normal for me. I was really scared that I did permanent damage because of how horrible I felt...
<br />
<br />My PFTs are actually slightly higher than they were before I ever became pregnant (which was a first at my CF clinic and they were all very happily surprised). I think not working any more has really helped with that because I have more time to do my treatments properly (even with Sam) and I'm not exposed to a ton of germs via my co-workers anymore.
<br />
<br />This got a little long...sorry! Hope this helps!!! Wishing you a very healthy remaining pregnancy!
 
R

rubyroselee

New member
Hi Becca,
It's pretty typical to lose lung function later in the pregnancy.  In my 2nd trimester I ended up getting an exacerbation, but fortunately inhaled Colistin did the trick.  My PFTs actually remained pretty stable the entire pregnancy.  But near the end, I had a bit more congestion, which is likely from the decreased lung space (as you mentioned). 
However, after I had my son, my PFTs plummeted down almost 30% (from 90's to 60's).  The doctor told me there's a chance I would not regain the lung function (as some CF women never do), but he was confident that I would since I was truly just exhausted.  My baby was colicky and I was simply exhausted beyond belief...I didn't even have the energy to blow in the PFT machine.  So I also thought that was the case with the huge dip in numbers. 
Sure enough, about 6 months post-partum, my PFTs came back to normal.  I am back up in the 90's and doing very well.  I even had my highest PFT ever about a year after I gave birth. 
So honestly, there's no way to really know for sure what will happen after the baby is born.  Everyone seems to have a different experience.  But from what I've heard, most CF women have a very positive experience and their health holds up just fine.
 
R

rubyroselee

New member
Hi Becca,
It's pretty typical to lose lung function later in the pregnancy. In my 2nd trimester I ended up getting an exacerbation, but fortunately inhaled Colistin did the trick. My PFTs actually remained pretty stable the entire pregnancy. But near the end, I had a bit more congestion, which is likely from the decreased lung space (as you mentioned).
However, after I had my son, my PFTs plummeted down almost 30% (from 90's to 60's). The doctor told me there's a chance I would not regain the lung function (as some CF women never do), but he was confident that I would since I was truly just exhausted. My baby was colicky and I was simply exhausted beyond belief...I didn't even have the energy to blow in the PFT machine. So I also thought that was the case with the huge dip in numbers.
Sure enough, about 6 months post-partum, my PFTs came back to normal. I am back up in the 90's and doing very well. I even had my highest PFT ever about a year after I gave birth.
So honestly, there's no way to really know for sure what will happen after the baby is born. Everyone seems to have a different experience. But from what I've heard, most CF women have a very positive experience and their health holds up just fine.
 
R

rubyroselee

New member
<p>Hi Becca,
<p>It's pretty typical to lose lung function later in the pregnancy. In my 2nd trimester I ended up getting an exacerbation, but fortunately inhaled Colistin did the trick. My PFTs actually remained pretty stable the entire pregnancy. But near the end, I had a bit more congestion, which is likely from the decreased lung space (as you mentioned).
<p>However, after I had my son, my PFTs plummeted down almost 30% (from 90's to 60's). The doctor told me there's a chance I would not regain the lung function (as some CF women never do), but he was confident that I would since I was truly just exhausted. My baby was colicky and I was simply exhausted beyond belief...I didn't even have the energy to blow in the PFT machine. So I also thought that was the case with the huge dip in numbers.
<p>Sure enough, about 6 months post-partum, my PFTs came back to normal. I am back up in the 90's and doing very well. I even had my highest PFT ever about a year after I gave birth.
<p>So honestly, there's no way to really know for sure what will happen after the baby is born. Everyone seems to have a different experience. But from what I've heard, most CF women have a very positive experience and their health holds up just fine.
 
B

Blue

New member
I am currently 28 weeks pregnant and my PTF's have dropped about 11%. I started in the mid 50's and have dropped as low as the high 30's. I've been threatened with IV's in the past week but since I've stabilized with just an 11% drop were holding off. I have been at least twice as congested as normal this entire pregnancy which I believe is contributing to such a significant drop (this wasn't the case with my first pregnancy).

A drop in lung capacity is common even if you don't have CF as the baby grows.
 
B

Blue

New member
I am currently 28 weeks pregnant and my PTF's have dropped about 11%. I started in the mid 50's and have dropped as low as the high 30's. I've been threatened with IV's in the past week but since I've stabilized with just an 11% drop were holding off. I have been at least twice as congested as normal this entire pregnancy which I believe is contributing to such a significant drop (this wasn't the case with my first pregnancy).

A drop in lung capacity is common even if you don't have CF as the baby grows.
 
B

Blue

New member
I am currently 28 weeks pregnant and my PTF's have dropped about 11%. I started in the mid 50's and have dropped as low as the high 30's. I've been threatened with IV's in the past week but since I've stabilized with just an 11% drop were holding off. I have been at least twice as congested as normal this entire pregnancy which I believe is contributing to such a significant drop (this wasn't the case with my first pregnancy).
<br />
<br />A drop in lung capacity is common even if you don't have CF as the baby grows.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
Yes I went down from 70% to the mid 50s%. It took me a year and a half to fully regain my lung function to its pre pregnancy glory. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
Yes I went down from 70% to the mid 50s%. It took me a year and a half to fully regain my lung function to its pre pregnancy glory. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
Yes I went down from 70% to the mid 50s%. It took me a year and a half to fully regain my lung function to its pre pregnancy glory. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
B

bec4t

New member
Thank you so much ladies!! I wont be as worried then when they plummett, and hopefully like you all said they will come back to where they were pre-pregnancy...thanks again!!!
Becca
 
B

bec4t

New member
Thank you so much ladies!! I wont be as worried then when they plummett, and hopefully like you all said they will come back to where they were pre-pregnancy...thanks again!!!
Becca
 
B

bec4t

New member
Thank you so much ladies!! I wont be as worried then when they plummett, and hopefully like you all said they will come back to where they were pre-pregnancy...thanks again!!!
<br />Becca
 
L

LouLou

New member
Hi Becca, I posted an old thread called FEV1 and pregnancy that I think you'll find interesting. Make sure to add your info too! Best wishes to you and your baby. Lauren
 
L

LouLou

New member
Hi Becca, I posted an old thread called FEV1 and pregnancy that I think you'll find interesting. Make sure to add your info too! Best wishes to you and your baby. Lauren
 
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