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Should I go to hospital?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 11/4/2015 4:13 AM (GMT 0)
3 weeks ago we found out I'm pregnant. My husband and I were not trying and are nervous but excited. I'm 6.5 weeks along now and recently started having morning sickness. However it has turned i to all day sickness and diarrhea as well. New GI dr I started to see about a month back took me off all UC meds as recent tests had shown I was clear and he wasn't even sure if I had UC to begin with. New dr is about 2 hours away from where we live. I have done nothing but lay in the bed, throw up, and have severe d for 5 days. I'm exhausted and at a loss. I called OB dr today to see if they could get me in earlier but they have no openings. I see OB dr nov. 16th and GI nov. 19th. I really feel like something is wrong though. I feel that if I do have UC that I'm flaring and I am in big trouble. I have no clue what to do and no one is helping me. Everyone is just chalking it up to morning sickness and at first I agreed but now I'm not so sure. Should I go to ER? Or call GI dr tomorrow and try to get in sooner?
Posted 11/4/2015 4:23 AM (GMT 0)
Normally Im not a big fan of UC patients going to the ER since we very rarely have what is considered an emergency, but in your case Im not so sure. Its quite likely that your symptoms are related to morning sickness, but since youre off all meds, its possible your having a severe flare up (vomiting only happens in very very severe cases). If you are totally incapacitated, then I feel like a trip to the ER is warranted. Better safe than sorry. If you do go, make sure not to mention morning sickness and DONT understate your symptoms
Posted 11/4/2015 5:19 AM (GMT 0)
Firstly morning sickness is not only in the morning.

You need to see a second gastroenterologist ASAP. Preferably one who specializes in ibd.
If you do have UC you need to remain in all meds ( aside for mexotrexate and thailimide)

If you do to to the er make sure to go to one that has ibd specialists.
Also, if you call ahead before going you may have a shorter wait time.
Posted 11/4/2015 5:52 AM (GMT 0)
Very early in my pregnancy, I had a mini-flare that lasted 7-10 days. Hormonal changes always made me flare so I suspected I was pregnant when it happened.

So it could be pregnancy hormones but my flare wasn't nearly as severe as your describe. That, plus the fact that you were taken off UC meds, makes me think you need to go to the hospital. If it goes on too long, you could become anemic (even if not bleeding, it can happen from poor absorption).

When someone posts here asking if they need to go to the hospital, I think it means they probably should. Since you're pregnant, there's no question.

Agree with Marauder that you should't minimize your symptoms (vomiting is definitely a sign of severity) and don't mention morning sickness. Be sure to tell them you had UC and your GI stopped your meds recently.

Definitely get a new GI but in the meantime, a hospital visit should convince your GI to see you right away.
Posted 11/4/2015 11:30 AM (GMT 0)
Normally, the ER is pretty worthless for anything besides getting your doctor's attention. But with a pregnancy involved, I'd think it's better to be safe than sorry.
Posted 11/4/2015 2:28 PM (GMT 0)
ER will not have expertise in IBD but should run tests and give you something to stop the D.
I went to ER years ago with bloody vomiting (not pregnant) that came from stress. It stopped the next day but ER at least calmed my mind.

Do you have copy of your last colonoscopy? You should get it and take it with you to any new doctor or ER.
Your symptoms could be entirely from pregnancy not UC related, and it may take time to figure out which is causing what.

Good luck.

PS Your doctor that stopped your UC meds may be right to do so but it's hard to give up that mental safety blanket of taking meds.
Posted 11/4/2015 3:21 PM (GMT 0)
I am sorry to hear you feel so miserable. I had terrible "morning sickness" with my second pregnancy and lost so much weight in the first trimester. It was all day, woke me during the night and made me feel so miserable. By the time I hit 20 weeks it was pretty much gone, but came back 3 weeks before I delivered. My midwives were adamant that I go to the ER for IV fluids once, and there are medications you can take to help with the nausea. I found I was still nauseated, but at least I wasn't puking 5-6 times a day. If you aren't bleeding or passing a lot of mucus it is possible that it is just the hormones. I didn't develop UC until my little guy was 3.5, so I have no experience with pregnancy and UC, but that nausea is like nothing I have ever experienced in my life and the number 1 reason we only have 2 kids!
I would be calling all of my doctors right now, GI, GP, and OB and talk to all of them. I hope you feel better soon.
Posted 11/4/2015 5:21 PM (GMT 0)
I meant to mention that the nausea can be from flaring and not related to the pregnancy
I dont advise you to take zofran as there are some risk associated with taking it while in early pregnancy
but if you are really nauseous and vomiting and cannot eat than the benefits may outweigh the risks
Posted 11/4/2015 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
What US meds were you on prior, and how long since stopping. Some stay in system for a while, some take a while to start working again. Most are safe for pregnancy, but it is hard to advise w/o specifics.

ER is not likely to resume your prescriptions w/o a workup.

You might push GI office for advice to resume even before next appointment.
Posted 11/4/2015 11:30 PM (GMT 0)
I personally would avoid the ER at all costs. I would call your OB in the morning and tell them you are having severe morning sickness lasting the whole day and that you need something for the nausea.

I would then call your GI and tell him what is going on or find another GI. What latest tests did he go off of to determine you didn't need meds?

I feel for you. I had the all day nausea and it is the worst.
Posted 11/28/2015 4:00 AM (GMT 0)
Hey I wanted to give a little update. I was able to hold off on hospital but did get in to see GI dr a couple days later. We ended up doing a flex sig (unsedated bc of the pregnancy- not fun) and some active proctitis and chronic changes were found on biopsies. Dr has since put me on Rowasa enemas and it was helping until the last few days. Still having a lot of mucus and blood with stool. My morning sickness is a somewhat better too but I really feel like that and the UC are feeding off each other, when one is bad so is another. I'm calling GI dr on Monday to see about the next step. We were not able to do a full scope and previous scope from July showed absolutely nothing (not even proctitis) with the symptoms I'm still having, I'm wondering if maybe I have some inflammation farther up as well. Dr was able to go 40 cm and past the rectum was normal bowel but idk about further than that. So just basically trying things to see what will work. Talk of steroids and Remicade came up and I've been having symptoms non stop since October of last year. Dr is worried about my weight as I've always been small but lost 20 pounds since DX and more weight since pregnancy. Keep us in your prayers or send some good vibes. We'll take anything we can!
Posted 11/29/2015 12:05 AM (GMT 0)
I think remicade is a good idea if you have maxed out mesalamines and not getting significantly better.

It works faster than imuran and because you are pregnant it's best to get this flare under control sooner than later so you can start gaining weight etc...
Posted 11/29/2015 12:45 AM (GMT 0)
Wishing you well and that you can keep enough food in to gain some weight.
Perhaps like others your morning sickness will go away so you can just deal with UC.
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