Health & Wellness Archives - Page 11 of 50

Pregnancy Journey: My Bladder Is Full But I Can’t Pee!

Just a few days after learning that one of our baby vanished (related story: Vanishing Twin Syndrome is Real), I was rushed to Cardinal Santos because I can’t pee. Actually, I have been experiencing it for the past few days prior to our ER trip. The difference is, I was only experiencing it in the morning. First pee is really hard but after that first one, I’m good all day. That day is different.. I can feel my bladder is full but nothing comes out when I try to pee! It was very frustrating, not painful but frustrating. I endured that feeling for hours because I am not comfortable going to The Medical City Emergency Room. Our last trip there was not really good.. they were not able to make me feel better, in fact they made me feel worse. With my urgency to pee but nothing is coming out, I know I couldn’t deal with the TMC people. When I can’t take it anymore, we decided to take our chance at TMC er but then realized we can try Cardinal Santos since it’s also near our place.

At first I thought there’s a stone blocking my urethra or that I’m passing a kidney stone… but after draining me of 750 m of urine (by catheter), the urinalysis is clear.

So what happened to me?

As it turns out, this is a normal thing during the 13th weeks of pregnancy. The uterus is blocking my urethra or bladder. As the baby grows, the uterus will move away from the bladder and I won’t experience it anymore (HOPEFULLY!)

After a few hours at Cardinal Santos, we were discharged as a very happy and contented client. This is going to be our hospital for now! The look, specially the ER is far from TMC..pero naman, the service is far far far better than TMC!

And after that trip, my bladder is OK! I can now pee at ease.. uhmm not after the first few hours without catheters.. ang sakit pala after ahuhuhu

If you’re pregnant (specially week 12- 15) and afraid of experiencing this, here’s some advice from the web and from my own experience:

always lie on your left side ( I remember that the day it happened, I slept on my right side the whole night)
don’t hold your pee, specially at night… if you need to go, get up and pee (I usually hold my pee because I’m sleepy!)
don’t drink too much water before sleeping so you don’t have to pee and get up that often (I usually drink 2-3 glasses of water before going to bed thinking it will do me good)
Eat and eat so the baby will grow faster!

It was the most frustrating experience I had during this pregnancy and I don’t want anyone to experience it too! Spread the word if you know someone who’s also on their 1st trimester to prevent it from happening to them.

Pregnancy Journey: Vanishing Twin Syndrome is Real And I Experienced It

One month after our first ultrasound and after learning that we’re having twins, we were due for another one. I have been waiting for that day.. really excited to see my babies again. And it’s also the end of my first trim, meaning, I can finally announced that I am pregnant with twins! This pregnancy was not easy, I get tired easily. I can’t even walk my kids to school which was just 300 meters away from our house. I stopped attending events because I just can’t physically. The morning sickness is worse than my other pregnancies. But I am having twins, all these pains are sooo worth it.

Then the unthinkable happened.. on our second ultrasound, the sonographer only saw one baby. I don’t understand.. it’s supposed to be twins! She said my OB will explain… and my mind couldn’t comprehend.. what happened? where is my other baby? what have I done?

The OB said it happens.. and that the genes of the baby is not good and that it will be reabsorbed by the body.. wait.. wait.. where’s my baby again? What happened to my baby? And as the OB finished her routine, I burst into tears.

Why didn’t the OB warned me about it? During our last check up, she said the babies looked fine, though the other one is 2 weeks smaller, they both have a heartbeat. I asked then if I should worry, what are the precautions I need to take.. she said I don’t have to worry. I just need to take my prenatal vitamins.. so what happened?!?

I was crying the whole time.. I was crying the whole day.. I just couldn’t stop wondering what happened? What have I done wrong? Did I fail to do something? What have I done?

I was never prepared for this…there was never a sign that the other baby is not OK.

You know what made me feel better? Aside from my husband’s support and prayers..

GOOGLE

After 4 hours of nonstop crying, I started reading about twins pregnancy and the other twin not surviving. The condition is called Vanishing Twin Syndrome. According to American Pregnancy.org, it was first recognized in 1945. Although most of the cause were unknown, some analysis suggests that there is an abnormality on the chromosome of the twin that vanished.

What are the signs of a possible Vanishing Twin Syndrome?

In my case, there was none. I never experienced anything. I never had bleeding, no cramps, nothing at all. From my ultrasound, they both look healthy, both have a heartbeat. As my OB said, she never suspected anything.

Some readings suggest that women at the age of 30 has a higher risk of experiencing it but it can also be noted that women at this age also has a higher tendency to hyper ovulate (releasing two or more eggs during ovulation which leads to multiple pregnancy).

How to prevent Vanishing Twin Syndrome?

Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent it… you won’t even know when the vanishing started.

What happened to the vanishing twin?

In our case, it vanished.. no signs at all inside my womb. The OB said it was absorbed by my body.

What will happen to the surviving baby?

In my readings, most cases said the the surviving baby will be OK because the vanishing happened on the first trimester. If it happened later on the pregnancy, specially after 20 weeks, researchers found that the surviving twin has an increased risk of cerebral palsy. Also, if it happens at around 15 weeks or more, some of the body parts of the baby will be absorb by the surviving twin.

How about the mother? Is there a medical complication on the mother who experienced Vanishing Twin Syndrome?

Most of my readings suggest that there is no physical threat on the mother if the VTS happened on the 1st trim. But emotionally, it is draining. Even though I already know what happened to my other twin, I just can’t help but wonder why.. the feeling of losing a baby is not easy.. even though it was just a few weeks old. For the past month, I have imagined our lives with our twins. The thought of breastfeeding a twin excites me. The thought of caring not just one but two toddlers, overwhelms me positively. And then it was gone.. I am having a hard time accepting the new reality that we are to face.

There are so many “consolations” in our case.. but I still can’t see that in a light way. I need to mourn for the loss of my baby, for a missed opportunity with him or her.

5 Advantages of Having Your Own Water Purifier

After reading the article, How safe is your drinking water? from Rappler, naalala ko tuloy noong kabataan ko.. I can drink water straight from the faucet, as long as it is clean looking and without foul smell, I can drink that. When I got pregnant with our first child, ayan na.. diyan na nagsimulang maging conscious ako sa quality ng tubig na iniinom ko.

We used to buy our supply at water refilling station near us. Kaos lang, when I saw how untidy their delivery boys are and not to mention unprofessional, I stopped buying from them and opted to have our own water purifying system.

We have been using this for more than 3 years already and I am happy that we made a decision to take care of our water supply.

From our experience, here are some of the advantages of having an in-home water purifier:

1. It’s actually cheaper in the long run. Compute the amount you usually spend on your drinking water in a month. If you consume 3-4 5 gallon container a week, at 40 Pesos each container, that’s around 5000 Pesos in a year. But when you buy your own water purifier, say the new Unilever Pure it, you only need to spend 5000 Pesos once, not yearly.

2. You don’t have to wait for your water delivery, it’s right there on your counter top.

3. No need to deal with unprofessional delivery men.

4. You have control over the handling of your drinking water unlike in refilling stations where in you can’t see the people handling it.

5. And lastly, you don’t have to worry about the safety of your water. As stated in the Rappler article:

Refilled water for delivery is then transferred into sanitized transports that ensure water is maintained at room temperature (25C-28C). Delivery vehicles that leave the containers exposed to dust, pollution, heat and direct sunlight are not acceptable.

We all know that this is not the case most of times. Most water refilling station delivery vehicles are exposed to pollution and direct sunlight. Karamihan nga ng deliveries sa loob ng maliit na subdivision, naka tribike lang! Que horror!

Now I’m curious, where do you get your drinking water supply?