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UC AND PREGNANCY!!

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 5/15/2008 4:32 PM (GMT 0)

Hi! Just looking for some support. I've had UC since I was 19. We had out first son with only one flare up, I was lucky. Now I am 6 weeks and have had ALOT of flares. I was on Colazal 3pills 3 times a day but when I missed my period I slowly cut down the meds to none and I was fine for about three days:( Now I am scared to take the meds and my doctor wants me to take the full dose. I don't want to take the meds b/c I am scared it will hurt my baby but I know I haven't been eating enough b/c I am sick of the plain crap I have to eat to keep my UC under control. Anybody taking Colazal?? Any advice?? Thanks xoxox

Posted 5/15/2008 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi..welcome to the forum. I've never been pregnant, but do know that 5ASA meds are fine. You don't want to distress your body while being pregnant....and please consider rectal 5ASA meds as well.


All the best,
quincy
Posted 5/15/2008 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, i have a 1yr old and had a pretty high risk pg w/ her. I flared alllllll the way through the pg. Colazal is a common drug used for UC during pg. I would not worry to much, many women have used it during pg w/ perfect outcomes! I will share my story w/ u if u post on ivillage's high risk pregnancy board. Tho, i guess i could do it here, but u should visit a high risk board for support during ur pg. good luck, shannon
Posted 5/15/2008 4:36 PM (GMT 0)
PS< ment to say, congrats on your pg also! lol (mommy brain)
Posted 5/15/2008 4:38 PM (GMT 0)
The 5ASA meds are okay to take during pregnancy. (Nope, never been pg.) The FLARE is the worst thing for the baby - this has been stressed by all of my GIs and GYNs - espcially if you're not eating correctly!!!

The good thing about 5ASA meds is they are a "topical" med - the meds is dispursed in the colon and not much is absorbed into the blood stream.

I agree with Q about the rectal meds. Call your doc about them ASAP!

Welcome to HealingWell!
Posted 5/15/2008 4:45 PM (GMT 0)

shannon1 said...
Hi, i have a 1yr old and had a pretty high risk pg w/ her. I flared alllllll the way through the pg. Colazal is a common drug used for UC during pg. I would not worry to much, many women have used it during pg w/ perfect outcomes! I will share my story w/ u if u post on ivillage's high risk pregnancy board. Tho, i guess i could do it here, but u should visit a high risk board for support during ur pg. good luck, shannon

What meds did you take? How do I get to i villages high risk pg board?? New on this lol thanks
Posted 5/15/2008 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
i took 6mp during ttc and my pg, and i took pred very early on to combat my flares so i didn't miscarry. i don't know if i can post links here, but u can go to www.ivillage.com and find the message boards for pg, and find the high risk board....if u have u can't find it, i will talk to u hear about it all....
Posted 5/15/2008 7:17 PM (GMT 0)
I flared with my second to last daughter and tried asacol but it never really ever worked for me so my OB/GYN consulted a high risk specialist and said since I had taken 6mp in the past there was no reason I couldn't take it and it put me back in remission after about 2 months but I started feeling better after the first week.  I was also past the 12 week mark in my pregnancy otherwise I would have had to wait.  Good luck, I hope you find something that works.

Posted 5/15/2008 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
of course, all docs are different concerning meds...6mp is not really studied well during pg, but my perinatologist and my ob both agreed that i could be on it during the ttc stage and during pg. It ment more u/s and risk of cleft lip/palete but my peri told me that he had quite a few women on it and i had spoken to alot of women on it during pg. It is to be thought that 6mp and pred cross little over the placenta, however, it will cross in breastmilk, so i was advised not to BF while on 6mp.
Posted 5/15/2008 7:37 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there - I just finished a pregnancy recently... my son is now 14 weeks old. I was on Asacol and Rowasa throughout my entire pregnancy. 5-ASA meds are completely safe to take during pregnancy. I was also on a short taper of Prednisone for a flare during the first trimester. Prednisone is also completely safe.

The danger to the baby comes from the flare... not the 5-ASA meds. It is important for you to get the flare under control.

My other advice would be to be certain you have a high-risk OB/GYN and to be certain that your GI and OB can work together. They will need to manage your care together.
Posted 5/16/2008 5:47 PM (GMT 0)

I am 24 weeks pregnant and at 20 weeks began to flare.  I hadn't been taking my 3x3 a day colazol the way i should and was under A LOT of stress.  Once the flare started my dr. put me on canasa supp but when that didn't work they put me on entocort 9mg a day and cortifoam enemas.  I'm feeling better, and it's been about 2 weeks.  The colazol is fine to take while pregnant according to my gi and my ob.  so are steroids, the only reason i've heard for people shying away from them are b/c of their nasy side effects.  good luck and congrats on your pregnancy!

Posted 5/16/2008 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
wow Thamks so much for all the support. My gi and and ob don't seem to agree on the colazal to be safe. My gi thinks it 100% safe. Yet I have done my homework online and there has not been any human studies on pregnancy, only on animals. So I don't really know how my gi can say its safe. I asked if I could go on a lower dose b/c it has worked for me in the past and he said I should take 3 3 times a day. But I think that is too much b/c when I have a flare and I take it it makes it worse before its better. I was taking 1 3 times a day and it worked better without all the side effects. So I am trying to find a another ob b/c mine doesn't seem to want to help me or work with my GI. Problems problems!! lol bty JEG is ur pregnacy considered high risk?
Posted 5/16/2008 7:35 PM (GMT 0)

no one has ever catagorized mine as high risk.  i've not gained any weight yet (I wasn't thin to begin with though).  I didn't have a flare until I was 20 weeks.  Oh and also just for a little more piece of mind, we had our ultrasound at the 20 week mark and the baby looks perfectly fine and healthy, she's the right size, everything is in place and all her features are great.  Plus she was sucking her fist which the ultrasound tech told me is a sign that the brain is functioning quite well.  I have been taking the 3x3 a day colazol since i conceived.  just an fyi.  i've heard that flaring is WAY worse for the baby than anything you could take to deal with a flare...so I'd stick with what the medical professionals say, i know it's hard not to worry, but they deal with this all the time, I'd trust my dr.  Plus flaring while preggo is MISERABLE!  Good luck with everything.

Posted 5/17/2008 1:20 AM (GMT 0)
I took colazal 3 caps three times a day along with prednisone 20mg , and entocort ec 3 /day.  I have two perfect little boys (twins)  Without you keeping yourself healthy, its hard to grow a healthy baby.  I think you should reconsider trying to taper colazal while your pregnant.  But Its a personal decision and you know your body better than anyone.  I just recently started flaring again since my pregnancy and my boys are almost one, pregnancy actually helps relieve some peoples uc symptoms, I hope it happens for you.  good luck.
Posted 5/19/2008 6:35 PM (GMT 0)

I am 23 weeks along, and been on Asacol and Imuran the entire time. I flared quite a bit early on (I was in remission when I was TTC), but used suppositories and enemas to help get it under control. Since the start of the second trimester, I've been doing better. My OB and peri were both OK with the meds, it was my GI who has been nervous about it the whole time. He doesn't like 6MP drugs during pregnancy. He did have me start FloraQ probiotics, and I swear that has really helped.

The key is to get healthy. See a peri to have extra ultrasounds (I had one at 12 weeks, one at 18 weeks, all was good, so no more until 32 weeks). The flares are far more dangerous than the drugs ...

Oh, but definitely talk to your pediatrician about the breastfeeding. 6MP drugs pass through breast milk, so it's a no-no.

Good luck, and congrats on your pregnancy.

Alison

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