I have no idea how that happened. That's about a pound and a half difference from yesterday morning. I didn't do anything special; I ate pretty much the way I always eat. So it's a mystery. I hope it's a mystery that repeats itself!
I started looking up information regarding taking medication during pregnancy. I have a vested interest in this, because I currently take two prescription medications and two OTC daily. One of the prescriptions is birth control; that certainly will not be happening while I'm pregnant. But the other prescription is for high blood pressure, which is a medical condition that can make pregnancy much more dangerous. One OTC is for heartburn. The other is a fiber supplement. Both of those are also issues that can tie in with pregnancy. So I needed to find out some specifics about medications and pregnancy.
The main rule seems to be: TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. Some health problems are severe enough that you must continue to take a medication, despite what some of the risks may be. But the second most common thing I found seems to be that it's best to take as few medications as possible. If you can live with that stuffy nose, then do it.
As far as my medications go, they seem to fall in to three categories. Actually, there are many categories. They are as follows:
A--these are medications where there has been lots of research proving no significant risk to the mother or fetus if taken during pregnancy. Many vitamins fall into this first category.
B--these are medications where there isn't much research to go on, but based on the findings so far there is no significant risk to human mothers and infants (it's possible there was some risk found in animals). Some things that fall into this category are things like antibiotics and insulins.
C--these are medications where this is some risk potential, but the benefits of the medication outweigh the dangers of the risks. For example, some asthma medications are in this category. If you have a major asthma attack, you can die; obviously the possibility of risk is overshadowed by the possibility of death. Prozac is in this list too.
D--these medications definitely have side effects that affect the fetus, but the effect they have on the mother's health is still considerable. For example, some other medications for depression can be found in this list, as can many cancer treatments. Yes, these can harm your baby, but so can your death! However, these medications are serious business; you can't take them lightly (literally).
X--these are the no-nos. There is no benefit great enough in taking them to outweigh the dangers to the fetus. Remember thalidomide? People took it for a skin disease. Well, it ended up causing babies to be born WITHOUT ARMS AND LEGS. That's major, people. You can live with your annoying skin disease for the sake of your baby.
Ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, and even caffeine are all on the questionable side. Do you really need them for something? If you are in pain, they suggest taking acetomeniphen (Tylenol) instead. No caffeine too means I'll need to stop taking Excedrin for headaches, and no more diet cokes. I'm going to be drinking a lot of milk when it gets to that point.
My fiber supplement falls into the A category. No need to stop taking it, although it's probably better to get my fiber from real food. I'll have to consider that.
My heartburn medication is a B. No one has shown or even suggested that there is a danger to taking medication for your tummy (like antacids or Pepto). Generally, stuff that's meant to stay in your tummy won't cross the placenta and affect the fetus.
My blood pressure medication is a D. I really shouldn't take it unless I NEED it. Drugs that make the mother's blood pressure go down also make the fetus' blood pressure go down. That's bad--the baby needs all that blood to circulate and bring oxygen and nutrients to its growing, dividing cells. My goal with weight loss isn't just to make myself more comfortable; by losing weight I will hopefully bring my own blood pressure down naturally, so I won't need the medication anyway.
So, that's the meds, in a nutshell.
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