Crohn's medication+pregnancy

[suze]

crohn's medication+pregnancy

Hi,
I was diagnosed with Crohn's almost four years ago and had surgery in May 2005. Throughout this time I have been taking Pentasa, a form of Mesalazine. My husband and i are keen to start trying for a baby and my consultant has told me to stop taking my medication as soon as i start trying to conceive. However, even f i go without it for a couple of days i notice a difference and become sore and uncomfortable. Does anyone know of any other safe alternatives i could take? Any other advice would be very much appreciated.
Suze

 

[Jeff D.]

I wish you and your husband the best of luck although I don't know much about pregnancy and crohns meds. Good luck

 

[Mazen]

I think you should discuss this with your doctor. I don't know about Pentatsa, but Imuran for sure has to be stopped if you are trying to get pregnant. Good Luck

 

[Mazen]

Also check this link

http://www.pentasausa.com/lwuc_pregnancy.asp

PENTASA should only be used in pregnancy if clearly needed. Your physician will determine if PENTASA is the appropriate medication for you.

 

[ruthymg]

Hi, I was also taking Pentasa and Imuran when I was thinking about planning for a baby. I discussed what medication to take with my GI and he told me that there was no known problems with taking Pentas whilst pregnant ot trying to get pregnant. He wasn't the only one to tell me this by the way either, my GP and my pregnancy consultant all said the same thing. In fact my pregnancy consultant got the drug section in my hospital to chech for any known problems with the meds I was on and Pentasa was absolutely fine so maybe your doctor needs to look into this a little more. There is no point in stopping your medication just for the sake of it. I did stop taking the Imuran though as that can cause diformities in unborn babies. I continued with the Pentasa through conception and the whole of my pregnancy and my baby was absolutely fine. I think its because the Pentasa doesn't enter the blood stream it remains in the bowel or something like that but I would reccomend staying on it. My daughter by the way is only 2 years old so this is recent information.

 

[kissycole_1979]

I was 11 weeks pregnant when I found out I had crohn's after having an appidectomy and bowel resection. I got put on Asacol when I was 24 weeks pregnant. My GI doc told me that was a safer time to start taking it because the baby is mostly formed then. I don't know about the meds you are taking though. They may be different. I wish you all the best luck and good wishes.

 

[andilynn09]

I was diagnosed in Spring of '06, the time when my husband and I were getting ready to start trying for a baby. I am just now finally off steroids, etc., and am able to think again about trying for a baby. We've talked it over with btoh my regular GI and a professor at the University of Iowa, and both said more and more studies are showing it is best to continue your meds as you are much more likely to cause probs for baby if you flare vs. the small increase in risk you are taking by staying on meds. I am on both pentasa and imuran, and said that is what they will suggest for me when the time comes - to continue my meds to keep myself healthy, and therefore have a better chance of being able to sustain a pregnancy.