I'm 11 weeks pregnant with my fourth baby. Today was my first antenatal appointment which has left me worried sick. A few months after giving birth to my last baby a blood test determined I have extremely high cholesterol levels which I inherited from my father. I have been taking cholesterol lowering medication (Lipitor) since. I discovered I was pregnant pretty early on (3weeks) and stopped taking them immediately. The antenatal nurse explained that there's a chance the baby can be born with birth defects as Lipitor is a category X medication and should be avoided while pregnant. She recommended I do the nuclear translucency test which I'm booked in for next week. I'm so devastated to say the least. Has anyone been through something similar to this? I have no idea how I'm going to function normally till then. The midwife asked if I'd consider terminating if there are issues which has made me sick to my stomach. I have three small children with minimal family and partner support (due to his work) and can seriously not handle anything other then the ordinary. I'm so against termination I don't even want to think about it. I'm so angry at myself for not researching about the fucked up medication. My dr forgot to inform me to avoid taking Lipitor when trying to become FUCKING PREGNANT! I just have so much rage and emotion in me Ive been staring into space while Peppa pig has been entertaining my kids for the past 2 hours. How do I function with this disgusting anxiety that's destroying me. Any advice would be helpful xx
8 Replies
That's terrible! Did your doctor know that it is not uncommon to have raised lipid levels after giving birth, especially while breastfeeding? They often revert back within a year post birth. Best wishes with your Bub xx
Did you read the leaflet in the packet when you started taking the medication? It's not necessarily your doctors job to tell you all of the side effects etc, that's what a pharmacist is for as well as the leaflet in the packet.
Sorry you're going through this and goodluck <3
Not sure if I necessarily agree - if she told the doctor she was planning on becoming pregnant, then he or she should have made her aware of the risks, looked it up if necessary.
Hi Mumma, I know exactly what you're going through. I took duromine for about a week when I discovered I was about a month pregnant. I was fraught with worry my whole pregnancy, was so angry at myself as I'd tried nine months to fall pregnant and then decided to stop trying so hard, thinking it wasn't going to happen I pulled out and old stash I had and didn't think much of it at the time. Anyway I had a couple of minor complications in my pregnancy, but nothing really to say it had anything to do with the drugs. Apart from the duromine I avoided every single chemical I could from perfume, soft drink, nail polish, panadol you name it. I literally spent my whole pregnancy not beleiving that I would end up with a healthy bub and expected a miscarriage at any point. Anyway I'll cut to the chase, my bub was born perfect in every way. He is 5 months old now and a happy little boy. Hitting all his milestones either on time or earlier and now I see that all that worry was for nothing. Good luck Mumma, try not to worry or stress and just focus on what you do have control of now- look after your body and bub and think positive. There's a massive chance you will have a beautiful healthy baby at the end of this :) xx
You don't "inherit" high cholesterol , that shit comes from bad diet and lifestyle choices FFS !!
Wow - this is not helpful. Even if you were right. Which you're not! Hereditary high cholesterol is absolutely a thing. That's not to say that diet and lifestyle aren't factors, of course. But please don't shoot this poor IM down when she's already at a low point, especially with misinformation.
To the woman who says you can't inherit high cholesterol. Please check actual facts before posting.
Hi, I'm a midwife and RN. I'm not an authority on medications is pregnancy, but I do think your chances of exposing your baby to Lipitor at only 3 weeks pregnant is extremely low. In those first weeks of pregnancy, the placenta and cord aren't established yet, and your baby is still receiving nourishment from the yolk sac, not your blood. The placenta begins to form from week 4. Secondly, there is actually quite a bit of recent research that is reassuring - some large studies have shown that the link between statins (like atorvastatin/Lipitor) is not at all strong, but the recommendations have remained the same until more conclusive data can be produced. Erring on the side of caution is always best in pregnancy of course - if we don't know for sure, best to steer clear. But I really do think the midwife was jumping the gun discussing termination when the chances of anything going wrong because of extremely minimal exposure to Lipitor at only 3 weeks' gestation. I am disappointed on your behalf - it is completely inappropriate of her to discuss this with you. She should have immediately referred you to have a talk with an obstetrician who has a better understanding of medications and pregnancy. Thirdly, a nuchal translucency test is looking for specific genetic abnormalities - trisomies 13, 18 and 21. These are not caused by medications. While they do look at the rest of the baby at the same time as measuring the skin fold on the back of the neck (nuchal fold), it is not an otherwise thorough scan. The baby is still a bit too small and undeveloped to pick up on very much yet. The scan that will pick up other abnormalities (e.g. skeletal, heart, kidney etc) is the morphology scan at 20 weeks. But I'm sure some reassurance at the nuchal translucency scan will put your mind at rest, so maybe that's why she recommended it?? Anyway I'd love to hear how you're going, since this post was nearly a week ago now. Please update us if you happen to check back in here and read this comment! Good luck. I'm quietly confident that your medication won't have had any effect on your baby. Try not to stress xoxo