Pregnant... @ 5 weeks post takedown. Help!!

I have not heard of anyone getting pregnant this quickly, however, if your body is allowing it, then I'm sure it can handle it! Recovery after takedown is much easier than with your first surgery...it's really only now allowing your pouch to adjust and get used to the new plumbing. On a good note, pregnancy will slow your digestion considerably so this will likely work in your favor during your first trimester. The biggest issue I think you'll have is that you won't really know what "normal" is for you regarding your pouch so you won't have much of a baseline for comparison. Increased frequency due to the pressure of the baby shouldn't kick in for several months yet. Also, if it's your first pregnancy, you may not know what is typical there either.

So don't panick! You will just have a lot of adjusting to and perhaps a lot of questions. Take it a day at a time. Make sure you start your vitamins and be careful of any medication you are on now.

Everyone on the boards is here to support you!

Thanks for the encouraging words, clz81. This is my first pregnancy, so here goes nothin! I'm excited and anxious at this point. Hopefully things will work out the way they should - both in pregnancy and the pouch.

I'm still in shock.

We got pregnant 6 months after takedown. We were shocked as well since it happened right away even though we were trying. PM me if you have any questions :-) We have two kids (one pre-pouch and one post-pouch) so I'm familiar with pregnancy for both!

Hey ladies! So happy to find others who have gone through the same stuff.

I'm 18w pregnant - we conceived 2 months after my colon was taken out, just a couple weeks before my takedown surgery. Oops.

And not oops, because we had been trying for this baby the whole year before my surgery.

Anyway, I'll be happy to hear everyone's experience with pregnancy with a pouch.

lholdem, if you search the forums by going to the "find" tab and typing in a word like "pregnancy" or if you just search the women's health and pregnancy forum, you'll find a ton of information!!

congrats lholdem!

I'm nearly 17w pregnant. Other than morning sickness and chronic pouchitis the pregnancy has been uneventful. Hope you're doing well!

Hi clouwho2,

Many many congrats to you too

I'm wondering how you're doing with your ostomy scar... Mine just closed 2 months ago and now it's getting stretched Fortunately I'm quite small at 20w (as the ob/gyn put it, I "cleaned out the garage" so I have extra room), but the scar is starting to hurt some. I have this fear it will open again. My ob/gyn has never had a patient like me so she had no idea.

lholdem,

My ostomy scar is still red from surgery and in what I would consider a healing phase. I had laproscopic surgery for the jpouch creation and I think my ostomy scar actually looks better than the scar from the jpouch. I don't think it has stretched yet but I anticipate it will.

I have 16 incisions from various surgeries from my hips to my shoulders and most have healed very well to where they are almost unnoticeable.

I would suggest -
vitamin e oil. It does WONDERS for skin and scars. I would use vit e oil (you can buy it at a grocery store) or a really good lotion with high amounts of vit e in it.

Good luck! Let me know how you're doing!

Clouwho2,

What part of Indiana are you in, and did you find a good OBGYN? I'm in Indianapolis and 4 and a half years post takedown, but my husband and I are going to TTC and I want to make sure I find an OBGYN that is sensitive to my needs and my "abnormal" anatomy... Any help?? And hope your pregnancy is going well!!

Jackster -

My pouch/medical/pregnancy history isn't typical. I moved to Indiana 1 month prior to takedown last August. I then got pregnant 2 weeks after takedown (oops!). I was able to conceive without any effort at all.
As for drs in Indiana...I was in Bloomington. I had a group of doctors there (not high-risk) watching me during pregnancy. I can't say they were my favorite, but they did the job while I was there. Most people I talking to there said to NOT deliver in Bloomington.

As for Indianapolis, I don't know of any good OBGYN's up there, but a friend of mine may have some suggestions. I will try to get into contact with them asap and get you info. I know a great GI dr in Indy - Dr Ciaccia. You may want to check with your GI dr to see if they have any suggestions?

As for pregnancy - our baby arrived on Thursday! We moved to Denver on Tuesday!! She was delivered via c-section (I had planned it this way) due to me developing preeclampsia. Everyone is healthy & happy!

Send me a private message if you have any questions!