My Autoimmune Disease and Pregnancy

When I was 16-years old, I remember experiencing abdominal cramping on a daily basis, mainly after eating. I remember sitting in my high school classes not being able to focus on the teachers because the pain was so bad. In order to skip over the pain in my morning classes, I did not eat breakfast. My first meal of the day would always be lunch, which after I ate, my stomach would hurt and I would have to go to the bathroom almost every hour. Living this way during my high school experience was not fun but I was scared to tell my parents about it. My father taught us (siblings) to fight the pain. I guess that was what I was trying to do.

I fought (really tortured) myself until sophomore year in college. At this point, I realized that this was not normal and I was exhausted with living in pain. Although I did get relief from the pain a few months at a time, the other months where I did have pain was becoming to unbearable. Being brave, I told my mother about my condition and scheduled a doctor's appointment in my hometown.

During the appointment, I explained to my doctor that I was having abdominal cramping, bloody stools, painful gas, diarrhea, and mucus in my stools about five to 10 times a day. I told him that my weight is up and down because I will not eat to lessen the symptoms. After doing an anoscope, my doctor believed that I may have ulcerative colitis (UC) and recommended that I see a gastroenterologist (G.I. doctor), who confirmed this diagnosis.

I felt ridiculous for going through all that pain for six years. Looking at the positive side, I now take medication daily, which significantly helps relieve the discomfort of the disease. Since the disease is chronic, I will have to take medication for the rest of my life, unless I decide to get surgery. Since my UC is well managed with medications and keeps me in remission, I have no plans to get surgery anytime soon.

Now that I am pregnant, I have to take special care of my UC. The medication that I take to control the disease was been studied and shown not to cause any fetal risk. There may be a higher risk of having a flare after the birth, so staying connected with a G.I. doctor is important. My partner does not have UC, so there is a only a 10% chance that our baby will have the disease. Breastfeeding and taking my medication has a low-risk of effecting the baby. The medication may cause the baby to have diarrhea, and if this is occurring regularly, it is recommended that I talk with the doctors about this symptom. All in all, I have done my research about UC and pregnancy, which will help me to make the best decisions when it comes to my disease and my baby.

I would love to hear your story about being pregnant and having an autoimmune disease!