Is this common????

[jcatherine74]

I am 20 years old and was recently diagnosed so I am new to the forum and to IC. It scares me even seeing a section about infertility with IC. Is this a common thing with IC? Should I be prepared for problems with pregnancy in the future???

[ICNDonna]

We have at least several members who have had successful pregnancies and births in spite of having IC.

Donna

[dyno]

I have two wonderful children and I had IC when I got pregnant with them.

[mouse]

I am not a doctor so don't take what I say literally but alot of people with IC also have other illness like endometriosis and other auto immune diseases that can make getting pregnant difficult. But I do not believe any studies or any doctor will tell you that IC alone can cause infertility. I do have infertility problems and have never been able to get pregnant in 13 years of marriage but I in no way attribute that to IC I truly, truly, truly, believe it has all do to with my endometriosis. If you are that concerned, please speak with your gyno so they can put your mind at ease. Aslo there are simple test they can run to see if you are fertile such as anti mulerian that checks the amount of eggs you have on reserve, estrogen, follical stimulating hormone and the list goes on. Also on you next menstraul cycle day 2 or 3 with an ultrasound your doctor can see how many follicles you have....My guess is many and you have a lot of healthy eggs just waiting for you to meet Mr. Right:smile tee

[jcatherine74]

Thank you all for the information. You did put my mind at ease. For three years I was told I had endometriosis until they did the surgery and saw that all my pain had been from IC. But in those three years I mentally prepared myself for struggle with pregnancy and my boyfriend and I even planned to get married next summer and try to have children early. WHen I found out it wasnt endo it was a sigh of relief. But then seeing infertility with IC made me very nervous. I appreciate everybody responding so quickly!:)

[icbeauty]

Don't panic! :)

I was diagnosed with IC several years after starting trying to have a child. I was already infertile. I developed IC during a treatment for endometriosis. I ended up with several problems affecting my fertility (endometriosis, bad eggs, weird hormone levels, uterine issues, etc), but IC was not the problem at all. IC developed in 2003, and I had been trying almost 8 years by that time. I never was able to have a child, but there are other women who have all the same problems I did who were able to conceive somehow.

Don't worry yet. IC shouldn't cause a problem for you regarding your fertility.

[traceann]

Oh definitely don't panic - I too am a pregnancy with IC success story, lol. I would say that you just have bit more to work around, work with etc - such as med adjusting, if you're sensitive to sex etc. But I wouldn't worry about it impairing your fertility :) There's just a bit more to think about and plan for and make sure you have a good relationship with your ob/gyn and other docs! My hubby always says no point in worrying until you actually have something to worry about, lol ;)

[JenAZ07]

I am also a pregnancy with IC success story. My IC started bad in 2007 after losing a child (although I had symptoms since childhood) and in 2008 was dx with infertility. A few days before my appt with the RE to discuss in-vitro....I found out I was pregnant....and turns out pregnant with twins! My IC went into remission when I was pregnant- although I still had pain and issues due to my pelvic floor issues -- but it was wonderful to eat any kind of fruit and drink orange juice again!!

There are many thing that can cause infertility -- stress, meds, thyroid issues, endo, etc. And yes, the fear of sex and the pain that may result keeps a lot of us from having sex all the time. In my opinion, the best thing to do is to know your body, know your cycles and make a go at it. If you know your cycles well, you can plan what days to have sex which will have the greatest chance of getting you pregnant. Just do your research, make a plan, and don't worry if you don't get pregnant right away. It takes healthy couples a while to get pregnant, so be patient. There is no reason your IC should prevent you from having a baby....in fact, my uro told me to go get pregnant in the hopes that it would put me into an indefinite remission. :smile tee

Good luck!! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

[mouse]

Why would pregnancy put you in remission?? Just wondering because we recently had a failed IVF cycle using a surrogate...Well GC because it was not her eggs. Anyway the doctors asked if I thought I was up to trying to carry the baby and I immediately said no. Most days I can't wait until night time so I can take a sleeping pill and valium and have an escape from this dreaded disease for a while. Of course the doc informed me that I could not take any of the meds I am currently on and I can't imagine how I would deal with that extra pressure on my bladder. Most days I just want to cry because I can't take tht gott go feeling!! Is remission with IC common and what about labor. I know just passing a kidney stone has thrown me into a 3 year flare and my PT said that c-section has it's cons because of scar tissue and I scar everywhere!!

[JenAZ07]

As far as I know.....pregnancy causes a lot of auto-immune type of disorders to go into remission. My remission lasted from when I started making a good amount of hcg (pregnancy hormone) so probably about 6wks into my pregnancy, through the birth, and post-birth til my breast milk supply dipped to almost nothing. Dr hoped my remission would last forever, but unfortunately it came back. Also depending on what meds you are taking.....a lot of meds can be taken during pregnancy....probably more than you think or there are alternative meds that can be taken during pregnancy. I stayed on every single med I was on pre-pregnancy, but I was also seen by a high-risk OB my entire pregnancy. So I took anti-depressants, pain meds, muscle relaxers, thyroid meds, and meds for my RLS throughout my entire pregnancy and my kids were perfect when they were born. There was a chance they could have been addicted to the pain meds upon birth, but my dr and the NICU specialists we met with before birth said the chance of that was small because I was taking such a low dose (6-8 pills of 5/325 oxycodone a day) of the pain meds. If I knew then what I know now....I would have opted to go on methadone before getting pregnant (as that is relatively safe during pregnancy compared to other long acting drugs) and reduced the amount of oxycodone I was taking as that drug is riskier.

What meds are you taking right now? And do you have fibro or PFD along with your IC? My PFD didn't go into remission...but didn't get any worse either...and actually got better the bigger I got (but then other things started to hurt like my ribs expanding so that may have just distracted from the PFD pain as the rib pain was excruciating...thanks twins!). I had a c-section as both babies were breech, but I don't think I would have had the strength to push them out either. The c-section hurt, but I don't think it hurt anymore than it would hurt for someone else. I do have some scar tissue, but it doesn't cause me much discomfort (unless my PT gal tries to break it up and move it around) and yes, I scar up easily as well.

Good luck...I will tell you that whatever discomfort I had while pregnant (and being pregnant with twins I had a bunch related to how huge I was/preterm labor/etc)....it was totally worth it. Would do it over and over to have more wonderful kiddos!!!!

[mouse]

Ahh I am so glad to hear your had a fairly good experience. I am wondering if your main problem was pain or frequency. Oh boy I have pain, especially since I have fibro, endometriosis, and PFD. I also am starting to wonder if I have something else because lately I am getting alot of vaginal burning. Even though the pain is bad, at times vicodin can't take the edge off of it, I can deal with it. I have had pain all my life from endo and constant kidney stones that I know I can handle it. It's the frequency and gotta go feeling that drives me insane. When I had a kidney stone trapped the frequency then and afterwards was so bad I started having panick attacks to the point where I literally didn't sleep for almost 4 days straight!! I think the pressure on my bladder is my biggest fear. Now when I get like that, and can't take the pressure, I pop valium or clonazopam and take a sleeping pill just so I can calm down enough to go to sleep. When your pregnant you can't do that and I am afraid of how I will react to that feeling!! Just thinking about trying to get pregnant makes me anxious :(

Right now I am not on much because none of the nerve meds they have put me on for pain or frequency has done a thing. All I am taking is 50mg of zoloft (for anxiety), visteral and valium. Elmiron and OAB meds do not work for me. Also, I am considering starting Savella because I have heard some people have had improvement with it:pray:

[amaranthe]

In my case, Endo was the cause of my secondary infertility. I had one child at age 29 before all my health problems started. In my case, I had alot of issues while pregnant like Pre-Eclampsia and ultimately Toxemia. The IC issues also started during pregnancy. But, since everyone urinates alot during pregnancy and is in pain, I thought it was all normal. Then, after I gave birth, I had my first Lupus attack 2 weeks later. The pain got worse and worse for the next few years, then they found the Endo and adhesions. That was the reason I couldnt get pregnant again. It was just too extensive.

But, anyway, dont panic about the board being here. I think it is b/c there are so many ICers with Endo, and since it can cause infertility. However it doesnt always cause it.

Besides all that, when you are young, like you are, there is much less chance of infertility than there are for older mothers. So, please dont worry! There are tons of stories on here of successful pregnances with IC patients.

[brokenblad]

I have secondary infertility. My 'baby' is about to become 15 years old. Because of my IC our OB/GYN wants to wait until my symptoms are under "control" before he will send me to a specialist. I have an appointment for botox on the 4th of April. Hopefully it works. WIsh me luck.

[ABliske]

I have a baby boy! Well, not so much a baby now, he's almost 3. My pic is a little outdated. It was him on his first b-day.
I was pregnant with IC and had to take pain medication. I couldn't deliver anyplace other than my main hospital (there's another division across the street) because there was a chance he would have to be in the NICU. He was born perfectly healthy though!!
I also had a misdiagnosis of endometriosis. I was afraid it might be harder for me to get pregnant for a while. I was pregnant within the first month and a half of trying. I am very blessed to have him!!!!!!! I have a pretty serious case of IC and at times I felt it was very difficult to take care of him. Especially first thing in the morning when he was in the crawling stage. I didn't get to really sit and rest, but had to be on my feet going after him. He's really active now too but I just take each day as it comes.