Pregnancy and Woman

A woman's body goes through a lot of changes from the first day of pregnancy through the whole forty weeks. Hormonal changes start showing their effects even in the first few days of conception by causing nausea, vomiting, and even weight gain or weight loss. There are some neurological symptoms that occur or get aggravated by pregnancy.

Headache is one of the most common symptoms when hormones change. The patients may suffer from more migraines than they used to or if they never had migraines in their life they may start having them. Some migraineurs though feel better during pregnancy and their migraines may get worse postpartum. Migraines are treated by Tylenol, codeine, imitrex or narcotics but not with aspirin based medications. Motrin, Advil or Aleve are all contraindicated as they may cause bleeding.

The patients may go through a lot of other neurological problems like restless leg syndrome, back pains, and neck pains due to the weight of the fetus and body volume changes, as well as changes in the uterus. Back pain may continue postpartum if there is a disc problem. The doctors recommend message, acupuncture, physical therapy and narcotic painkillers during the pregnancy. They try to avoid any back surgery.

The pregnant womens' red blood cells and body volume start increasing as the term approaches and therefore if they take any medications regularly for any medical condition, the blood levels of the medications drop. If the patient has a seizure disorder the frequency of seizures increase due to the reduced blood levels of the medications. However, the seizures may also get better during pregnancy.

The patients most of the time have exacerbation of their neurological problems post partum rather than during pregnancy. These include multiple sclerosis attacks, seizures, fatigue, tiredness, and migraine attacks. This partly is due to the sleep deprivation during the first few weeks post partum and changes yet again in the hormonal levels. The pregnant women may also experience dizziness or vertigo by position, they may suffer from more viral infections than usual. Neck spasms contribute to vertigo spells as well.

Pregnant women may suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disorder because of the pressure the uterus puts on the stomach. Constipation and hemorrhoids are common problems. Their legs may swell up because of the pressure of the uterus on the inferior vena cava and that can cause circulation problems.

The medications the pregnant ladies can take safely during pregnancy mostly include narcotics for pain control, any anti-nausea medication, over-the-counter medications for constipation and sometimes antidepressants. Pregnant women are strongly recommended to discuss every medication they take with their doctors. They should definitely avoid any raw fish or big fish that may contain higher doses of lead, mercury, or arsenic.

Most of the symptoms that are new to pregnancy are reversible. However, there are some women who may need medical attention and therapy during and after the pregnancy. Don't ignore any symptom especially if it is affecting your physical and mental health and call your doctor ASAP..

Ilkcan Cokgor, M.D.
General Neurology/Neuro-Oncology
1350 South Eliseo Drive, Suite 220
Greenbrae, CA 94904

Phone: (415) 925-3590
Fax: (415) 925-9762