Pregnancy friendly DMT minefield
Newbie here! Just diagnosed with RRMS and considering a 'bridging' DMT suitable for pregnancy (we want another child within the next year) before going onto Ocrevus to 'hit this thing hard', to quote my neurologist. My top two choices seem to be Plegridy or Copaxone, but reading other people’s experiences of both have worried me. I’ve got a 16 month old so feeling poorly every fortnight with Plegridy will really impact my life (getting time to rest is nearly impossible and we already get poorly with nursery bugs a lot) and sore injection sites / lipoatrophy with Copaxone also sounds really sh*tty. Can anyone share their experiences with pregnancy/breastfeeding friendly DMTs? Or thoughts on just waiting a little while for Ocrevus after pregnancy? (We need IVF so can hurry that up to reduce risk!) I'm very lucky that I don't have any ongoing symptoms other than a little vision damage from ON so signing myself up to regularly inject myself and feel worse for not great efficacy seems slightly mad right now.
DMTs are never about what you feel like at the actual time, but are an investment for the you of the future. So Copaxone or interferons may not make a difference to you (or make you feel worse at time due to side effects) but they will reduce your risk of relapse post pregnancy (and during IVF) by 30ish%. That's not a lot but it's something. You probably already know this but the altered immune system of pregnancy means that relapse during gestation is very rare. But there is a rebound effect i.e. relapse becomes more likely post-delivery. And as difficult as DMT side-effects with a toddler may be to cope with, a relapse with an older toddler and a newborn would be worse. And you don't have any idea of how bad it would be / what residual effects it would leave. Some people actually take Ocrevus during pregnancy but that mightn't be an option for you depending on your neuro. Good luck with the decision and your pregnancy journey.
Hello! I was on copaxone for 10 years and it kept be stable, i didn't relapse for 10years so I would say it's pretty good, the injection sight can get a little bit sore but you do get used to it, I also had my daughter while taking coxpaone and I stayed on it while pregnant also you can breastfeed while taking coxpaone! Hope that helps you! Xxxx