Author Topic: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?  (Read 6536 times)

MiniPlant

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I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« on: February 11, 2010, 03:20:40 pm »
Hi all,

I am diagnosed last week. Before this, I was planning to have a baby. I will see a doctor in April. Don't know if I still have chance to be able to have a baby?

MiniPlant

leapyrtwins

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2010, 03:22:13 pm »
Yes, you can.  But you should wait until after your treatment to get pregnant.

Lots on the Forum have had children post treatment.

Jan
Retrosig 5/31/07 Drs. Battista & Kazan (Hinsdale, Illinois)
Left AN 3.0 cm (1.5 cm @ diagnosis 6 wks prior) SSD. BAHA implant 3/4/08 (Dr. Battista) Divino 6/4/08  BP100 4/2010 BAHA 5 8/2015

I don't actually "make" trouble..just kind of attract it, fine tune it, and apply it in new and exciting ways

MiniPlant

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2010, 03:49:13 pm »
Hi Jan,

Thanks a lot for your answer! It lights a hope in my deep heart! I have read a lot this week, I don't know what tough way I will go. I have 11mm AN on the right side and no idea yet which option should I go. I have nonstop tinnitus for almost one year. Sometime, I feel fullness and headache.

MiniPlant

Kaybo

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2010, 03:59:36 pm »
MiniPlant~
I had surgery for my AN when I was 25 - I had only been married for a year and had no children yet.  Well, it is 14 years later and I have 3 wonderful daughters so YES!!!!, you can still have babies!!   ;)

K   ;D
Translab 12/95@Houston Methodist(Baylor College of Medicine)for "HUGE" tumor-no size specified
25 yrs then-14 hour surgery-stroke
12/7 Graft 1/97
Gold Weight x 5
SSD
Facial Paralysis-R(no movement or feelings in face,mouth,eye)
T3-3/08
Great life!

suboo73

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2010, 04:42:25 pm »
MiniPlant,

Am stopping by to say WELCOME to the Forum!
I cannot answer your question about having children, as i was diagnosed recently - and my 'baby' is 21 years old.
But lots of others can help you - just look at Kaybo!

Best wishes on your AN journey.
Take your time to do research and you will do fine!

My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Sincerely,
Sue
suboo73
Little sister to Bigsister!
9mm X 6mm X 5mm
Misdiagnosed 12+ years?
Diagnosed Sept. 2008/MRI 4/09/MRI 12/09/MRI 1/21/11
Continued W & W

MiniPlant

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2010, 09:18:12 am »
Thank you all for the information!

@ Keibo, how long after the treatment did you have your first baby? Does pregnancy affect the growth of AN?  Do I have to pass the surgery or radiation before I can have a baby? Does the treatment affect that I have to wait some period before planning to have a baby? I am asking because I am not so young and after a few years I will be in my forties.

MiniPlant

Kaybo

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2010, 09:26:08 am »
Mini~
I got pregnant about a year after my surgery and IMO, that was too soon FOR ME.  I had a LOT of complications to overcome - don't worry, they are NOT common and certainly not now (I had my surgery 14 years ago!).  I know others have gotten pregnant right after and done fine.  I would not WILLINGLY get pregnant before you have it taken care of.  There is some speculation that hormones/pregnancy does increase the growth rate.  Also, I, personally would not want to have ANY treatment WHILE I was pregnant unless it was a necessity - nor do I think they would do it. IMO, you should do your homework and do something about your AN and then get preggie!!

K   ;D
Translab 12/95@Houston Methodist(Baylor College of Medicine)for "HUGE" tumor-no size specified
25 yrs then-14 hour surgery-stroke
12/7 Graft 1/97
Gold Weight x 5
SSD
Facial Paralysis-R(no movement or feelings in face,mouth,eye)
T3-3/08
Great life!

krbonner

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2010, 10:22:30 pm »
I had my first baby in 2002.  Halfway through my second pregnancy in 2004 I lost the hearing in my left ear.  Baby was born in early 2005 and my AN was diagnosed shortly after.  I was watch-and-wait for a while, then had surgery in Sept 2006.  Had my third baby in 2009.  Absolutely no problems with any of the pregnancies, deliveries, or my health.

There are theories (unproven to the level that's needed for publication) that ANs can grow faster when bathed with the hormones of pregnancy/breastfeeding/menopause/etc.  Mine did grow faster than average which is why I moved from watch-and-wait to surgery. 

Worth a long discussion with your doctor.  There's no reason not to have a baby - it's just a question of whether or not your AN needs treatment first or if it's small enough and slow-growing enough that you can move forward with trying for the baby and treat after if needed.  That's for you and your doctors to decide based on your particular situation.

Good luck!  Please feel free to ask anything you like!

Katie
diagnosed June 2005
2.3cmx1.6cmx1.4cm left AN
translab Sept 13, 2006; Drs. McKenna and Barker in MA (MEEI/MGH)

MiniPlant

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2010, 01:29:40 pm »
Thanks for all the reply! I am in deep depression now. I don't know what I will go through and what the life will be after the treatment. How can I forget it even for 1 minute? Do you have any complications after the surgery? How long do you feel you are ready for a baby? How do you manage your mood, how to be positive? I woke up many times at night and I cannot go to sleep after 5am though I feel so tired during the day.

-Mini

mk

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #9 on: February 18, 2010, 08:30:04 pm »
Mini,

I urge you to read Trish's (Calimama) posts. She had surgery and went on to have to very healthy identical twins - became pregnant after a few months of her surgery. Her story is very inspirational.

Marianna
GK on April 23rd 2008 for 2.9 cm AN at Toronto Western Hospital. Subsequent MRIs showed darkening initially, then growth. Retrosigmoid surgery on April 26th, 2011 with Drs. Akagami and Westerberg at Vancouver General Hospital. Graduallly lost hearing after GK and now SSD but no other issues.

krbonner

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #10 on: February 18, 2010, 09:57:15 pm »
Thanks for all the reply! I am in deep depression now. I don't know what I will go through and what the life will be after the treatment. How can I forget it even for 1 minute? Do you have any complications after the surgery? How long do you feel you are ready for a baby? How do you manage your mood, how to be positive? I woke up many times at night and I cannot go to sleep after 5am though I feel so tired during the day.

-Mini

Dealing with an AN is a life-changing experience for everyone.  Feeling overwhelmed and anxious is normal, though if it's bad enough that you can't manage it on your own you may benefit from talking to a therapist to help figure out how to manage.  Of course you can't forget about the bugger right now.  It's all new and it takes a long time to process everything you're being told.

The questions you ask are good ones, but everyone's answer will be different.  It was probably about a year post-op when I felt ready for another baby (I was 2 year post-op when I got pregnant), but I was dealing with a lot more than just the AN for that first year.  My father was diagnosed with leukemia just a few weeks after my surgery and he died a few months later, which was much more devastating to me than my AN journey.  So that skewed everything.

I had no complications post-op.  In fact, the surgeons where ecstatic with how quickly I recovered.  By 6 weeks post-op I was taking care of my two young sons (4 and 1.5 years at the time) all day by myself.  Now, at 3+ years post-op, my AN is simply not part of my day-to-day life.  Other than sometimes asking my kids to repeat themselves because I couldn't hear them, I rarely think about it.  That certainly wasn't true 3 and 4 years ago.

You will get through this.  But don't be afraid to ask for help and support.  Nobody can do this alone.

Katie
diagnosed June 2005
2.3cmx1.6cmx1.4cm left AN
translab Sept 13, 2006; Drs. McKenna and Barker in MA (MEEI/MGH)

designergal

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #11 on: March 09, 2010, 12:12:02 pm »
Hi there!

I was diagnosed in Aug 2009 with a 2.6 AN on the right side.....I found out in Oct 2009 that I was preggers....I am currently 23 weeks pregnant and doing just fine!  The pregnancy was a little opps!  I was scheduled for surgery in Nov 2009 but with the pregnancy had to cancel.  My doctors have all told me to just relax and enjoy the pregnancy.....(which I have to admit that I am not the best pregnant gal).  Most of my pregnancy issues are the same as before...morning sickness, heartburn, tiredness.  This is my third pregnancy and I am sure that I had the AN with my other 2.  My symptoms began last May with dizziness and lightheadness.  My plan is to have the baby, breastfeed and then have the surgery sometime in early 2011 if all is still the same.  I will have a follow up MRI after the baby is born (I will have to stop nursing for a few days because of the MRI with contrast) but plan to nurse as long as i can.  I can say that my symptoms have not gotten worse with the pregnancy.  I feel good most of the time....I am a bit older (39) so I think the age has more to do with it than the AN!  LOL

Send me a message if you would like to chat.....

Cynthia

krbonner

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #12 on: March 09, 2010, 12:28:36 pm »
I will have a follow up MRI after the baby is born (I will have to stop nursing for a few days because of the MRI with contrast) but plan to nurse as long as i can. 

Cynthia,

You sound a lot like me!  I had my third baby at 38, though it was after my surgery.  And it was so much harder than my first pregnancy at 30, though I really think it was being older more than anything else!   :D

Just wanted to say - I've had many MRIs while nursing (still nursing my third - she'll be 1 next month).  I've done A LOT of research about MRIs and nursing.  The gadolinium does pass to breastmilk, but it's in the class of medications that are considered safe for the baby.  After much discussions with my lactation consultant, I made the decision not to stop nursing because of the MRIs.  The techs will tell you you have to stop (because they have to for their own liability), but think about doing your own research and talking to a lactation expert before deciding.  Obviously, you have to make a decision you're comfortable with and it may or may not be the same decision I made.  That's fine.  Just want to make sure everyone is fully informed before making it.

Good luck!  I hope the rest of the pregnancy is smooth sailing and I can't wait to hear your news in a few months!

Katie
diagnosed June 2005
2.3cmx1.6cmx1.4cm left AN
translab Sept 13, 2006; Drs. McKenna and Barker in MA (MEEI/MGH)

Kaybo

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #13 on: March 09, 2010, 01:30:12 pm »
I just froze up enough breastmilk that I had plenty to "pump & dump" around my MRI.  I was a working mom with my first one - went back to work at 2 months but gave her breastmilk exclusively the whole time and kept nursing her when I was home.  I have always said that I am really kind of glad that happened on the first one b/c I could see firsthand how she could VERY easily switch back & forth from the bottle to me with absolutely no problems.  It kind of freed me up a bit to go out & leave the baby with my sweet hubby!

Good Luck!

K   ;D
Translab 12/95@Houston Methodist(Baylor College of Medicine)for "HUGE" tumor-no size specified
25 yrs then-14 hour surgery-stroke
12/7 Graft 1/97
Gold Weight x 5
SSD
Facial Paralysis-R(no movement or feelings in face,mouth,eye)
T3-3/08
Great life!

designergal

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Re: I am diagnosed AN. Can I have a baby?
« Reply #14 on: March 16, 2010, 06:46:38 am »
Katie,

thanks for the MRI and breastfeeding information!  I have done a little research after I read your post and it seems encouraging to have the MRI after I deliver while still breastfeeding!  I am curious to see if there has been any growth during the pregnancy.  I don't have any "different" symptoms and I feel about the same.  I will consult with the lactation consultant and have a converstation with her!

thanks again!