Hi all

Hello everyone, I can't find the post I made last night, think I'm a bit tired tonight! Well I'm 33 years old, mum to 9 children and began with crohns symptoms 13 years ago, mid pregnancy on my second child. I got so Ill I lost 5 stone in 4 and half months. My mum has crohns so I knew what was wrong straight away. After baby was born I had a colonoscopy and a tube through the nose thing which identified disease in both terminal ileum and colon. I was offered no follow up or drug therapy at that time but was ok with that as my mum had horror stories about steroids in her day and said she smelled like a matchbox with salazopyrin, my mum is very anti- western medicine and controls her disease with her diet and Her main problem was a vaginal fistula. I also fell pregnant again fairly quickly and was in denial about being ill and just wanted to be a mummy. So I carried on with stomach cramps and diaorrhoea and the occassional fever made me crawl in bed for a day or so till I felt right. I went on like that until pregnant with my fourth and had a bad flare so a colonoscopy was organised post birth, which again revealed active disease in the large bowel, I was offered salazopyrin, which I began and didn't find helped much but found once the pregnancy was over my symptoms calmed down and things were bearable, plus my gastro said the disease was minimal. well to cut a long story shorter this was how things carried on until I had the tube through my nose ct done which revealed a 40cm stricture and was offered surgery straight away. However I then found out I was already pregnant so surgery was postponed, I suffered a lot of fevers through the 40 weeks and was hospitalized 4 times put on antibiotics and sent home. I reached 40 weeks and was very uncomfortable with pregnancy and crohns so was brought in for induction. On that morning I wasn't feeling well, my heart rate was flying and I had broken sweats during the night, but I put it down to the heat and was anxious to get things over with. My waters were broken and I went into very strong labour very fast, I can remember up until about 10 minutes before the birth and then things went very blurry, I delivered my baby and collapsed into an svt, which meant my heart was beating too fast, over 200bpm, when that was under control I was sent to icu, where blood tests came back I had severe sepsis, my baby was sent to baby icu with septicemia also. The next day a ct scan showed liver micro abscesses and I was completely neutropenic so my body wasn't fighting it at all, I was put on a cocktail of antibiotics and it was touch and go for 5 days, then on day 6 my white cells came up and fevers subsided, so thankfully was out of the woods, same for my baby, thank god. That was all last august and things have been rocky, I still havnt had surgery and suffer a lot of pain at present also my crohns is acting up now so there's talk of imuran but surgery first, Im also being treated for anxiety since last year which has meant a lot of midnight visits to a+e with my poor husband! Just a little bit about myself, hehe!, Jk, that was long! I can totally understand if you quit ages ago, and fair play if your here at the end, I have even managed to bore myself! Lol! Thanks again for listening and I'm so glad to have found such a wonderful forum! Xxx

:welcome: Ivy! Ahem... did you say 9 children? I cannot imagine that in my life :yfaint:. That has be to be very hard to have this disease and have alot of children. I am happy you found us and that you are seeking support and info. YOU have been through quite an ordeal. Most people who are pregnant have their Crohns in remission. But as I always say we are all different.

Just wanted to welcome you here, hope you learn from us as we learn from you. :smile:

Hi Ivy and welcome, :bigwave:

Woah, :ywow: I think I'm as shocked as Jett! :lol:. You are one amazing woman. Hell, I have 2 kids and no IBD and I thought I had my fair share of moments over the years!

So glad you found us and I look forward to seeing you around.

Take care,
Dusty

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

Hi Ivy
and welcome

did you say you were tired? mmmm, let me think! I wonder why? lol
WOW! that's some story Ivy, so glad you found us!
Enjoy the forum, lots of friends here for you
lotsa luv
Joan xxx

Welcome to the forum. I have four kids myself. You seem to be a very strong woman, I admire that.

Woah 9 kids that is very impressive. Sorry to hear you have had such a hard time, must make it 100 times harder when you have 9 children to look after. Lots of advice here sure it will help you out tons
Jo xx

Wow Ivy, that's quite a story. I can't imagine how much stress having 9 children must have had on your already struggling body. Anxiety...I bet!! Welcome to the forum and good luck with the stricture.

OMG... I have no kids and still stuggle day to day.... well, ok, if you count my husband I have about 3...LOL! Just kidding!!

Welcome to the forum, Ivy. I hope this group of people can give you even just a bit of the emotional support they have given me in my short time here.

Thanks so much to everyone for the lovely warm welcome, I don't manage to get much time online, but again I'm so pleased to have found this place! Xxx