Ulcerative Colitis + large stomach scar

[Jenice]

My friend suffers from Ulcerative Colitis and has done since she was in her teens. About 4 years ago she had an operation on her bowel which left a large scar from under her rib cage down to her belly button. She is dying to try for a baby but is terrified of how these things would affect her pregnancy. She is now getting depressed as she does not think she will ever be able to carry a child as it may put pressure on her already painful bowel and also the scar may rupture.

I would love to tell her something positive but I have no experience of either of these things. I keep telling her to speak to the specialist about it but she still hasn't and I think this is because she is scared of what they will say. Unfortunately the longer this goes on the further into depression she is going to go.

Anyone have any experience with either of these or both??

Sorry can't help with her particular problem. I too have UC but have been in remission since being pregnant. The only way to resolve this is to talk to her consultant who will want to know she is pregnant anyway. I had to virtually have mine grant me permission before trying for a baby because of the nasty meds i was on which can affect a developing foetus.

i would second what ceb80 said, my brother has had what sounds like the same op as your friend and has to take loads of meds, she would need to find out where she stood with the meds before worrying about other problems.

Thanks for your replies. I'll keep trying to get her to speak to the consultant. From what I have read on the internet, many people go into remission during pregnancy but there doesn't seem to be much about the scar issue... lots about c-section scars but not the position of her scar.

Hi, I have Crohns disease (same thing) and am currently pregnant with my 3rd child.

I have had bowel surgery 3 times now, so have a similar scar and when I am not pregnant, suffer most days with some sort of bowel pain.

Being pregnant has never either irritated my scar and actually the crohn's has completely settled down each time I have been pregnant (almost self medicating).

I know each and every case is different but if your friend is fairly fit and healthy at the mo, I know they will say there is no reason why she can't fall pregnant!

Hope this helps anyway x

often being pregnant makes the bowel disease go into remission, as the steroid level in your body rises IIRC. i have crohns but not had any ops,but in both pregnancies i was symptom free and for a long time afterwards

it is very unlikely the scar on her belly will rupture due to pregnancy, the skin will stretch slowly..

but she needs to speak to her consultant

Hi

I have a scar running from my belly button to the side of my stomach from a bowel operation I had a while ago. I suppose it is similar to an old appendix scar, as whenever anyone sees it, they ask if I have had my appendix removed- it is a bit bigger and higher than that though. I was worried about how it would cope with the stretching with it being at the point where I would imagine your skin gets stretched the most. I haven't had any problems up to now though with the scar, apart from that it has doubled in length and pulls sometimes! It is a bit sore to touch, I think because the skin is extra sensitive, but whenever I mention it to the midwife she doesn't seem too bothered about it. Also, the problems I had with pain in my bowel and swelling haven't really changed much. They haven't got any worse, or better. On days when they are better I think it is more due to the fact I haven't eaten very much!! I specialist would be the best person to speak to, from my experience the midwives don't really know much about specific health problems, and if they do give any information about it, it might not be right. Hope this helps?