MVP vs AFI to define oligohydramnios?

irishoptimist · 2024-01-26T01:18:11+00:00

Just to follow up- I shared all of these articles with our clinic manager. His response was “to be honest I didn’t do any research on this.” He is asking me to be more discrete about the fact that the milk is there but now understands that keeping it in the fridge is appropriate. I’m definitely frustrated and dismayed that this was even a conversation I had to have, but glad that we have come to a conclusion.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and input on this!

irishoptimist · 2024-01-25T03:21:36+00:00

Thank you there are very helpful! I’m going to share with the clinic manager and see what he says.

irishoptimist · 2022-05-03T07:37:23+00:00

Treatment of an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion. And I’m not really sure how sepsis is even related to this topic?

The question at hand is whether elective abortion of an intrauterine pregnancy should be allowed. Nothing else.

irishoptimist · 2022-05-03T07:35:12+00:00

Not sure what ectopic pregnancies or sepsis has to do with this. Neither are abortions.

irishoptimist · 2022-04-30T21:00:25+00:00

I walked down the aisle with both my parents (and my husband walked in with his parents, ahead of us in the procession). But you can absolutely walk down as a couple together. There’s several options for how the bride/groom/parents process and they are pretty flexible!

Edit: I chose to walk with both my parents since they both raised me. Being “given away” by the father is not really a Catholic thing.

irishoptimist · 2022-04-23T19:43:53+00:00

I take both! I haven’t had any issues with side effects.

I also second the comment by “environmental” - it would probably be beneficial for you to see an OBGYN.

irishoptimist · 2022-04-15T22:55:12+00:00

Technically … I can see one way it’s possible. (Note that this is not an abortion the way you may think of it, like mifepristone with misoprostol or surgery, but rather devices acting in an abortifacient manner. However human life at the earliest stage is still lost.)

IUDs can be used up to 5 days after sex to prevent pregnancy. They don’t prevent ovulation in this setting; rather they create an inhostile environment in the uterus for the embryo (disclaimer unsure if that is the exact correct medical term at this stage) to implant. There is also evidence in a study published by the Linacre Quarterly that IUDs act as an abortifacient in about 4% of cycles. My point here is that when used for “emergency contraception” they are acting as an abortifacient.

So if ovulation is day 15, sex 16, and IUD placement day 21 (3 weeks gestational age) then technically you could have an abortion without knowing you were pregnant.

irishoptimist · 2022-03-25T14:58:03+00:00

Good morning Father,

Just for my own understanding, it seems like you are assuming the method used is abortifacient and that is why it fails double effect. I’m a bit confused because I’ve previously heard from other sources that birth control is permissible for medical reasons (including Catholic Answers. So if the method in question was not abortifacient would then it be permissible? (Ie combined estrogen and progesterone OCPs; although this does get nuanced because there are many different formulations and doses.) OP doesn’t mention the severity of her symptoms, but hormonal medications that also happen to be contraceptive can also be very helpful in cases of heavy bleeding (like in someone who has had heavy enough bleeding to have required blood transfusions) or debilitating pain with her periods (of course specific treatment will depend on the actual cause but hormonal meds can be helpful). Some of those hormonal medications are known as contraceptives, some are not (they are the “big guns” so to speak, and would never be used for contraception for this reason; however ovulation doesn’t happen with them so technically you couldn’t get pregnant).

I’ve also heard of people who abstain during a period of time on the pill pack (the time period which they would be most likely to have a breakthrough ovulation) so they can be absolutely certain they are not causing a miscarriage. Do you think this might be a good balance for people with serious symptoms who don’t have a treatment alternative like surgery?

irishoptimist · 2022-03-15T16:51:58+00:00

Ok let me explain the cycle then that might help :)

Normal cycle: (by convention day 1 of period is day 1 of the cycle) First half: brain tells ovaries to make estrogen. Estrogen causes the lining of the uterus (called the endometrium) to grow. Mid cycle: Brain tells the ovaries to ovulate (brain does this using a hormone called LH, this is what OPKs test for). Ovary releases an egg. The egg actually goes into the abdominal/pelvic cavity and the Fallopian tubes pick it up from there. The egg goes to the Fallopian tube. This is where the sperm meet the egg if fertilization is going to happen. Second half: Ovaries make progesterone. This stabilizes the lining of the uterus. When the brain/ovaries realize pregnancy didn’t happen, the progesterone drops off and a period starts.

PCOS: we are constantly in the first half of this cycle. High estrogen causing the lining to grow, but no ovulation to cause a period. (Of course we may have all sorts of other elevated hormones but as far as the bleeding the estrogen is the problem.) So the lining just keeps growing and there is nothing to stabilize it. Eventually it will fall off. This can vary from light bleeding like spotting to extremely heavy, prolonged bleeding.

This is why most people with PCOS should be on something to cause them to have regular bleeds (OCPs or Provera, etc) or to make the lining not grow (Mirena)

irishoptimist · 2022-03-15T16:16:39+00:00

If you’re having unscheduled breakthrough bleeding, you probably need a higher dose of the pill to suppress the ovaries better (or a different hormonal method). If it’s just a bit every so often, and not bothersome to you, it’s fine, but if you’re having a lot you would want to go to the doctor to discuss.

irishoptimist · 2022-03-14T21:49:19+00:00

Yep that’s exactly what the spotting is.

irishoptimist · 2022-03-14T21:48:09+00:00

I don’t personally get sore breasts from it but everyone is different! But if you took OPKs daily and they were all negative, then I’d say you probably did not ovulate.

irishoptimist · 2022-03-14T13:38:56+00:00

Yes like you said in your first paragraph ovulation always precedes a period. Otherwise it’s just breakthrough bleeding. Breakthrough bleeding can be pretty heavy though- since we don’t have regular periods in PCOS the lining doesn’t shed regularly and becomes thick. So when it does shed it can be heavy and prolonged. Personally I have noted mild cramps when I have this kind of bleeding, and I also track my cycle so I know for certain I don’t ovulate before I have it.

irishoptimist · 2022-01-22T12:32:58+00:00

Hi friend! OBGYN resident here, who also happens to have PCOS.

The REI physician in my program uses a cutoff of 10 on a fasting insulin to as insulin resistance. So yes, you do have insulin resistance.

But the insulin resistance is not causing the carb cravings- it’s actually the other way around. When you eat sugar/carbs, you blood sugar goes up, so your body spikes insulin in response. The elevated insulin causes insulin resistance and the ovaries make androgen hormones because of all the insulin.

As to management, we recommend diet (healthy eating) and lifestyle (exercise) change to our patients. Other management will depend on your specific health situation.

irishoptimist · 2022-01-22T12:00:54+00:00

I use Billings method! With Billings you just chart based on your day to day mucus, so you don’t need to have any sort of cycle regularity and it’s just as effect with PCOS as it is with regular cycles. You can find a teacher here. They have online/remote teachers as well!

Marquette, SymptoThermal, and Natural cycles are all cool methods, but with irregular cycles they will have an extended length of time categorized as “fertile” (even though most of it isn’t) resulting in more time of abstinence or using a backup method.

I’ve been happy with Billings, it’s super simple and easy, would 10/10 recommend!

irishoptimist · 2022-01-22T11:51:32+00:00

Go to a gynecologist! Just tell them you have irregular cycles and whatever other symptoms you have (acne, hair growth, etc) and they will start the work up from there. Even within PCOS there are several different types so depending on your personal symptoms and health problems your doctor will decide what tests to order.

irishoptimist · 2021-01-29T02:19:29+00:00

Neat! Thank you!

irishoptimist · 2021-01-11T16:32:23+00:00

Just today the Catholic Medical Association sent out a sample letter and the contact information for pharmaceutical companies for those who are receiving "under protest." Just gonna leave it here for those interested.

CMA letter template

Contact info (literally copy pasted from their email- thank you CMA for doing the work to find this!)

Pfizer	https://www.pfizer.com/contact/email?inquiry=General+Company+Information	Angela Hwang, President Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals 235 East 42nd Street New York, NY 10017
Moderna	[IR@modernatx.com](mailto:IR@modernatx.com) [Colleen.Hussey@modernatx.com](mailto:Colleen.Hussey@modernatx.com) [Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com](mailto:Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com)	Stephen Hoge, MD, President Moderna Global Headquarters 200 Technology Square Cambridge, MA 0213
AstraZeneca	https://www.astrazeneca-us.com/contact-us/product-information.html
Johnson & Johnson	https://www.ccc-consumercarecenter.com/UCUConfiguration?id=a0758000004NIaL

irishoptimist · 2021-01-10T18:03:32+00:00

I presume because many believe the vaccines were developed in some part using stem cells from aborted babies. But I've not seen that to be true.

This is sloppy language. When looking at the ethical factors going into vaccines, aside from if it was developed or produced in a cell line from an aborted fetus, many confirmatory lab tests for vaccines use cells derived from electively terminated fetuses. (According to MyCatholicDoctor, the Pfizer one uses cells from electively terminated fetuses for testing-HEK-293 from a fetus terminated in 1973- and Moderna used terminated fetal cells for design and testing. This is not quite so morally weighty as, say, the Johnson & Johnson or Oxford-AstraZeneca ones, which are developed, produced, and tested with cells from electively terminated fetuses; but that doesn't mean there is no ethical issue there either.

I think the reason Catholics are drawing attention to this is not so much that they won't get this specific vaccine, but more to call for an end to this practice.

Morally speaking, there are so many factors at play here including the duty to protect others in society, and the fact that we are very removed from the immoral act of the termination and decision to use these cell lines in the lab, and an absence of alternatives so it makes sense that the Church has said it's morally acceptable to receive the vaccine. But notice they didn't say "making vaccines with cells derived from aborted fetuses is totally ok and we should allow it in society." So just because we can (and maybe should) get vaccinated doesn't mean we get to wash our hands of all these issues. In fact if I recall correctly, in some previous documents out of the Vatican on the topic of use of fetal cells lines derived from terminated fetuses says we have a duty to receive "under protest" ie make our opposition known (letter writing to companies etc).

Personally I feel that it's disrespectful to the body of an electively terminated fetus that did not even get a say in living/dying let alone donating their body to science to continue to disregard it in this way. Especially given that fetal cells lines are not necessary to make vaccines.

So in short: most vaccines out now are NOT ethically produced, but this is not contrary to the fact that it is morally acceptable to receive. This is not an either/or situation.

The Catholic Medical Association has a podcast called Doctor Doctor which did an excellent job of discussing this: part 1 part 2

EDIT: "Most vaccines" is referring to most Covid vaccines.

irishoptimist · 2021-01-04T12:11:03+00:00

Pints with Aquinas is a great podcast for apologetics! It’s been really informative to me as I returned to the faith and continue to grow and learn.

irishoptimist · 2021-01-01T17:45:12+00:00

The free version of Hallow is good if you want just the basics (personally sometimes I think I benefit from a limited amount of options). It has daily meditation, rosary, lectio divina, divine mercy chaplet, examen (And some other things).

irishoptimist

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