i'm 33 and have had severe arthritis since i was 16. about 2 1/2 years ago i started to think about having kids and because i had - i year prior to that - taken arava, my doctor decided for me to take the cleansing system provided by the manufacturer of the drug. evidently the drug's very nasty and lingers in the body on the cellular level. the manufacturer recommends a 1 time cleansing regiment, but my doctor made me go through it twice just in case. then i started to get off all the other drugs that could cause problems for the baby. the whole process took about a little over a year. then my husband and i started trying, but i tell you what . . . i was scared out of my mind about the possibilities. i know there's a very good possibility that my RA was to go into remission, but what if it didn't? up to that point in time, nothing seemed to work as promised. none of the drugs worked and i had taken all sorts of cocktails of meds, so i didn't have faith in my remission. i also thought about the possibility of passing the illness onto my child. i could NEVER forgive myself if i brought a life into this world only to suffer as much as i do. and lastly, what would the pregnancy do to my body? if i went into remission during the pregnancy, my doctor told me there was a good possibility she would have to put me on a high dose of prednisone after the birth because my body will go into a dive with no drugs in my system and the RA kicking back up. also, will the pregnancy take years off my life? meaning, i can see the amount of deterioration between today and let's say 5 years ago. will the pregnancy add 5 years of deterioration in 9 months? and finally, if i have to be bedridden for 9 months, could we handle that financially.
:confused:

my husband didn't want to adopt, so if we were to have a child it would have been by natural means only. i got so wrapped up in these questions, and i felt i wasn't getting the support from my husband, i decided for the two of us to stop trying.

i am today going through a divorce - for many reasons amongst the obvious, but since my separation, i have met a wonderful man who i would love to have a child with, so the questions arise again.

has anyone out there have had severe RA prior to pregnancy and has had a baby? if so, PLEASE share your experience.