Wondering what my odds look like now...

[holly3372@msn.com]

Yes, Chron's can be tricky. I new a woman that had Chron's and once pregnant, never had a single flare up! Strange but true. You never know with pregnancy,another woman with chronic migraines gets pregnant and not one migraine!! So who knows. Yes though, for sure in your case have your docs speak and come up with a plan for you so everyone is on the same page!! One more step closer!!

[sam10]

I have UC (not quite chron's, but similar issues) and feel better now during pregnancy than before I was pregnant. I am on LDA and it does not seem to matter much.

[jean]

That's interesting..there is chrons in my family..I don't have it (that I know of)..but many others in my family do. I wonder if it has anything to do with pre-e/hellp..

[princesspurr]

I think chrons is another lovely autoimmune problem and it seems like any autoimmune problem can but you at at greater risk for PE. I didn't think I had chrons, i have always had a super bad stomach but I always thought it was IBS, but after I finally got the colonoscopy I was told that is what is causing my tummy troubles.

[tree]

I looked around for a connection between Chron's, UC, or IBS and PE, and I haven't been able to find anything. My Mom has UC, and there is apparently some other inflammatory bowel disease in her family. I only have IBS, and I am really curious about any potential relationship between that and PE or other pregnancy complications. I think that the number of women with Chron's and pregnancy complications is so small that they can't get good data or don't have an incentive to do the studies. I agree that having that much inflammation in your system probably doesn't do anything good for your chances of getting PE. One of the Chron's sites that I found mentioned that women who get pregnant in remission tend to do pretty well, but they are pretty likely to have a flare after delivery.

FWIW, my Mom said that she felt the best she has ever felt (before or after) when she was pregnant with us. She had to have classical c-sections because of all of her previous surgeries, but she had no complications. Both of our doctors have generally discouraged LDA because we have both had big problems with anti-inflammatory meds in the recent past. I don't think the evidence for the benefit of LDA is all that strong. Many women do it anyway because it might help and is unlikely to hurt them. I would not do it because it is not likely to help me (no known clotting issues), and it is pretty likely to hurt me. Your situation is a little different since you mentioned a clotting issue. I agree that getting your gastro and MFM to talk would be a really good idea.

I feel your pain on the Chron's friendly diet. I lost a bunch of weight and was tummy trouble free for over a year by switching to a diet with many more fresh fruits and vegetables. Something flared this spring, and I was back to pretzels and toast. I am phasing healthy foods back in, but it is unreasonably difficult.

Good luck figuring out your odds and what you want to do. It is a tough decision.

[princess purr]

That is the one really hard thing I'm finding with chrons is eating healthy is harder on my stomach, I think if I could live on donuts I would not have stomach problems. My body does great on fattening easy to digest very processed food... ugh. I really need to cut back and eat smaller amounts, that seems to help me, but I like to feel full LOL Sadly, the last few times I had pasta my stomach to upset, and I love pasta. When I get a flare I tend to do plain toast, saltines, and plain white rice. I used to take A LOT of advil for the pain I was having on my side from scare tissue, and that didn't seem to cause me to flare real bad or anything. So I would think baby asprin would be okay. I'm going to need the two of them to discuss the risk and benefits. Last time I was pregnant my stomach was doing really well until the preeclampsia started, then I think the stress got the better of me and it got really bad. It seems like it should be our right as women to be able to get pregnant, carry to term, and take home a healthy baby... it amazes me how some people take it for granted.

[tree]

I hope it is possible to have a healthy, low residue diet. I am really struggling with it right now. Can you talk with your gastro or a nutritionist/dietician if you want to find some healthier foods that you can eat? I met with a gastro PA who had some good suggestions for healthy things (sweet potatos, squashes, and other soft veggies) I should be able to eat when my stomach is bad. She recommended combining softer veggies with things that are harder to digest (i.e. broccoli) when I really want to eat them. My Mom has been known to live on mashed potatoes and skittles when things get really bad, but she is able to eat reasonably nutritious food most of the time.

My stomach was also really well behaved until the PE kicked in when I was pregnant.

[princess purr]

I have been trying to research what foods are supposed to be good. So far it looks like there are a few healthy things I love that I should be able to handle, like mangos! And it suggest really really really chewing your food to help break everything down, that is something I need to get better at for sure. When I'm in a flair everything upsets my stomach, but my big flairs (knock on wood) haven't lasted for very long periods of time. I need to learn how to eat smaller meals more often and really chew good and see if that does anything for me.