Pregnancy & Urethral Syndrome?

[Bella Spirit]

Hubby and I want to have kids but I am very reluctant because I have Urethral Syndrome.

Has anyone fallen pregnant and been through pregnancy with Urethral Syndrome?
What is the pain and frequency like? How does it compare to not being pregnant?

Any advice on the subject would be great :)

[Love]

I have terrible urethral pain, really really bad and surprisingly during my pregnancy I felt I went into remission. I could eat anything, it was awesome. My daughter is 2 1/2 and I am back in a flare but I think the pregnancy with improving my symptoms until now. Sometimes I think I should get pregnant again just to have some relief again :)

[lttlewun]

Is Urethral syndrome the same as IC?:loco:

[vtcurtis]

My husband and I tried to get pregnant for 2 1/2 years for this one, went through numerous fertility medications and after those hormone treatments threw me into horrible flares decided to stop. Two months later - boom I was pregnant.

I'm 11 weeks pregnant and have horrible urethral pain. That's where all of my IC pain is actually. Every time I have a flare I feel like I'm having the worst UTI of my life. It literally cripples me for days. I've found with my IC that my diet has become more restrictive and my IC has gotten worse with the hormone changes. All of it I can bare though and had my first real flare today. I'm going over foods in my head that I could have eaten... Did you know that Pillsbury sugar cookies have walnut and macadamia nut flour in them? Who does that? If I stick to the foods I know are safe I do well. I just have to stop trying new recipes.

Anyway my specialist thinks that my IC is going to remain the same throughout pregnancy. If this is how the next 6 months are going to be I can handle it. I'm still hoping my IC goes into remission in the next few weeks once I'm out of the first trimester. I'm on a very low dose of Amitriptiline (sp) a category C medication and pyridium for pain. Today's the first day that I've needed it. Both my specialist and my OBGYN have said the two medications are fine. I feel this is completely worth it in the end. I joke that I am miserably excited, but in truth I know that the 9 months are going to fly by and I'm going to wish I was pregnant again in a few years.

[aep109]

Anyone have any updates on their urethral syndrome and pregnancy? Did your symptoms continue through the whole pregnancy?

I'm about 6 weeks now and have been miserable for about 4 of them. But, I also had a bad experience recently with an ER visit and needing to hold urine too long for an ultrasound so I'm not sure if it is the pregnancy hormones or the test issue.

Thanks!

[valkay18]

Anyone have any updates on their urethral syndrome and pregnancy? Did your symptoms continue through the whole pregnancy?

I'm about 6 weeks now and have been miserable for about 4 of them. But, I also had a bad experience recently with an ER visit and needing to hold urine too long for an ultrasound so I'm not sure if it is the pregnancy hormones or the test issue.

Thanks!

Sorry for the late response, but I have this and had it terribly through my whole pregnancy. During the last month, I took Pyridium at least two or three times a week, which was ok'd by my high risk OB and my regular OB.

[MelindaP]

My IC hit me hard right before I got pregnant. I too went through years of infertility treatment. I believe all the high doses of the hormones in the treatments is what threw me into full blown IC. I would have periods of what I would call "a stingy urethra" a few days before I got my period. All my symptoms would disappear by the second day of my period. Back then I thought I was getting a UTI, so I would drink cranberry juice like crazy! When my IC hit I thought it was a bad UTI so continued with my IVF. I went through with the transfer of the embryos in the IVF because I was afraid if I froze them I would lessen my chances of getting pregnant. I did get pregnant from that cycle, but I won't lie, it was really, really hard! I did not really have the horrible urgency or frequency. For me it was a burning urethra 24/7! This was back in 2004. I actually ended up doing some bladder instillations after my first trimester (approved by my high risk OB). They did help somewhat, but honestly, I think my high pregnancy hormones just exacerbated it. I also started taking Elmiron after my first trimester, 400mg. I then breastfed for a year, so again, high hormones. My IC actually got much better after I got back on my low-dose monophasic birth control pill. I have periods of remission where I can eat/drink anything & then seemingly out of nowhere, BAM, a flare! I am in a flare now, not a horrible one, but I must be very careful of what I eat/drink. My IC is right at my bladder neck, or trigone. In the beginning I thought it was my whole urethra. The pain was so bad I couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was. Everyone is different though. I have read many woman go into a remission during pregnancy so I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! Just remember to try drink a lot of water to keep your urine diluted.
Melinda :)