entecort, flares, and pregnancy
Wed, April 21, 2010 12:00 AM
Has anyone gotten pregnant while on Entecort? I am in the midst of treatment for a flare and just discovered I am pregnant. I know Entecort is a pregnancy category C and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this. Was everything okay with your child?
Also, has anyone gotten pregnant while in the midst of a flare? I was doing better and now some of my flare symptoms are returning.
I would greatly appreciate your input if you had had dealings with either situation.
Thanks so much.
Joined Apr 20, 2010
Fri, April 23, 2010 8:25 PM
Reply posted for cfinman.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and story. I have not yet had my first OB appt., so we'll see what she says about all this. My GI is okay with me continuing the entecort taper and asacol while pregnant. I have added colace (for the first time I don't have diarrhea...) and that has helped with the some of the flare symptoms since I am no longer constipated. I rarely have blood now and have not had to start any additional meds yet. I thought I had read on UpToDate that IBD got better with pregnancy, thanks to hormones, but it sounds like we might be the outliers to that.
cfinman, I'm not sure about the large buildup of mucus you had discussed. I am not experiencing that (unless it's allergy season). I know that a lot of pregnant women produce substantial amounts of vaginal mucus secondary to hormones; seems it would be possible that it could have the same mechanism on other mucus secreting glands in the body.
krisi, I, too, will probably continue to overcommunicate my GI. I already had a lot of questions, as this is a relatively new diagnosis for me (March), so with the pregnancy, she gets about an email a week right now... I had also read about early labor and low birth weight with pregnancy and IBD, but I seem to remember that being connected to moms that don't absorb correctly because of Crohn's involvement in the small bowel. Maybe not as big of an issue with UC? I will try get back to you with that if I confirm that.
Thanks for all the input.
Joined Apr 20, 2010
Fri, April 23, 2010 3:37 PM
Reply posted for KRISI.
I'm 17 1/2 weeks pregnant with my second child and I'm not sure if it's a flare up, but I am having constant stomach issues which I'm sure are related to my ulcerative collitis. I was diagnosed a few years ago, but did not have any cramping or pain until the last trimester of my pregnancy with my 1st child, 2 1/2 years ago. Since that pregnancy I have had flare ups on and off and the doctors I have seen have not been able to figure out exactly how to manage my pain. Since my 2nd pregnancy has begun my symptoms are much worse and are difficult to deal with. I am bascially in bed 24/7. However, the last few weeks have been a little better. I am hoping the symptoms subside as the pregnancy continues.
I have also had a large buildup of mucus that has caused me to throw up a lot. I have been taking mucinex to manage that and it has helped. Anyone else having similar pregnancy issues, do you think it's related to hormones?
Joined Apr 23, 2010
Wed, April 21, 2010 12:00 AM
Reply posted for debs.
I'm 10 weeks pregnant with UC. Although I'm not on entecort (Asacol, 2400mg/day), I've experienced a minor flare as soon as I got pregnant...coincidance? I don't know. I've just finished 7 weeks treatment on Canasa (suppository) and am taking iron supplements due to the blood loss from my flareup (flareup attacked rectum....Asacol protected the rest of the colon). Flareup is now under control with minor blood loss. I'm going to see a high risk OB next week to make sure that the flareups will not affect the pregnancy (in case there are more). I was in remission for 6 months and was granted permission to start 'trying' to get pregnant. I had no idea I'd flareup so quickly!
I suspect you may also be sent to a high risk OB just to be safe. I'm looking for any other women who have experienced flares with pregnancy. I've been told that the only risks involved with a pregnancy with flares would be a small baby or early labor. And I was also told to continue 'overcommunicating' any changes/symptoms so that they can catch the next flare early. Often first time pregnant women may confuse some of the symptoms for pregnancy, therefore not contact their doc. (This is what my doc told me.)
Joined Oct 13, 2009
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