Female fertility

[Andrya D]

Has anyone had success in getting pregnant after chemo/BMT? If so, was there a relapse in your condition? I had Cytoxan, Busulfan, rabbit ATG, Methotrexate.

[squirrellypoo]

There was a recent similar thread in the transplants forum you may wish to read... I've not heard of any women becoming pregnant naturally post-BMT, but it's not as straightforward for men. My husband and I are planning to try with our frozen embryos in a few years.

[Andrya D]

Thanks, we opted not to freeze anything. Actually the fertility specialist we were referred to said he didn't want to touch me with a 10 foot pole and that I should be happy to have 1 child. My husband and I came to terms with that, but now I'm am going back to wanting another child. I guess I was trying to look for the slightest possibility that it could happen without any complications.

[squirrellypoo]

Give it another year or two and go back to see another fertility specialist. It took two full years post-transplant and Gynae-Endocrine specialists at two separate hospitals (finally culminating in my seeing a Professor!) before they could formally diagnose me as early menopause and give me some decent meds. We young BMTers are a rare lot, and early menopause is rare enough on its own so a lot of gynae/endocrine doctors just have no experience with cases like us. I'm really lucky that our embryo freezing was 100% free on the NHS, they rushed us through to do it in time, and that we can wait and see what happens in a few years.

Most importantly, though, is that you need to give yourself a lot more TIME to heal yourself before it's wise to start thinking about another baby and the strain that would put on your body.

[Andrya D]

Most definitely! I can barely handle the one I got at this point! I just wanted to see if early menopause from the chemo is a sure thing or not.

[Anna Parton]

Andrya- My name is Anna and I'm 20 years old. I went through aplastic anemia when I was 9. I had chemo, radiation, horse serum, cyclosporine, and a BMT. I am currently pregnant for the second time. I miscarried with my first about 6 months ago. My OB said he doesn't believe my miscarriage has anything to do with my AA. Both happened naturally with no help from drugs. I was told by doctors that I would never be able to have kids and that I may enter menopause before I ever started my period. I am so worried about relapsing though. I'm only 10 weeks so there is still a lot of time in which I could relapse. We will be keeping a close eye on it throughout my pregnancy and will keep you updated on anything. I don't know what my chances are of relapsing but I'm scared. I hope this provides a little hope and light at the end of the tunnel.