Delivery and Elmiron

[Charisse]

I know this has been asked before but can anyone confirm with me that it's okay to stay on Elmiron when delivering the baby? I will ask my dr but I would like to hear from other moms and what their experience was. I am worried about the blood thinning properties but I seem to recall moms here have been on Elmiron and even had c-sections with no issues right?

[massagedoula]

Hey Charisse,

You are getting close, right? I had the same questions about Elmiron too, when I had decided to take it while preg (currently I decided to not continue it, but I may go back on it after the first trimester if I need to.) I asked my Midwife about what she thought about staying on Elmiron at term and she felt fine with it, because the studies show that it does not change normal clotting times. Even though it is a form of Heparin, it is 1/16 the strength, so it is a really mild blood thinner. That said, since I have seen personally (as a midwife) some pretty scary postpartum bleeds in women who were not taking any meds, AND because I was planning an out of hospital birth (a home birth) I didn't want to take any chances. So I personally decided that I would go off Elmiron (if I decide to take it while preg) at term--37 weeks.

Now, this very overcautious approach is just because I am planning a home birth. If I was to have a hospital birth, I wouldn't feel worried about the teeny tiny risk of some extra bleeding from Elmiron, since they have so many more medical ways to manage postpartum bleeds in a hospital setting.

This is all totally my own opinion, by the way. But hopefully it helps you with your decision!

[massagedoula]

PS. Totally weird and off the subject, but I found you on another message board! I am having REALLY bad nausea and vomiting, and was kind of worried I had hyperemesis. I went to a hyperemesis support group (where I decided that I don't have it...Just a really severe form of morning sickness) and I saw a post that has your same photo on it! How strange, I thought. It is the internet version of running into someone at a place you would not expect. I hope that you do not/did not have hyperemesis, by the way, but if so, I am really sorry that you did!!! It sucks feeling this crappy, I can't imagine going through what the women were posting about.

[Charisse]

Hey there yes that was me on the HG board too! Small world isn't it ?? I don't have HG no. I had really terrible morning sickness with my last pregnancy but I ended up miscarrying. I was worried it would happen again but I was fortunate. I am glad to hear you don't have it either. . regular MS is bad enough and IC and all my other health issues are just icing on the cake.

So I had my 32 week appt yesterday and the dr. said he wanted to test my blood for clotting the minute I go to the hospital in labor . . but he wasn't sure if anything would show up since it's a test they usually use for women on Heparin. Can you point me to any studies that talk about the risk being low on Elmiron? He also wants to do a CBC on me although I'm not sure what that would show or why Elmiron would effect that. He said something about my white blood cells. I used to be a doula too and I've also seen some scary hemorrhages. I do feel more confident being in the hospital but of course I would like to avoid a hemorrhage regardless. He said if I could at least stop taking my Elmiron as soon as I know I'm in labor but he doesn't want me to go off it ahead of time since my pain gets so bad when I stop it. I see him again in 2 weeks so I'll continue to discuss this with him and see if I can't get some of the bloodwork done now just to see what it shows.

So how many weeks are you now and how are you feeling??

[massagedoula]

Hi Charisse,

This is copied and pasted from "RX list". PTT is the lab test that midwives run to check clotting times, so I assume that would be the same one your OB would run too? I do wonder about the CBC...Maybe he wants to do that to check your platelets? Elmiron is not supposed to affect platelet counts, but maybe he is trying to be extra cautious, since low platelets are linked to risks of hemorrhaging.

Laboratory Test Findings

Pentosan polysulfate sodium did not affect prothrombin time (PT) or partial thromboplastin time (PTT) up to 1200 mg per day in 24 healthy male subjects treated for 8 days. Pentosan polysulfate sodium also inhibits the generation of factor Xa in plasma and inhibits thrombin-induced platelet aggregation in human platelet rich plasma ex vivo. (See Hepatic Insufficiency - above for additional information).

[Charisse]

Thank you so much for the info. Interesting they did the study on males since it seems there are many more females with IC?? I will print this out and bring it to my dr!

How are YOU doing?

[Pumpkinsmom]

I was wondering if anyone is taking or has taken MSM/glucosamine while pregnant? Is it safe for the baby? I haven't been diagnosed yet with anything, so I'm on my own for now! And what about the MSM gel? I heard that was good for urethral pain/vulvadynia. Where would I find that? I looked at the supplement section at Wamart, but didn't see it. Is it over the counter? And Charisse, what is the exact date your baby is due? I see that it is soon (boy or girl). I will be anxious to hear how your labor goes and if you do opt for a vaginal delivery and how you feel in the days/weeks following labor, so as soon as you feel up to it, I'll be waiting! I am 35 and preg. with my 1st child and am due Feb. 11. Like you, I have all the same fears! Is Elmiron and the anihistamines the only things you are taking? Anyone else? What meds are you taking while pregnant?

[jaime15]

In my opinion, and I'm not a medical professional, the less you can take of any medication the better.
Massagedoula is right........I just wouldn't risk the chance of having severe postpartum bleeding.
Maybe ask your OB or URO about taking it and stopping it when you are nearing the end of your 9 months?? That way most of it would be out of your system.........I hope you are comfortable in your pregnancy and I wish you lots of luck!
Take care!

[Charisse]

PumpkinsMom congrats if I haven't already told you so but I think I knew you were pregnant right? Seems like a lot of ladies are showing up pregnant on the board lately ... I can't keep up! We should do a roll call :) How are you feeling?

I am due October 19 and expecting a girl :bunny: I should update my ticker I guess. Personally I don't know anything about MSM or glucosomine. Are you currently on Elmiron? I would never have been able to get pregnant without it. . I was in such a bad spot last year before starting it and I tried stopping it twice and just missing one dose increases my pain substantially so I wouldn't be expecting a child today without it! I don't think you have to go through an entire pregnancy avoiding meds if you find something that works for you. . you always have the option of stopping Elmiron towards the end of the pregnancy if you are that concerned about clotting however I'm really not too concerned now but I will be having my dr. run the clotting test anyway. We briefly discussed elective c-section but he didn't seem to think that it would be of any benefit to an IC patient although admittedly I'm his first OB patient who has IC so he doesn't really know. After a lot of thought I have come to the conclusion that I will try for a vaginal birth and if it turns out I need a c-section than so be it but my fear of the incision being right about where my pelvic pain runs is about equal to my fear of inflaming my urethra while pushing her out. I honestly feel like it's a no-win situation and being that each of us has different components of IC it seems like there's no guarantee either way. I would like to avoid the additional complications of c-section and major surgery so I'm hoping for a vaginal birth. And yes besides Elmiron I only take allergy meds for my IC although I also have pretty bad allergy symptoms in my head so I would need them even without IC. I take a bunch of other medications too for my fibromyalgia and stomach problems but I've only listed the ones here in my sig that I take for IC. Hope that helps you!!!

[massagedoula]

Hi Charisse,

I was just reading an article (because I'm a midwife I read OB journals sometimes) about deep vein thrombosis in pregnancy. For treatment, they said that the preferred drugs are low molecular weight heparins, which struck my brain since that is the same category as Elmiron. For DVT they give them IV, and it wasn't pentosan polysulfate, but it still was close enough that I paid attention to the recommendations regarding discontinuing the meds before delivery. The authors of the article recommended d/c'ing the meds 24 hours prior to delivery if possible to avoid clotting complications. So if we then take that recommendation to heart about Elmiron, that isn't so bad, is it? It's not like they said to stop it weeks before or anything.

Anyway, I am even more interested in this subject since I am considering restarting Elmiron during this pregnancy, though I am hoping I can make it a few more weeks without it so I can be out of the first trimester, which would make me feel better mentally, though I am not sure if I can handle waiting that long physically.

[Charisse]

Hey thanks for sharing what you found. I forgot to tell you that my dr. also said that if I could just stop taking the Elmiron as soon as I knew I was in labor that it would be okay. I told him that would be fine since I doubt I'll be remembering to take my medications once in labor anyway. He's still going to run a CBC on me the minute I arrive at the hospital and then hopefully all will be well. I have to say I'm flaring a lot more now the closer I get to my date. I think this baby is just getting so big and the weight of her is making it more difficult for my bladder to recover from anything.