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Pregnant with rectal bleeding

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Posted 8/19/2007 2:42 PM (GMT -8)
Hey all:

Sorry to start yet another rectal bleeding thread...I know it's probably not at the top of your list of fun stuff to read in your leisure time.

I'm 26 weeks (6 months) pregnant and am experiencing rectal bleeding for the first time in my disease history (bleeding that was notable or noticeable, anyway). I had my first "major" time of bleeding about 2 months ago. It went on for about a week; I think I was losing probably 5 tbls. of blood every time I had a BM, and sometimes just bleeding on its own. I went to my GI doc, he checked me out and told me that I now have anal/rectal involvement, which I didn't have before. He put me on Canasa suppositories, which seemed to help, as the bleeding stopped a couple days after starting them. It didn't really taper off; it just stopped abruptly, just as it had started abruptly.



Well, now I've been on the suppositories all of this time and the bleeding has randomly started again. I really feel fine overall--not tired, no joint pain, no eye problems, no rashes--all of which I get in a severe flare. Then today, lots of blood, out of the blue. I guess two nights ago I had a severe right sided pain (which I know to be Crohn's related from experience; it did not seem to be pregnancy related) in the middle of the night, but it helped to shift to another sleeping position and had subsided by morning. I have been passing very mucuousy stools or sometimes just mucus during pregnancy. I was in remission when I became pregnant and almost immediately started flaring and have been in what I'd call a "mild flare" ever since. I've been taking a low dose (10 mg) of prednisone daily in addition to my other medications to help manage it.



So...I guess my questions are: Do others of you experience infrequent rectal bleeding, pregnant or no? What do your doctors say? Any special treatments? My doctor did not seem overly concerned last time; at what point should I be worried? It would freak me out even if I weren't pregnant, but now worrying that my body could hurt the little girl I'm carrying makes me even more on edge.



Thanks in advance for your input...



Allison
Posted 8/19/2007 3:28 PM (GMT -8)
I just had my baby in Dec 06 and had rectal bleeding beginning at 20wks on. They upped my pred and asacol...both are safe to take while prego. as with all NEW symptoms please have baby checked and talk with your OB but normally if baby is growing fine..its MORE YOU who is suffering not baby Normally the amount you lose, seems like alot and is very little and you produce/reproduce it so fast, its not even noticable. Just make sure that if you feel dizzy, your bP drops, or u get too nausea that you get checked out

definitely KUP and GL!!!!
Posted 8/19/2007 3:56 PM (GMT -8)
Hi Allison Sorry to hear you are having bleeding issues I can't offter any advice but can say that I hope things get better and the meds work. Let us know how things are going and it is nice to have a girl there is so much that you will share together in life that makes girls so special. Best Wishes. lol gail
Posted 8/20/2007 5:16 AM (GMT -8)
Are you sure it's not internal hemmies? There are suppositoories for that. I think some have steroids but I have no idea if they are safe during pregnancy. Sorry!
You could also have a fissure-have you been constipated or straining? They can cause a lot of blood and sometimes not be extremely painful.

Can you do sitz bath for comfort, at least? I know you can't take a bath but you could buy a sitz bath at the drugstore for around $12.

Best of luck and let us know what happens. [img]/community/emoticons/smile.gif[/img]

Ginger
Posted 8/20/2007 6:06 PM (GMT -8)
I had rectal bleeding through my last 2 pregnancies, before I was diagnosed. I thought it was hems, but then found later that it was from crohn's related fissures, that I still have 3 years later, and they will bleed off and on all the time. It didn't seem to be an issue for my boys, although my youngest was only 5 lb 7 oz when he was born, but was very healthy. I hope you figure it out!
Posted 8/20/2007 8:38 PM (GMT -8)
Hey all:

Thanks for the input. I look forward to seeing my GI doc again tomorrow to see what he has to say. (But I hope I escape another rectal exam...ouchie!) He has previously said that if I wasn't pregnant he would up my Imuran a little bit more, and maybe we'd try Remicaid, but since I AM pregnant those things will have to wait.

Like some of you mentioned, when I've had any rectal bleeding before (it was usually just a little bit on the TP or a drop in the bowl), I thought it was hemmies and didn't think much of it. At my last exam my doc said that those things I thought were external hemmies are actually Crohn's skin tags from anal involvement, and he found similar things internally by doing a rectal exam. So my bleeding doesn't seem to be from hemmies; I wish it was, then maybe I could get something over the counter to help! It's definitely unlike hemmies in that I really don't strain or have any pain with this; I'm just going to the bathroom as normal, and then I look down and the bowl's got so much blood I can't see to the bottom. The painlessness and relative lack of other symptomology is part of what makes it so disturbing and shocking to me.

Maybe it could be a fissure? Are those usually painful? I'm losing bright red blood, including clots, but no other symptoms to go with it. I have been traveling around the country this week, which is always stressful for me and my body, so maybe that has contributed to all of this.

As for baby, I think she's doing fine; she's been as ever over the past few days. (She's been quite the acrobat all along--she was moving and grooving by ten weeks, as we saw on an early ultrasound, and boy can I feel her now!) My GI doc and OB doc keep in pretty decent contact, so I'm sure after I see GI doc tomorrow I'll hear from OB doc if he wants to talk to me about anything. Last time they just monitored my hemoglobin until the bleeding stopped.

Thanks again for all the words of wisdom, and I'd appreciate anything else anyone has to offer, especially regarding what the symptoms are fissures usually are. (And could they be exacerbated by pregnancy? Certainly my bowel and rectum are under greater pressure now.)

I'll check back in to let you all know what doctor says too.

Cheers,
Allison
Posted 8/21/2007 5:03 AM (GMT -8)
Hi again-
Fissure are like a deep cut. Sometimes you can feel them but I've had ones that I didn't even know were there-the Dr. had to tell me.

Your Dr. should be able to tell you....

Good luck and keep us posted
Posted 8/21/2007 11:19 AM (GMT -8)
Hi Ginger,

How did they find/diagnose the fissure? Colonscopy or other scope? Or just by symptoms?

Last time my doc said the bleeding was coming from "rectal involvement" but didn't say what exactly that meant..I'll have to ask for more details today.

Allison
Posted 8/21/2007 1:45 PM (GMT -8)
I had rectal bleeding with my first pregnancy from my Crohn's. They placed me on steroid enenmas 3 times a day! OH what fun memories.
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