My Postpartum MG Flare-Up

My baby is now almost 2 years old and I’m still managing a flare that came on 1-year postpartum.

I was nearly in remission when I got pregnant with him

I was also very well managed with just 3.5mg of prednisone throughout pregnancy and delivery. Despite all the changes in my body, MG was mostly at bay.

I was relieved yet terrified that things might be too good to be true. After being told by multiple doctors another pregnancy might make MG worse for me, I didn’t think I’d get pregnant again. Apparently there were other plans in store for me when we surprisingly got pregnant with our third baby. Although I felt good, the grey cloud of MG hung over my head throughout that 9 month period.

MG did in fact return with a vengeance

Most of us know that hormones can play a big role in the severity and timing of our flares, like during menstruation or menopause and especially during and after pregnancy. Your body is going through tremendous hormonal changes after having a baby, so it was no surprise that remission ended for me.

In addition to those fluctuating postpartum hormones, when you combine them with lack of sleep, the stress of a new family member and balancing a routine, it is a recipe for MG disaster. I also wasn’t taking care of myself the way I had learned how to do prior to getting pregnant again. A new baby makes it easy to forget yourself, and I took my health for granted.

Just like with MG in general, we all experience symptoms and triggers differently, and I know plenty of woman who did well throughout pregnancy and postpartum and some where pregnancy made them worse but postpartum was fine.

We can’t necessarily control our hormones when we get pregnant and they are all over the board during postpartum, but there are things I wish I had done to prepare.

Things I wish I did to prepare

I would have been more open to IVIG or medication prior to flaring to prevent feeling awful and having to be hospitalized.

I would have asked for more help and slept more. Some people don’t have that luxury and this time around, I didn’t really either. But if you have the option to have someone help while you can sleep, do it. Or like they say, sleep when the baby sleeps. Nothing is more important than sleep in that first year, and there has never been truer advice especially for us with chronic illness.

I would have made sure I ate better and drank more water. That goes without saying. We need to fuel our bodies with the best possible nutrients when we are healing from delivery and trying to prevent a flare on top of that.

I would have stressed less about the things that needed to get done and instead just focused on myself and my baby; let everything else fall to the sidelines. By pushing forward, I ended up hitting pause on my life for a few months while I recovered. It wasn’t worth it. The dishes. The floors. I wish I wouldn’t have.

I think that a flare comes on when it’s the perfect storm. While I know that postpartum hormones had a great deal to do with MG getting worse, I personally believe I could have mitigated the damages (and maybe avoided the hospital) by making the other things we know flare MG a priority. With a new baby, it’s hard to put yourself first but you cannot take care of a baby if you’re not able to take care of yourself.