Pregnancy and Crohn's?

[crohns072009]

Question..I was diagnosed with Crohns july 2009 been a very rough road..two hospital visits, lost my job and my boyfriend. I am on cimzia, imuran, lialida, predisone, ultram (pain med), nexium for acid reflux, zofran(naseau) vitamin c, and depression meds. I am planning on getting pregnant sometime soon and want to know what I am in for?

 

[imisspopcorn]

My first pregnancy was before I was diagnosed....I had two other Pregnancies after my diagnosis. I was only on Asacol at the time....Pregnancy and Crohn's wise it was great. In fact I think the hormones kept me in some sort of remission.

I was diagnosed with Crohn's one year after my first baby was born. My disease was pretty mild compared to where I am now. All of my kids were over 8lbs at birth and very healthy.

Before you even try to get pregnant, make sure you discuss all your meds with a OB/GYN. They may have some suggestions for you. Good luck.

 

[Becky]

Same story for me. Diagnosed after 1st baby. I was on remicade throughout 2nd preg. and also on entocort for 10 wks for a flare. I did have some issues but had a healthy baby! I havent been in remission since though.
I know it is very important for you and baby to make sure you are in remission before trying to conceive.

 

[daisy_dueller]

I had surgery in Nov/08 for CD, then found out I was pregnant in April/09...I was in remission when I got pregnant, and stayed in remission the entire pregnancy, it was like I never had CD, it was awesome! Then 3 days after my son was born, I started flaring, and have been ever since. I was on Imuran for the duration of my pregnancy aside from the last month, because I was told I couldn't breastfeed with the imuran.

My son was born on the heavy side of 8 lbs, and is perfectly healthy in every way, but I would definitely make sure you talk to your pregnancy doc to make sure your meds are safe for the baby, if not, you may need to either wait it out for a bit longer, or stop taking some of the meds and hope to stay in remission.

 

[My Butt Hurts]

You never know what you're going to get with Crohn's and pregnancy. My doc said that 1/3 get worse, 1/3 stay the same, and 1/3 feel better. I would want to be as close to flare free as possible at the time of conception.
I was not flaring with my pregnancy, and took sulfasalazine then asacol throughout. The only problem was low amniotic fluid levels, but there is no telling if that was from medication or if that would have happened anyways.
I'm not trying to be mean at ALL, please trust me on that - but if you have no job and no boyfriend right now, you might want to make sure it's the right time to have a baby. You are still young and have plenty of time (I hate when people say that, but there I go saying it.) Also - you are so newly diagnosed with Crohn's, you might want to wait a little while to see what your body is going to do. It might calm down nicely with the right meds or treatment.
Welcome to the forum, and good luck.

 

[lucitcha]

Yeah, that´s a subject of interest to me... I´m not diagnosed yet, but I do worry about it, since my husband and I are planning a baby for 2011. Hope I get everything under control by then. I always get worse during my periods, so I´m freightened of hormones x D and pain. But maybe it will be just the opposite, since I WON´T be getting any periods. Don´t know.
At least I work in a public enterprise (in Brazil that means they look out for you and don´t fire you unless you really screw up - like doing something illegal etc).

 

[kristyn]

My OBGYN said that Crohn's usually does better during pregnancy because your body produces the natural immunosuppressant. But, I haven't tried yet.

 

[metahi]

I was diagnosed with Crohn's when I was 18. I have had two kids and my only symptom of Crohn's prior to conception was diarrhea. During pregnancy, both times, it was like I never had the disease. In short, it was amazing! Within hours of giving birth with both, the diarrhea was back...Good luck

 

[Lisa.H]

I'm in the same situation, different ship though. My personal life is on the stable side. Well, as stable as it can be with 2 acres to maintain, 3 dogs and 2 kids with full schedules. (ages almost 11 & 12) My husband and I have been talking about adding another one to our family recently. The first 2 I had were back when I was 100% healthy. Ah, the good 'o days!

My husband is a bit nervous on how a pregnancy would effect my CD and UC. I know he is also thinking not so much the pregnancy itself, but after the baby arrives. He already starts his day at 5am - works full time, gets home, takes the dogs for a walk, get the kids started on their homework, get to my son's wrestling match a few times a week, get home, start dinner, clean up the house, etc. He finally crashes around 9 and hasn't sat down all day.

I do work full time but am lucky that my job allows me to get to the office at whatever time I get there. Normally, mornings are the hardest time for me, so I get in late and will work later. By the time I get home, dinner is waiting. I'm usually pretty tired and tend to get to bed early and haven't done much besides clean up the dinner dishes with his help.

We're fairly young still and realized we don't want an empty house in 7 years! lol

 

[BLM]

I have been ill for years....undiagnosed until recently. I had a baby in 2007, was relitativly healthy before the baby was concieved. Had healthy baby boy. Things were great for about 3 months and then I flared....only for about a week and a half, still went undiagnosed. Was ok for two more years and got prego again...was harder on me. Became really anemic and B-12 deficient.....super migraines most of the time...and constipation problems. Had baby a month early, last October. Baby was healthy for being a month early.....but I wasnt!! Ive been really sick since I had baby in Oct 09. Started with Severe constipation....I mean, you cant even imagine what I went through...along with severe hemoriods!! Yikes!! Spent about a month and a half in the hospital from Feb to Mid March....almost died on Valentines day!! I since have diagnosis, and am being treated...but Im still in the woods...up and down days, and seems like a lot of BAD news, over and over. BUT....I am better than I was, its just an uphill battle for me and many more. I wish you luck!!

 

[Pincushion]

Pregnancy sent my crohn's into complete remission and I was not on ANY medication AT ALL!! Just normal pregnancy vitamins!!

My Consultant says I need to have lots of babies He was not at all surprised it made me so well, he said it is very common for pregnancy to temporarily 'cure' a lot of these sorts of chronic conditions.

If only they could bottle those hormones so we could mimic them to knock crohn's into touch!!

 

[Crohn's 35]

Pregnancy sent my crohn's into complete remission and I was not on ANY medication AT ALL!! Just normal pregnancy vitamins!!

My Consultant says I need to have lots of babies He was not at all surprised it made me so well, he said it is very common for pregnancy to temporarily 'cure' a lot of these sorts of chronic conditions.

If only they could bottle those hormones so we could mimic them to knock crohn's into touch!!

Ha, pregnancy on a permanent basis? I still got nauseated, and headaches. I still think hormones have alot to do with active crohns!

 

[YogaGirl]

I went into remission about nine months prior to getting pregnant and stopped all meds. I had a wonderful pregnancy with no problems whatsoever. I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Crohn's stayed in remission until she was 28 months, then slowly came back. It is now flaring with a vengeance.

This disease is so unpredictable. But my docs have always said we should make every effort not to get pregnant while the disease is active. I was told that if I get pregnant when the disease is active, the disease will get worse while pregnant. If I get pregnant when the disease is in remission, then the pregnancy should go just fine. That turned out true for me. I waited two years longer than I wanted to, but the healthy pregnancy and baby were worth the wait.

 

[Tan]

Thanks Yogagirl for telling us your experience.. Im currently getting a flare under control after being in remission for 6 months via natural route.. unfortunately this time they have put me on maintenance drugs that hopefully will hold the disease once I come off Pred in the next few weeks!! I had wanted to start a family by May this year but obviously things haven't worked out that way, but you have given me hope that one day in the near future I too could possible fall preggas and have a beautiful little baby. My GI told me the same thing that I need to have this disease undercontrol before I look at falling pregnant and then hopefully should be good for the full pregnancy, Im glad that it worked out that way for you. Im hoping by the end of the year if all goes well I can throw away the pill and start trying.. fingers cross

 

[YogaGirl]

Hi, Tan! Nice to meet you. Sounds like our stories are similar. I was diagnosed when I was 30, less than a year after I got married. It was devastating to know that at the precise moment when I wanted to start a family, I was in no position to do so. But things have worked out very well for me, and they will for you, also. When we are in our late 20's and early 30's, we start to hear that clock ticking away. I just kept thinking it was getting too late for me. I had her when I was 33 1/2, and now my husband and I are thinking we might even try again, if I can get this latest flare under control. You have a lot of time. Fingers crossed!

 

[Tan]

Ta hun, yeah it does sound like we are similar esp being dx within the first year of marriage!!
I am def starting to hear the good old clock ticking but I do know that I have some time still on my side.. thank goodness. Was just devastating to know that the exact time I had planned on starting a family was also the same time this ugly disease decided to rear its head But over the last year I have learnt alot and worked out within myself what I can & can not control and have come to peace with it all. Im hoping with time I too will be able to start a family

 

[meardonna]

first pregnancy was fine although I wasn't diagnosed then it was put down as IBS. breastfed for 2 years, absolutley excellant, no symptoms at all, ended breastfeeding fell really ill ended up in hospital. 2nd pregnancy great till last treimester when had severe attack needed 5 pints of blood and were threatening to operate,this was when got diagnosis. because of the crohns I didn't realise when i went into labour so labour was put down as 5 mins! as soon as i started feeding everything went away, was on no meds and could eat drink whatever I want, 2 years later ended feeding relapse back on the drugs...All I can say keep in touch with your docro or specialist nurse throughout and try breastfeeding, it really does work and i know of others who have had similar experiences. i'm here if you need me, i know trynig to feed can be difficult to start with without added crohns but as soon as its working properly you hopefully will feel free

 

[thad7kd]

Wow this is great. We are looking at trying to have kids in the next year. It is so helpful that you are on here to answer these questions. It is great to get the real answer for real people. Did your crohns change after giving birth? Just thought with all the changes your body goes though it could.

 

[tummygirl]

You never know what you're going to get with Crohn's and pregnancy. My doc said that 1/3 get worse, 1/3 stay the same, and 1/3 feel better.

My doc said the same thing.

 

[xJillx]

It seems like to me that being pregnant is the easier part (if you concieve when your Crohn's is realitivly under control), but after giving birth is where the trouble lies.

At this time, I am not doing too badly (*knock on wood*). My doctor never said it, but I'd assume my Crohn's can be considered mild-moderate. And I don't want it to get any worse! Does it always progress after having a baby?! I can deal with a flare after giving birth, but I'd hate to go from mild-moderate to severe due to having a baby. Though I really,really want children, it does cause some hesitation. It's just a bit scary.

 

[DanaDeadPetals]

My story is similiar to a lot of you. My first child was b4 crohn's and my second after. I think I started to flare with her right toward the end of my pregnancy which I had to end up having a c-section from bc she was 3 weeks early and breach. Anyway, 2 months after her birth I was in the hospital with a narrowing and terrible inflammation. I also have not been the same since and have been hospitalized 3X since her birth However, she IS worth it I think it's just a gamble because no one can be certain how it will affect us. My pregnancy was fine until the very end and then it was mostly LRQ pain which I thought (and my OB thought) was the baby moving things around. Anyway, I hope whatever you decide you are armed with knowledge and caution. Work with both doctors and listen to your body.