help, severly depressed and flaring while pregnant

OMG how awful for you!!!! I'm sorry that I don't have any suggestions (wish your GI could help you out with these issues though) my CD pretty much stayed the same during my second pregnancy (didn't get CD until after my first baby) and thankfully during my second I was more on the moderate side not the severe side.

There's no telling when your CD could take a change for the better though, it's so unpredicable with this DD, are you able to do any mild exercising like pilates, yoga? I know for me, exercise has brought some relief across the board (physically and mentally/emotionally), making sure you get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water to help flush toxins out of your system.

I don't want to suggest any natrual remedies since with pregnancy you have to really tread caution with those types of things.

Don't be sorry about complaining for heavan sakes, this is an especially hard time to be feeling the way you are with being pregnant.

Octobergirl, I don't have experience with any meds beyond the 5-ASAs, but someone here recommended Imuran to me a few days ago - I didn't see that on your list so maybe that's something to consider??? Although with fistulizing Crohn's it seems risky to take an immune suppressant. {{{{{{HUGS}}}}}

As for pregnancy, I did have Crohn's remission but asthma flared. I think for me it was around the transition time btwn first & second trimesters in both pregnancies. I also must say that I was suffering greatly from pregnancy-induced nausea and while I don't know if that's one of the things contributing to your feeling so yucky, it certainly might be something you can look forward to improving. In my first pg the "morning sickness" was gone by about 16 weeks, in the 2nd it was at 18 weeks that I finally felt human again.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I have had a couple of close friends have extremely difficult pregnancies (hyperemesis gravidarum, basically meaning they vomited throughout their entire pregnancies - neither one gained more than 10 lb or so) and they lived. But they looked awful, felt awful and were hospitalized for part of their pregnancies on TPN. It can really be hard to be pregnant. I sure hope that you feel better soon, and that your pregnancy gets easier. Keep coming back here for support. That's what we're here for.

Octobergirl, Roni has some good suggestions!

Do as much research about pregnancy safety with any alternative stuff.
I think www.motherisk.org/women/index.jsp is a great website on alternative meds/meds and safety during pregnancy and breastfeeding. They are based at Sick Kids Hospital Toronto and also have a help phone line.

Best wishes!

Hi CDS1,

Thank you for the prayers and good wishes.

I'd like to go back on LDN if I can taper down to 10 mg of prednisone. I'm not sure how well it was working when I was taking it, but I'd rather try that than a biologic again, especially since the biologics stopped working and my only option is Humira right now which never worked.

That's great your OB is willing to keep you on LDN. I kind of wish I would've stayed on it, but honestly I don't even know if it would have kept me in remission, as I think the hormones are what really set off my disease. Have you noticed a big change with LDN? Sorry if I asked you that before. If you did, how long did it take for you to notice a difference?

Anyways, good luck with getting pregnant. I pray that you get pregnant soon and have a healthy, flare-free pregnancy with a healthy baby!

Hi CDS1,

I'm so glad you responded, because you addressed a situation that I've been wondering about with the LDN. I will have to have a c-section as well, because I have active perianal disease and fistulas. I really wanted a natural birth too, but unfortunately I don't think that's in the cards for me. Plus I'd rather not risk being incontinent or not healing down there. I wasn't sure how long to be off the LDN before the c-section, but a month is a long time, and I also won't know if I will have to have an emergency c-section. Yikes. Maybe I should not do the LDN, I don't know. These are hard decisions to make, but how can I have a c-section without pain meds not working? Hmm.

It is hard to know what works and what doesn't. I'm the same as you, I can never tell what exactly is working. I was keeping a food diary, but I got lazy. I was on SCD for over a year and seven months but I wasn't able to stay on it in the hospital. Also I had very bad food aversions during my first trimester and while I did stay on SCD, I think ultimately it landed me in the hospital with malnutrition. My Crohn's is only in my colon, so absorption shouldn't be an issue, I just could not eat enough, my albumin levels were low which meant I was malnourished, and I lost 15 pounds. The doctors said no matter what drugs you are on they won't work unless you albumin levels are high enough. That was kind of a wake up call, and now I'm not sure what to do. The high doses of prednisone have definitely brought an appetite, so I don't think I'll be having an issue with eating anymore, it will probably be the opposite! I'm just torn, because after so long on the diet and not having any real success, I wonder if it's worth the stress and hassle.

Have you seen much improvement since being on the diet? Even Elaine said the diet won't work for some people, so I may just be that case. I feel after over a year and a half I did give it a fair shot. I wouldn't be opposed to trying it again, it's just a lot of stress and limited food during a time where I need to not be stressed and be able to eat. Not that I need to eat fast food and processed stuff, but I don't know if I really need to worry so much about a possible "illegal" in a food I eat. Sorry, I obviously needed to vent about this.

And thank you for your support! It really helps to know we're not in this alone, although if I had the power to wipe away this disease from everyone, I would do it in a heart beat.

Hi Octobergirl! Sorry I'm so late jumping in on this. My disease is fairly under control, so I haven't been on the boards as often. I also became pregnant while in remission, and my crohns began to flare. It presented itself in the form of fistulas and abscesses, which I had never experienced before. I lost a bunch of weight, I was 7 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight in my second tri-mester. My disease had always been present in my terminal ileum, which wasn't even affected during my pregnancy. It was definitely a hard time. I was so excited about my first pregnancy, but ended up in so much pain that sometimes that was all I could think about. I endured three hospital stays, and in the end IV steroids were the only thing that helped. How long were you on IV steroids? I had to be on them almost a week for them to take effect and go home on 60 mg of prednisone. Prior to the IV steroids I had been on prednisone, but it wasn't a high enough dose to work. For the fistulas and abscesses the GI dr's consulted with the high risk OB's to find antibiotics that were safe while pregnant. In the end I ended up going into labor a bit prematurely-at 36 and a half weeks. I had been scheduled for a c-section, but ended up with an emergency c-section. I also had some placenta issues, though. I completely understand what you are going through. You are already a strong mommy. Please feel free to email me if you want to talk further. Not sure what email is listed for me, but it's [email protected]. This seems hard, but it will be alright. Once the baby is delivered you are opened to many more medication options. There's also plenty of time left in your pregnancy for things to turn around. And trust me, it's all worth it. My pregnancy was definitely the hardest 9 months of my left health-wise. My little girl is 4 months old now, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Women say you forget the pain of childbirth... I had 4 surgeries for my abscesses, 3 hospital stays, I was in so much pain I couldn't sit or stand, I had an emergency c-section after part of my placenta split off and caused bleeding, and then the rest of the placenta embedded and I almost needed a hysterectomy. Somehow it doesn't seem that bad now. It's over and I have the most beautiful baby in the world. I have even brought up having more children to my husband, but he hasn't forgotten how bad it was and thinks I'm nuts, lol. Sorry this is so long, but I hope some of it is encouraging. Know that you aren't alone, and it will all be okay in the end. As soon as they put that baby in your arms none of this will matter.