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for those of you ladies who have had bad flares after giving birth???

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 9/25/2013 4:30 PM (GMT 0)
after having a big flare did you decide not to have any more kids? any of you scared of having more? or did any of you take a chance and have more kids? i had a really bad flare after my first child and ended up in the hospital for a week. i really want my daughter to have a sibbling but so scared of having another huge flare. i use ot be only on melsalamine(not sure if spelled right) before pregancy and had a really hard time getting the flare under control and i am now on remicade. if this stops working then next option is surgery. 
Posted 9/25/2013 5:28 PM (GMT 0)
My UC started after my son was born. So far, it's the only flare I've had. My husband and I decided to have a second child because my UC was in such good control and had been for so long. We also were completely comfortable with the idea of me being on mesalamine during pregnancy. I was scared about flaring after birth, but I figured that since I'd be on medication, I'd be much less likely to flare (since I hadn't even been diagnosed when my son was born). Also, if I did start to flare, I knew what to do to treat it. The biggest reason I got so sick after my son was born is because I didn't know what it was and it took a while to get diagnosed -- so I was flaring and untreated for quite a while.

My daughter is now 6.5 months old and I'm still doing fine. I breastfed her until she was about 5 months, when it was clear my supply was suffering too much, and she therefore wasn't getting enough to eat, because I didn't respond well to the pump (I went back to work at 12 weeks). I was a bit worried about flaring after stopping breastfeeding, since that results in another hormonal shift, but I've had one period and am getting close to having my second, and so far, all is well.

Were you on meds when your daughter was born?
Posted 9/25/2013 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
yes i was on mesalamine during my pregnancy. i decided not to breastfeed cause i knew for some reason i was going to flare and be put on steroids. 2 weeks after giving birth is when it got really bad and that is why i ended up in the hospital for a week. almost no meds were working. they tried putting me on imuran when the steroids started working and it was ok for a couple of months but then in december i started flaring again and flared until april 2013 until they started me on remicade.
Posted 9/25/2013 7:41 PM (GMT 0)
I would be interested to know what hormonal changes women generally undergo after birth.. It seems to be a reasonably "common" occurrence to flare after giving birth.
Posted 9/25/2013 7:53 PM (GMT 0)
Ha. There's a lot of them, freddy! Here's a link to a figure that explains some of it:

http://www.zuniv.net/physiology/book/images/29-3.jpg

Many of them go back to normal after childbirth, but prolactin, for instance, is involved in breastfeeding.

And you can't exactly blame it on hormonal changes only, because of things like stress and sleep deprivation that come into play with a newborn!
Posted 9/25/2013 7:53 PM (GMT 0)
I'm only 21 and I already worry about this. I want to have kids if/when I get married, but even though it's such a long way off, the idea of raising a baby while being completely sick terrifies me. I hate that about this disease.
Posted 9/25/2013 8:01 PM (GMT 0)
HillHunter, I'm not going to lie. It was pretty terrible being so sick and having a newborn. And we didn't have any family that lived nearby, so we did it all alone.

That said, I'd do it all over again if I had to. I mean, I was willing to, obviously, since I chose to have another kid. The joy my son brings is absolutely worth what I went through.
Posted 9/25/2013 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
I'm so glad to hear that, fruitgirl. Of course he was worth it, and I'm sure I'll remember that you said that years from now when I actually need to think about it.
Posted 9/25/2013 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
Isn't it the 33% rule when it comes to us? We'll be fine if we're in remission, have a slight flare up or have a bad one?
Posted 9/26/2013 9:46 AM (GMT 0)
what is weird is that i had a great pregnancy. i didnt have any symptoms whatsoever while pregnant but it is right after i gave birth that it got bad. that is the reason why im scared to have another one cause i think if it gets that bad again i will have to get surgery.
Posted 9/26/2013 12:44 PM (GMT 0)
My son is 20 now but I still remember my first major flare right after he was born. I suffered from secondary infertility but would have given anything to have a second child - it just wasn't in the cards. There's no guarantee you will or won't flare again whether you have another child or not. It's such a personal decision that you really need to evaluate how important it is to you to have a larger family. Chances are you will be better prepared in the event you do flare after giving birth so that might help. Good Luck!
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