# pregnancy help



## caputsky (Jan 21, 2009)

Hi fellow female IBSers,

It's been a very long time since I've posted on this website, but I remember how helpful it was when I was newly diagnosed with IBS. So I figured there might be some women with some experience/insight for me now, too! I just recently found out that I'm pregnant (10 weeks), and wanted to see how IBS has affected other people's pregnancies. I know some of these questions are ones I should ask my doctor, and I will, but my first appointment isn't for another week and a half and I was hoping for a little more piece of mind in the meantime. I know from reading other literature that sometimes a person's IBS symptoms can change when they are pregnant, and sometimes they don't. Personally, I'm usually IBS-D, and I'm still experiencing diarrhea, but also some constipation. Could this be due to my prenatal vitamins I've been taking? They have iron, which I believe is constipating? Also, I've been experiencing my usual abdominal cramping and small amount of pelvic pain, which I often experienced pre-pregnancy. Of course, my anxiety is a little heightened because I'm worrying that the cramping and pain could affect the baby -- is this a valid concern? Have other women continued to experience pain from their IBS during pregnancy and it be ok? Lastly, do I need to be concerned about the nutrients my baby might not be getting enough of? I have a bunch of food intolerances (whoopie), and don't want to deprive my body of what it might need at this time, but at the same time I don't want to make myself sick. Anyway, sorry for all the questions and any advice, answers, and/or encouragement you can provide would be really really appreciated. Thank you!!

Julie


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## sister5 (Aug 17, 2013)

I was so glad to read your post! We're trying to get pregnant (I may already be) and I've had a rough year with my IBS symptoms. I also have food intolerances and am starting to wonder how it's going to work out keeping myself healthy and eating enough (and enough of the right foods) to keep baby healthy. I just started the process of seeing my doctors and don't go to the GI doc until next week. Did you learn anything from your appointments?? I had to stop taking Miralax, since it's a class C, and I'm trying to reach a normal point just by taking probiotics, chugging a ton of water, and limiting my diet even more. I don't think the cramping would harm the baby. I just hope it doesn't get confused with contractions when the time comes and I hope I can get it under control so the fatigue doesn't co-incide with prenancy tiredness. This will be my second child and I didn't have any IBS symptoms with my first. I've had IBS for 13 years and it pretty much wasn't a problem for 10 of them! The past few years have been VERY stressful though and I imagine that's what triggered it again. Try to relax and do deep breathing, stretching, light excercise, and even yoga. I found these to be helpful, along with peppermint tea for the tummy cramping!


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