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Did your mother take Diethylstilbestrol (DES) while pregnant with you?

Posted by cyndiefromnc @cyndiefromnc, Sep 6 6:17am

I am a DES baby, which means my mother took the drug Diethylstilbestrol (DES) while pregnant with me.

DES was prescribed to prevent miscarriage from 1938-1971 in the US. (1977 in some other countries.) A 1953 US study proved it did not prevent miscarriage but did cause cancer in the mothers and a slew of problems for the babies in utero, including.......premature births, infertility, cancer, severe depression........the list goes on.

Because DES was developed in a public lab, any pharmaceutical company could manufacture it. They all profited greatly and thus continued promoting it regardless of the 1953 study.

It was also prescribed for morning sickness. (And possibly to dry milk? I'm not sure about that. Someone else may know.)

I would love to hear from other DES babies. I had many female problems over the years. I was able to have children, but it was a long road. I also suffered depression throughout my life and have now been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

I am wondering if any other women whose mothers or grandmothers took DES have suffered with severe depression and/or have developed the autoimmune disease, Polymyalgia Rheumatica?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Women's Health Support Group.

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kmfdallas | @kmfdallas | Sep 12 2:15pm
In reply to @sophie46 "My mother had two miscarriages and when she started to lose me she was hospitalized. She..." + (show)
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My mother had two miscarriages and when she started to lose me she was hospitalized. She was injected with DES each day for a week. At the age of forty she gave birth to me.

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How many weeks into her pregnancy did she receive DES injections?

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kmfdallas | @kmfdallas | Sep 12 2:16pm
In reply to @sophie46 "I forgot to mention this was in England in 1945." + (show)
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I forgot to mention this was in England in 1945.

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There is a lot of press this month by iTV on DES, have you seen it?

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Sophie46 | @sophie46 | Sep 13 12:01pm
In reply to @kmfdallas "How many weeks into her pregnancy did she receive DES injections?" + (show)
Profile picture for kmfdallas @kmfdallas

How many weeks into her pregnancy did she receive DES injections?

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I believe she was around three months into her pregnancy, as she was with her two previous pregnancies. I'm unable to confirm this with her, as she died in 2006 at the age of one hundred years.

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Sophie46 | @sophie46 | Sep 13 12:03pm
In reply to @kmfdallas "There is a lot of press this month by iTV on DES, have you seen it?" + (show)
Profile picture for kmfdallas @kmfdallas

There is a lot of press this month by iTV on DES, have you seen it?

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No, I haven't seen it. Do you recall what it was called?

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ursulaipato | @ursulaipato | Oct 3 4:27pm

I'm a DES baby and have had a number of effects from it. Severe PMS and horrible cramps for a full eight hours once a month (this was prior to ibuprofen), recurrent pregnancy loses - ectopic and missed abortion, ADHD, and acne fulminans. I also have Ramsay Hunt syndrome but have not seen DES associated with it.

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alakatski | @alakatski | Oct 7 7:25pm

My mother started to take DeS when she started spotting after 4 months of pregnancy & continued it until I was born. I have had so many health problems related to DES: breast cancer & CIN/carcinoma in situ of the cervix. My perimenopause started at 36. I was born with a redundant bowel & absence of my posterior communicating artery in my brain. I feel like being exposed to this endocrine disrupter has caused metabolic issues with calcium. I am a super kidney stone maker (>25) & have had multiple fractures from calcium depleted bones

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cyndiefromnc | @cyndiefromnc | Oct 8 5:16am
In reply to @alakatski "My mother started to take DeS when she started spotting after 4 months of pregnancy &..." + (show)
Profile picture for alakatski @alakatski

My mother started to take DeS when she started spotting after 4 months of pregnancy & continued it until I was born. I have had so many health problems related to DES: breast cancer & CIN/carcinoma in situ of the cervix. My perimenopause started at 36. I was born with a redundant bowel & absence of my posterior communicating artery in my brain. I feel like being exposed to this endocrine disrupter has caused metabolic issues with calcium. I am a super kidney stone maker (>25) & have had multiple fractures from calcium depleted bones

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@alakatski Wow. You've endured much. DES wreaked havoc on so many lives. I don't think we will ever know how many of our struggles were due to DES. It's heartwrenching. God bless.

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kmfdallas | @kmfdallas | Oct 8 10:55am
In reply to @alakatski "My mother started to take DeS when she started spotting after 4 months of pregnancy &..." + (show)
Profile picture for alakatski @alakatski

My mother started to take DeS when she started spotting after 4 months of pregnancy & continued it until I was born. I have had so many health problems related to DES: breast cancer & CIN/carcinoma in situ of the cervix. My perimenopause started at 36. I was born with a redundant bowel & absence of my posterior communicating artery in my brain. I feel like being exposed to this endocrine disrupter has caused metabolic issues with calcium. I am a super kidney stone maker (>25) & have had multiple fractures from calcium depleted bones

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@alakatski DES Daughter here.. also with brittle bones and multiple fractures and kidney stone maker. DES was aa carcinogen and teratogen, and we are still suffering.

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kmfdallas | @kmfdallas | Oct 8 10:56am
In reply to @cyndiefromnc "@alakatski Wow. You've endured much. DES wreaked havoc on so many lives. I don't think we..." + (show)
Profile picture for cyndiefromnc @cyndiefromnc

@alakatski Wow. You've endured much. DES wreaked havoc on so many lives. I don't think we will ever know how many of our struggles were due to DES. It's heartwrenching. God bless.

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@cyndiefromnc We keep learning for effects from our exposure along with the 3rd generation effects

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kmfdallas | @kmfdallas | Oct 8 10:57am
In reply to @ursulaipato "I'm a DES baby and have had a number of effects from it. Severe PMS and..." + (show)
Profile picture for ursulaipato @ursulaipato

I'm a DES baby and have had a number of effects from it. Severe PMS and horrible cramps for a full eight hours once a month (this was prior to ibuprofen), recurrent pregnancy loses - ectopic and missed abortion, ADHD, and acne fulminans. I also have Ramsay Hunt syndrome but have not seen DES associated with it.

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@ursulaipato 2 Ectopics for me.

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