Crohn's Disease

[swrc00]

I am just curious if anyone else on the board has Crohn's? I was diagnosed 4 years ago and have been in remission for two years. I am just curious how fellow Crohnies balance the disease with motherhood. If anyone is curious about the disease, here is a link: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/crohns-disease/DS00104

[brittone2]

No, but I had a high school sports coach who had Chrohns and watched her go through soooo much with it. She had multiple serious surgeries, etc.

Congrats on being in remission!!

[egoldber]

I do not have it, but my SIL has Crohn's. She has gone through IVF several times (unrelated to the Crohn's), a singleton pregnancy and a twin pregnancy! Finding that balance has been hard for her.

[Gena]

My Dad has Crohn's disease and has gone through cycles of remission and relapse since early in my parents' marriage. One of my first memories is my Mom taking us to the hospital to wave at Daddy through the window, since we were too young to visit him inside. His Crohn's certainly affected the way we did some things, but that was just part of our family life.

[swrc00]

Wow! I thought there would be at least one. Thanks for your kind words ladies! I have been very lucky and I have not had surgery or even a hospital stay. I had a fabulous pregnancy and I am hoping my body stays that way. If not I will just have to get pregnant again. :)

[caheinz]

I have Crohn's colitis. I didn't show any symptoms until I was 30, and was luckily diagnosed within a couple of months.

I've been in remission for over 5 years (since before getting pregnant with DS1). I'm on Remicade -- nothing else works to keep me in remission.

DS1 has already been diagnosed. He responds better to the meds than I did, and has been in remission since diagnosis (over 1 year).

Feel free to PM or email me if you want more info. When active, mine can get bad fast, but I've managed to stay in remission for all of motherhood thus far.

[pinkmomagain]

Just thought I'd hop on to say that my dd1 has Ulcerative Colitis (sister disease to Crohn's). She was dx at age 7. She is 12 now. We are very lucky that she has responded well to her meds. We got alot of great support from our local CCFA (Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America)...including support groups. You may want to try your local chapter. There are also alot of good online support groups too. I haven't been on them in a long time, but if you have trouble finding some, let me know, and I'd be happy to dig around.

[Moneypenny]

DH was diagnosed with Crohn's right after we were married (at age 23). He obviously hasn't had to deal with Crohn's and pregnancy, but he is a SAHD so he does have to deal with Crohn's and parenting. He has had one bowel resection, once stay in the ICU for bleeding, and is on daily medication. His Crohn's is actually very well-managed. I wouldn't say he's in remission, but he can deal with it pretty well. Occassionally he has pain and frequent trips to the bathroom and DD (age 4) knows that sometimes Dad just has to go potty a lot.