pregnancy & asthma

[michkatz]

Hi all,

I've had problems with lung congestion since December. It's been on and off since then but never really gone away during that time. I took an antibiotic and got a fever. It seemed to clear up but its still there.

I am now 19 weeks pregnant. The doctor (in UK) gave me salbutamol to see if that helped my breathing which is compromised. I don't want to take it because I looked it up on the FDA site and its potentially harmful to the fetus.

Any one here take salbutamol as an inhaler? during pregnancy?

is my compromised breathing a problem to my baby?

Thanks!

[nicurn]

I got bronchitis during pregnancy that developed into asthma. In fact, that was actually the question that brought me here.

I took albuterol, not salbutamol, but found that the best treatment seemed to be inactivity. If I stayed quiet, I coughed less and contracted less.

At 19 weeks, it depends what harm the medication does. What does your OB say about it?

[KerryS]

I personally would not feel comfortable taking a steroid throughout pregnancy.

I have cough-variant asthma that flares up during pregnancy and causes me to cough horribly from about 4-5 months gestation until about 4-5 weeks after I deliver. It sucks. During my second pregnancy I cracked two ribs and developed pleurisy. I just learned to deal with it, because nothing I was willing to take would help it. Staying well hydrated and trying not to talk too much helped a little.

[michkatz]

Yeah, I think I'd prefer to just deal with it. It's not fun. I hate the hacking cough and the running out of breath all the time.. but I'd rather deal with it than risk anything to the baby.

Thanks!

[Sashahomeschoolmama]

I have to take corticosteroids throughout pregnancy (I take Advair) and rounds of prednisone from time to time. I've also had to have shots of Solumedrol three or four times this pregnancy.

It's the way it is. I wouldn't prefer it but I have no choice. I have to breathe.