Pregnancy & Steroid questions

[Renee77]

I hope this goes through. I found it a little tricky to figure out how to post? Anyways, I am new here. I was never officially diagnosed with crons though my GI doc treats me as such (my dad has crons, I fit all of the criteria). In addition, I have severe migraines (about 20/month) for the past 22 years and that is related to my severe back/neck damage (8 herniated discs). I have a long story but as of current I am really struggling with my effort to become pregnant. I did get pregnant and miscarried 3 mos. ago (I was 12 wks along but miscarried at 6 wks without knowing, thought I was having a flare). At that time I was on amitriptiline which I had been on for 22 plus years. I worried about safety of it during pregnancy (though I'm on others including Pentasa now for crons) but I came off of it and tried to get pregnant recently. I am now 6 wks along, had ultrasound today and luckily, there was a heartbeat. I am SO scared though about the risks as I miscarried at this time mos. ago.

Problem is, I'm in horrific pain- severe cramping, pressure pains, I am so inflamed...nauseas, etc. My GI Dr. is trying to decide to put me on steroids which I really dont' want to do during pregnancy. Has anyone had to do so when pregnant? I don't want to lose this baby but because of all of my risk factors, I'm in a tough place. Any type of advice would be helpful. Thanks!
Renee

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Hi Renee77, I've moved your post to its own thread so that it doesn't get lost in that big thread, and hopefully you will get more answers here. I've never had children so I can't answer your questions, but others should see this thread now and should be along shortly to help you out. I do have one thought for you - what steroid specifically is it that they want you to go on, is it prednisone or Entocort? Pred is systemic so I would imagine that one is more risky, but Entocort is more localized and not systemic, so that might be safer to try. Something to ask your doctor about anyway. Good luck, I hope you're able to have a good pregnancy and a healthy baby!

 

[crohnsinct]

Renee,

So sorry to hear about the miscarriage. I also miscarried one of my pregnancies and have to say until my next babies were safely in my arms I never felt 100% safe. With my second pregnancy I was put on Prednisone, not for IBD but another issue. I was told it was safe and my daughter was born with no problems...although she is now the Crohnie in our family.

Sorry I don't have more advise for you. Best of luck with the pregnancy and praying you feel better real soon!

 

[Renee77]

Thank you for your input. I saw my GI today and my belly was all swollen, tender. I'm in a ton of pain. she requested a stool sample (I'm going every 2 hours) then plans on doing a sigmoidoscopy. I'm SO scared about this with the risks of the scope/procedure. I've had this done in the past and it's uncomfortable but being pregnant and in horrific pain and cramping as it is, this would be awful and so dangerous to the baby. I'm so scared.

 

[KayleighMeek]

I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through I don't have any advice but just wanted you to know you are in my thoughts and hope everything goes well for you.
Im sure the Drs will be able to put your mind more at ease about the procedure x

 

[Catherine]

http://www.uptodate.com/contents/in...cs?source=outline_link&view=text&anchor=H8#H8

 

[raechel]

Renee- sorry to hear about your miscarriage, and the current pain you are in. I am currently 22 weeks pregnant and just finished weaning off of 20 mg of prednisone that I was put on about 6 weeks ago. My crohns was flaring along with arthritis and erythema nodosum that was making it very painful to walk or move around at all. I was very skeptical to go on steroids while pregnant and my ob was against it at first, but once I was in the second trimester she said it was not as risky and I agreed to give it a chance. I'm glad I did because it helped me a ton. The input I got from my doctors is that in the first trimester the primary concern with steroids is the risk of cleft palate in the baby, and in the third trimester it is risky due to premature birth. However, having said that, even in the first or third trimester the benefit to both you and the baby may outweigh the risk if your disease is really acting up badly. I found several people online that said they were on lower doses of prednisone all throughout their pregnancies and had healthy babies. Personally, all of my ultrasounds show the baby is still doing great. I would just talk it over with your doctor and follow your instincts. Best of luck to you!