Chronic AF now pregnant

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Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Vicouscycle » 15 Aug 2019, 15:12

I’ve been dealing with AF since Aug 2018 and have tried creams and Botox (you can search for my Botox diary if interested), but still suffering. Now I’m 5weeks pregnant and feeling hopeless what the next 9 months will look like...I’m currently using Nifedipine and Movicol and Coloxyl (both half dose). Botox is a no during pregnancy and LIS May be an option...?

Any pregnant lady in the forum? Or have had experience with dealing with AF during whole pregnancy? I just need some hope and super worried i’ll Get depressed if this continue to worsen in the next 9 months....
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Re: Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Okaybum » 16 Aug 2019, 06:20

There was a lady on here that had the lis while pregnant: https://www.facebook.com/groups/266969863992662/
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Re: Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Therehastobealight » 29 Sep 2019, 08:11

We are looking at having another child and I have been suffering with anal fissures since the birth of my son 18 months ago. The only option I have been given by my consultant is LIS which he is reluctant to do because of the risk of Incontinence; but he won’t do anything anyway until we’ve finished having a family. @visciouscycle I feel your concerns as I am nervous about being pregnant and not being able to manage the pain as at times it is unbearable. I also have skin tags that at times makes it hard for me to sit down. I’m just so worried. How are you getting on?
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Re: Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Therehastobealight » 29 Sep 2019, 08:22

I have been suffering from anal fissures for the last year and a half since the birth of my son. We really want to have another child but I am worried about how the 9 months will be. I am currently taking 2 lots of movicol daily, using diltiazem and have painful skin tags. My consultant has suggested LIS yet reluctant to perform the surgery because of the risk incontinence. Due to my age I cannot put growing our family off any longer. @visciouscycle I feel your pain. How are you getting on?
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Re: Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Vicouscycle » 29 Sep 2019, 16:08

Therehastobealight - I’m still managing it and pregnancy hormones are definitely making it more difficult. I’ve talked to my Surgeon and she said she’s only done 1 LIS on a pregnant lady during her 15 yrs as a CRS...she Thinks i should manage it using medication. My OB has suggested a cesarean to avoid further damage to the area but she’ll support it either way.
I’m now just hit 12 weeks and still a long way to go.
If I were you, i’ll Prob get it sorted before falling pregnant again, or at least try Botox.
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Re: Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Therehastobealight » 30 Sep 2019, 03:12

Thanks for your message.
So I have already had 3 rounds of Botox; September 2018, December 2018 and March 2019 to no avail. I have been referred to a specialist hospital as my current hospital were unable to do anymore for me. It’s these guys who have given me one option to have LIS though they’d rather not because of the risk of incontinence in women. Have they spoken to you much about the risks? I feel like I am stuck between a rock and hard place; they have insisted we complete our family first, but how can I even think about that with the current pain. I’m still so young that this cannot be life. When the pain eases I’m like yes I can carry a child but when the pain is back it’s hard to think about how il cope. Well done for getting to 12 weeks!
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Re: Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Vicouscycle » 30 Sep 2019, 15:36

Yes. She’s talked to me about the risks and it is indeed higher in women but still rare if performed by a skilled surgeon. My understanding is the risk of incontinence later in life when muscles start to lose its strength...I’m going to see how it goes for the next 7 months and decide what to do after the baby. If I were you, I prob ask about if the risk is lower if you opt for cesarean for future labour?
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Re: Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Allthepain2 » 11 Nov 2019, 11:26

I don't know if you still check this thread, but I figured I'd share my experience with you since I just recently went through a pregnancy with an active AF.

Mine originally started after my first child due to severe constipation and breasfeeding. By some miracle, it seemed to heal on its own after a few weeks.

After the second child, it reappeared and this time NOTHING worked. I ended up trying some creams which helped some, but then fell pregnant with my third child before it actually healed.

With the third pregnancy, I had the fissure the entire time and could not get it to permanently heal. For most of the pregnancy, I tried to manage with diet (coffee and other things helped things to stay soft). It would constantly retear and bleed, but if I kept the stool consistency really soft, I could go a few days/weeks without pain. I'm not going to lie, it was really miserable. If I had to go EVERYDAY with that level of pain, I think I would have been begging the doctors to do surgery, but I did have some painfree days.

When it came time for delivery, I was REALLY nervous about tearing and making it worse (my fissure is anteriorally located). I searched the internet for other stories but couldn't really find much information about someone delivering with a fissure. A few weeks before delivery, I started using Miralax everyday to keep from retearing. I ended up having a normal delivery and did NOT have any issues with my fissure getting worse due to delivery. For me, the actual delivery itself seemed to have no effect on the tear. Obviously, I don't know if it will be the same for you, but I just wanted to let you know that it IS possible to delivery a baby without complications from the fissure.

All that being said, the breastfeeding once again made the fissure worse after I had delivered the baby. It got to the point that I would tear even with Miralax and I was in excrutiating pain everyday. I got some cream which seemed to temporarily heal it, but without Miralax, it would tear open again. I'm currently scheduled for surgery to remove scar tissue/skin tag, hemmorhoidectomy (I don't have hemmorhoids but my fissure is close to a vein that causes it to bleed more), and Botox. As some of you have said, my doctors all feel that LIS for women is a last resort so I'm going the Botox route for now and hoping for the best.

Ultimately, it's possible to get through pregnancy with a fissure, but it's obviously not ideal. Miralax was a lifesaver for me so I'd definitely recommend if you keep retearing. Hang in there!
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Re: Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Vicouscycle » 12 Nov 2019, 15:18

Thank you for sharing your experience Allthepain2. I’ve been on miralax (sold as Mivicol in Aus) since last Aug but I still retear unfortunately. I find straining make my AF worse but glad to hear yours was not affected by a normal delivery at all.

I’ve had Botox injection 3 months before I got pregnant, it helped for about 10 weeks then the effect slow wore off. I think I may opt for surgery after delivery because I’ve tried everything and nothing has worked as a permanent fix so far.
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Re: Chronic AF now pregnant

Postby Allthepain2 » 14 Nov 2019, 22:36

I'm getting treated in January with Botox. The doctors here say they rarely do LIS on women for fear of it causing incontinence later in life. It seems weird that the doctors I've seen say they rarely do it while so many other doctors do them all the time! I know that quite a few women on here have had them done and don't seem to regret it.

My doctor is going to be doing Botox, cleaning up scar tissue, removing a skin tag, and cutting out a hemmorhoid in this surgery. I'm pretty terrified but hopeful that it will finally heal. If this doesn't do it, I will also push to get the LIS because I don't think it will likely ever heal on it's own, and it's definitely not something I could live with for the rest of my life. When not controlled, the pain is excruciating.

I hope you've been able to manage your pain so far in your pregnancy. I know the constipation that comes with pregnancy can make it a lot more difficult. Do you retear everyday or do you get some pain-free days?

Hang in there, the babies are worth it in the end :)
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