Diane wrote: "I'm puzzled by the combination of short half-life and possibility that the drug can linger, so that new pregnancies aren't recommended for several *months*. What's the pharmacology there? Is it a lingering metabolite that's the concern?" Diane- I believe that new pregnancies are not recommended for several months after MTX based on findings in an *old* study (from the late 1970's I think) of a group of women treated with MTX for molar pregnancies. It showed an increased risk of fetal abnormalities in new pregnancies for several months after the molar pregnancy in women who had received the drug compared to those who had not. I don't remember the details of the study (how well it was controlled, etc), but I can try to find it if you are interested. I also don't know what the theory was regarding the underlying cause of the malformations (lingering metaolite or otherwise). Also- forgetting about the MTX, I'm not sure of the data supporting this, but many in the medical community tout that the sooner a woman attempts pregnancy after an ectopic, the more likely she is to have suffer another ectopic. Hence it is often recommended that a woman who has had an ectopic wait a few months before trying to get pregnant again. (And in the case of a molar pregnancy, a woman is strongly advised to wait a full year before becomming pregnant again so that her hormone levels (hcg) can be adequately followed to ensure that the mole is not growing back-- if she gets pregnant with a new pregnancy, her hcg would go up, but we wouldn't know if it was appropriately elevated from the new pregnancy or if the molar tissue was growing as well.) Hope that helps somewhat, though I realize I didn't really answer your question. Jayne Charlamb, MD Syracuse, NY *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html