PsO Pregnant

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a Mommy. This title for me came in far ahead of Dr, or Professor in this and that. I have one of the best mothers in the world, she is kind, she is capable and, oh my goodness, she is fierce. I read a beautiful thing the other day that said, "I am a strong woman because I was raised by a strong woman.” This is so deeply true for me. Along the way there were other professions that caught my attention, being a chef was one of them, along with a nature conservationist. Those dreams were never realized in a professional sense, but in a way, I guess these dreams manifested in a way. I am a mommy to a firecracker little girl, who I cook for and teach about looking after nature.

When pregnancy sends psoriasis into overdrive

Finding out I was pregnant was scary and wonderful, the journey of a lifetime. Growing a small human in your body is no small achievement. I truly do believe that it is nothing shy of magical. Your body goes through some very big changes, and it can take a long time for your body to recover. One thing that sends my psoriasis into overdrive, hormones, do you know what you get a lot of when you are pregnant? Hormones. Pregnancy hormones are a special kind, they are hard to control and seem to have a mind of their own. Like little groups of new enthusiastic gang members who want to prove a point. They will complicate your life in a very necessary way.

For better or worse

One of the many debated or rather discussed topics among us is does your psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis worsen or improve when you are expecting? There is no set answer for this, as always what is true for one is not for another. Adding pregnancy to the mix just confuses things more and adds a more unique slant to things, as we all experience pregnancy so differently. So really there is just no way to tell. We all react differently. There have been people whose skin clears up while they are pregnant for nine months of bliss and then are others who clear for good. Believe it. Then there are those, whose skin gets worse. Because truly what is something beautiful without a challenge.

This opens a whole new can of worms, as you have to be so very careful of what you use while you are pregnant and all treatments including medications, supplements, creams, ointments, salves, waters, flowers, and herbs, all of it should be given the okay by your doctor and your OBGYN.

How my psoriasis and PsA changed during pregnancy

Be ready for changes, so many of them. Good ones, not so good ones, and some very interesting ones. There is no way to predict how your body is going to react. I suffered from a few nasty flares while I was pregnant, although I managed to survive them with great patience and working through it day by day. I had a great OBGYN and we worked together to make the ride as easy as possible. I think the thing that I struggled most with was not being able to take my standard pain medication for my psoriatic arthritis. This too shall I pass.

Enjoy it as much as you can, it passes so quickly. More than anything it is more than worth it. What were your experiences while you were pregnant?