Personal Question for the ladies

[ameslouise]

Ladies -

I have been taking birth control pills for about 3 years to control heavy periods. My periods since being on the pill have been really light - maybe 1-2 very light days. Befor the pill I had REALLY heavy, long periods - like 6-8 days, with 2-3 days of VERY heavy flow.

My doctor recommends I go off the BCPs, so we can get an accurate read of what my hormone levels really are and treat them if they are out of whack.

I was diagnosed with Crohn's about 7 months ago and have been on the pill the whole time since my diagnosis. Ever since I was a teenager, I would get a touch of D with my period, but not when I am on the pill.

My questions:
Does your period affect your Crohns - i.e. does it ever cause you to flare or have any other reaction?
If you have been on the pill, did the pill have any impact - good or bad - on your Crohn's
Has Prednisone affected your period at all?

Just wondering what to expect. Any relevant experiences you can share would be most appreciated. I know these are personal questions, but hey, we can talk about crapping ourselves on here with no embarrassment, so I figure anything is fair game!

Thanks !! - Amy

 

[Crohn's 35]

Hi Amy, I was only on the pill for 2 years, in my whole life, and only one kid LOL... I suffer alot during my cycle because of the swelling and caused sometimes for me to get blockages, however everyone is different. Now I only get for four days and the first two I stick to bland and Ensure. Some people use IUD's and have no period or cramps. I never did. All you can do is try, and would be a good idea to have a break from the pill.

Good luck,

 

[lilninja]

i was on birth control pills for two years and my periods were normal. i came off bc and have gone months without a period. obgyn couldnt find out why this was happening. but now that i have been told i have crohn's, the dr thinks it was crohn's that was messing up my periods. with the meds to help put me in remission, i have now had a period. everyone is different but i'm hoping that this is the answer to my problem.

 

[katiesue1506]

Does your period affect your Crohns - i.e. does it ever cause you to flare or have any other reaction?

-Yeah... Crohn's flares are way worse around that time of the month... worse D, cramps, tiredness, just generally unwell

If you have been on the pill, did the pill have any impact - good or bad - on your Crohn's
-I'm currently using the Nuvaring (my docs have told me that having crohn's in the portion of the bowels where BCP are absorbed can cause an ineffective absorption of the pills- this way I KNOW the meds are getting where they need to) I was like you pre-BC I had very heavy and long periods, but I've been able to get down to 4 day-lighter periods with the Nuvaring. Whenever I take the ring out (the placebo week) I do notice all my Crohn's symptoms ramp up. But I was diagnose with Crohn's RIGHT when I started BC, so its hard for me to answer that question.

Has Prednisone affected your period at all

-Ohhhh man... Pred makes me BONKERS even moreso on my period. Its like PMS time 40. I get so irritated with people... and everything everyone else does looks dumb to me. No one can do anything right. I mostly keep this all inside my head (ie I don't freak out on people)... but in my head I'm CRAAZY.

 

[imisspopcorn]

Crohn's has definitely affected by my monthly cycle...Usually causing more diarrhea. I no longer am on BC. My tubes are tied......I haven't been on BC since I was diagnosed 12 years ago....The hormones started causing me problems with mood swings so I stopped taking them. Prednisone does seem to make my period heavier...but nothing major.

 

[Jennifer]

Does your period affect your Crohns - i.e. does it ever cause you to flare or have any other reaction? - No.
If you have been on the pill, did the pill have any impact - good or bad - on your Crohn's - I've been on the pill for over 10 years and its never had an impact on my crohns.
Has Prednisone affected your period at all? - Not that I recall.

 

[Astra]

My periods were shocking! but then, I didn't know I had Crohns. I was put on the pill aged 15 cos of them, terrible diarrhea and vomiting every month then I'd faint.
Over the years as I got older, my periods went even worse, the only reprieve I got was when I was pregnant! Brill 9 months, pure bliss!
To cut a long story short, in 2001 I was in agony with terrible pains down lower right side, went to A&E via ambulance, they said I had ovarian cyst, had total hysterectomy and doc said everything was 'glued' together - bowels, bladder, reproductive stuff, endometriosis they call it!
great! or so I thought!
6 months later, same agonising pains which I ignored for 4 years! No bits left, phantom pains, was called phychosymatic, neurotic, mental, depressed etc by quack. til I screamed for a referral to a gastro.
Then diagnosis in 2005, rest is history.
My point is, I now know that your periods are defo worse with Crohns cos everything gets stuck together, your uterus and ovaries etc sits low down behind your small bowel, and when you ovulate etc some of this escapes and forms endos which can attach to your bowel, thus exacerbating your Crohns, thus producing more inflammation, plus more pain, plus more flaring etc!
That's the science bit!
So... next step, see a gynae to rule out endometriosis,
My gynae said after my op, 'it was a bit of a car crash down there'
Hysterectomy was the best thing I ever done, defo reduced my Crohns, D&V every month.
Hope this helps girls
Lotsa luv
Joan x

 

[ameslouise]

Whoa! Astra! That is craziness! Glad you finally got the hysterectomy and it made things better in terms of the Crohn's a bit anyway. It's great that you were able to get pregnant with all that going on in there!

I'm a little nervous about what stopping the pill will do down there. I do have a fibroid which I had embolized a few years back, but that didn't do much to slow down my periods. The GI surgeon actually thought they would have to remove my uterus during my j-pouch construction because it was in the way. Now I wish they had just taken the sucker out and I wouldn't be worrying about it anymore!

Thanks everyone for sharing your personal stories. - Amy

 

[Astra]

hi girls
turns out my 'ovarian cyst' was a fibroadenoma, a collection of cells attached to my ovary, these can be really freaky and contain teeth and hair too!
Mine didn't, thank god, think I'd of puked.
something you'd see in the museum, hey!
Doc said to me 'I'm gonna take your ovaries out, clean it up'
I said 'take it all out, it's like having a bike with no wheels'
but he didn't laugh!

I'm not suggesting for one minute you have a hysterectomy girls, but just get checked by gynae to rule out fibroids and endos.

I had it all removed in one go because why wait til it all shrivels up and becomes diseased later on in life, causing more problems like cervical cancer etc

Amy and Erazer, I don't know how old you are, but if you're finished having kids and in your late thirties, like I was, I was 37, then it's something to consider to ease your Crohns.
And I had a surgical menopause, years of suffering menopausal symptoms all in one day! Bloody Fantastic!
On HRT now and it's fab!