Heather Please Read
#71943 - 05/20/04 10:49 AM
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amindyt
Reged: 05/20/04
Posts: 1
Loc: Washington, DC
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Dear Heather,
For years I was told I had Crohn's disease, but a few months ago my Dr. did a blood test and determined that I didn't have Crohn's, and that it probably was IBS. I found your website and book soon after(thank goodness), and had been free from bloating and constipation until recently when I began taking injectible fertility medicine. Do you think there is a connection? The fertility specialist seemed to think the bloating might be due to ovarian hyperstimulation, but it feels a lot more like IBS and my estrogen levels are not high enough for the ovarian condition. I have not been able to find any info on this. Please let me know if you've heard of any connections.
Thank you for your wonderful website  ) Alison
Edited by amindyt (05/21/04 06:06 AM)
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Hi - I absolutely think the fertility treatments could be causing your IBS symptoms. There's definitely a hormonal link to IBS - look here on the research library board under the "gender" category and you'll find research articles. Just in general, it's pretty common for fertility drugs to cause all sorts of bloating and abdominal discomfort.
Do a search for past posts on fertility drugs, for "all posts" so there are no time limits, and look for posts by Kinoz. She went through fertility drug therapy and it definitely affected her IBS, and her posts will have good info for you.
Also - how were you diagnosed with Crohn's in the first place? I'm suspicious that you were told you have this, and then another doc rules it out just with a blood test. If you had some type of scope work and biopsy show Crohn's in the past, I'd be leery of a doc now ruling out Crohn's just on bloodwork. You may be in remission, or your earlier tests may have had invalid results, I don't know, but I'd want a lot more detailed info from my docs about why, exactly, your diagnosis here has changed.
Best,
Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Hi Alison,
Last year, I took fertility drugs for 7 cycles. I took pills (serophen: 3-4 pills per day for 5 days) and pofasi injections. I had 2 artificial inseminations per month. It never worked for me. I never got pregnant.
BUT all the fertility drugs made my IBS symptoms worse!!
I was supposed to start in-vitro, but I was feeling so bad with IBS that I decided to wait! I had to take care of myself!
Therefore, the IBS symptoms were the main reason why I decided to stop the treatment... The bloating and pain was really intense! These drugs have terrible side effects... AND even if we don't want to think about it too much, it's not easy to deal with infertility... and I think that the emotionnal stress doesn't help with the IBS symptoms...
I stopped the treatment last summer and I'm still having more problems with IBS than before the fertility drugs!! I don't want to discourage you... It was not easy for me, but it was probably easier for other people...
I truly hope that everything is going to be fine for you!!! And that the fertility trestments are going to work for you!!!!! Good luck with everything!! 
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I recently quit taking my premarin (have been on it for 30 years and have read some negative info on them) Do you think my ibs attack has anything to do with stopping hormones since ibs is sensitive to hormone level????
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The first thing my gastro doc did was take me OFF birth control, so I can only imagine what the high-dose hormones must be doing! Sorry you have to face this, but there is a definate link! Hope you are soon pregnant and free from the excessive hormones!
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God is Faithful!
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I am so glad I read this post because I was about to start fertility drugs. It's so frustrating to not be able to get pregnant when you WANT to, but so many people get pregnant by accident 
BTW - what does everyone do about birth control pills then? I'm obviously not taking them right now so that we can get pregnant, but what should I do after we have a baby (assuming things turn around for the better)?
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~Cara~
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Cara
#72998 - 05/24/04 04:43 PM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Cara hon, give it time. I know I can't talk, being both baby-less and broody. But getting pregnant can take ages. It's just sod's law. 14 year olds get pregnant by accident the first time they have sex but someone like you can't when they want to. My Mum said it took her ages to get pregnant, but she had both me and my brother without any "help". They do say that sometimes, really really wanting to be pregnant can actually slow the progress down.
Also, BC screws your system up that it can take a while till your body's really back to normal.
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Hi! I just wanted to say GOOD LUCK!!! and I hope you'll get pregnant soon!
I know what you live. It's not always easy! Don't stress about it too much about it, and we never know what can happened...
byebye!
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Thanks girls! I have been off birth control for months and months now....I think the combination of getting IBS, and stress of moving to a different city and getting a new job and now buying a house has made it harder to get pregnant. I just quit my job (Friday was my last day - YAY!), and we are moving again in about 6 weeks...but then we should be settled in for a while, and I should be able to relax more. THEN maybe things will happen
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~Cara~
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Re: Cara
#73083 - 05/24/04 07:36 PM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Yay Cara! That sounds really positive. Good for you, girlie!
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Alison,
I also had fertility problems. I was on Clomid for almost a year ans I think it definitely made my IBS worse. However, last month I used injectibles for IVF. I was fine on the Lupron, Repronex and Gonal-F; it didn't bother the IBS at all. However, when I started using the progesterone shots, I had the horrible abdominal cramping and gas. I hope this helps!
By the way, keep your chin up with the fertility drugs. I tried to get pregnant for 2 years and finally found out last week that I'm finally pregnant! Its worth it!
Kelly
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IBS-C, pain predominant
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Re: Cara
#73175 - 05/25/04 08:52 AM
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michele
Reged: 06/02/03
Posts: 6886
Loc: southeastern michigan
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I'm also trying to get pregnant! Its driving me nuts, everywhere I look I SEE PREGNANT PEOPLE! I was on BC pills for 18 years and when I stopped a few months ago to get pregnant, I did not notice a change in my IBS. I actually did get pregnant last month but had a miscarriage at 5.5 weeks. Are you keeping track of your cycles? I have been using OPKS (ovulation predictor kits) so I know when I will be ovulating. You can buy them in the stores but can get them cheaper on line. You just pee on a stick and it will tell you when you have your LH surge which causing you to release your egg. The OPKS give you 24-48 notice when you should ovulate, this is when you are most fertile. I've been doing a TON of reasearch on getting pregnant, if you want to chat or have any questions feel free to email me michelebrake@sbcglobal.net
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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