pregnancy and psc

[Guest guest]

I have had psc for 12 years which has developed into cirrhosis . I am

33 and have a meld score of 12 that has been as high as 15. I usually

itch and is very fatigued. I have been taking calcuim supplements for

the last year and that has greatly improved my weight and energy

level. I have always been told that any pregnancy would be high risk

now or after transplant. I have no children and have been married for

eight years. I am thinking about trying. When I asked my hep doctors

they have said things like I proably would not be able to get pregnant

because of my numbers. I have been stable the last few years with no

hospitalizations. I wanted to what other female psc's think and have

they had successful pregnancies.

[Guest guest]

I wanted to what other female psc's think and have

> they had successful pregnancies.

>

Hi Mrs. Walton,

Although I was not diagnosed at the time, I had a very healthy

pregnancy in 2005; my hep feels that I probably did have PSC at the

time, because of how high my liver enzymes were and how beaded my

ducts were the time of my dx in December 2007 (his thinking being

that cases that present like mine don't just happen overnight).

My husband and I are ready to try for another baby, but now that I

have the dx, we are waiting for the go-ahead from my hep (waiting to

have a stent taken out this coming Monday, in fact, and hoping that I

get an OK after that; it may be a bit soon, though...). He has said

he sees no reason why we shouldn't, and couldn't get pregnant again

after we get the PSC under control.

When you wrote that your hep thinks you won't be able to get pregnant

because of your numbers.... Did you mean that he thinks the elevated

enzymes will have an effect on conceiving, or that he wouldn't want

you to become pregnant with elevated enzymes? We had trouble

conceiving our daughter Danica because I wasn't ovulating (but after

just one round of Clomid, here she is!). Now whether that has

anything to do with possibly having PSC at the time, or my j-pouch

surgery, or having used contraceptives for so many years, I don't

know! We had been trying again for about 5 cycles (around 9 months,

since my cycles are soooooo long) when I was diagnosed with the PSC;

I know I was ovulating during that time.

My personal thinking on this issue is that while I know I am healthy,

I want to have another baby. I think this is a very personal

decision between you and your husband; while you should probably take

your hep's opinion into account, he is not the one having the baby

and raising a family. NOW, if he feels that there could be serious

health repercussions for you, that is another matter.....

Good luck!

Genevieve

UC 1983, J-Pouch 1999, PSC 12/07

[Guest guest]

Of course you'll need to talk with all your doctors before you do

get pregnant but I just have to say that I loved it. I seriously

never felt better during pregnancy. My numbers were normal, itching

and pain pretty much gone, I had energy (after the first trimester,

lol). My OBGYN said that in some people autoimmune disease kind of

go into " remission " during pregnancy because of the hormones and

stuff. The last month of my pregnancies were hard though and I had

problems with my liver (even before my dx) but the rest of the time

was fine.

That being said, afterwards my body went crazy. I didn't start

having symptoms or anytime until after my first pregnancy but I

wouldn't change it for the world. I have been pregnant 6 times

which resulted in 3 live births. I have a blood clotting disorder

that caused the 3 losses (including a set of twins). The three

surviving pregnancies gave me 4 beautiful children. Drs knew that

something was worng with my liver before I got pregnant the 5th time

and my daughter was born healthy at full term. I was diagnosed with

Primary Biliary Cirrhosis a week after I found out that I was

pregnant for the 6th time. I was diagnosed with PSC when the twins

were 3 months old so I had it for at least my last 2 pregnancies.

That got longer than I'd anticipated. You may be high risk, but

it's possible. I was even able to carry twins. Best of luck to

you! You can email me directly if you'd like. jmhette2@...

PSC 8/07

PBC 10/06

[Guest guest]

Hi Mrs W,

Although my situation was different, because I was/am asymptomatic,

I had an uncomplicated pregnancy and have a healthy 8 year old girl. My

only regret is that I didn't try again while I was under 40. Whlle at least

one person here had cholestasis of pregnancy, more, like and others,

find their symptoms are relieved in pregnancy. Urso appears to be safe to take

during pregnancy, and my GI and OB both thought the risk of cholestasis was

much more of a worry than taking Ursodiol. I was still at 15 mg/kg/day at that

time, and continued it right through pregnancy and nursing.

I have heard of people having successful pregnancies post-transplant. What do

your OB

and the transplant team think? With a MELD of 12,

is there any likelihood of being offered a liver and having to turn it down?

Finally,

here's a hard question I have asked myself: Do you

have the support you would need to care for the baby and you, if you became very

ill?

For us, it would mean being in 2 places 3 hours drive apart.

Martha (MA)

> I have always been told that any pregnancy would be high risk

> now or after transplant. I have no children and have been married for

> eight years. I am thinking about trying. When I asked my hep doctors

> they have said things like I proably would not be able to get pregnant

> because of my numbers. I have been stable the last few years with no

> hospitalizations. I wanted to what other female psc's think and have

> they had successful pregnancies.

>

[Guest guest]

Good morning Martha,

i am thinking about having a second baby.

I have a 2 year old daughter , and even I am 39 ( late mother ) it

would be nice to have another baby around.

Did you stop taking Urso before pregnancy and during the first 3

months ?

Many Thanks

Silvia

> > I have always been told that any pregnancy would be high risk

> > now or after transplant. I have no children and have been married

for

> > eight years. I am thinking about trying. When I asked my hep

doctors

> > they have said things like I proably would not be able to get

pregnant

> > because of my numbers. I have been stable the last few years with

no

> > hospitalizations. I wanted to what other female psc's think and

have

> > they had successful pregnancies.

> >

>