Few general crohn's questions...

So I was diagnosed with UC several years ago, and last week had a check up colonoscopy and was informed by my specialist that it's actually Crohn's, not UC...

I've done a little reading up on it, and by the looks of it there's not a big difference - the main difference I'm a bit relieved about is that flares can be brought on by food. I've known this about myself for a long time, but was always told there was no link between food and UC. So now I'm keeping a food journal to pay attention to everything I eat. See if I can get a better idea of what sets me off.

Any recommended reading to learn more about Crohn's? Anything that can help me wrap my head around it better would be good.

I'm currently on 3g of salofalk granules and 75mg of 6mp, my specialist has told me to keep taking that for now, and we'll discuss it further at my next appointment - not till December. I don't have any negative side effects from either of these medications, so I'm happy to stay on them, but from the sounds of it I'll probably go off the salofalk after my next appointment. What other medications are there out there - other then the pred tablets? I've been on pred before and had a lot of nasty side effects, so would prefer not to go on it again.

Also, since my colonoscopy last week, everything still hasn't settled down, down there. Which is getting a bit rough. Mainly at the moment I'm just passing blood, and not much else, so I'm feeling really gross and bloated, and like there's no movement down there at all. Usually I'd use a prednisilone enema and/or suppository to calm everything down, however here's the pinch...

I've just discovered I'm pregnant! My husband and I have been trying to conceive, so it's a nice little surprise, however I don't want to start using any prednisone if it's going to have any bad effects on the baby. I know that it needs to be weighed against the possible positives and negatives to work out whether it's worth using or not. I'm waiting on a call from my specialist to discuss it, but in the mean time I thought I'd reach out here...

For some reason pregnancy doesn't help with my symptoms, like I've seen other people say happens, and does seem to make me a bit worse... What have other ladies done when expecting?

So any or all advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Usually I find high fibre foods are the worst ones to set me off, so I've been avoiding metamucil and those sort of supplements since my diagnosis was changed from IBS to UC. I might have to give it a go, but the main thing that concerns me is the blood. Is that common after a colonoscopy? I've only had 1 before this one, and I was in a bad way before I had it, so I was obviously still in a bad way after I had it. This time though I was good before hand, and now I'm back to being in a bad way again...

I've actually just called my specialist again and have been told he's actually on annual leave until the 2nd...   Which is not good. All his receptionist could suggest was either talking to my GP, or going up to the hospital... I spoke to my GP yesterday and she specifically said to ask my specialist about treatments, and TBH I really don't value the opinion of random Drs. and nurses up at the hospital here. Don't get me wrong, they do a great job, but they're very busy and don't always take the time to get the ins and outs of what's wrong with a patient - case in example just after I was diagnosed with UC years ago I went to the US for a holiday. The different types of food and water played havoc on my condition, so I was having a pretty bad flare by the time I got home. I went up to the hospital for some form of treatment, but as soon as I got there I was put in quaratine because I'd just returned from the US during swine flu...

Needless to say I then had to stay in quarantine for a week at my house, with no help at all for the flare...

I just want to talk to someone who knows about me and my condition, and understands what risks I'd be going through with the pregnancy... *grumble*

Yes, you should continue to use all of your meds even when pregnant. Please visit infantrisk.org to read about safe meds to use when pregnant and breastfeeding.

The colon does not absorb medications very well, so the systemic affect of the steroid enemas should be minimal. You need to talk to your OB/Gyn about your meds, and get your GI on board as well.

Thanks. OK, I'll start on the enemas tonight and suppositories tomorrow. I was always going to continue my day to day meds, but I just wasn't sure about the pred that I only use when flaring. I think I was mostly concerned because everything I read tells me that right now is when the baby's most crucial time for development, so I didn't want to do anything to stuff it up... IYKWIM

Thanks again :)