Japan 8.9 Earthquake and Tsunami - 11.3.11

I did not sleep well last night. I had watched the clip of Miyagi prefecture from a helicopter that was broad casted "live" earlier from NHK. 18 minutes of it - and I watched it twice. 

Minamisanriku: 10,000 missing

The evening news had broad casted edited versions of it, and I remembered one scene where a person was trying of outrun the waves, and other sections of cars speeding away, and the newsreader read that section was "we don't know whether they managed to escape". When I saw the "live" version, despite the cameras zooming out, when the waves near, it was obvious these people did not have a chance. I watched those clips with adrenaline running through me, not much difference from then I watched Jurasic Park when the T-rex chased humans, or 2012- the movie, when waves hit. I almost wanted to scream "run". I wanted to scream at the people on the helicopter, use a loudspeaker, and tell the cars to "u turn" and take the other road. The waves had hit where they are trying to go to, turn around and speed away! My heart jumped when two cars had accelerated and zoomed past the knee depth water. They JUST made it. Moments later, another wave came - and the whole area was obliterated.  They escaped. And I watched that again. They escaped.  Phew. 

It was like watching an action film, except that when the waves engulf "someone" or "a car" on the tv, someone really dies. A child will be without parents. A family wiped out. A parent without a child. Children growing up with painful memories, and nightmare.  My heart goes out to them, and I feel  like giving this girl a hug. 


And now I fear for all the pregnant women and young children with that nuclear threat....

Vitamin B1: Trying to conceive, pregnancy, PCOS

Vitamin B1:  For energy and brains

Vitamin B1, is usually not mentioned in the same breath as its cousin, folic acid which is well known for its importance in preventing spina bifida. However, thiamin is a key component in the normal metabolism which converts sugar, and carbohydrate into energy, and not just energy for running around. Our brains depend on glucose metabolism for energy, and thiamine pyrphosphate (TPP), is required for carbohydrate metabolism. 

What to watch out

Thiamine deficiency leads can cause beriberi, but deficiency of vitamin B1 is really rare. It is more of a problem if the main source of carbohydrate in your diet is processed, ie "polished" rice.

The most common cause of deficiency is alcohol abuse. If you have been a serious alcoholic, you might want to watch this!

Also, the wikipedia article there mentioned that people are normally encourages to take vitamin B complex supplements ( i.e. all the vitamin Bs), rather than a single vit B, because it can cause imbalance? I am not sure how much truth there is there. 

How much Vitamin B1 is needed?

Breast feeding and pregnant mums need about 1.4 mg per day.  

Because cereals are fortified, a typical 3/4 cup of cornflakes more have about 1.5mg - more than required!

Practical stuff:

1. No worries, unless you have been an alcoholic!
2. You need B1 for the normal development of nerves, heart and brains + energy!
3. This is a water soluble vitamin, ie not stored in the body. Need a consistent supply. Low risk of overdose, since it is not accumulated in the body.
4. Could not find anything related to PCOS, apart from those sites that try to sell you something :P.

More info: check out wikipedia, enter "thiamine"! Lots of info there. 

Vitamin A: Trying to conceive, pregnancy & PCOS

Vitamin A: Friend or foe for TTC, baby and PCOS?

Vitamin A is important for the normal development of the baby, and also helps with infection resistance and fat metabolism.

However, we have to avoid taking too much vitamin A, especially in the form of  retinol in the early stages of pregnancy because it can increase the risk of birth defects at high doses.   

However, the other form of vitamin A - beta carotenoids found in fruits and vegetables does not seem to cause the same problems (ok to eat fruits/vege). 

What to watch out

The potential for birth defects is one reason to be very careful when taking multivitamins, or fish oil supplements to make baby smarter (read the label!). The advise is to also avoid eating food with particularly high vitamin A contents, such as liver, sausages ( that contain liver) and cod liver oil. 

For women with PCOS, Vitamin A is commonly used to make us look prettier ( get rid of the acne), either through prescription by doctor in the from of a capsule(Accutane or Roaccutane), or as a creams to apply on the face. However, those contains various forms of vitamin A and should be avoided if you are trying to get pregnant or already pregnant! 

In fact, since Vitamin A is stored in the body, you should stop taking Accutane for a few months before trying to conceive. 

How much Vitamin A is needed?

Pregnant women, 19 and older: about 770 micrograms RAE of vitamin A (approximately 2,565 IU) per day
Pregnant, 18 and younger: 750 mg (2,500 IU)

Breastfeeding women, 19 and older: 1,300 mcg RAE (4,330 IU)
Breastfeeding, 18 and younger: 1,200 mcg RAE (4,000 IU)

Practical stuff:

1. Fruits & vege good. Liver and cod liver oil bad.  Watch out for those sausages (even the organic ones), you don't really know what they had stuffed in it!
2. Read supplement labels, especially multivitamins - that is why I am paying so much for pre-pregnancy one!
3. Check acne products - acne has to be tolerated (??) for baby :(  [that is so unfair!!!!!!]

More info: There is an excellent article from the babycenter.com. 

Vitamins for trying to conceive & PCOS

I had learned this a long time ago during our biology lessons about vitamins, and have read bits and bobs here and there. Now that it is time to create a new life, I bet a bit of refreshing will do no harm.  Time to make some notes...will start from A to Z, but will just focus on what is relevant to me ( PCOS, TTC)


Notes about vitamins... and the likes. 

• A
• B1: Vitamin B1 for trying to conceive, pregnancy and PCOS
• C
• D:Vitamin D - is a supplement needed for pregnancy?
• E
• F??
• G?
• H
• I -
• J
• K
• L -
• M -
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z

money

Having a moody day. Thinking about my options and realised many of them are impossible because I have not enough money, again. Feeling quite useless. At this age, to worry so much about money, is entirely my fault. When I was younger, I cried buckets, or rather bathtubs because of money. No money to attend nursery - that is my first memory, begging my mum to allow me to attend nurseries with the neighbouring kids.

At a later age, I used to cry even more. No money for books. No money for school trips. No hanging out with friends after school. There wasnt enough to spend on that mc Donalds cheese burger if I were to save to buy that dictionary. I used to hate myself for being so sensible. Sensibility should not have been part of my genes _ my parents are not! My friend's daughter is twenty years old, while I am still trying hard for my first child. She was seeing boys, while I locked myself up to study and aimed for scholarships. I had countless part time jobs. I survived, made it, although saddled with study loans and the obligation to make life slightly easier for my younger siblings. I remember telling myself to work extremely hard - my child will not cry buckets of tears like I did. And so I waited to have a child...

Even now, we still have to worry do much about money. After those massive study loans, there wasn't much left. Coming from backgrounds like ours, whatever we earn got sucked away easily. There is always a roof to repair, an appliance past its safe usage date. And then there is always a parasitic relative - I have been incensed about a couple who asked for money to pay for basic things for their children , and have the cheek to tell me I should not think about affordability when it comes to kids. Money will sort itself out...perhaps I get a better chance if they stop borrowing and start giving me back my money!

Argh... I just need to get this off my chest... will my kid have to worry about money like I did? It yes, I rather not have one! I don't know what I am talking about... just fed up

.

Metformin and Vitamin B deficiency

I found the original publications in BMJ (link here) about risk of folic acid deficiency for metformin users, and had a sigh of relief.  It is not as bad as it sound in the popular press.  The difference in concentration between people who  take metformin and  those who don't take is only about 5% - still important for us who are trying to conceive to take not, but nothing to worry about if we have a healthy diet and a folic acid supplement. 

The risk for vitamin B12 (thiamine) deficiency is higher though. I found this paragraph from the article most relevant to people with PCOS:

"There are few disadvantages to the use of metformin. Metformin does, however, induce vitamin B-12 malabsorption, which may increase the risk of developing vitamin B-12 deficiency5 6 7—a clinically important and treatable condition. In addition, metformin treatment has been reported to be associated with decreased folate concentration, although the mechanism of this effect has not been elucidated.8 Finally, decreases in both folate and vitamin B-12 concentrations might, in turn, result in an increase in homocysteine concentrations (web figure A), an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, especially among individuals with type 2 diabetes"

Basically it says, keep your vitamin B levels high while you are on metformin! Having PCOS already increase your risk of heart problems - don't add to it.  And the longer you take metformin, the higher your risk of low B12 levels, because metformin stopped it from being properly absorbed.

Bright skies? A fresh look

I saw this under the "design" tab, and liked the look of it. I remember choosing a pink background, thinking this is the place where I do my girly moan and groan about PCOS. Somehow, I seemed to have moved on a bit, or may be it is the spring! Need to remind myself weight loss season is here!

PCOS or not, life needs to be enjoyed ( in between those bad Saturdays where cheesecakes meet Xenical and metformin).

p/s: I just noticed that you can "vote" the post as "interesting"?! I justed voted for myself ... hehehe