Crohn's and pregnancy tests

[kcf]

Hi, I was diagnosed with crohn's when I was 17 years old (now 22). I don't think I have ever been in remission, and I am on humira now, I don't think that it is really working but I am not positive. I don't really have symptoms anymore but after my last colonoscopy my doctor said that my crohn's is ALOT worse than it ever has been (strange when I don't feel nearly as sick as I was when I was younger). BUT ANYWAY that was a little of my back story my problem now is that my doctor said that I am not allowed to get pregnant because my flare up is so bad. My husband and I have been trying to be careful but....

Well I think I may be pregnant and I am a little concerned. I have not yet "missed" my period but I am worried about this because my friends keep wanting to have wine nights and I don't really want to be drinking if I am pregnant. Plus according to my doctor, it could be dangerous for me if I am pregnant. This past week I have been nauseous, my stomach hurts, Ive been soooo thirsty, and my ****s seem super sore.

Now, the nausea could be a crohns symptom but I haven't felt this specific symptom in almost a six months and it was different... Usually when I am nauseous from crohns it is because of something I ate and when my stomach growls I no longer feel sick. But for the past few days I have felt this way even when I am hungry. And when the past few days when I have had stomach pain the pains are above/by my belly button. Usually my crohns pain comes from my lower intestine way below my belly button.

I have taken two pregnancy tests and they were both negative, and my period should be any day now. I have heard that if you have crohns then home pregnancy tests are often wrong. I just want to know if this is true before I go out tonight and have some drinks with friends. Or if anyone thinks that this could possibly just be my crohns getting worse? I really don't want it to get worse I have been trying so hard to get rid of it but nothing seems to work. honestly I would rather be pregnant than my crohns getting worse...

Sorry this was so long but this is my first time on here, I thought I would explain myself a little. If anyone knows or has had experience with a negative pregnancy test that is or has been pregnant with crohns I would please some insight.

 

[David]

Hi kcf and welcome to the community

I hadn't heard of Crohn's Disease causing false negative pregnancy tests but I guess it's possible. Where did you hear that?

With that said, alcohol when in an active flare might not be the greatest idea. But if you've found that it doesn't affect you too much, more power to you.

Again, welcome!

 

[kcf]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. I was just googling about it and I read that alot of people with crohns disease were saying they think their pregnancy test was a false negative. But reliable google isn't always that great of a source haha so I thought I would see if anyone had any thoughts on this.

I don't usually drink much alcohol because it is one of the things like sugar that does cause me to have symptoms but tonight my friends wanted to come over for a wine night. I will probably only have a glass or so. But if for some reason I am pregnant that makes me nervous.

I am sure that I am just being paranoid. If the test said "not pregnant" I am probably not!

 

[chrisnsteph1022]

Well, I'd go with the test being right and enjoy your evening. If you turn out to be pregnant, 1-2 glasses of wine one night isn't likely to hurt anything.

I've never heard of Crohn's affecting pg tests.

 

[Manzyb]

I've also never heard of Crohn's affecting a pregnancy test. When i was pregnant, i found out very early, it was clear as day that i was definitely pregnant! however, I'm just one person!

As for getting pregnant being dangerous to you i you are in a flare... it can be dangerous for both you and baby. You need to be as healthy as you can when you get pregnant. When I got pregnant it wasn't necessarily planned and I was flaring. I had a rough pregnancy, but in the end baby was perfectly healthy, and still is.

What are you taking for your Crohn's?

I'm glad you found the forum! there are a lot of awesome, helpful people here.

 

[kcf]

I am on humira right now, i just stopped taking pentasa but i still have a few bottles left of that. If I don't stop feeling nauseous soon I think that I am going to take some more pentasa to see if it goes away. I just obviously didn't want to be pregnant taking any pills unless the doctor says its okay. I still feel a little off but I don't really see how the test could have been wrong.

I would ideally like to have a baby when I know that I am 100% better but it is comforting to know that you had a baby during a flare and everything turned out okay This has been making me nervous lately so that makes me feel a little better if I was to get pregnant on accident.

 

[Manzyb]

i was also on Humira the entire pregnancy! I worried a lot of first, but it was the only thing keeping my Crohn's from getting a lot worse than it already was. Now, I have a happy, healthy little 1-year old

They were worried about me being able to carry the baby to term, because of the flare. Luckily, the actual pregnancy was good. The baby was always healthy, it was just me who was sicker than a dog. I did have the baby a little early, but only by 4 weeks.

 

[kcf]

Aww!! thats awesome I'm glad everything worked out with your baby. It stinks being sick, but if the baby was healthy thats great. I hate being sick but it comes with the territory of having Crohns lol pretty used to it by now.

Its good to know that I can use humira if needed when I am pregnant. My doctors were scaring me saying it was bad but Ive been reading online that a lot of women actually stay on it.

 

[Manzyb]

It's a cat. B in pregnancy. I think some doctors might be against it, but, it is safer for you to take the medication if it is keeping your disease somewhat at bay, then to go off of it and risk getting into a really horrible flare. If you get into a nasty flare while pregnant that can affect your baby. I just happened to get really lucky. I had a foot and a half stricture in my small bowel and disease in my colon, but somehow I trucked through it! I did vomit every day every time I ate, so I only gained about 15lbs. But I was closely monitored every couple of weeks for checkups. If your OBGYN doesn't think you should stay on the medication, I'd go to a different one. I'd also talk to your GI about it. There are people who do great during pregnancy with biologics as well as other drugs! Good luck to you! Please, if you ever have any questions, you can always message me! I know it can be a scary time

 

[Manzyb]

Oh and have fun with the girls wine night! sounds like a lot of fun

 

[Rebecca85]

I hadn't heard anything aput Crohn's and false negatives before. I don't really see how it would affect it, since the test measures hormones in the pee.

For the record, I used a cheap Internet test (10ml sensitivity) and got a faint positive 2 or 3 days before my period was due.