Pregnancy with Fibromyalgia
Three things can happen to you during pregnancy with fibromyalgia: your symptoms can improve, they can stay about the same, or they can get worse.
Heather offers her tips on getting through pregnancy with fibromyalgia.
1. Find a Good Doctor
Find a good OB-GYN or a doctor that's familiar with fibromyalgia. This is going to be a huge help in your prenatal care.
2. Maternal Fetal Medicine
See a maternal fetal medicine specialist to help you cope with your pain. The are high-risk specialists, and they're going to know what medications are safe for your baby and will help you manage your pain when it becomes too much. If your pain gets too intense, it can put you into preterm labor.
3. Accept Help
If people offer you help, take it. A lot of times when dealing with fibromyalgia, people don't understand what you’re going through or why you're in so much pain, so they don't often offer help. But when you're pregnant, people understand, and they will most likely offer you help. Be sure you take it.
4. Learn to Say No
Don’t be afraid to tell people "No." Too often with fibromyalgia, we have anxiety around saying no. But when you're pregnant, your number one priority is your baby and taking care of yourself. If people get upset, oh well.
5. Stay Active
Be active, but don't overdo it. We hear this a lot for fibromyalgia in general. You want to keep your body moving, but at the same time, you don't want to do too much as to cause a flare. Try to take a short walk in the evening if you can or do little things during the day to stay active. This is going to help ease your pain during pregnancy.
6. Listen to Your Body
Listen to your body and follow your instinct. If you know you're probably not going to feel well if you go to that party or forcing yourself to do something will make your pain worse, then don't do it. Listen to your body and honor what it says to you.
7. Don’t Procrastinate
Try to do everything early on in your pregnancy. The nursery, the baby registry, your baby shower. Anything that you need to get done to prepare for your baby, try to have done by the end of the second trimester because your third trimester is likely going to be the hardest on your body. Try to get things done ahead of time so you can just relax and enjoy your third trimester.
