I just found out today that I am pregnant....we are OVERJOYED; however I have a few questions.
I am only 6 weeks along but my bowel movement have already increased. I feel a bit crampy; it feels like just before my period. It comes and goes depending on what I have ate (gassy foods etc.). I have more gas already that is for sure. Has anyone had this due to pregnancy so early on?
What is the general consensus for high-risk vs normal OBGYN? The town I live in is medium in size with a great birthing unit however it is about 45 minutes to a hospital that performs J-Pouches.
To the older mothers out there...(I am 37)...were you afraid of the combination of age, multiple operations and life after J-Pouch (digestion of food/Prenatal vitamins etc) that there were added risks to your baby? I am nervous that I am not digesting the folic acid in the prenatal vitamins that I take, although I have been on them for 2 years. Did you have an Amniocentesis?

Any bit of advice is more than welcome at this stage. A few things I know for sure that I am doing, due do this website and varies other reading material I have pondered over for the past 2 years while trying to get pregnant are: C-Section, after giving birth start introducing food to your system very slowly and bring a handout explaining the J-Pouch.

Age

Congratulations!

As far as the gas issue and frequent BMs, every pregnancy is different so I will just say, don't worry about it. I use Beano (safe during pregnancy) when I eat gassy foods and that helps tons.

I live in a small town with a local hospital that I plan on having my baby in (I'm 30 weeks). The city I had my pouch surgery in is about 80 miles away so this is a logical choice for me. With that being said, I am confident in my Dr.s ability to handle my unique situation and she has onboarded the help of 2 other local Dr.s to assist. They have contacted my surgeon and read all my medical files and history so they know what they're up against. So my advice on that is, if you find an OB you can trust, go for it. Ask lots of questions, if the OB doesn't meet your needs or listen to your concerns, move on. Remember, this is your baby and it's your call.

Just hang in there with the vitamins. Even if you aren't absorbing all of the nutrients, you will still get a good portion of them. Your Dr may want to give you a series of ultrasounds instead of just one or two to track the baby's growth.

Amniocentisis- not a chance for me! I had a test come back with some pretty scary results but opted to not have the amnio because it has a slight risk of miscarriage, I am scared of needles (Have you seen the size of it? Ahhh!) and it wouldn't change my mind about loving my baby.

Hope this helps!

Best of luck,
Jada

Congratulations. You might notice a few changes with your bowel movements throughout the pregancy, I think this is common even for non j-pouchers and I hear a lot of women talk about increased urination as well. I noticed the big changes at the end where I had less bowel movements and was very uncomfortable - again, normal even for non j-pouchers.

I asked my high risk ob/gyn about the prenatals. He said that if I was worried about it, I could take a flintstones chewable vitamin which I would absorb easier. There are a lot of women on this site who've taken chewable prenatals and were happy with them. I think that the iron was a little bit hard on my system.

I'm older too and only had an amnio at the end when the dr. decided I should deliver early to check the lungs of the baby. It was less painful than I thought and the dr. did an excellent job. I had no interest in having one before that and had the dr. do the general genetic testing but didn't opt for more than that.

I agree (for me) about the c-section and slowly introducing foods. I didn't find my j-pouch to really be an issue to the drs or nurses so didn't need a handout although I'll never forget the dr's reaction when he opened me up and saw my insides. Not sure if he'd ever worked on anyone without a colon and also my uterus was adhered to a section of my small intestine.

I contacted my surgeon before I delivered and asked if he wanted to be around during the c-section. He said no, that it would go fine which surprised me compared to others on this site who sometimes have the surgeon there. I think I was glad though just to let him know that I was going to have the baby and around when I would deliver because he got re-familiar with my case and would hopefully be able to see me if there were any problems.

My biggest issue now is losing the weight from pregnancy. I was so thin after my surgeries and for years after that I could eat pretty much anything. I ate a lot during pregnancy and now still look like I'm 3 months pregnant - 7 months later!!!

Congrats! I have had gas and indigestion throughout this pregnancy (my second) and still have it at almost 31 weeks. With my first pregnancy I didn't have a single day of GI upset. So, "normal" really is what you experience, provided your drs say all is okay.

I felt better going to a high risk dr who has otehr j-pouch and ostomy patients (I have a perm ostomy after failed j-pouch). In the end it was a good decision as I had a near total obstruction during my first pregnancy. I didn't eat ANYTHING for 2 weeks and was on a liquid diet for 2 weeks and the drs assured me that the baby would be fine. They were right, he is/was perfect. Born 2 weeks early by planned c-section and was 7lbs 10oz. So don't worry on the vitamins; your dr can test your blood to see how well you are absorbing things if it makes you feel better.

I chose not to have an amnio during either pregnancy. I was 34 (almost 35) when I had my first baby and I'm now 37 having my second. My early blood results (taken around week 16 I think) showed a 1 in 1500 chance of Down's and a 1 in 5000 chance of one of the other issues but the risk of miscarriage from an amnio is 1 in 200. So we felt it was safer to go with the blood results. However, since we did IVF, we already knew we were not carriers for cystic fibrosis, and several other genetic diseases were eliminated at that time too. Again, it needs to be what makes you feel most comfortable and reduces your stress as much as possible during the pregnancy.

The surgeon I worked with during my pregnancy said that a c-section is a fairly "dirty" operation, meaning the risk for infection could be high. Therefore, he said unless I was in GI crisis, he wouldn't touch me during a c-section and therefore he didn't need to be there. He did, however, know which day I was delivering and knew that we would be calling him if there was a crisis.

My first c-section was picture perfect. I'm having anotehr scheduled c-section for this baby, July 16th. Recovery from the c-section is pretty easy and you have a beautiful baby to focus on so the issues really fade into the background.

Thanks for everyones input....
The crampy feeling I had described before is actually a pressure type feeling where a C-Section scar would be. It is making me go to the washroom more and I have alot more gas. I am urinating more too; which is strange to me as its early. I feel great though....Did anyone have the pressure feeling so early on in a pregnacy? This pressue actually started about 5 days before I knew I was pregnant and I thought it was my body getting ready for my period because my bowel movement always increase for the first few days of my cycle.
Another few questions....
when does the pain of the scar tissue (that I have read about so much) start?
Can you use a heating pad and have hot baths while pregnant? These 2 things are a life saver for me, but I have read its a no go...has anyone done this before?
Thanks
Age