6MP

I'm pregnant right now so I am limited to what drugs I can use, but I want to think ahead. Can anyone please give me some insight on 6MP. I've never really been able to get my UC under control so my docs have suggested 6MP. I'm just really concerned with the side effects. Someone told me that there are some meds that can actually cause caner!! Any info would be appreciated. Thank you!

Also, this might be a weird question, but when you are not flaring, how does it feel? It's been so long I can't remember. Is it really possible for someone with UC to go months having normal BMs? Just curious.

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Diagnosed w/ UC in Jan 2007

Congratulations on your pregnancy!  I have never had children, but hope to soon so I have been doing a fair amount of my own 'research' on this topic.  I took 6mp for about two years then stopped last winter with the hope of conceiving this year.  6mp is a class D pregnancy drug, however, the if the mother needs it to keep her and the baby safe it has still been used in pregnancy.  My GI gave me a bunch of information on it to read and was very honest with me about his opinion.  He looked me in the face and said "if you were my wife and carrying my child I would not want you on this drug" - we have a very straight forward relationship though!  After that, he went on a bit more saying yes there are many risks with it during pregnancy, but the general concensus is that it 'can' be safe, particularly at lower doses.  I've actually got an appt coming up in the next few weeks with a high risk OB/GYN about this very subject.  I'm hoping that none of my doctors decide that I need to be on it during pregnancy.

Regarding flaring, I often wonder the same thing. I think UC is so varied among everybody that there is no one definition of a flare. I can't remember a time in the last 2 years that I haven't had to deal with pain, blood, mucus, tenesmus, and cramping - maybe not all at the same time, but symptoms are always present. Does this mean that I have been flaring for two years? I don't know. I had what I consider a flare last summer and then now that was all of the above symptoms but 1000 times worse. Last summer when I flared I first noticed an incredible pain in my left side. It was so intense I nearly passed out. The next day I generally just felt sick. W/in a couple of days, severe diarrhea started, along with blood and mucus. I had great abdominal pain, I couldn't eat, I was weak and foggy-headed. It was excruciating. This lasted about 2 weeks. That is a flare to me. This time around I am dealing with blood, mucus, tenesmus, rectal pain, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, but no watery diarrhea. I am extremely fatigued this time around as well.

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my3suns