# post pregnancy onset??? help.



## 20230 (May 24, 2006)

Is there any reason that IBS-D would start up after a pregnancy? I always had symptoms around the time of my period and stress, but not as a general occurrence. I had never previously labeled it as IBS-d.......it just seems to fit the symptoms I've always had.I had my dd in September and am breastfeeding, with no AF yet. For the last (weeks?? maybe months??) my symptoms have been consistent, day-in and day-out. I kept thinking that I was getting AF back, until I realized that it had been going on for a while and AF had not returned.My symptoms are diarrhea that is urgent, cramping, gassy cramps, stinky gas all of the time







. I dread having this conversation with a doctor.


----------



## Screamer (Aug 16, 2005)

Hmm I was similar. I had IBS-C as a kid then around the time I started my periods I started getting D once a month. Then it started when I was stressed as well as once a month but other than a lot of stomach pain that was it really. After I had my first daughter I had terrible D for the first couple of months of the pregnancy and terrible D for at least 2 or 3 months afterwards (sorry was 6 years ago, a little hazy now). I could still function but it was pretty hard to at times! My D problem sort of stayed worse after that







so I guess it is possible that it's gotten worse (I never really asked my GP why it may have gotten worse). I know it's awful to talk to our doctors about this stuff but it really is important you get a diagnosis just so you know what is going on. It is also possible that your thyroid is just out of whack (which they will check with a blood test) and that can cause D and weight loss too.Best of luck and I hope your doctors visit goes well


----------



## 13416 (Jan 7, 2006)

you know, i was just online worried and symptom searching over this. my son is 2.5 years old and my IBS-C changed to a pattern of three or four days without going to one day of going a little bit and then a day of purging that is IBS-D like. this worried me because i was always IBS-C! i wonder if there is a correlation between pregnancy and permanent changes in your IBS? Thanks for posting. Makes me feel slightly better about my situation.


----------



## mdonbru (Oct 15, 2003)

My IBS-D got worse after I had my second child 4 years ago. I also started having enough problems with my gallbladder that I had to have it removed last year. I believe that having children can permanently alter our bodies, and I don't just mean that our hips get bigger!







Marty


----------



## 20964 (May 24, 2006)

Thank you so much for this post!!I have been on the internet looking for info on this stuff for a while now (I called some hotline too). Even on this site, I just now noticed this particular group.I just had my 3rd child (she is almost 4 months old now). Just over a month ago, I starting experiencing all these IBS-d symptoms. When I think back, I recall having them in my late teen years, but, I've been pretty regularly constipated for the past 12 years or so.My doctor did say it was normal for a period of stress like this to trigger it to start again. But, it is soo great to hear that other people have been through the same thing!!By the way, I am still breastfeeding... anyone have or know where I can find information on breastfeeding & colonoscopy? I have to have one in a couple of weeks. I know I have to stop breastfeeding (I'm thinking maybe for 24 hours?). I'll pump and dump it out as much as I can to keep the stimulation thing happening.Any info on this one would be great...


----------



## 17190 (Apr 1, 2006)

MY IBS C started after my first child. I soon became an A, but mostly a C. Over the many years (40) my IBS has changed back and forth between C and D many times. It abated some during my second pregnancy. Now that I am much older, I still have IBS and it still alternates between C and D. I imagine that it is the medications that you have to take for the preparation of the colonoscopy that could be secreted into your milk. Try to find out how long the meds will affect your milk. Even if your milk production dries up some, you should be able to fully nurse your baby after your colonoscopy. If you have to suppliment with formula as your milk comes back, it won't take that long to get your milk supply to come back. I had to stop nursing my baby for awhile and it didn't take very long to get my milk supply back. I just breast feed my baby as often as possible, gave him the formula after I breast fed if he needed more milk and it wasn't that long before I could do away with the formula. I nursed that same baby until he was 2. By the way, he is 37 now. So, that was a long time ago.


----------



## 20230 (May 24, 2006)

H. Chrondriac---Check out kellymom.comIt is a breastfeeding website and has all kinds of information about medications. If you can't find it there, call your pediatrician or a lactation consultant at your local hospital. There is a book they can consult (by Thomas Hale??) that will tell you more reliably than your regular doctor can.


----------



## 20964 (May 24, 2006)

Thank you so much. By the way, what's AF?


----------



## 20230 (May 24, 2006)

Aunt Flo







It's something I picked up off of one of my other message boards.


----------

