HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Pregnant! (and on canasa)

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 3/18/2014 1:37 AM (GMT 0)
So I'm newly pregnant with our second child. I am super excited because I've fortunately been fairly healthy (was diagnosed with ulcerative proctitis when my son was 6 months old) and only needed canasa suppositories to stay mostly symptom free. I've noticed the last week or so my symptoms getting slightly worse and I'm concerned about having a full blown flare that is out of control while I'm pregnant. I have heard people say the canasa is safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding but then I've also read it's not. I'm trying to get in with a new GI because mine is HORRIBLE and in the mean time I'm just looking for some reassurance. Any natural remedies I can add to stay healthy during this time? I take colon health probiotics, vitamin D, and two flintstone complete vitamins daily, as well as a prenatal DHA supplement now. I'm trying not to stress about it but I was neurotic when pregnant with my son. I took a tylenol once and googled "birth defects and tylenol" for hours afterward. lol. Thanks in advance! smilewinkgrin

Post Edited (CFUC1982) : 3/17/2014 7:49:25 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/18/2014 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
Unfortunately, everyone is so different no one can actually give you any advice that is backed by a guarantee. Something different works in everyone. I can't imagine that Canasa is not safe for pregnancies but then I really couldn't tell you for sure. Canasa is, for the most part, a topical med which stays in the colon and is not very systemic. On top of that it is mesalamine, which as far as I know, even in the oral meds are fairly safe for pregnancies. What does your OBGYN think?
Posted 3/18/2014 1:48 AM (GMT 0)
OB said to get with GI to be certain, but from what he's read on it he feels it would be fine. He is pretty easygoing when it comes to medication though, and I'm not a big fan of taking ANYTHING (welcome to my new life huh!) so I'm always hesitant, even when doctors are fine with it. After all, it's MY baby at stake at the end of the day. I just know there's a big risk to my pregnancy if I have a bad flare. So I'm definitely leaning towards staying on canasa and praying for the best.
Posted 3/18/2014 1:56 AM (GMT 0)
Check out infantrisk.org.

If I were you I'd add an oral medication and/or switch to a mesalamine enema instead of the Canasa. It seems likely that your UC was triggered by your first pregnancy and that you are going to have some increasing symptoms during this 2nd pregnancy too. It's not unusual to experience flares during and after pregnancy.
Posted 3/18/2014 2:02 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Kaz... doesn't seem to say anything about the canasa on that site. Just that they're currently doing a study with breastfeeding mothers on melasalamine. I just took a quick peek though so I will keep searching. Hopefully getting into a new doctor asap and can get a plan in place. I'm just assuming this makes my pregnancy high risk? Not even sure what that entails but I want my baby to be safe.

and Thanks for the reply Gary!
Posted 3/18/2014 2:36 AM (GMT 0)
Don't worry Canasa is fine. I used that, Rowasa and Lialda during all 3 of my pregnancies. It's so important to stay healthy. Please look into adding an oral medication if you start to flare even a little bit. Good luck!
Posted 3/18/2014 2:57 AM (GMT 0)
First off, congratulations! Secondly, please update us throughout your pregnancy. I'm very curious/anxious to know how pregnancy goes with UC, for my own selfish reasons tongue
Posted 3/18/2014 10:45 AM (GMT 0)
CFUC,

Congrats on being pregnant!
There are lots of things you can do on the natural side.
Here's what I"ve done and hopefully it can help you too. BTW, LDN is perfectly safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding too.

As a newbie to the forum, I think it's important for you to know that you have options, which your doc probably won't tell you about. So let me share with you what's worked for me in the hopes it might help you too.

Some meds work for some and not for others.
IMO, it isn't one size fits all, and you have to find what works for you, and it may be a combination of things like diet, meds, supplements, etc...

For me, the traditional meds failed me and the mesalamines I became intolerant of.
And when the doc gave me a choice of surgery or remicade, I balked and had to find my own way.

He also told me diet has nothing to do with UC, but I found that it has a great deal to do with exacerbating its symptoms!

I found that by taking certain proactive steps, it put me in full remission.
My steps to remission included: diet modification, various supplements, probiotics, and LDN, low lose naltrexone..

If any of this interests you, there are things IMO that you can control, which will have a direct impact on your disease, the symptoms you experience and their severity.

For more info on the protocol which has put me into remission, please go to this link: https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=1666318 , and look at the 11th post.

I hope you feel better and let us know how we can help you.
Posted 3/18/2014 12:17 PM (GMT 0)
Congrats on the pregnancy!

I was on mesalamine based medications (Apriso and mesalamine enemas) the entire time I was pregnant with my daughter. My UC didn't start until after my son was born, so I obviously was on not on mesalamine when I was pregnant with him. Anyway, my daughter was born the day before her due date at a very healthy 7 lb 13 oz and I had no UC-related problems during pregnancy. (I did get a cold that turned into bronchitis, and ended up with strained/cracked ribs due to coughing so much, but that's another story!)

Canasa is also mesalamine based. It's a category B drug (as are all mesalamines), and is considered to be very safe during pregnancy. Here's a link to an article that discusses meds and pregnancy/breastfeeding: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ibd.20532/pdf

I also breastfed my daughter until she was 5 months old, and she was fine. I had to quit because after I went back to work and started pumping during the workday, my supply plummeted. Anyway, mesalamine is also perfectly safe for breastfeeding.

IMO, it sounds as if you need to be on an oral mesalamine (Apriso, Asacol HD, Delzicol, Lialda) in addition to a rectal mesalamine, and you may also need to switch to mesalamine enemas instead of the suppositories. I also don't think this is the time to switch to a totally different medication like LDN, because you know from experience that your UC generally responds quite well to mesalamine.
Posted 3/18/2014 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all of the great responses! I am going to have a thorough discussion when I get in with my new doc and this is all a lot of good information to bring up. I'm so grateful for this site!
Posted 3/19/2014 1:52 AM (GMT 0)
First pregnancy, I went off all meds without telling physician and had extreme flare up. Colonoscopy showed one of "worst colons" my dr. had ever seen. Made it through the rest with Mesalamine enemas.

Second pregnancy 6 months after birth of first. Mesalamine (Rowasa) enema throughout. Healthy baby and no flare ups during pregnancy.

My doc said Asacol was safe to use during pregnancy and had been used in Europe for 50 years.
Posted 3/19/2014 12:21 PM (GMT 0)
Awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience!
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply