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Did pregnancy make you flare?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 8/12/2015 5:24 PM (GMT -5)
I have heard that for some, being prego helps sustain remission. On the other hand, I have heard that it makes others flare. What was your experience?
Posted 8/12/2015 5:32 PM (GMT -5)
According to research, pregnancy can either bring on a flare or remission or no change from where you were at just before pregnancy....I wasn't sick until after I had my first pregnancy (about a yr and a half after) with my second pregnancy my flare stayed the same throughout it the whole time as well as after delivery.

Quite a toss up eh lol, honestly I don't think they have a clue one way or the other.
Posted 8/12/2015 7:01 PM (GMT -5)

pb4 said...
According to research, pregnancy can either bring on a flare or remission or no change from where you were at just before pregnancy....I wasn't sick until after I had my first pregnancy (about a yr and a half after) with my second pregnancy my flare stayed the same throughout it the whole time as well as after delivery.

Quite a toss up eh lol, honestly I don't think they have a clue one way or the other.

Lol. darn, unpredictable disease!!
Posted 8/12/2015 7:10 PM (GMT -5)
I was told by a Dr they call it the rule of thirds. One third will go into remission during pregnancy, one third will flare, and one third will be the same condition as they were when they became pregnant. At the time that was why my Dr was recommending I be in remission when trying to get pregnant because then you have a 2/3 chance of being in remission during pregnancy.


I have a friend with UC who the only time she has ever reached full remission was while she was pregnant both times. She was flaring before and after.
Posted 8/12/2015 7:56 PM (GMT -5)
I was in remission when I got pregnant but I knew that hormonal changes could cause me to flare. Two weeks after ovulation, I had a really bad flare that lasted exactly one week. It was how I knew I was pregnant. I insisted my doctor do a blood test (ok, let's say that I wasn't completely accurate about the timing and that's why she allowed the blood test :) It came back with me being faintly pregnant. The doctor said there was no way to be sure it was correct but I knew it was.

The good news is that the flare truly only lasted one week. It went away and didn't come back until my son was almost three years old. I was really worried about the hormonal changes of giving birth, breast-feeding, and ending breast-feeding, but none of them made a difference for me.

One caveat. I had been diagnosed with colitis years before I got pregnant but my case was extremely mild and was taking no medication then.

TL:dr- I didn't have significant issues but everyone is different. Don't freak out if you flare at the beginning because it might go away.
Posted 8/12/2015 8:25 PM (GMT -5)
"Don't freak out!" is great advice, I think, because-- a few yrs back I happened to hear a very glamorous female patient (35-42 yrs old, I'd guess) say to another woman waiting in our gastro's reception room: "I flared after EACH of my 4 kids was born, but gastro helped me out of it every time!" Very impressive story, no? And she looked absolutely terrific, like a 20-something! / Old Hat (34 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 8/14/2015 2:43 PM (GMT -5)
Yes, my flares both started just before the birth of my children.

That said, my wife birthed them not me. I believe the stress of expecting child, reno's work. Caused me to break out of Remicade induced remission.
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