After the Alterhealth | After the Alter

UTI Medicine Related to Birth Defects; WHAT???

Jen — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:26:50 +0000

I hate watching the news, and I do my best to stay away from it. In my honest opinion, ignorance is bliss and I in no way, shape or form want to hear about things going on that I can’t control. Is it the right way to go about things? Probably not, but it works for me. So yesterday morning I get a phone call from my mother telling me about an article she read in her local paper The Morning Call. This particular article links certain antibiotics to birth defects. One of the main medicines mentioned in the article was Urinary Tract Infection medication, and it turns out that I regularly take that type of medicine. At first I was VERY angry at her for bringing this to my attention. I told her “my doctor told me it was fine the last time I was pregnant”, and yelled at her for making me worry. I did call my doctor just to be sure. I actually apologized for asking such a crazy question based on 1 newspaper article. And you know what he said?? He told me to STOP TAKING THE MEDICINE!

Studies Suggest Increased Risk of Birth Defects With UTI Treatments

Based on the article in the Morning Call

The new study is the first large analysis of antibiotic use in pregnancy. It found that mothers of babies with birth defects were more likely than mothers with healthy babies to report taking two types of antibiotics during pregnancy: sulfa drugs (brand names include Thiosulfil Forte and Bactrim) and urinary germicides called nitrofurantoins (brand names include Furadantin and Macrobid).

I personally have been taking Macrobid to PREVENT UTI’s. I have been doing this since my senior year in college, and it really has prevented me from getting them. When I was pregnant this past summer I was told that they prescribe this type of medication to pregnant women all the time, and it was completely safe. I honestly thought my doctor would tell me that the article meant nothing and to continue on my course. But that was not the case. He confirmed what I read in the article!

Birth defects linked to sulfa drugs included rare brain and heart problems, and shortened limbs. Those linked to nitrofurantoins (ny-troh-fyoor-AN’-toyns) included heart problems and cleft palate. The drugs seemed to double or triple the risk, depending on the defect.

Double or Triple the chances??? I certainly don’t need to raise the odds! So I will no longer be taking the medication. My doctor recommended daily cranberry pills and lots of water. I have tried that in the past but it hasn’t worked. I just hope it does this time.

My friend told me that getting this news now was a sign from God to stop me from putting pills that could potentially harm my future baby. I think she is right. So if you are trying to get pregnant, or plan to in the future please keep this information in mind and talk to your doctor. I’m glad I did!

Eating Well=Feeling Well

Jen — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:39:04 +0000

A friend of mine made a statement a little while back, and this statement always comes back into my head when I feel guilty about eating something bad…”nothing tastes as good as thin feels”. And wow…isn’t that the truth!? I have a very bad stomach and had one for years. I saw doctors and a gastroenterologist and in the end I was told I had IBS (irritable bowl syndrome). For a while I thought that I was meant to live my life with an upset stomach.. a stomach that gave me acid reflux and horrible bathroom issues. But when I began weight watchers before my wedding, I found that all my stomach troubles went away! Poof!

There is no secret formula for losing weight and being healthy. You either have to burn off the calories you eat by excersising, or you can be like me who refuses to excersise and have to eat well in order to lose the pounds. While on weight watchers I found that by eating well not only did I drop weight, but I also felt good! My stomach didn’t hurt and was so much less bloated… it was great!

Fast forward to post wedding, when I no longer had a goal of looking great in my wedding dress, and I fell off the wagon. It didn’t happen all at once. It turned out that after eating healthy for so long, that eating fatty and greasy foods actually HURT my stomach. At the time it was kind of a blessing. Now, with out the short term wedding goal, I am quickly easing back to my old ways. At first I told myself I would eat healthy during the week…and cheat on the weekends. That worked for a while…but now, after my stressful summer I was back to chicken rolls and frozen pizza during the week. There is a direct correlation with eating bad and my acid reflux, and eating greasy fast food and my bathroom issues. It STINKS! I know what causes it and I still do it! WHY?!

It’s just a state of mind. When I was eating healthy it was just a lifestyle change. Once I made it over the 1 month mark it was easy. Did I miss eating fast food? yes…but what I didn’t miss was feeling like crap afterwards. And I found that I actually enjoyed the healthier foods. Choosing to eat egg whites with turkey on an english muffin is a rough choice (for me) over a bagel with cream cheese…but I will admit that the egg whites and turkey were very tasty…so why can’t I make that choice? Because bad food tastes soooo good!

This post will now act as my public vow to work on eating and feeling better. I vow to cook healthier meals during the week…and if I must cheat, I must do so on the weekends. Some may ask why I am allowing myself to cheat..but the answer is it really IS unrealistic to vow to never cheat. Trust me..when I did Weight Watchers I didn’t even touch a french fry…and I certainly reached my goal..but man was it great to eat those fries when it was all over!

Let’s get physical

Jen — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:33:20 +0000

I have many archenemies in this world. Most of them consist of inanimate objects or scary bugs such as bees. I have come to terms with the fact that I will not get along with all things in life, but this acceptance was/is a long road. It took many years and a lot of money, but finally I have won the battle against a big enemy of mine….THE GYM!

My Past Gym Experiences

The gym and I go way back. I am in no way saying that I was ever a gym rat, I am saying more that we go back in a sort of “I know you exist” type of way. My pattern seems to be…start feeling fat, tell myself I need to go to the gym…find a gym, pay the start up fee, and get locked into a year membership…why? Because this time will be different and I will go to the gym. It is pretty much a joke between me and my husband. I have just about joined every gym in a 15 mile radius. Each of those times, the gyms monthly fee was taken out of my bank account for a full year. Did I ever go for a full year? Let alone for a full month? NO!

It happened the same each time. It would get to be about February and I would start to panic about bathing suit season. I would procrastinate till about May when I would join the gym. I would go for the month of May and that was it. I joined Tropical fitness because it was close, I joined Dolphin fitness because it had cheap monthly rates, I joined LA fitness because it had a pool, and I joined Lucille Roberts because it had classes. Yes folks I joined them all.

My Realization

When we moved into our current townhouse we were excited that there would be a gym across the street. (Literally across the street as in walking distance.) The gym has weights, treadmills and ellipticals. All with TV’s. The only downside? I could no longer make up any excuses why I couldn’t make it to the gym! Distance was no longer an excuse, because it was so close. Cost was no longer an excuse because it was included in our maintenance. So now what?

I am 28 soon to be 29 and have learned a very valuable life lesson. I will never go to the gym. I just don’t like it and I never will. So there you have it… my confession of the day. I am sure some will turn their noses up at me and say “But you need it for your health” or “just find an activity you enjoy”. But I just have to confess to you all loud and clear…I JUST DON’T WANT TO! That’s it. After 10 years, and at least 5 gym memberships I can finally accept that I will never enjoy working out. I no longer need to lie to myself. It’s not in my nature and I think that is A OK!