Monday, June 16, 2008

Pregnancy and Me

For three years now, my husband and I have wanted to have a baby. I can probably get pregnant BUT I can transfer Lyme disease and the coinfections, Bartonella and Babesia, to the baby. The idea of making my baby sick is terrifying. Also, the Lyme and the coinfections can cause problems with the pregnancy. I keep going through months and months to years and years of treatment so that I can lesson the load of bacteria and parasites in my body by the time I try to get pregnant. I want to have the best possible situation for the baby and for me but I don't want to wait many more years. I can protect the growing baby from Lyme disease if I take a pregnancy safe antibiotic throughout the whole pregnancy. The problem with Babesia and Bartonella is that the drugs that kill them are not safe for pregnancy. If I still have the coinfections when I get pregnant, my baby would be unprotected from them. I have been treating Babesia on and off for three years now. My serum levels are almost negative. The bad news is that I recently tested positive for Bartonella. Now, I need to put off getting pregnant and treat Bartonella with IV Levaquin. Sometimes it feels like I will never be done with these treatments and that I will never be given the okay to have a baby. Both of my doctors always tell me that I need about four more months of treatment. Those four months turn into four more months and the time keeps going by.