TTC while on IVs?

C

cindylou

Guest
A little background info - I went off of birth control in the beginning of February so that my husband and I could start trying to get pregnant. (We have wanted a baby for a long time, but for the first part of our marriage my health wasn't stable enough to try.) In mid-February I got admitted to the hospital for a 3 week course of IVs, including IV tobramycin. I went back on birth control for that month since I didn't want to mess with the possibility of getting pregnant while on IV tobra.

I'm sure I'm not the only CFer who has had IVs interrupt trying to get pregnant! My concern is this - in the past I've often had to go on IVs as frequently as every 3 months. Coming off of the pill this last time seems to have wreaked havoc with my cycle, and I REALLY don't want to go back on the pill again if I can possibly avoid it. Plus, if I end up in the hospital on any kind of a regular basis, that would be a LOT of times where we'd have to take a break from TTC! Like I said, we have been wanting a baby for a long time, so the idea of not only having more waiting but also having to stop TTC - possibly frequently - for IVs is a bit frustrating. I'm trying to think ahead here and figure out what my best strategy will be. I want to do what is best for my health as well as my future child's health, but hopefully without messing up my cycles too much.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has run into this problem before, and if so, what did you do about it? Right now I am thinking our best option would be to use some kind of non-hormonal contraceptive. In the past we used spermicide gel just in case all the antibiotics and other meds I was on were interfering with my birth control... so if this situation comes up, we might just try using only that. Of course, my preference would be that we just got pregnant right away AND I never had to go to the hospital again <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> But neither of those things are very likely!!!

Cindy
 
C

cindylou

Guest
A little background info - I went off of birth control in the beginning of February so that my husband and I could start trying to get pregnant. (We have wanted a baby for a long time, but for the first part of our marriage my health wasn't stable enough to try.) In mid-February I got admitted to the hospital for a 3 week course of IVs, including IV tobramycin. I went back on birth control for that month since I didn't want to mess with the possibility of getting pregnant while on IV tobra.

I'm sure I'm not the only CFer who has had IVs interrupt trying to get pregnant! My concern is this - in the past I've often had to go on IVs as frequently as every 3 months. Coming off of the pill this last time seems to have wreaked havoc with my cycle, and I REALLY don't want to go back on the pill again if I can possibly avoid it. Plus, if I end up in the hospital on any kind of a regular basis, that would be a LOT of times where we'd have to take a break from TTC! Like I said, we have been wanting a baby for a long time, so the idea of not only having more waiting but also having to stop TTC - possibly frequently - for IVs is a bit frustrating. I'm trying to think ahead here and figure out what my best strategy will be. I want to do what is best for my health as well as my future child's health, but hopefully without messing up my cycles too much.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has run into this problem before, and if so, what did you do about it? Right now I am thinking our best option would be to use some kind of non-hormonal contraceptive. In the past we used spermicide gel just in case all the antibiotics and other meds I was on were interfering with my birth control... so if this situation comes up, we might just try using only that. Of course, my preference would be that we just got pregnant right away AND I never had to go to the hospital again <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> But neither of those things are very likely!!!

Cindy
 
C

cindylou

Guest
A little background info - I went off of birth control in the beginning of February so that my husband and I could start trying to get pregnant. (We have wanted a baby for a long time, but for the first part of our marriage my health wasn't stable enough to try.) In mid-February I got admitted to the hospital for a 3 week course of IVs, including IV tobramycin. I went back on birth control for that month since I didn't want to mess with the possibility of getting pregnant while on IV tobra.
<br />
<br />I'm sure I'm not the only CFer who has had IVs interrupt trying to get pregnant! My concern is this - in the past I've often had to go on IVs as frequently as every 3 months. Coming off of the pill this last time seems to have wreaked havoc with my cycle, and I REALLY don't want to go back on the pill again if I can possibly avoid it. Plus, if I end up in the hospital on any kind of a regular basis, that would be a LOT of times where we'd have to take a break from TTC! Like I said, we have been wanting a baby for a long time, so the idea of not only having more waiting but also having to stop TTC - possibly frequently - for IVs is a bit frustrating. I'm trying to think ahead here and figure out what my best strategy will be. I want to do what is best for my health as well as my future child's health, but hopefully without messing up my cycles too much.
<br />
<br />I'm just wondering if anyone else has run into this problem before, and if so, what did you do about it? Right now I am thinking our best option would be to use some kind of non-hormonal contraceptive. In the past we used spermicide gel just in case all the antibiotics and other meds I was on were interfering with my birth control... so if this situation comes up, we might just try using only that. Of course, my preference would be that we just got pregnant right away AND I never had to go to the hospital again <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> But neither of those things are very likely!!!
<br />
<br />Cindy
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
This is kind of a big question...sure, you're not the first person to halt ttc for ivs. But my first thoughts were that needing ivs every 3 months or so is kind of often. Rather than focusing only on ttc maybe you need to look into why you are needing ivs every 3 months. That will be very challenging to deal with emotionally and physically once you have a baby.
Of course for any mom with Cf, Ivs/hospitals will always be a part of our lives, and you do get through it.
But for your sake, for your quality of life I would take the next 6 months and really fight to find the reasons for you getting sick that often. If its catching too many viruses, maybe you need more rest and better nutrition?-Maybe you need a job change, more time off. If its pseudomonas or something else you culture, maybe you need to get that under control first.
I've been there, so I know delaying ttc even longer seems unbearable, but if you can improve your cf for your pregnancy and baby you will be so happy. This was just my own experience, but my doc recommended a pre pregnancy plan to be able to hold my pfts for at least 6 months without needing abx before conceiving. If I needed them, so be it, but it helped me be at my optimal health going into preg. Having done this twice, thats my 2 cents. <img src="i/expressions/heart.gif" border="0">
As far as contraception goes, its probably really not good for you to be on/off like that. Hormones can also mess your lungs. If ttc is in the near future, I'd just stay off hormonal BC, period. Use condoms, and if you want a backup add spermicide or natural family planning. Let your body adjust itself being off hormonal BC.
And yes, my husband and I did have to halt ttc. He has seasonal work and in the winter months we don't see him alot. We felt it wouldn't be best for me to care for a newborn in the winter months by myself so much, so we halted conceiving for that time period for about 3 mos. We just used condoms.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
This is kind of a big question...sure, you're not the first person to halt ttc for ivs. But my first thoughts were that needing ivs every 3 months or so is kind of often. Rather than focusing only on ttc maybe you need to look into why you are needing ivs every 3 months. That will be very challenging to deal with emotionally and physically once you have a baby.
Of course for any mom with Cf, Ivs/hospitals will always be a part of our lives, and you do get through it.
But for your sake, for your quality of life I would take the next 6 months and really fight to find the reasons for you getting sick that often. If its catching too many viruses, maybe you need more rest and better nutrition?-Maybe you need a job change, more time off. If its pseudomonas or something else you culture, maybe you need to get that under control first.
I've been there, so I know delaying ttc even longer seems unbearable, but if you can improve your cf for your pregnancy and baby you will be so happy. This was just my own experience, but my doc recommended a pre pregnancy plan to be able to hold my pfts for at least 6 months without needing abx before conceiving. If I needed them, so be it, but it helped me be at my optimal health going into preg. Having done this twice, thats my 2 cents. <img src="i/expressions/heart.gif" border="0">
As far as contraception goes, its probably really not good for you to be on/off like that. Hormones can also mess your lungs. If ttc is in the near future, I'd just stay off hormonal BC, period. Use condoms, and if you want a backup add spermicide or natural family planning. Let your body adjust itself being off hormonal BC.
And yes, my husband and I did have to halt ttc. He has seasonal work and in the winter months we don't see him alot. We felt it wouldn't be best for me to care for a newborn in the winter months by myself so much, so we halted conceiving for that time period for about 3 mos. We just used condoms.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
This is kind of a big question...sure, you're not the first person to halt ttc for ivs. But my first thoughts were that needing ivs every 3 months or so is kind of often. Rather than focusing only on ttc maybe you need to look into why you are needing ivs every 3 months. That will be very challenging to deal with emotionally and physically once you have a baby.
<br />Of course for any mom with Cf, Ivs/hospitals will always be a part of our lives, and you do get through it.
<br />But for your sake, for your quality of life I would take the next 6 months and really fight to find the reasons for you getting sick that often. If its catching too many viruses, maybe you need more rest and better nutrition?-Maybe you need a job change, more time off. If its pseudomonas or something else you culture, maybe you need to get that under control first.
<br />I've been there, so I know delaying ttc even longer seems unbearable, but if you can improve your cf for your pregnancy and baby you will be so happy. This was just my own experience, but my doc recommended a pre pregnancy plan to be able to hold my pfts for at least 6 months without needing abx before conceiving. If I needed them, so be it, but it helped me be at my optimal health going into preg. Having done this twice, thats my 2 cents. <img src="i/expressions/heart.gif" border="0">
<br />As far as contraception goes, its probably really not good for you to be on/off like that. Hormones can also mess your lungs. If ttc is in the near future, I'd just stay off hormonal BC, period. Use condoms, and if you want a backup add spermicide or natural family planning. Let your body adjust itself being off hormonal BC.
<br />And yes, my husband and I did have to halt ttc. He has seasonal work and in the winter months we don't see him alot. We felt it wouldn't be best for me to care for a newborn in the winter months by myself so much, so we halted conceiving for that time period for about 3 mos. We just used condoms.
 
S

serendipity730

New member
Hi Cindy,

My husband and I are TTC. We initially started trying in 2008, but I went through a very rough period with my health. I kind of have to agree with mamaScarlett. While being on IV every 3 mos doesn't prohibit you from getting pregnant, I think that if this is an increase for you, you should investigate if there is a particular reason y that is happening. In my case, I was growing a different bug. Now that it has been erradicated, my pft's are more stable and I am hoping that I could make it 9 mos w/o IV's.

I have been off birth control for about a year. For a few months, I had an IUD, but it came out. If you want to ensure prevention of pregnancy but think TTC is in the near future, you might want to try condoms.
 
S

serendipity730

New member
Hi Cindy,

My husband and I are TTC. We initially started trying in 2008, but I went through a very rough period with my health. I kind of have to agree with mamaScarlett. While being on IV every 3 mos doesn't prohibit you from getting pregnant, I think that if this is an increase for you, you should investigate if there is a particular reason y that is happening. In my case, I was growing a different bug. Now that it has been erradicated, my pft's are more stable and I am hoping that I could make it 9 mos w/o IV's.

I have been off birth control for about a year. For a few months, I had an IUD, but it came out. If you want to ensure prevention of pregnancy but think TTC is in the near future, you might want to try condoms.
 
S

serendipity730

New member
Hi Cindy,
<br />
<br />My husband and I are TTC. We initially started trying in 2008, but I went through a very rough period with my health. I kind of have to agree with mamaScarlett. While being on IV every 3 mos doesn't prohibit you from getting pregnant, I think that if this is an increase for you, you should investigate if there is a particular reason y that is happening. In my case, I was growing a different bug. Now that it has been erradicated, my pft's are more stable and I am hoping that I could make it 9 mos w/o IV's.
<br />
<br />I have been off birth control for about a year. For a few months, I had an IUD, but it came out. If you want to ensure prevention of pregnancy but think TTC is in the near future, you might want to try condoms.
 
C

cindylou

Guest
I should probably explain a little more about my health......... I am actually pretty healthy - my PFTs are usually in the 80s and 90s. Also, between October 2009 and 2010 I was out of the hospital for a whole year. I was in again last October and then in February (I got a bad cold at Christmas that never fully went away). So I don't really know how this year will be - I'm hoping for another year out, but I'm sort of trying to "hope for the best, plan for the worst" here. Honestly, I would be in the hospital a LOT less if my doctors would agree to give me oral antibiotics, which they never prescribe. Before I moved and started coming to this clinic, I was typically only in once a year. I do have a fairly high degree of instability (i.e., my immune system isn't good) but my PFTs are high and before I was with this clinic I usually managed my infections mostly with oral abx. (And no, I don't have the option to switch doctors - this is the ONLY clinic in this geographical region.)

My husband and I hav been married for 3 years this summer, but we spent the first 2 1/2 years waiting for my health to stabilize (our first year of marriage I was in every 3 months like clockwork). So in effect, I've already done the waiting and getting my health in order thing. I have other problems besides CF (mainly Fibromyalgia and fatigue issues), so for the moment I am a full-time homemaker. So, I'm already very focused on my health and physical well-being.

Thanks for the concern, though. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> We have approached the decision to try to get pregnant with a lot of thought and prayer... this time last year, we weren't sure we would ever try to get pregnant, because my health had been so unstable. But after having a great year out of the hospital, both my husband and I feel confident that a) I can handle a pregnancy and b) I can recover from any ill effects from a pregnancy.

A quick question about NFP - were your cycles very regular? One of the issues that I am dealing with is that my cycles were always all over the place. Whenever I get at all sick, I stop menstruating (though I suspect I sometimes ovulate without a period). Before I got married (and before I was sexually active, so definitely not pregnant!) I went for 9 months without a period. So while I love the idea of NFP.... I am not sure if I will actually be able to track things well enough to use it!!! After seeing it recommended here, I think I am going to try Vitex to see if that will help regulate my cycle a little.
 
C

cindylou

Guest
I should probably explain a little more about my health......... I am actually pretty healthy - my PFTs are usually in the 80s and 90s. Also, between October 2009 and 2010 I was out of the hospital for a whole year. I was in again last October and then in February (I got a bad cold at Christmas that never fully went away). So I don't really know how this year will be - I'm hoping for another year out, but I'm sort of trying to "hope for the best, plan for the worst" here. Honestly, I would be in the hospital a LOT less if my doctors would agree to give me oral antibiotics, which they never prescribe. Before I moved and started coming to this clinic, I was typically only in once a year. I do have a fairly high degree of instability (i.e., my immune system isn't good) but my PFTs are high and before I was with this clinic I usually managed my infections mostly with oral abx. (And no, I don't have the option to switch doctors - this is the ONLY clinic in this geographical region.)

My husband and I hav been married for 3 years this summer, but we spent the first 2 1/2 years waiting for my health to stabilize (our first year of marriage I was in every 3 months like clockwork). So in effect, I've already done the waiting and getting my health in order thing. I have other problems besides CF (mainly Fibromyalgia and fatigue issues), so for the moment I am a full-time homemaker. So, I'm already very focused on my health and physical well-being.

Thanks for the concern, though. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> We have approached the decision to try to get pregnant with a lot of thought and prayer... this time last year, we weren't sure we would ever try to get pregnant, because my health had been so unstable. But after having a great year out of the hospital, both my husband and I feel confident that a) I can handle a pregnancy and b) I can recover from any ill effects from a pregnancy.

A quick question about NFP - were your cycles very regular? One of the issues that I am dealing with is that my cycles were always all over the place. Whenever I get at all sick, I stop menstruating (though I suspect I sometimes ovulate without a period). Before I got married (and before I was sexually active, so definitely not pregnant!) I went for 9 months without a period. So while I love the idea of NFP.... I am not sure if I will actually be able to track things well enough to use it!!! After seeing it recommended here, I think I am going to try Vitex to see if that will help regulate my cycle a little.
 
C

cindylou

Guest
I should probably explain a little more about my health......... I am actually pretty healthy - my PFTs are usually in the 80s and 90s. Also, between October 2009 and 2010 I was out of the hospital for a whole year. I was in again last October and then in February (I got a bad cold at Christmas that never fully went away). So I don't really know how this year will be - I'm hoping for another year out, but I'm sort of trying to "hope for the best, plan for the worst" here. Honestly, I would be in the hospital a LOT less if my doctors would agree to give me oral antibiotics, which they never prescribe. Before I moved and started coming to this clinic, I was typically only in once a year. I do have a fairly high degree of instability (i.e., my immune system isn't good) but my PFTs are high and before I was with this clinic I usually managed my infections mostly with oral abx. (And no, I don't have the option to switch doctors - this is the ONLY clinic in this geographical region.)
<br />
<br />My husband and I hav been married for 3 years this summer, but we spent the first 2 1/2 years waiting for my health to stabilize (our first year of marriage I was in every 3 months like clockwork). So in effect, I've already done the waiting and getting my health in order thing. I have other problems besides CF (mainly Fibromyalgia and fatigue issues), so for the moment I am a full-time homemaker. So, I'm already very focused on my health and physical well-being.
<br />
<br />Thanks for the concern, though. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> We have approached the decision to try to get pregnant with a lot of thought and prayer... this time last year, we weren't sure we would ever try to get pregnant, because my health had been so unstable. But after having a great year out of the hospital, both my husband and I feel confident that a) I can handle a pregnancy and b) I can recover from any ill effects from a pregnancy.
<br />
<br />A quick question about NFP - were your cycles very regular? One of the issues that I am dealing with is that my cycles were always all over the place. Whenever I get at all sick, I stop menstruating (though I suspect I sometimes ovulate without a period). Before I got married (and before I was sexually active, so definitely not pregnant!) I went for 9 months without a period. So while I love the idea of NFP.... I am not sure if I will actually be able to track things well enough to use it!!! After seeing it recommended here, I think I am going to try Vitex to see if that will help regulate my cycle a little.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
I would only suggest NFP as a 2nd backup, like in addition to condoms. I never had problems with my cycle until after my first pregnancy with coming on and off BC to try for the 2nd one. During that time my cycles were all over the place.
For me personally I connect it to mostly stress, and secondly to my weight. If my weight is to low my cycles seemed to get crazy. If I was under too much stress, many months I wouldn't ovulate at all.
As someone with Cf, who basically relies on either high pfts for a good pregnancy, or timing (like I had said with seasonal work schedule, etc) I would never rely on NFP solely. Only as a good backup.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
I would only suggest NFP as a 2nd backup, like in addition to condoms. I never had problems with my cycle until after my first pregnancy with coming on and off BC to try for the 2nd one. During that time my cycles were all over the place.
For me personally I connect it to mostly stress, and secondly to my weight. If my weight is to low my cycles seemed to get crazy. If I was under too much stress, many months I wouldn't ovulate at all.
As someone with Cf, who basically relies on either high pfts for a good pregnancy, or timing (like I had said with seasonal work schedule, etc) I would never rely on NFP solely. Only as a good backup.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
I would only suggest NFP as a 2nd backup, like in addition to condoms. I never had problems with my cycle until after my first pregnancy with coming on and off BC to try for the 2nd one. During that time my cycles were all over the place.
<br />For me personally I connect it to mostly stress, and secondly to my weight. If my weight is to low my cycles seemed to get crazy. If I was under too much stress, many months I wouldn't ovulate at all.
<br />As someone with Cf, who basically relies on either high pfts for a good pregnancy, or timing (like I had said with seasonal work schedule, etc) I would never rely on NFP solely. Only as a good backup.
 
C

cindylou

Guest
Oh yeah... I would not do NFP alone. However, I've always used birth control pills + a spermicide just to make sure I had two methods, so I guess I still want that mental assurance of having a failsafe! Hopefully none of this will be an issue... my ideal would be not to need IVs before I get pregnant, but I guess we will see. Like I said, this hospital really pushes IVs and most people I know are in 2-4 times a year, regularly.
 
C

cindylou

Guest
Oh yeah... I would not do NFP alone. However, I've always used birth control pills + a spermicide just to make sure I had two methods, so I guess I still want that mental assurance of having a failsafe! Hopefully none of this will be an issue... my ideal would be not to need IVs before I get pregnant, but I guess we will see. Like I said, this hospital really pushes IVs and most people I know are in 2-4 times a year, regularly.
 
C

cindylou

Guest
Oh yeah... I would not do NFP alone. However, I've always used birth control pills + a spermicide just to make sure I had two methods, so I guess I still want that mental assurance of having a failsafe! Hopefully none of this will be an issue... my ideal would be not to need IVs before I get pregnant, but I guess we will see. Like I said, this hospital really pushes IVs and most people I know are in 2-4 times a year, regularly.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
Well I can see your frustration with your hospital's ivs policy. I'm not anti iv at all, thank God we have them.
But if orals have always worked for you in the past, then being on IVs so often is not good for you. Aren't they worried about your liver?
Again, not trying to sway you or anyone one way or the other. But again if it were me, I'd have a serious talk with them. Doing a round of IVs unneccesarily every 3-4 months? And being a mom? I can see your dilemma. They are the only docs near you, but its your life, not theirs. You have a say here.
Wish you the best! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
Well I can see your frustration with your hospital's ivs policy. I'm not anti iv at all, thank God we have them.
But if orals have always worked for you in the past, then being on IVs so often is not good for you. Aren't they worried about your liver?
Again, not trying to sway you or anyone one way or the other. But again if it were me, I'd have a serious talk with them. Doing a round of IVs unneccesarily every 3-4 months? And being a mom? I can see your dilemma. They are the only docs near you, but its your life, not theirs. You have a say here.
Wish you the best! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
 
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