Posts by Bryan Wilson33

Peter Doyle2 said:What was my absolute biggest headache during pregnancy?!
PREGNANCY!!

First, I dealt with a hematoma.
Then came the nausea and constant burping.
On top of that, I tested positive for E. coli in a urine culture and had to go on antibiotics.
Just when we hit the second trimester and I thought, "Okay, maybe now I can actually relax," my husband ended up needing surgery—so much for avoiding unexpected stress.
Once that passed, my blood pressure started dropping way too low.
And now, being in the third trimester... well, it's just non-stop movements and twitches.
I'm on strict bed rest, and even moving an inch feels like a marathon.
My glucose test also flagged gestational diabetes.
I’m handing in another urine sample tomorrow, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they found an elephant in there.🤷 I mean, I really wouldn't.

I have this feeling that every single possible complication in pregnancy decided to target me specifically.

it can definitely get worse😁 😉
alright, obviously everyone has their own version of "the worst," 🙂
but seriously, the sheer number of diagnoses they've slapped on me during this pregnancy is way higher than average.🙄 🙄

and lately, this heartburn is absolutely killing me—especially when I'm in certain positions; and of course, it hits hardest on my left side, which is the *exact* side I'm supposed to sleep on. God, it sucks.🙄

Honestly, this whole thing caught me totally off guard and it’s driving me absolutely insane:
bloating and gas😁🙂
all three of us—me, my wife, and even the kid—are probably gonna pass out at this rate, seriously🙂🙂🙂
🤦🤦🤦

thank god at least methane isn't actually toxic, I guess😁

Right now I’m basically just self-sabotaging by face-planting into a pile of cookies and chocolate, even though sweet myself, but since I’m stuck on strict bed rest and my man headed out on a trip, I’ve been left all alone 😢

Steven Barrett6 said:Ugh, man, I really hope I don't deal with that kind of drama,
but people are just so incredibly dense. Like, do they not get that pregnant women need peace and quiet, not a massive pile of extra stress?

It drives me insane when my mother-in-law asks (as soon as we walk through the door) if Peter (that's what my son is gonna be called) was being good.
I mean, hello?! How could he be anything else?! 🤷 He isn't even here yet, so how does that even make sense? It’s beyond irritating.
Right now, he only exists to me, period!!! He’s in my belly and he’s mine!

Jesse Evans85 said:Exactly. Just a few days before my due date, I've had everyone under the sun debating whether I'm feeling okay or when I'll be doing what... I'm already overwhelmed enough as it is, and I really don't need all that added pressure.
Plus, I truly don't see why anyone needs to be the first to know that something is happening... those who need to know will find out, and everyone else can wait until the time is right.

Haha, that bit about the mother-in-law is spot on. Mine asks me: "So, what is Jesse Evans85 up to?" (as if I have any clue... what is he doing? I don't know, he's still in my womb!).

🤣
now I'm starting to feel like I'm not the only one dealing with this stuff🙄
except I'm only at 22 weeks and I've barely even started feeling him move.
Like, what is he actually doing? I haven't the slightest clue, I can't even feel anything yet, ugh!

bluedriver2 said:You really ought to get a quantitative beta HCG blood test done—and then do it again in a couple of days—just to see if the numbers are climbing (which would mean the pregnancy is holding steady) or if they're dropping (in case you've lost the pregnancy). At this early stage, there’s honestly no way to stop a miscarriage. Maybe staying off your feet or treating whatever else is going on might help—like managing diabetes, dealing with an infection, or getting hydrated.

I'm with them on this one.

It is totally possible that this bleeding is just something that happens in early pregnancy, so you really need to confirm whether you're actually pregnant or not. And don't bother with home tests—go get a beta HCG blood test at a lab (you can hit up a private lab like Quest Diagnostics and usually get results back in a few hours), then repeat it two days later to see if those levels are rising or falling properly, exactly like bluedriver2 mentioned. Honestly, I think by this point you should probably be getting an ultrasound too, just to see if there's anything there.
Anyway, if you *are* pregnant, you'll likely need to take it easy because of the bleeding and maybe start some extra progesterone (that hormone that helps sustain the pregnancy; things like Prometrium) to try and keep everything stable.
But if you aren't pregnant... well, if the bleeding doesn't let up in a day or two, you seriously need to see a doctor to figure out why you're bleeding so much. Could be a cyst, a hormonal imbalance, who knows!
Seriously, just go find a reliable OB-GYN ASAP!!! Please!

And about those vaginal suppositories... hmm, I'm not entirely sure what we're talking about here, but I definitely wouldn't be using them without talking to a doctor first.
Good luck!

Patrick Lee6 said:I’ve been battling E. coli my entire life—seriously, it feels like a never-ending saga—but ever since I started taking these cranberry capsules my doctor recommended, everything has been smooth sailing! Like, five stars, would highly recommend! Plus, I don't just stop at the pills; I try to incorporate all kinds of cranberry goodness into my day. I’m talking juices (but not that super sugary stuff you find at Coca-Cola, obviously!), jams, the whole nine yards. I even snack on dried cranberries... honestly? They aren't exactly my favorite thing in the world, but hey, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Gotta do what you gotta do! 🙂

Wait, which ones specifically?

Drew Mitchell55 said:Greetings, fellow sufferers 😁

So, here’s the situation—for about two and a half years now, I’ve been dealing with this persistent, dry cough. It feels exactly like something a heavy smoker would have (even though I don't touch a cigarette in my life!), and it seems to flare up every autumn and spring, lingering for maybe a month or two at a time... My doctor suggested it might just be some minor allergy... but now that I'm sitting here thinking about it, what could I actually be allergic to during the fall? I get the spring part—pollen and all that—but what happens in the autumn?

Same thing here; ragweed and weeds start blooming like crazy right around then.

Megan Williams5 said:I honestly have no clue which hormones might be out of whack...
So, my skin is a mess, and my dermatologist suggested I go see a gynecologist for an ultrasound just to rule out any issues with my ovaries. Everything there came back fine, but since my cycles are so irregular and my skin is still breaking out, my doctor recommended Diane-35. Has anyone else tried it?

Right now, I’m about 177cm and 65kg...
Technically, that's a perfect BMI, but I still feel like I'm carrying a few extra pounds. I definitely feel more comfortable at around 60kg...
Three years ago, I was only 50kg. Just imagine how frustrating it is to pack on 15kg in three years—with 10 of those coming in a single year—even though my diet hasn't changed and I stay active. It really makes you wonder what's actually going wrong with your body.

Look, you basically have three separate issues going on here: irregular cycles, bad skin, and weight gain.
Is your doctor seriously just tossing Diane at you without even checking your hormone levels first? Seriously... wow.
You really need to get your sex hormones and thyroid checked out before you even think about starting something like Diane.

Laura Gomez31, seriously, don't freak out. I feel so bad seeing how many 🙂 posts you've already dumped in here, but just... take a breath...
Like someone else already pointed out above, it’s totally normal to have an anovulatory cycle every now and then—it's really nothing to lose sleep over.
Missing an ovulation is actually pretty easy to deal with, maybe with something like Klomifen. If you do end up going that route, just make sure your OBGYN keeps a close eye on you with ultrasounds to track follicle growth, just like they're doing now.
If the issue is something like high prolactin—which can also stall ovulation—that's usually handled with bromergon. It doesn't actually stimulate the ovulation itself, but it brings those prolactin levels back to normal, which then gets your cycles and ovulation back on track.
It's also relatively easy and cheap to track things yourself at home to see if you're actually ovulating, whether you're checking basal body temperature or using LH tests (you can find way more info on the Pregnancy subforum, specifically in the threads where all the girls trying to conceive hang out).
And I am being dead serious here—stop stressing yourself out so much. Nowadays, all of this stuff is actually pretty manageable 😉

Laura Gomez31 said:Heading back to the OBGYN tomorrow for my measurements...

Man, I am dying to know how this plays out!
Seriously, keep us posted—let us know if that follicle is actually growing.

we’ve actually touched on this before: managing PCOS through diet

So, how long are your cycles usually? If your periods are regular but just run a little longer—like, say, 30 to 35 days—then it’s totally possible your ovulation is just happening later in the month. If that's the case, then seeing a 12mm follicle on day 13 might actually be perfectly fine.
Seriously though, just keep going with the follicle monitoring and try not to spiral into a panic just yet.

So, I saw some stuff popping up in the news outlets too—something about that new device finally arriving

It’s not just for kids under 18, you know!
If you go to a trauma center on a specialist's recommendation—like an orthopedic surgeon, for instance—you can definitely get it covered for free.
So, now I'm wondering, Golden, where exactly were you getting your checkups? Who even told you to use Sancov, and who on earth said you had to pay out of pocket for it yourself...😕 I mean, I honestly have no clue.

coppernomad7 said:is lady's mantle the same thing as St. John's Wort?

nah, St. John's Wort is actually common St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
lady's mantle is Alchemilla vulgaris

and I guess you could toss sage onto that list too
sage (Salvia officinalis)

not that I'm trying to be a know-it-all or anything 😬, I just had to Google the St. John's Wort part—but lady's mantle and sage? Yeah, I pretty much know those

Rachel Brooks63 said:so, insulin intolerance DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST!!!!!!!!

Look, there's such a thing as insulin resistance—which is basically just your cells being too stubborn to actually use the insulin you've got—and that’s really what everyone is talking about here.

Man, I feel totally called out right now, so I gotta set the record straight.
Rachel Brooks63, thanks for the assist 😘

Jamie Johnson6 said:So, my OB-GYN is actually saying something totally different.

Wait, what? Are you serious right now?

Jamie Johnson6 said:Look, the only thing I didn't bother testing was progesterone—does that even actually track ovulation? Or am I just missing the point entirely?

Yeah, seeing that high progesterone level on day 21 pretty much confirms it—ovulation definitely happened.

Lisa Barrett22 said:I mean, it’s literally a diabetes drug, so it makes zero sense to prescribe it to someone dealing with PCOS if they aren't even struggling with blood sugar issues.

The first thing you gotta do is always drop the weight—get to an ideal weight and try to stay there as long as possible just to see if anything actually shifts.

I'm totally with you on the whole weight loss part.
And yeah, you're right that Metformin is a diabetes medication, but doctors prescribe it in low doses for PCOS all the time because there's this huge link growing between PCOS and insulin resistance. It's... honestly, it's complicated.
But the real deal is that Metformin has helped people—whether they're overweight or not, doesn't even matter—get their ovulation back on track, even for women whose tests don't even show insulin resistance! Plus, usually, it helps with the weight loss too, naturally.

I'm looking at all of this through the lens of infertility, though, since I know plenty of women with PCOS have used Metformin to regulate their cycles specifically to get pregnant.
I'm not really sure how often—or if even—Metformin gets prescribed to women who aren't trying to conceive, and if it is, I have no clue how long they stay on it or what happens once they stop taking it.😕

Oh yeah, speaking of tea—you guys seriously need to try some valerian root tea!

Lisa Barrett22 said:There’s no way they’re prescribing you metformin if you don't have major weight issues.

Ugh, where are you even getting that from?
I know for a fact—like, totally certain—that they prescribe it to girls with perfectly normal weights all the time.