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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 8/29/2011 4:24 PM (GMT 0)
I've been trying to conceive for 13 months now. I feel defeated and i'm terrified of going back to my doctor because I know I'll have to go to a fertility doctor. I'm so afraid that they'll tell me I'm infertile, it would truly devastate me. I realize that Crohn's can play into fertility issues, or cause it to take longer to conceive.. Is or did anyone have something similar to this? I've been doing pretty well for roughly the last 10 months, give or take a couple days each month. Much better than I've been in a very long time. I had a colonoscopy in July and my dr said i still had inflammation.. I don't know what to do. =(
Posted 8/29/2011 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
So sorry for what you've been going through...unfortunately I don't have any great advice for you, I am quite fertile regardless of having CD. I didn't get CD until my first born was just over 1 yrs old, I got pregnant instantly with her (she was planned) and with my second I got pregnant instantly as well and I was flaring quite severely at that (he was also planned though because we wanted to have our kids a certain age difference apart and they say that sometimes pregnancy get put you into remission or calm it down a bit at least). So I don't think CD can necessarily make one infertile. There are lots of options for you though and I think you should discusss them all with your doctor(s). Good luck, I hope everything works out the way you want it to.
Posted 8/29/2011 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
Nikki - I was deep into Assisted Reproductive Technology when I found out I had inflammatory bowel disease. All through the years of trying to conceive my first daughter I was told that my ovarian dysfunction was probably an autoimmune problem, but not one that anyone knew how to solve. I did end up having 2 beautiful daughters - one via IVF and one spontaneous conception, but I remain subfertile and have not conceived since 2004, when I stopped using birth control.

That being said, my husband is also subfertile and he does not have IBD, LOL! so there!

I know that going through fertility treatments is difficult and intense. I'm sorry that you're facing that. But if you are over 30 years old it is better to get started now than wait any longer. 13 months is long enough.
Posted 8/30/2011 10:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Coco you story rang home to me I have known my entire life there is nothing I wanted more in life than 2 b a mother,,but with alot of drugs and numerous tests it just was not meet 2 b I'm now 35 and I except that now cause god had other plans 4 me 2 look after my husbands children from his previous marriage and I honor then everyday the problem was with me,,but don't ever give up but don't put so much stress on yourself and try 2 let it just happen I know u likely think how would she know she is baby less but from all the info I learned from so many fertility doctors one wise man told me this stop trying so hard now u r just having sex 2 get pregnant and booking the perfect times don't make love when u feel it and savour that special time with your husband cause with no stress and a lot of love making with no pressure has proven 2 result in babies...I wish u the best of luck in the whole world and I wanna know the minute u conceive lol mayb tell daddy b4 your cronnies..
Posted 8/31/2011 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Coco,

I am so sorry that you are going through this.

Unfortunately I can relate to you post. I have Crohn's and have been trying to conceive for about 3 years. My husband and I had been trying for about 9 months when my GI doctor told me to see an OBGYN because I hadn't gotten pregnant yet and I have had several bowel surgeries so he was worried it had something to do with adhesions or scar tissue.

We went through two doctors and several heart breaking treatments that all failed with one miscarriage over a 1.5 year period. about 6 months ago I heard about something called Napro Technology and since we were unsure if we wanted to do IVF we decided to give it a try( which makes doctor #3). Napro is a form of charting and treatment that works to find the cause of the problem and treat it instead skipping over the problem and using artificial reproductive technology. Within the first 2 months they had diagnosed me with PCOS and a progesterone deficiency. I just had a laparoscopic surgery about 3 weeks ago and they found adhesions EVERYWHERE. They are "encasing" my ovaries which are stuck to my bowel, my uterus is stuck to my bladder and I have mild endometriosis. I am having a second surgery in October to fix everything and our surgeon gave us an 80% chance of getting pregnant. We finally have hope again.

I am telling you all of this because I know how you feel. I would be devastated if I couldn't have children. Being a mom is the only dream I have ever had. I want to tell you not to give up hope. Going through fertility treatments can be scary and take a toll on you emotionally, but I believe it will be worth it in the end-regaurdless if we end up with a child or not. The fear of being infertile is real, but there are so many things out there that can help us. Sometimes it's as easy as taking a pill. Just remember that you are stronger than you think and you can handle more than you know (I'm sure you have found that in your journey with Crohn's already). I know the last thing we want to do is see even more doctors and have even more tests and blood draws but one day all of the hard work will pay off.

Good luck and keep us updated.
Posted 8/31/2011 7:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there. It took me 6+ months of serious trying the first go round. We were starting to get worried when it finally happened. My second was easier, just the third cycle. Hang in there, but talk to your doctors as well. If you haven't had any surgeries and are healthy it should happen soon. If your Crohn's is flaring, working to get that under control will help as well.
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