Pregnancy and Pills

    If you're like me then you're weary of popping anything into your mouth without knowing exactly what it is, what the possible side effects could be, and having a very good reason to take it. Modern medicine is a wondrous thing that saves lives, no doubt, but I don't think I'm taking a big leap when I say all good things in moderation . . . especially medicine.

Duh, that's why they have a thing called dosage. Dosage sounds reaaaaally weird if you say it about 10 times in a row. Sounds creepy and strange.

   I think going through three pregnancies now and breastfeeding two babies so far has led me to be far more aware of the effects many drugs may have on you. I think a lot of us get used to the idea of using meds from the time we were little tiny generous things spreading our germs to every other living being, wiping our noses on our sleeves, and smearing hand sanitizer all over.

     Now, it should be noted that I'd be in a hellish pit if it weren't for drugs. Zofran for my terrible morning sickness and gallbladder problems with N, morphine post-surgery, vicodin for a raging tooth infection, claritin for my raging allergies, and zoloft for PPD after little E.

  But sometimes I think we can get so wound up in our trusty prescriptions and over-the-counter wonders that we forget there are alternatives. We forget there is risk. We forget that sometimes they really just don't know what something is going to do to our bodies as it hasn't been on the market long enough yet to make more than a very (hopefully) well-studied, educated guess.

  I'm sitting up at almost 5 am now. Unable to sleep (this has been getting worse for several weeks anyway). I most certainly have a sinus infection (ugh) and a toothache that may or may not be related to the sinus pressure trying to make my face explode. I have my handy-dandy list of approved medications from the OBGYN but I like to double up with my own research. Before my first, it never would've occurred to me that some OTC drugs (like ibuprofen) aren't recommended during pregnancy. Since I've had time to burn tonight between pinterest, candy crush, and messing around with the blog template I figured I'd collect all the helpful things I've found or read before right here on this post for anyone that wants a quick reference:

Taking Medicine During Pregnancy - WebMD

Pregnancy and Medicines Fact Sheet - Women'sHealth.gov

Safe Pregnancy Remedies - Fit Pregnancy

Medication and Pregnancy - CDC

Herbs and Pregnancy - American Pregnancy Association

Breastfeeding and Medications: What's Safe?- Mayo Clinic

Selected List of Medications: AAP Approval, PRC, and LRC - Kellymom.com
     *PRC(Pregnancy Risk Category)
      *LRC(Lactation Risk Category)

LactMed: A Database on Drugs and Lactation

      Disclaimer: Your midwife and/or OB is always your best initial resource for this information. God and Jesus know that I have no clue what kind of mutations, diseases, or health history you might have. Don't doubt that. If you're not sure about what they are telling you then your second best resource is going to be the second opinion of another medical professional (yes, that means midwife and/or OB) and that's probably still your best bet before the generalities of the interwebz for a good while. 

     I just saved you a whole 10 minutes of googling.

     I'm off to see if a nice warm bath, a dose of tylenol, a smidgen of saline solution, and some lavender smells might finally do it for me before the sun (and the little humans) get up for the day.


Goodnight??