Pregnancy and UC

Hi everyone.  I used to frequent this forum a few years back when I was diagnosed during my 1st pregnancy.  I went into remission (or only had mild symptoms) for about 1.5 years.  I recently found out I'm pregnant again and my UC is flaring.  I'm a bit worried because this time it started rather early, at 7 weeks.  I bled for about 5 weeks before contacting my GI (hoping it would go away).  Labs showed some anemia with a hgn of 11 (I'm usually 13).  Anyhow, I had to start Pentasa 4000mg and Canasa 1000mg 3 times a day.  While the diarrhea and blood has lessened, I still have blood and go 6-8/day and this left abdominal pain.  I'm  a little freaked out because my gi said that if I didn't feel 80% better in 4 weeks that we'd have to try "other therapies", including prednisone.  Anyone have experience with prednisone during pregnancy?  I think it's a class C drug.  I'm tempted not to even go to my next appointment as long as I'm gaining weight appropriately for the pregnancy.  I don't think I could handle the steroid side effects right now and I'm worried it may affect the baby.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thank you so much

 

I was in 100% remission and have relatively mild UC, but I had the worst flare of my life when I was 6 weeks pregnant. I used hydrocortisone enemas daily for 2 weeks and got my flare back under control. I continued with Rowasa enemas throughout the rest of my pregnancy and was 100% back in remission(I was even constipated for a while..now that was a weird experience!). I didn't flare again until I weaned from breastfeeding and had to go on Asacol to get back in remission. My advice is talk to your GI. You don't want to miscarry because of your UC. You need to get it under control, even if it means more meds. Ask about the hydrocortisone enemas..they worked for me. Try different things and give them at least 2 weeks to kick in. For me the pregnancy hormones in my 2nd and 3rd trimesters actually helped me maintain remission, so it might be the same for you. Good luck!!

Hi demchim,

I am currently 26 weeks pregnant and was just diagnosed with UC in July 2007. I found out I was pregnant only 4 weeks later. Initially I was put on Salolfalk (8 pills/day) + nightly suppositories and this seemed to get things under control. But then in September/October, I started to flare pretty bad. We tried increasing the suppositories and then added enemas, but nothing seemed to work. My GI put me on 40mg prednisone in November. This also didn't seem to work. I had only about 2 weeks in total where I wasn't having 5-10 BMs a day with a lot of blood/mucus. In December he put me up to 50mg prednisone and a liquid diet. This also didn't work so I ended up going to emerg. at the hospital. They put me on IV fluids and steroids with nightly Salofalk enemas again and it got everything under control in only 2 days!!! I wish I had done something sooner, but I guess I learned my lesson. I have been completely symptom free since Christmas morning and I'm eating normally. I've tapered down to 20mg of prednisone so far and now I'm on a 5mg taper every 2 weeks. I'm still doing nightly enemas and I'm back to 8 pills Salofalk/day. The baby is doing well (kicking like CRAZY now) and I've gained 18 pounds so far! So everything seems to be progressing well. I'll keep you posted and let you know if I have anymore problems. I know how scared I was when I was flaring, especially since I'm newly diagnosed and this is my first pregnancy. It's nice to hear other peoples experiences. I know everyone is different, but there is still some comfort in hearing what other people have gone through. Good luck!

Hi demchim -

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I am 36 weeks pregnant... and am glad that the end is in sight! To answer your question, I did have a flare during my first trimester. It came on around the 7th week. I was already taking Asacol and Rowasa, so my GI turned to Prednisone. I did a short, four week taper and it pushed me right into remission. I have been doing well ever since. (I've had a few episodes of diaarhea in the last several weeks, but my Drs. have determined it is pregnancy related... not a flare.)

I was very nervous when my GI prescribed the Pred so early in my pregnancy. I consulted with my high-risk OB, and he was like, relax, this is not a big deal at all. He has plenty of pregnant women on Pred for many reasons... asthma, allergies, pneumonia. Prednisone does not cross the placenta, so it does not reach the baby. It is much more important for you to be healthy and not in a flare.

I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant and just started flaring. I'm on Asacol (2.4 g)and Imuran (50 mg), and I'm terrified that this flare could hurt my baby. I put in calls to my high-risk OB and to my GI yesterday, but my GI apparently wasn't concerned enough to call me back -- she left town a couple hours ago and will be gone for 2 weeks. I'm trying to find someone else to get me in, because my OB doesn't feel comfortable deciding on an appropriate course of action. She also doesn't think I can just ignore the flare, since I'm bleeding with it. I have a healthy 5 year old, and was diagnosed with UC after her birth, so I didn't have to go through this before. I'm just really scared right now, and it's comforting to hear your success stories.

PSUDOC I had the worst flare of my life at 6 weeks pregnant. I didn't leave the couch or toilet for 2 weeks straight. It was brutal. I used hydrocortisone enemas to get mine back under control and once back in remission I didn't flare again until I stopped breastfeeding. When I was flaring I was 100% sure that I was going to lose my baby and was sooooo scared. Well I have an amazing, healthy 20 month old little girl that is completely fine. But you need to get attention asap. Doesn't your GI have anyone on call while he is on leave?? That is so wrong! You need help right away. It took me a few weeks to get mine under control because I didn't get help right away. Especially with a 5 year old, you want to start feeling better as soon as possible. Keep calling everyone you can until someone helps you. Hang in there. If you are like me, you will go back in remission..I was even constipated in my 2nd tri-mester if you can believe that! Now that is something different!

Glad to hear things are so much better!  That was quick.  I know everything is going to be fine as it sounds like your flare is already getting under control.  So now...don't stress out!  That isn't good for you or the baby!  I know, easier said then done especially with all of those pregnancy hormones.  Man, I was an irrational freak.

As for the suppositories those stopped working for me early on so you might want to try the enemas(Rowasa) as those are the same medicine but much more so it really gets up there and works.  Those did wonders for me!  If your bleeding isn't completely gone soon, call the doc back and get him to give the enemas instead of the suppositories.

Good luck!

Congrats on the 5 weeks Macgrl!! Doesn't that feel great. Hope the rest of your pregnancy is UC flare free and uneventful. Get as much rest as you can as you will need it! I am jumping on the trying to conceive train in 2 weeks. I'm nervous..but excited. Hope to be joining you guys shortly!