Trying To Conceive (TTC) Support Group

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Yes, I had my egg reserve checked after all the years of methotrexate. Also my FSH and estrogen checked. Also had Ana HSG to check uterus and tubes. Everything so far is perfect. Husbands sperm numbers were low (he's diabetic), but after a month of various supplements his numbers we normal. Can't help but feel like I'm missing something. All we can do is keep trying I guess.
 
No treatment for us. We said we would give it one more month before going for blood test. Can be frustrating when u are supposedly doing things 'right'. I.e. Not drinking, exercising, eating right, etc.
 
Hello everyone. I have been TTC for over a year with no luck, but have recently been given some information from my hematolgist that may explain it. I have crohnic anemia due to Crohn's, so I receive iron infusions about every 6 months to a year. My ferritin remains normal, but my hemoglobin and hematocrit remain low, even when I receive iron infusions. Low hemoglobin levels are a huge contributor to infertility. Most women can compensate by taking iron supplements, but those of us with active Crohn's will continue to have issues until the disease is under control. See info below and link. Hope it helps.

What is anemia of inflammation and chronic disease (AI/ACD)?

"Anemia of inflammation and chronic disease is a type of anemia that commonly occurs with chronic, or long term, illnesses or infections. Cancer and inflammatory disorders, in which abnormal activation of the immune system occurs, can also cause AI/ACD.

AI/ACD is easily confused with iron-deficiency anemia because in both forms of anemia levels of iron circulating in the blood are low. Iron in the body is found both circulating in the blood and stored in body tissues. Circulating iron is necessary for red blood cell production. Low blood iron levels occur in iron-deficiency anemia because levels of the iron stored in the body’s tissues are depleted. In AI/ACD, however, iron stores are normal or high. Low blood iron levels occur in AI/ACD, despite normal iron stores, because inflammatory and chronic diseases interfere with the body’s ability to use stored iron and absorb iron from the diet. AI/ACD is the second most common form of anemia, after iron-deficiency anemia."

Source: http://hematologic.niddk.nih.gov/anemiachronic.aspx
 
We've been trying 13 months so far with no luck. Starting to get very irritated! My husband and I are now trying Fertilaide vitamins which are messing with my fertility monitor. I've had 24 days low fertility which strikes me as odd. I thought taking these vitamins would make my hormones go up. I'm starting to think I need to go to a fertility specialist but I really do not want to. Next Friday is our 5 year wedding anniversary. I'm hoping this will bring us some luck and we will finally be pregnant.
 
Memmy29- Thanks for the info. I've always had low iron levels and always wondered if it had anything to do with my crohn's disease. I've been taking prenatal vitamins and that helped bring my red blood cell levels up.
 
Thanks memmy, certainly something to consider. I checked my iron levels and they are normal. We giving it another month without the conception indicator, just without timing anything and hope with out the stress or anxiety of it something good will happen.

Good luck all, here to positive results!

Xx
 
Any good news to report?

Hubby and I just did our third IUI. He has low sperm counts due to type 2 Diabetes. My Crohn's inflammation has been not great. Pain most days and running to the bathroom. The fertility treatments may be a waste at this point since my disease is active, but I'm desperate.

I'm going for my first Entyvio infusion next week. Fingers crossed this IUI works...and the Entyvio gets me feeling better.
 
Sorry to hear you have been having a rough time memmy hopefully the new meds will help soon.

I have a bit of news not to much longer after my last post on the forum, when I thought I was waiting for my period to start it never showed. I did a pregnancy test and it was positive I can't remember the last time I cried with joy like I did that day. Fast forward to this week I have had my first scan and everything is looking ok and I am 13weeks tomorrow. It still doesn't feel real and I don't think it will until I start to change shape. Me and my partner have been extremely lucky and I really wasn't expecting it to happen this soon.
 
Kaleigh! Congratulations!!! I'm so happy for you :) I hope the Crohns behaves for you the whole pregnancy. So awesome to hear some good news on this thread :) How have you been feeling so far? On any crohns meds currently?
 
Thank you! Had a lot of sickness early on and went off food completely but that is better now. My hb dropped quiet low so I am on iron tablets now but only two a day and being checked to see if this is enough soon. Crohn's symptoms haven't changed since finding out still have d and blood but its nothing that I was worried about before but something I am keeping more of an eye on. I have been up and down with joint issues I seem to have a good week then a bad week but I am pretty happy with everything at the moment.
I am on cimzia once every 2 weeks at the minute and Drs seem happy for me to continue with this. I have got a GI appointment the end of this month so I will see what they say about everything then.
 
Congratulations kayleigh! I agree it is great news to here success on this thread.

Only positive thing for us is that we been referred to specialist, so we will see if it is something we are lacking or just not enough practice! ;)
 
Like Kayleigh I found out a little over week after my last post I was pregnant. I am now almost 12 weeks pregnant. Wishing the rest of you good luck and positive results.
 
Hi all, just wanted to share my news that my baby girl is here and shes healthy and perfect even tho she is a month early.. i was on azathrioprine all the way through and i was on infliximab until my 3rd trimester. good luck to u all xx
 
Congrats jenninmn hope you have been feeling well.
And also congrats and well done Nicola on the birth of your daughter. It's good to hear she is doing well even though she was a bit early.
 
Congrats to J! I'm still over here trying :( Entyvio seems to be controlling my gut very well but the joints are very bad. Found out my CRP is 2.7, which is high inflammation.

For those with success: did you know how high your inflammation was when you conceived? I'm holding out hope...
 
My crp was raised before and is still raised now it is always between 18-30 and esr is nearly always in the 70's.
It's good to hear that the entyvio seems to be helping your gut but sorry that your joints are still bad. That's the problem I seem to have as soon as one seems to be under control the other plays up. My joints were still bad before I found out that I was pregnant and still have good and bad days now.
I hope you have some good news soon memmy x
 
Thanks Kayleigh. I'm healthy reproductively but my docs tell me the inflammation may be preventing pregnancy. Very upsetting. I'm turning 32 next month so the clock is ticking. Hope your pregnancy is going well.
 
I am feeling well but bloods are saying other wise low iron even with supplementation, very low vitamin d and inflammatory markers are raise but Drs are keeping a close eye on things. Baby is doing fine and all growing nice and healthy it's just taking everything from me but I don't care as long as she is safe.
 
I hope your feeling better soon.
I'm so happy the baby is growing well.
Just keep thinking about the first time you get to hold her, it will make it all worth it.
Hugs
 
Hi there. I am 41 & my husband & I conceived our first child easily back in 2008, despite the fact that I'd had Crohn's related surgery in 2006, but at that time the Crohn's was undiagnosed. However, after problems through 2011 & 2012 and going onto Remicade since October 2012, my husband & I are struggling to conceive. We've been trying since May 2013 & have had all the tests: sperm, bloods, hysterosalpingogram & ultrasound & everything is ok which is hopeful. It's just sitting in the 'unexplained fertility' folder though! Our only other option is IVF. My concerns are this: Remicade suppresses the immune system & there are suggestions that taking it makes you weaker to fight anything & I mean anything that affects health. Therefore, do I want more meds in my system from IVF bearing in mind the risks that come with IVF drugs & the chances of Remicade possibly making me weaker to those risks if that makes sense? Any advice?....one nervous lady here! : )
 
Hi everyone!
My husband and I have just started TTC.
I've had IBD issues since I was a baby but not diagnosed, had my gall bladder removed in 2005. It wasnt until a case of Erythma Nodsum that the 3rd doctor I saw knew there was something more going on, they thought I had Lupus or cancer though. After my second specialist and a colonoscopy they found mutliple deep ulcerations. Went on Mezavant and Prednisone, the Mezavant caused pancreatitis and I was hospitalized twice. Then switched to Methorexate weekly injections, after gaining 40lbs in a month and a half of course.

After a much better colonoscopy last summer my specialist agreed to get of the methotrexate and start Imuran to start TTC. It wasnt until this January though that my blood work came out better and calprotectin came clean.

I'm a little scared about the miscarriage warnings by dr said in the first trimester and what I've been hearing. And then on top of that it took my parents 5 years to conceive me.

Well its been -40degrees here almost everyday for the past month so we havent had much else to do. Practice makes perfect right?

Good luck to everyone here!
 
Ladies! I got a faint positive pregnancy test this evening. I'm 9 dpo so it's very early. Fingers crossed it sticks! I'll post an update soon. Hope everyone's doing well.
 
My husband and I started trying but no luck yet. My Crohn's is in remission but I did stop taking some of my medication for anxiety and my heart medication (my heart condition is very mild so I'll be fine without it). I'm still taking my 6MP but I wanted that to be the only class C drug I was taking (personal choice). One of my meds for Anxiety was a category X so I wanted to make sure I stopped that one just in case. It's weird not taking so much medication. I do need to switch to something else for acid reflux though, so I'll be getting a new prescription when I see my doctor again next week.

Good luck everyone! :)
 
I'm 11 dpo and still testing positive ☺️ I'm on progesterone supplements and they give me bad abdominal cramping. That's really freaking me out. Meeting with my hematologist today to test for APS. Good luck to everyone. I'm crossing my fingers this one sticks.
 
So I am positive for Antiphospholipid Syndrome which is an antibody that can cause blood clots in me or the baby. I was put on Lovenox injections daily...sucks. But I guess if that is the only way we can treat it I can do it. I hope it prevents a miscarriage. I read that women with APS who don't take Lovenox (or other blood thinner) only have a 17% pregnancy success rate. Scary. I'm 4 weeks today, so I know it's early.

Always plenty to worry about...
 
Just to update: I am now 20 weeks pregnant and everything is going great. I have some fissure issues and I'm continuing to receive Entyvio infusions every 8 weeks. Other than that, baby is doing great. Don't lose hope. I was a mess before the pregnancy and so far so good. The Crohn's is probably the best it's been in my whole life (I was diagnosed at age 9 and am now 32). Best of luck to everyone on here.
 
So good to hear from you memmy I wanted to send a message to you to ask how everything was going but was so worried from the problems you had early on. It's great you are doing so well pregnancy did amazing things for my disease too unfortunately it's started to get a bit worse now but I had over 10 months of feeling really good.
Have you found out what you're having or are you keeping it as a surprise? My little girl is 7 weeks old tomorrow it doesn't even seem possible and feels like she has always been a part of my life. X
 
Hi all,

New to this support group. Just wanted to peek in :) My husband has Crohn's and we were going to TTC few months back when he was just a healthy 27 yr old. I got checked up with my gyno and we were all set when a month later, he was diagnosed with Crohn's :( He had a massive flare and was very weak, so naturally we didn't give it a try. He is currently on Remicade and slowly regaining his normal self, but we have decided not to try again until he is in remission and is feeling perfectly fine. I read a lot of posts about Remicade lowering the sperm count and pretty scared actually. We are newly married, well not so new, its been a year and a half but I already feel old since Crohn's ate up most of our married life so far, and I'm only 26. Anyways just wanted to rant, good luck to all you folks with having loads of healthy babies :)
 
Hi there. I know plenty of women who have conceived on Remicade and women are told the fertility is not affected by it, only if the Crohn's is flaring so I'm sure it's the same good news for men! : ) Good luck!
 
hi my name is salvatrice, i want to have a baby but i have Crohn's disease and i have a few questions about being pregnant with Crohn's disease
 
Hi everyone, hope all is well with u all.. i was pregnant in 2014 was on infliximab and aza, my baby girl arrived a month early and is very healthy she is nearly 11 months old now and is doing excellent no medical problems shes perfect :) i have also just found out im expecting again, im very early on about 5 weeks so fingers crossed this goes as well as my last pregnancy :) good luck to u all xx
 
hi all! I am new and have some questions!


I am 2 years post partum. 6 monthes post partum I had a perianal small abscess then had surgery.. 3 months later I got a fistula.. then surgery. 5 months later I got a chronic fissure. These days I am doing well. Its just that if I don't drink enough water or eat enough veggies ( I eat a lot) then I have hard stool and hurts to go and that area will be itchy for a week or so.. I mean how long does this last?!?
I don't have Crohn's... but I do want to have another baby and don't want any issues!!
 
Hi everyone. I'm new to this group and recently diagnosed with Crohns. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for the past year. We were lucky enough to conceive our first month of trying in 2015 but our happiness was short lived when we found out at our first ultrasound that we lost the baby at 7 weeks. We are now thinking that our miscarriage may have been the first indicator of my Crohns disease and after a year of bad health and not being able to conceive my Crohns came to a head in February and I was officially diagnosed. Kind of a relief honestly because now I have answers as to why I felt so bad and possibly an answer to not being able to conceive for the past year.

I am reaching out to ask anyone about their medication experience with trying to conceive and what they were on prior to conceiving and even during their pregnancy. I am only currently on Pentasa and on the weaning off of Prednisone but if the Pentasa doesn't work (if I happen to have a severe case as shown on my CT scan) where do I go from there? My doctor does know I am trying to conceive and he has recently given us a red light until things get figured out but I don't want this red light to last a year while I wait for the right drug regimen. Just wanting to hear other people's experiences if you don't mind sharing. Thanks!
 
My wife and I are currently TTC. Our first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage in January at 6 weeks. We've just started trying again. She has poly-cystic ovary syndrome and well controlled type 1 diabetes. I have Crohns, but am currently doing well on Humira and Imuran. Hopefully we'll be blessed with success this time around.
 
danielle.wilson411 said:
Hi everyone. I'm new to this group and recently diagnosed with Crohns. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for the past year. We were lucky enough to conceive our first month of trying in 2015 but our happiness was short lived when we found out at our first ultrasound that we lost the baby at 7 weeks. We are now thinking that our miscarriage may have been the first indicator of my Crohns disease and after a year of bad health and not being able to conceive my Crohns came to a head in February and I was officially diagnosed. Kind of a relief honestly because now I have answers as to why I felt so bad and possibly an answer to not being able to conceive for the past year.

I am reaching out to ask anyone about their medication experience with trying to conceive and what they were on prior to conceiving and even during their pregnancy. I am only currently on Pentasa and on the weaning off of Prednisone but if the Pentasa doesn't work (if I happen to have a severe case as shown on my CT scan) where do I go from there? My doctor does know I am trying to conceive and he has recently given us a red light until things get figured out but I don't want this red light to last a year while I wait for the right drug regimen. Just wanting to hear other people's experiences if you don't mind sharing. Thanks!
Click to expand...


Hi Danielle,

I was diagnosed with crohns last April. After being on prednisone and being tapered off, I was taking Lialda and Imuran. In August of last year my fiancé and I decided we were going to ttc. By that time everything was under control I hadn't had any issues. So I talked to my GI doctor and he gave us the green light but I he wanted me to stop the Imuran. We also got pregnant the first month trying only to lose the baby at 9 weeks. My OB suggested we wait three months to start trying again. Before we could start trying again I ended up in the ER and a few hours later having a resection done. That was 6 weeks ago. I met with my GI doctor again since and he said now that the "active crohns" was removed from my body I shouldn't have an issue conceiving. I'm still on Lialda and my GI doctor said if I were to flare while pregnant he would start me on cimzia but that is only safe to take up until 30 weeks of pregnancy. Good luck to you and your husband!
 
I had problems with conceiving for almost one year before I decided I need help, then tried to find smb, who can help me, read many reviews. One day I found very nice web-site "OVU fertility network" and at the same day I fond my clinic, which helped me so much) Actually site was very helpful, cause there are lots of clinics and gynecologists in different countries, and i sent one or two enquiries and after that several clinics called me.
My husband and I were very impressed by the staff and services at British clinic in Abu Dhabi. The doctors, nurses and technicians are very caring and took the time to explain all procedures and answer our questions thoroughly. From the first consultation to the last visit, we felt like we were in the capable hands of experienced, caring professionals. Now we are blessed to have our baby on the way! I hope you will find in this post smt that will help you
 
Hey! Brand new here! Wondering if anyone has gone through something similar... My husband and I had just begun TTC in June. A few weeks after going off of the pill I began having a lot of blood in my stool. They sent me for a colonoscopy right away as I have family history of colon cancer (Dad and Aunt both passed from it). I was diagnosed with Crohn's and was told to stop TTC until we can get the inflammation under control. I went for a second opinion and disappointingly she said the same thing. She said my body is too focused on fighting the inflammation to focus on growing a baby and there are more health risks involved, greater chance of miscarriage, malnutrition etc. My Crohn's is currently moderate and limited to the large intestine (reading all of your posts breaks my heart thinking that it so much worse for so many others and that my case could potentially become worse). I am taking 4 tablets of Lialda daily and met with a nutritionist to figure out a new diet. The diet is driving me nuts as I never know what is going to set off my angry intestines and her advice doesn't always work out for my tummy. But what is killing me the most is not being able to TTC. I haven't ovulated (took tests everyday) or had my period since going off the pill (well, one day in July I had bleeding and cramps but def not the full, usual period). I don't know if it's my body still getting used to being off the pill or the stress from the last few months with doctors appointments or the inflammation. I feel like going to the OBGYN now would be a waste of time? - prob not much the OBGYN would say regarding fertility since there is a lot of inflammation in the large intestine and that my GI wants me to stop trying to conceive right now. We just scheduled a follow up colonoscopy for October to see if the Lialda is working as well as an endoscopy to make sure it hasn't spread there. But I'm so worried I am going to have a really had time conceiving if i get the green light in October. I am 34 and it feels like I am running out of time, you know? I regret waiting this long to try start a family and did not think I would hit a roadblock the second we started TTC. I naively assumed it would be easy :(
Save​
 
Marie7473 said:
Hey! Brand new here! Wondering if anyone has gone through something similar... My husband and I had just begun TTC in June. A few weeks after going off of the pill I began having a lot of blood in my stool. They sent me for a colonoscopy right away as I have family history of colon cancer (Dad and Aunt both passed from it). I was diagnosed with Crohn's and was told to stop TTC until we can get the inflammation under control. I went for a second opinion and disappointingly she said the same thing. She said my body is too focused on fighting the inflammation to focus on growing a baby and there are more health risks involved, greater chance of miscarriage, malnutrition etc. My Crohn's is currently moderate and limited to the large intestine (reading all of your posts breaks my heart thinking that it so much worse for so many others and that my case could potentially become worse). I am taking 4 tablets of Lialda daily and met with a nutritionist to figure out a new diet. The diet is driving me nuts as I never know what is going to set off my angry intestines and her advice doesn't always work out for my tummy. But what is killing me the most is not being able to TTC. I haven't ovulated (took tests everyday) or had my period since going off the pill (well, one day in July I had bleeding and cramps but def not the full, usual period). I don't know if it's my body still getting used to being off the pill or the stress from the last few months with doctors appointments or the inflammation. I feel like going to the OBGYN now would be a waste of time? - prob not much the OBGYN would say regarding fertility since there is a lot of inflammation in the large intestine and that my GI wants me to stop trying to conceive right now. We just scheduled a follow up colonoscopy for October to see if the Lialda is working as well as an endoscopy to make sure it hasn't spread there. But I'm so worried I am going to have a really had time conceiving if i get the green light in October. I am 34 and it feels like I am running out of time, you know? I regret waiting this long to try start a family and did not think I would hit a roadblock the second we started TTC. I naively assumed it would be easy :(
Save​
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat at the moment. I was diagnosed last April. I was also put on lialda, prednisone and azathioprine. Things seemed to be under control. When we decided to TTC in August of last year I talked to the GI that I had at the time and he told me we could stop the azathioprine and start TTC. We were successful in October. I miscarried at 9 weeks. March of this year I had a small bowel resection done. I was told it was ok to continue ttc. I flared this month. I started seeing a new GI and he told me we needed to stop TTC until everything is under control. I was put back on the prednisone and the Azathioprine and he doubled my dose of lialda. He said if six months from now everything was under control he would refer me to a specialist that's handles crohns and pregnancy.

I wish you the best!
 

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