Colons and Babies!

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Molly
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Colons and Babies!

Postby Molly » Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:25 pm

I've got a question about getting pregnant after having a colon resection (or abdominal surgery in general, I guess). No, I'm not pregnant, so let's not jump the gun :lol: , but I have a few friends who have had trouble with adhesions during their pregnancy. I'm trying to see if it's just a fluke, or if it's really something that should be studied. For that matter, what about getting pregnant after chemo for colon cancer?

Anyone? Bueller?

Sara

Colons and Babies

Postby Sara » Wed Sep 28, 2005 2:41 pm

As requested I will share my story.....I was 24 weeks into my pregnancy, 2 1/2 years after my colon surgery when I felt as though I had eaten something that wasn't agreeing with my stomach. I also started having contractions and was experiencing back labor. Lucky for me, this was my third child so I knew enough to stay calm but get to the hospital. I was hooked up to monitors and given a vaginal exam and was told I was not in labor- HA! By the end of that day I had started vomiting and at some point, I was told that the food was completely undigested and eventually I was only bringing up bright green bile. My GI told explained that there were only so many tests they could perform due to my pregnancy. They did an ultrasound of my gall bladder, liver and kidneys and found nothing. Meanwhile two days after being admitted into the hospital I was alone in my room with my husband and sister when I started to feel as though I needed to go to the bathroom. For those who had not had the experience of childbirth, you get the sensation that you need to bare down and have a bowel movement when the baby is coming down the birth canal. I went into the bathroom and luckily realized what was happening before I gave birth in the toilet and was able to get back to my bed in time to deliver my almost 25 week old baby all by myself! My nurse came in right as I gave birth and my husband yelled down the hall for some more nurses and they came and took my tiny 1 lb 7.9 oz daughter to the NICU. The next day they were free to do a CT scan on my abdomen and discovered a bowel obstruction due to adhesions from my prior colon surgery. Since I was pregnant, my ever expanding uterus was pushing my intestines to the right side of my abdomen and apparently part of my small intestine got twisted until it finally pinched off. They had to take 5 ft of small intestine and by the time they got in there it was about to rupture and was gangrenous. Looking back, the only symptom I can say I had leading up to this event was narrowing stools. Not that they would have figured out the problem ahead of time, but I am ashamed to say that I looked the other way because I was afraid that I might have to deal with cancer again. Thankfully that wasn't the case and they were able to perform my surgery without complications. My daughter is still in the NICU but is now a whopping 4 lbs 5 oz and we expect her to come home the first of November.

Jen

Postby Jen » Thu Sep 29, 2005 1:39 pm

I am also concerned about the pregnancy issue. I am not planning on getting pregnant anytime soon, but I would like a time frame as to how long i should wait after chemo to start. Am I looking at like 2-3 years because that is okay with me. Just wondering. :?

Holly
Posts: 537
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2005 11:06 pm

Colons and Babies

Postby Holly » Thu Sep 29, 2005 10:45 pm

Molly,

Are you experiencing Babyitis? :lol:

Hugs!

Holly

Molly
Site Admin
Posts: 440
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2005 7:57 pm
Location: Glens Falls, New York
Contact:

Postby Molly » Fri Sep 30, 2005 1:14 pm

This is how rumors get started! :lol:

No...no babyitus for me. Just curious because I've heard some stories (including the one above from my friend Sara) about pregnancies gone awry after abdominal surgery. I'd like to know if it's a fluke, or if it really is something to be concered about.

LoriG
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Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:57 pm
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
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More Baby Talk

Postby LoriG » Mon Oct 24, 2005 1:08 pm

Amazing how life is. One day you have questions, the next, there's an article in the paper about the Colondar which got me to this forum :D ..... Here's my question: Talking about babies. Does anyone have any idea if a colostomy would qualify me as a "high-risk" pregnancy? My nurse practitioner said she would ask the Dr. this morning, but who knows if they will ever get me an answer. I didn't even think about adhesions until after I read the other posts on this topic. Most of the info. I've read about colo-rectal cancer is geared toward and "older population". I'm 35 and "ready" to start a family. Any helpful information is appreciated!
LoriG

Tammy

Babies and Colons

Postby Tammy » Mon Oct 24, 2005 8:56 pm

:D I wanted to take the time to respond to those that had questions regarding pregnancy and having Colon Cancer. I just had a baby 4 weeks ago and I am a three year cancer survivor. I had radiation and chemo. Given that I had to harvest eggs and thank god we did. My body never returned to normal after the treatments and had I not done that I would not have my beautiful boy Ayden. Adhesions is a concern and one that my doctors were well aware of and proactive about. If you have had radiation a concern will also be pre-term labor issues. I also had that and was on bedrest for over 10 weeks.

Fertility is a tricky subject when you are diagnosed and not one on the forefront of your doctors mind but it should be for you. We did IVF and only had a 32% cance of it working but it did and had I not pressured my doctors in the beginning I would not have had children. Be sure that when you do get pregnant that you do bring up your scar tissue and in my mind if you have had cancer and cancer treatments you should be treated as high risk and seeing a specialist. The specialist I was seeing took very good care of me and were more cautions than a regular obgyn.

I will be writing about my miracle boy on Figgtree.com very soon. Or if anyone has further questions please e-mail me at figgtree@hotmail.com

Holly
Posts: 537
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2005 11:06 pm

Babies

Postby Holly » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:29 am

Tammy,

Congratulations with the happy and healthy delivery of your son! Thank you for sharing your story. I am eager to read more on www.figgtree.com. Be well and know that you are in my prayers.


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