Duphaston for threatened miscarriage?

Had a high fever yesterday, brought about by my sore throat. And I had a sore throat because I was so emotional (I blame it on the pregnancy hormones) and was yelling at my hubby. So whose fault?

Then, I started mild spotting/having brown discharge the next day. Of course I gan jiong la, I thought my fever is harming my fetus. I have been doing my research on OB/GYN reviews, so I decided to visit one of the gynaes that I shortlisted- Dr Adrian  B. Woodworth’s clinic at Seng Kang MRT, Thomson Women’s Clinic. Do note the opening hours of his clinic since it is different every day. This gynae has so many degrees, like quite pro.

They don’t do appointments, so it is basically like normal clinic where you walk-in and register on the spot. I waited for almost an hour, and the clinic was so cramped there is no place to sit. So kinda a bad experience. Can’t imagine when I’m in my third trimester, have to visit the gynae every 1-2 weeks, so much time is wasted on waiting right… 😦

Finally its my turn to see the gynae. I waited for an hour for a consultation that lasts 10 minutes. He did a quick ultrasound and confirmed everything was fine with the baby, then prescribed 2 boxes of Duphaston, which is a progesterone pill. Also reminded me to refrain from tea/coffee, intercourse and have as much bed rest as possible. Since having spotting could be a sign of miscarriage or unstable pregnancy. *Now I’m worried*

And the bill for that consultation was about $260 (for consultation, scan and medicine). Quite expensive in my opinion, but at least I had a peace of mind that my baby is ok. Actually I was a little apprehensive about taking the pills, since there is a warning sign saying ‘poison’.

So, I did some reading on Duphaston, and this was what I found:

Progesterone is a vital hormone to maintain a pregnancy, and if the mother is producing low levels of it, the womb cannot maintain the fetus. So, in cases of threatened miscarriage or previous miscarriage experience, doctors would prescribe this synthetic progesterone pill to keep the pregnancy viable.

 

I followed his instructions, and my spotting stopped after 2 days. Later, when I mentioned to my colleague, who is a mother of 1 and currently also pregnant with #2, she told me that spotting is common during pregnancy as long as no bright red bleeding and sharp pains. Anyways.

One side effect from these pills though is that my morning sickness got worst. But I read online that it is common, and will go away once I’m off medication. So, I actually only took half a box and stopped.

 

Anyways, I decided not to continue seeing this gynae for the following personal reasons:

-Long waiting time

-He speaks too fast, I feel like I am missing out some information esp with my pregnancy brain

-This is my first pregnancy, was looking at a more detailed gynae who would give advice and encouragement

xoxo,

Early Dating Scan experience @ KKH

After I found out that I am pregnant with the home pregnancy test (HPT) kits, I wanted to confirm my pregnancy before announcing to our family and to do an early dating scan since my menstrual cycles can be somewhat irregular (it ranges from 30-34 days). And since I have not done my research on the gynae and the hospital to deliver in, I decided to go KKH instead for the scan.

My experience with KKH is the long waiting time even with appointment, however, my ultrasound technician was very experienced, and the costs were fairly reasonable (I think it was S$60 or S$80). The scan took merely 15-20 mins.

I remember how nervous I felt while waiting for my turn, as I have read on forum how women with a positive HPT ended up with a sac with no fetus, or a fetus without heartbeat. Or an ectopic pregnancy, i.e. the embryo implanted outside of the womb, and baby will not be able to survive eventually. Just the thought of it makes my heart ache. And of course there were women who were pleasantly surprised with more than 1 embryo.

What they measured during my dating/viability scan:

CRL(length from crown to rump): 7mm, which equates to about 6.6 weeks pregnant

Size of the gestational sac (which holds the fetus): 24 X 26 X 16mm

Number of sacs: 1 (no twins for me!)

Shape: Normal

Fetal pole: Yes

Cardiac activity: Yes (Very important! If heartbeat is detected, the rate of miscarriage in first trimester drops)

And a disclaimer saying that “Dating is inaccurate if CRL gestation is below 8 weeks”

Which is true for me, since my subsequent measurements of the CRL (during 12 weeks) or head circumference measurements (during 16 weeks) suggested that my dating scan is off by about 4-6 days.

And the technician noted a right ovary cyst of size 30 X 30 X 22mm, and I was advised to monitor whether the cyst has gone away at my next scan. Although such cysts may not affect the fetus and the pregnancy, it could cause damage to the ovary and bleeding complications.

Luckily, during my first trimester screening at 12 weeks, my gynae could not see the cyst anymore, so that was a normal corpus luteum which regressed by itself by the end of the first trimester. Now I know that my baby was an egg released from my right ovary heehee.

Here is a photo of the ultrasound done at KKH:

And when I did another ultrasound 1 week later with a private gynae (another story), I realized the poor quality of the ultrasound photo from KKH (maybe because of the zoom-in?).

Here is a photo of the ultrasound done at private gynae:

The yolk sac is almost as large as my fetus haha.

xoxo,

Pregnancy week 6: Morning sickness, fever/sore throat, spotting, drowsy, darker nipples, constipation

 

Being pregnant is horrible. I am so going to stop at one! This week, I experience something new-morning sickness. It is the most horrible thing ever. It is like a hangover that doesn’t go away. I am feeling nauseated the entire day, no appetite, very drowsy and a bitterness in my throat. To make things worst, I got sore throat and high fever! What an eventful start to my first pregnancy.

Because our immune system is poorer during pregnancy, I took 2 weeks to totally recover from it. Especially the sore throat, which was painful and horrible as well.

And I kanna spotting/brown discharge the next day of my high fever. I was so worried that I am getting a miscarriage that I immediately went to see a gynae. Turns out everything is fine. Baby’s heartbeat still going strong!

I am getting constipation, which I never had before. Not sure is it because of my poor appetite and hence unbalance diet, or the supplement pills that I am taking.

I also noticed when I came out of the bath, that my nipples are bigger and darker .

xoxo,

Pregnancy week 4: Menstrual-like cramping, lethargic, bloating, high body temperature

 

Had so much and intense cramping that I thought my period was coming, but it didn’t. And I found out I was pregnant woohoo!

A few days before I knew, I was still throwing a housewarming party for about 60 guests, standing whole day, carried heavy stuff and even had wine  Had a super backache after the party, and very tired. But did not think much about it. Party-planning and entertaining guests are tiring tasks anyways.

But I still couldn’t recover by the next day. Feeling exhuasted and bloated. Still blaming the party for it. And I thought I am running a mild fever. My body temperature is like 37.2 degrees. Until I found out. And it all make sense now.

xoxo,

We conceived with ConceivePlus lubricant

*Products reviewed here were purchased by myself

Many women who are trying to conceive are curious about this product-whether it really works or not.

This product is from the brand Sasmar, headquaters in Belgium, Brussels. Their research and products are centered around fertility, family planning and female health.

I personally was using this when I was trying to conceive (TTC). And got pregnant on the third month trying, so it works! The reason why I was looking for a sperm-friendly lubricant was because I tend to have vaginal dryness (Sorry if TMI, heehee). To enhance the intimacy experience for both of us,  I started doing my own research on what kind of lubricants that are suitable for use during TTC. As many of you may know, normal lubricants like Durex and KY jelly are not ‘sperm-friendly’. So if you have been using these lubricants and finding it hard to get pregnant, the solution may just be a simple change of the lubricant you used. I read that the ConceivePlus lubricant not only counters vaginal dryness, but also actively promotes fertilization by increasing sperm motility. Which is all you need, the swimmers reaching their ‘destination’=a beautiful baby 🙂

A 30mL tube costs about S$20 and a 75mL tube costs about S$35. You will need a teaspoon sized amount for each application, so a little goes a long way!

xoxo,

Clearblue Digital with conception indicator review

*Products reviewed here were purchased by myself

I already knew I was pregnant from the home pregnancy tests I took on 11/3/14. I have read good reviews on the Clearblue Digital with conception indicator pregnancy test kit, and decided to try it.

The reason being that most commercial test kits measures qualitative HCG levels, which means that if your urine HCG is higher than the threshold, it will come out as positive, and vice versa. Whereas this kit is more on the quantitative side.

[This test costs about S$24.90 each, and you can purchase at any big pharmacies. I got mine from NUH pharmacy.]

This particular test kit can predict the number of weeks after you have conceived (aka when the sperm fertilizes the egg and starts the pregnancy journey). I actually know that I am 5 weeks pregnant now, counting from my last menstrual period. And I estimate I conceived 2-3 weeks before as I roughly know my ovulation day.

[Btw, doctors will date your pregnancy from the first day of your last period, not from when you conceived. This is because many women do not know when they ovulated, when the egg was fertilized and when did implantation occur. Too many variables. ]

So, I decided to put this pregnancy kit to the test, and see how accurate it is. It claims to be 99% accurate at predicting pregnant or not, and 92% accurate at predicting weeks after conceive.

The 4 possible outcomes of weeks estimator:

How they define:

1-2 weeks – hcg level of 50-200 (96.5% accurate)

2-3 weeks – hcg level of 200-2000 (76.1% accurate)

3+ weeks – hcg level of 2000+ (96.9% accurate)

Like any other kit, it just involves peeing on the stick or dipping into a urine sample. Immediately an hourglass icon pops out to show that it is processing the sample.

Recap it and lie the kit on a flat surface with the screen facing you while waiting.

The ‘Pregnant’ result came like 30s after, and the ‘2-3’ result came out after 2 minutes. Amazing.

The display will stay on for 24 hours become battery runs out.

I think there are 2 main advantages of this system:

1) This can be an early check of your HCG hormones, whether it is increasing at a normal pace. For example, if you know that you conceived 2-3 weeks before, yet the indicator suggest that you conceive 1-2 weeks before, it could mean that your HCG level is on the low side, and maybe you should monitor more closely and do the test again.

2) It also has a ‘error’ indicator, if you did the test wrongly which could affect the accuracy of results.

xoxo,

GNC’s Women’s Prenatal Program review

*Products reviewed here were purchased by myself

From the moment that I knew I was pregnant, I immediately did my research on good prenatal vitamins and supplements to take. I tend to have a fairly unhealthy diet, without much greens and fruits. Thus, I felt the need and assurance to take a multivitamin supplement targeted for pregnancy.

It seems that the GNC’s Women’s Prenatal Program (Physician endorsed) has quite a good reputation.

It comes in a box, with 3 bottles inside, namely,

1) Women’s prenatal formula (with iron)

2) Women’s Calcium 600

3) Women’s DHA 200

1 box can last 30 days, and each box costs S$67.95. A bit on the costly side, but given the comprehensive amount and variety of vitamins that this program provides, it seems like taking this is sufficient to cover all my pregnancy needs.

You actually have to take 2 tablets of 1), and 1 tablet of 2) and 3). In total, 4 tablets each day. I would have to say the tablets are a little big, so I have to make sure I swallow properly. The tablets are to be taken with food for best absorption.

I plan to take this program especially for the first trimester, at least until I see a gynae who will probably prescribe supplements as well.

xoxo,

Menstrual-like cramping before period was coming and found out I was pregnant!

It was our third month trying to conceive, and when I had menstrual-like cramping a week before I was due to get my period, I thought this month was futile again. The cramps were similar to what I left for the past few months, and my period always came a few days later. During the long ‘two week wait’ (after ovulation and before period), I had read about cramping as an early symptom of pregnancy. So, when I got my cramps, I was still trying to convince myself that it could go either way. Since I cannot take the suspense, I used up quite a few home pregnancy test kits, which always came back negative. Therefore, we were really pleasantly surprised when on the third month, I was cramping but got a BFP (big fat positive) a week later! Haha!

 

So I read from articles and forums, cramping during early pregnancy is really common and could mean a few things:

-Your womb is changing to accommodate the embryo

– Ectopic pregnancy/other complications

Have already booked a early dating scan at KKH, keeping my fingers crossed that everything is fine!

xoxo,

Finding out I am pregnant

This is our 3rd month trying to conceive. Like the previous 2 months, I had alot of period-like cramps starting from 1 week before my period was due. So, I was thinking that this is another futile month, and was hoping that my period can come sooner for me to begin the next cycle.

However, I have read previously of women getting early pregnancy cramps that were similar to period cramps, around the time when period was about to arrive. The medical explanation for this is that the uterus is expanding at a very fast rate, causing the cramping.

Thus, I was still hopeful that this month will be the lucky month for us. Indeed, no period came so I tested 1 day after I expected my period to come (8/3/14).

Negative.

I wonder if it is too soon to test, so I waited it out more.

But I continue to experience the cramping and ligament pain, and I started having sleepless nights. This is unusual for me as I am a super sleeper. I have like 9 hours of beauty sleep daily. I think that these small changes to your body does make you suspect something.

Still no period.

Very high chance now, but do not want to be overly excited before confirming.

3 days later, I decided to test again on the 11/3/14. I used a pregnancy test strip and a midstream pregnancy test kit (both DAVID Brand) and the first morning urine. 

OMGGGGGG!!!!

Weeeeee~~~ I am pregnant.

Home pregnancy test kits are like 99% accurate, false positives are very rare. And since I used 2 different kits, the possibility of it being wrong is like 0.0001.

I immediately told my husband. He very two-faced one, when we were trying, he was asking me everyday whether I am pregnant anot. When I actually told him, he look so calm. But I know he has been longing for a child for quite some time, as he is 7 years older than me.

Best news of the day. I can’t stop smiling the entire day. And I started to read all kinds of baby related articles, read forums etc. I have a feeling I will be a somewhat kaisu mum, heehee.

And it’s our little secret for the time being.

xoxo,