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Pregnancy and high blood pressure and ANA issues

By December 15, 2010 - 4:15am
 
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I just found out that I am pregnant. 3 years ago after I had my daughter I was put on Labetalol for high blood pressure and was told by the doc that he was putting me on it because it was safe to take when I get pregnant again. I have now looked online and it says it's a cat C drug....Do you know if this is a common medication to take in early pregnancy. I am nervous about the risk to the fetus.

Also, I have a history of auto immune issues and after a significant flare up in the summer was placed on plaquenil. I was told that in the last few years many new studies have been done and much more research shows that the risks are very small and that I should comtinue to take it during pregnancy. I see that is also a cat C drug.

I am nervous to be taking 2 cat C medications for the pregnancy. I should add that i am on 150 mg of labetalol 2 times a day and am on 200 mg of plaquenil once a day. I was on the Plaquenil twice a day but when my ANA went negative again in Oct it was lowered.

Thank you for your help. As you can imagine this is a very stressful yet exciting time for me and I am just so nervous about all of this.

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Hi Shamy,
Thanks for your question and for finding Empowher. A Category C drug means that there just hasn't been enough testing on pregnant women to determine if it is safe to take in pregnancy or not. In this case, you have to weigh the benefits of taking the drug versus not taking it. Or is there an alternative that may be as effective and isn't a Cat. C drug? Your doctor and pharmacist are the best resources for figuring that out. Work with them and advocate for your own health and the health of your fetus to ensure a safe pregnancy.
Good luck and let us know if you have additional questions.

December 15, 2010 - 9:14am
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