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Question for moms with uc

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 11/10/2014 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
I was wondering how uc has effected people's pregnancies on here? Im particularly interested in those who have had multiple pregnancies, and if they were similar? I have one daughter and had started flaring before I got pregnant, it was not a planned pregnancy. My uc got worse during the pregnancy (it had been getting worse leading up to it too). I was not on any meds until I almost miscarried at 14 weeks, which made me realize my uc was worse for the baby than meds were, so I staryed taking some. The meds (5-asa) helped control my uc a bit better, although I flared throughout the pregnancy and post-partum, and it took me 3 years to get better. Now that Im better, we are talking about having a second child. I really want another child but am so scared I will flare during the pregnancy. Has anyone flared during one pregnancy but not the second? Am I less likely to flare because Im remission going into it? Sometimes I think Im insane for even wanting a second child!
Posted 11/10/2014 2:00 AM (GMT 0)
My experience wasn't as bad as yours; in fact, my IBD diagnosis followed the birth of my first child. My IBD didn't do much in pregnancy, but the postpartum timeframe was awful.

I did have the same asthma experience in both pregnancies. I like to think of asthma and IBD as similar inflammatory overreactions to whatever. In each pregnancy I ended up on prednisone in my 2nd trimester to control an asthma flare. This wasn't a seasonal issue - my first pregnancy had me on pred in July, my 2nd in January.

So my thought for you is that your second pregnancy might have similar issues to your first. But if you start the 2nd pregnancy with your disease under good control, then any flares during pregnancy should be easier to rein in.
Posted 11/10/2014 2:38 AM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed shortly after having my son. Once I was feeling somewhat stable we decided for a 2nd. I really wasn't in remission when we decided for the second but keep in mind this was 20 years ago and IBD wasn't well researched or well known. However, after my first trimester with my daughter, my UC got pleasantly quiet. I had reached remission. I was on my meds the entire time including rectal. My UC remained quiet until I decided to stop breast feeding her after 3 months post partum. Then unfortunately, UC decided to say "Hey! Here I am!" And not to scare you but it took me nearly 16 years to get control of my UC - but I'm an anomaly lol

I think that if you want to have the second and if you're feeling well enough to do it, then do.
Posted 11/10/2014 2:52 AM (GMT 0)
Hi. I was fine during my pregnancy but started flaring 7 months after giving birth. Likely due to changing hormones. Took me about a year to get back to remission. I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant with our 2nd child and plan to continue taking Apriso and Rowasa through my pregnancy, as I did with my first. Best of luck to you!
Posted 11/10/2014 4:08 AM (GMT 0)
My pregnancy was awesome and I took asacol the whole time and whilst bf. I did conceive whilst in remission though as your more likely to not flare if you are in remission beforehand. I know that for me a increase in oestrogen keeps me well. So your body naturally produces more oestrogen during pregnancy and ovulation.

I plan to conceive baby number 2 next year if my uc is fully clear. My plan is to stay on my meds the whole time and go straight on the contraceptive pill post birth/post bf to keep my oestrogen level a little higher and more regulated to avoid a flare. I then plan to stay on the pill indefinetly.
Posted 11/10/2014 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
I have two kids - one pre-UC and one post-UC.

I might have been very mildly flaring during my first pregnancy - I never got constipated (in fact, probably pooped more often than I did before I was pregnant), and my son was born three weeks early w/ no prior complications. When my son was about 4 weeks old, I started noticing symptoms, and they got gradually worse, to the point where I was in a pretty severe flare. I was finally diagnosed when he was about 4 months old and manged to get into remission w/o too much trouble.

When I got pregnant with my daughter, I had been in a very stable remission for a few years (no flares since the first one). I was on Apriso daily and mesalamine enemas twice weekly, and I stayed on them throughout the pregnancy. I had zero problems during pregnancy and in the post-partum period. I did have a very mild flare earlier this year, but given that my daughter was over a year old by that point and I quit breastfeeding when she was 5 months old (pumping at work just didn't work out for me), I don't feel the pregnancy had anything to do with it.

At any rate, I echo the advice to get into a solid remission first and to stay on your meds.
Posted 11/12/2014 1:01 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all the responses! Red34 16 years of dealing with uc must have been awful! And I thought my 4 year flare was bad! uc since 98 congratulations on your new pregnncy, I hope everything goes well for you.
HappyChick, that's great you had a good pregnancy, did you stay inremission through the post-partum period too?
Fruitgirl that's nice to hear you didnt have the dreaded post-partum flare, it gives me hope. Dealing with a newborn and a flare has got to be one of the hardest things Ive done. It was particularly bad because my daughter was such an awful sleeper, I was a zombie! I guess I will just have to take my chances if I want a second child though..
Posted 11/12/2014 2:29 AM (GMT 0)
Well it wasn't a new pregnancy lol as I stated it was about 20 years ago. My daughter is now 19. But it feels like yesterday :) I did flare off and on during that time but mostly it was "simmering". I never reach remission after I had her. And yes, it was hell. When I had my daughter, my son was 4 years old and as bad as I feel about it now, he was a tremendous help. I remember a few mornings where I could hardly move and my son would get my daughter up to feed her breakfast.

Keep in mind, I was 22 when I started having symptoms but officially diagnosed at 24. . And I'm 44 now, almost 45.
Posted 11/12/2014 10:18 AM (GMT 0)
Unfortunetely I did not stay flare free post-birth. My UC is very closely linked to my hormones and so when I stopped bf after about a month and my oestrogen levels dipped, that's when I flared. However it was very mild and I could control it with rectal meds. However, I must admit I have never been the same since giving birth last year. My flare has been coming and going every few months not like before where a course of steroids would knock it out for a few years and I would just maintain on Asacol, with no dietary changes.

I am currently flaring and on a course of steroids but found out that I also had a bad food poisoning bacteria that caused my flare to worsen and get out of control. On the road to recovery now though and am on Azathioprine as a maintenance med.
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