Crohn's flare and pregnancy?

Hi Riley,

I'm so sorry you're flaring while pregnant. I can only tell you I'm in the exact same boat as you. I'm at 9 weeks right now, but ever since I got pregnant I have had issues with my Crohn's. A lot of women said it could just be from the pregnancy, but mine unfortunately wasn't. I developed a fistula which I never had before, so that's a nice bonus.

I'm new to pregnancy too, this is my first. I also worry about the baby, but from what I've read so many women with Crohn's have healthy babies even when they flare. I think your body takes care of the baby first, gives it all the nutrition, and then you get whatever is left. I started Flagyl a few days ago despite not wanting to take anything at all during pregnancy let alone the first trimester. I was trying to hold out, but it got unbearable, however the head of IBD and pregnancy at Mayo said it was OK, so I just am taking it and hoping the baby is good.

I have heard from a lot of women with Crohn's that the first trimester is usually the worst and once your body adjusts to the hormones you get better. That's what I'm holding out hope for. It does get kind of frustrating though when you hear about all the other women who felt better during their pregnancies than they ever had. It would be nice to be able to focus on the baby and not this stupid disease.

I hope you feel better soon. Are you on any meds right now? I would try not to worry about the baby, as hard as it can be. I just tell myself my body's priority right now is the baby, so it will get taken care of. Best of luck and keep us posted.

It is good to not feel so alone, but then I'm sorry you have to go through this! It's hard enough having a flare and then to have to worry about how it will affect your pregnancy is not fun.

I have heard a lot of women have healthy babies on Humira, and that's awesome that it helps you to feel good. I failed both Remicade and Humira, and the only thing that ever worked to get me in remission, temporarily, was Cipro, which is not recommended during pregnancy. I was just trying LDN for about a month right before I found out I was pregnant, but my gynecologist wanted me off it, so I'm not anything else but Flagyl. So sorry you had to deal with C-Diff!

Well, here's to hoping we just have a bumpy first trimester and go into remission for the rest of our pregnancies! :)

Congrats on your pregnancy riley. I hope it's just a first-trimester-hormone-shift. I experienced that with baby #1 & baby #3. I thought I was flaring both times, but as the first trimester was winding down the symptoms went away. Try not to stress about it too much and definitely keep an eye on things. If it turns into a flare things will get worse and keep getting worse and your GI will be able to help you. Don't worry about your baby. (S)he will be just fine. Baby is like a little parasite who gets first priority on the nutrients etc. So your body will give to the baby first and you last. It will take a lot for baby to suffer and by the time you were to get to any danger point, your docs would already have put a plan in place and have you on track to be stabilized. I took Humira with my 3rd baby and even breastfed while on. Everything turned out great! She'll be 3 next month and she is a healthy, sassy little stinker!

Hang in there! Take care of yourself and stay hydrated!

Stef

Hi Riley and October Girl-

I had my first child earlier this year. The CD was rough while I was pregnant; lots of cramping and D, a ton of diaphragm pain from bloating, plus an active RV fistula. And of course I couldn't take the Cipro I'm usually on while pregnant due to fetal development, so that aggravated things.

My specialist had planned to do a c-section at 38.5 weeks due to the fistula (the worry was that I could tear during delivery right into the fistula causing permanent incontinence). I felt a little better the second trimester, but once my kiddo hit that growth spurt in the 3rd, my body freaked. The D was very bad and at about 33 weeks I had to start on IV fluids every day to keep up with the hydration loss. At 35 weeks my bowels swelled and suddenly there was no room in the inn for baby. The pain was terrible so they took my son at 35 weeks and 4 days.

I'll admit, it was scary. And it was extremely difficult having to make a decision to deliver early knowing that I was cutting his womb time short. But he was a perfectly healthy 5 pound baby who spent a couple weeks in the NICU. And like several people mentioned above, my body took great care of him even though I was sick. During all of the monitoring there was never a problem with him.

The one thing I do suggest is to be followed by a high risk specialist. We are at risk for malnutrition and dehydration, both of which can affect a growing fetus. Those extra ultrasounds allow the doctors to keep a closer eye on growth rates and fluid levels. Not only is that important for baby, but it will help you also to have peace of mind during times when you are worried about baby because you feel so crappy.

Congrats to you both, first time mommy's. Hearing my son cry for the first time made every day of pain and sickness worth it.

Im new to forums. I feel your pain. I am currently 5wks pregnant, in my second pregnancy and in one if the worst flares of my life. I was never in remission and now scared I wont during preg either. I was on Remicade, Canasa and Amtriypline. Stopped the Amtriypline. Attenpted to have infusion last week and had a very bad allergic reaction to it( never happened prior to pregnancy). They had to stop the infusion 1/4 thru. Now im not on anything. Gastro is stumped. I also had a flare of my fistula since pregnant. Im so scared things arent going to end well. Preg just seems to be making everything worse and I dont know how to handle it without meds. Obgyn n gastro ok'd vicodin for the pain and bad flares but i feel so guilty and nervous to take it. Im still so early, anything can happen. Been spotting and severe cramping as well. I was hoping id go into remission like ivevread with so many crohns but i guess i wont be one of the lucky ones. Hoping talking with others who are experiencing similar problems will help. My heart goes out to everyone dealing with this it is not easy. And woman with reg pregnancies do not understand.

Post Edited (ChristiansMom2) : 2/18/2013 7:58:18 AM (GMT-7)