My pregnancy diary - Week 16 Calcium panic and natural painkiller & The art of speaking to doctor

 20th April 2022 - Week 16 Day 5 - Calcium panic

Before you read on, this calcium panic sharing experience is fully based on my gut instinct. It has no doctor diagnosis to prove any of it. So read, but dont judge yea. I mean you can judge if you are a nutritionist.

Moving towards the end of first trimester, I started to run out of calcium pill supplement. I plan to buy one from Amway but I keep dragging purchasing it cause I was busy with other stuff, then when I want to buy, I just realise that my membership is expired. so I drag for few more days again to purchase the calcium pill.

What does Lack of calcium done to me as I am pregnant now?

Mild pain at the hip joint, elbow joint.

The pain is tolerable on the normal basis, but yesterday I was so pain, I have trouble adjusting my sleeping posture and can't sleep well ended up I have to cancel my work on the second day because I limp on the second day morning.

Based on my gut instinct, I feel that it is due to the lack of Calcium, because I don't have these problem during the first trimester.

During the first trimester:

Have 2 pills of 200mg of calcium daily after meal

The calcium pill that I have (Click to enlarge)

Drink a lot of milk, coz it ease my bloat and nausiness.

Nutritional fact of the Farm Fresh - Fresh milk 

(Click to enlarge)

Now moving on the inception of week 16, I have all these trouble surfacing. My diet for now:

- eat yogurt

- drink lactation milk , one cup per day, or sometimes just skip

The body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium. Without enough vitamin D, one can't form enough of the hormone calcitriol (known as the “active vitamin D”). This in turn leads to insufficient calcium absorption from the diet.

Experts recommend a daily intake of 600 IU (International Units) of vitamin D up to age 70.

Source: NIH Osteoporosis Natural Resources Centre

You can click the link above to read more, it is quite useful if you want to know about calcium absorption. 

and...

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I bought this 10 pills of calcium carbonate for only RM 3 at the local pharmacy, but I wander does it help to increase my calcium absorption since it does not have magnesium and vitamin D?  any Dietitian can answer this? 

The two main forms of calcium supplements are carbonate and citrate.2 Calcium carbonate is the least expensive and, therefore, is a practical option. 

Calcium supplements contain several different kinds of calcium salts. Each salt contains varying amounts of elemental calcium. The most common calcium supplements are labeled as 

calcium carbonate (40% elemental calcium); 

calcium citrate (21% elemental calcium); 

calcium lactate (13% elemental calcium); and 

calcium gluconate (9% elemental calcium).

Source: US pharmacist

According to NIH Osteoporosis Natural Resource Center. I should have taken 1000 mg of calcium /day, It could be from food or the supplement. 

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The situation now is that... I am pregnant, I have thyroid complications before.... and the hip joint pain with on and off elbow pain...which doctor should I go and see?  

A.    A normal clinic doctor

B.  An orthopeadic (bone doctor)

C    An endocrinologist (Hormone doctor)- to check is it due to electrolyte imbalance (Calcium, phosphate)

C.   Ob & Gynae (Baby doctor)

........ wah..

Health  is literally Wealth 

and 

Knowledge is Power. 

(so powerful at this point of time, if I am have the right knowledge, I would know which doctor to go to instead of just choosing it based on my limited understanding about the subject and gut feeling)

Anyway, in case if you have issue, and want to consult doctor online. YOu can go with Klinik G&P . There are many other clinics, private hospital that offer teleconsultation with specialist like SJMC (Subang Jaya Medical Centre ), Columbia Asia too. but the rate from Klinik G& P is the most economic so far. 

OKay, that's it, I am going to see doctor later to see what is really happening. 

21st April 2022 - Week 16 Day 6 - Calcium panic Part 2

Following on the previous post, I would like to once again testify .... 

Health  is literally Wealth 

and 

Knowledge is Power. 

Following on the previous post, I would like to once again testify ..

I asked 3 doctors, 3 doctors give me 3 different answer. 

Doctor A : Physician 

Dr B : An orthopaedic specialist 

Dr C:  Obs and Gynae 

I went to see this doctor personally. I guess she actually didn't plan to refer me to orthopaedic, but I kept complaining about the pain, so she recommend me to go and see an orthopaedic, which I did.(It is just under the same hospital)

What did the Orthopaedic find out? 

According to the orthopaedic ,  my condition is known as Radiculopathy (Sciatica). In simple terms, it is due to the pinching of a nerve root in the spinal column. (The nerve cells in the spinal cord)

So he suggested to have painkiller when in pain. (Paracetamol is safe for pregnancy, but my mum and my friend ask me try to avoid if possible)

Also she will ask the nurse to teach me the technique for back straigtening since the cause is coming from improper back posture. 

Then, I recalled yesterday morning I also did exercise, just a regular exercise which I did in first trimester too. Not sure if this is one of the trigger factors.  

The art of speaking to doctor

Just like when you have trouble, different individual will judge from different point of view. 

Sometimes, even when you convey the same things, different listener will interpret it differently. 

THrough this experience, I learn that the art of speaking affect the way doctor judges us. All the 3 doctos there know that I have thyroid issue, but I only mentioned to that one doctor that I stop taking calcium (as you can see in the screenshot above)

Also, when I reached hospital, I was so worn out , I didn't tell doctor about the pain at multiple joints, my husband did mention about the pain in wrist, and the obs and gynae said a lot of pregnancy women experience this too. 

In conclusion, 

The way of describing it to doctor really does affect how the doctor diagnose us. Sometimes , when you are too worn out, emotional to talk, you could bring your care-taker to join the session, in my case, the caretaker is my husband. He is there too elaborate on any points that I didnt mention. 

However, you have to be there eventually, cause I also didn't tell my husband all the symptoms actually. Eventually, It is me who experience the pain and know  I really wanted. 

I mean ...eventually, only us know what we want eventually. 

21st April 2022 - Week 16 Day 6 - Natural painkiller

Also, when I

Oxytocin ....

This morning, I cry (whine ) when I woke up, because my right arm was so painful. It was so painful I dont know how to react already.  

I had been bearing with the pain for the entire night. and I chant metta sutra to keep my mental calm and ease and move to sleep. 

However, I decided to let out the pain and whine. My husband woke up to this, he tried to comfort me and cuddle me. It really helps! Like a lot.... 

Research from 2015 suggests the hormone oxytocin, released with soothing touch, may play a role in pain relief. I guess we normally don't feel it when we hug because we are not in pain, but it works effectively when the pain surfaces. 

The difference between his cuddle (oxytocin) and paracetamol is that

1. His cuddle and touch works much more faster than Panadol Acti Fast. 

2. Paracetamol makes me drowsy /sleepy, so I fall asleep faster with paracetamol. 

I am still feeling drowsy at typing this right now. 

So my friends and family, if you are reading this. I am not trying to display PDA (Public Display of Affection) by asking my husband to touch , cuddle or to hug me. 

It was just that I can't bear the pain and cuddle, touching is like an instant remedy for pain relief and/or sense of security. The concept is just similar to a crying baby stop crying when you hug them. 

Also, I was shock to found out that I actually know how to WHINE! LOL 

I mean I have never been whining at all for all my living years, I have been crying because of the sadness, but to whine (fake cry) is literally the first time as far as I can remember in my memory. 

I was like...wow, I know whining. 

It does makes me feel a lot better to whine and let out of all the pain and having my husband to comfort me. 

On the other hand, my husband was clueless if I whine, I was in very intense pain although it is a  bearable pain. 

I leave him clueless because I stop whining halfway when he comfort me, coz I feel  calm and finally regain myself, so I stop whinining lo.......

I told my husband, 

when I whine, it is intense pain but bearable. 

When I let out of the real cry, then he might need to send me to hospital already. 

Which of course , I dont know that to happen, becausing the pain from whine is quite....tough already. 

Okay. done for this post. I wanna go back to sleep already. Ciao!  2.16pm