Fibro and Labor/Delivery??

Hi there. Yes I had fibro with pregnancy and childbirth. Is this your first pregnancy? How has your pregnacy been feeling? Ill tell you my experience. I am 36 now and had my first baby at 30. I believe I also had fibro symptoms earlier but they weren't extreme. When I was first pregnant my fibro flared but I wasn't diagnosed at the time. The baby was healthy but I was miserable( constant pain, no sleep). I ended up having an emergency c-section after an extremely painful labor , the baby's heart rate dropped. It was not fun. But thank God my baby girl was born and it was worth it. Recovery was ok. I had never had surgery before but I think the recovery was alright. But the fibro pain wasn't. It got worse. That's when I knew I had to go back to the doctor and that was how I eventually got diagnosed with fibro.

I felt like my fibro was more manageable back then. Eight months later I became pregnant with my second child. I believe children are a gift from God. Both pregnancies were hard but I endured it. The doctor told me i had the option for natural childbirth or c- section. So I actually chose a c-section. My reason was beside the risk of rupture scar tissue , my labor and contractions from the first time was long and extremely painful. The contractions felt like an electrical pulse being ran through my body. When the space in between contractions got closer and closer until it felt like a constant contraction it was unbearable for me. Right then the anatesiologist came to give me the epidural . I went from the most extreme pain to nothing within seconds . I had opted for an epidural but there were not enough rooms they told me and I had to wait in the triage for about 10 hrs in labor but my labor pains started days earlier . I think the fibro made more sensitive to the pain. So I opted for a scheduled c/section the second time and it went so much smoother. I recovered fine .

I dont want to scare you especially if this is your first pregnancy. I want to say, if you can handle fibro your tuff and you will be ok. To me fibro is harder to deal with. My advice is to prepare as much as you can, and get the epidural . What seems ideal to me is to go natural with the epidural. Then your recovery will be alot shorter. Don't worry about the fibro. And if I could go back in time I would do something different . When I was in the triage for 10 hrs with contractions , I kept quiet and just tried to endure and breathe but no way if I did it over again, I would yell, holler , and even scream or fo whatever i had to for the staff to help me with pain management. I don't think just telling them was enough, lol.

That's what happen to me but your situation could be completely different. Oh yeah I forgot to mention my doctor who was suppose to deliver the baby was in the hospital herself so they had to get another doctor. I don't think my situation is the norm. Regardless of fibro some deliveries are easier than others. As far as the fibro goes , you'll be ok. You are strong and children are a blessing. It is a miracle by God. Ill pray that yours goes smooth.

Thanks, purple_lynx7, for sharing your experience. Yes, this is our first baby so I'm clueless :) We had lots of trouble conceiving so it took a few years. The doctors keep calling me "advanced maternal age" which of course is true since I'm over 35 but they love to remind me often :)

My pregnancy so far has been very good as far as the baby goes. She's on track with everything and seems to be quite happy in my belly. My fibro has definitely kicked up a notch almost immediately after getting pregnant. All of the muscles and fascia are extremely tight, especially in my back and legs, but pretty much everywhere. I had to increase my physical therapy visits from once a week to twice a week just to cope in the last few weeks. The muscle spasms keep pulling out my vertibrae and SI joint, so my PT has to keep putting them back in place and working on the muscles and fascia. She treats a lot of fibro patients and says it's very common to have a flare due to all the hormones. The last 3-4 weeks have been extra rough now that my belly is getting quite big, so that's extra strain on my back. Otherwise, I'm definitely much more tired now and am not sleeping well at all, but I think it's more the last few weeks of pregnancy rather than fibro. My brain is very fuzzy so I think fibro-fog+pregnancy brain=disaster! I have been extremely clumsy and stupid which is quite annoying!

Regarding labor, I'm very tempted to do a c-section, just because I know how horribly sensitive I am to pain and I do not respond very well to pain meds (usually need higher dose, even for a dental appt the doctor has to give me extra!). My obgyn agreed to do a c-section if I want one but told me several times that medically there is no reason for it, even with backpain and fibro and being 36. The baby is in the correct position, average size and everything is looking good. So she thinks that I will do just fine doing a vaginal delivery. My physical therapist is mostly concerned about cutting through several layers of ab muscles, which might in turn make my back even worse. I guess what I'm trying to avoid is being in labor for 20 hours and then getting a c-section anyway!! I keep hearing about this scenario over and over again.. Psychologically, on days when I feel good, I'm all ready for a vaginal delivery, while on days when I'm in a lot of pain, I tend to lean towards a c-section. Usually I'm very decisive so not being able to make a decision is making me crazy.

I searched on the web but found very little information on how fibro patients tolerate labor/delivery. Thanks for sharing your experience.

My hubby is taking the first week off right after birth. Then my mom is taking 4 weeks off to help me during the day when hubby is at work. My mom is super helpful so that will be good, although I'm sure she will drive me crazy with a million suggestions :) I'm having some blood pressure problems the last couple of days so they doctors will be monitoring me closely. If this keeps being a problem then it might have to be a c-section anyway. I guess we will figure it out as we go along!