Female Advice Preferred: Some questions about first appointments

[Jennifer]

Well two days ago I found out I am expecting, not sure how far along I am yet. I have my pap in about a month. I do have like a handful of questions I hope some girls who've been through this can answer. I hope I don't feel dumb asking them.

1) What is the pap smear for exactly when you're pregnant?
2) The doctor said I get my first ultrasound in 1-2 months, is there any thing I should expect to happen?
3) (this is more of a general question). How common are gas/constipation pains and how is a good way to ease those I have a bad problem with it?
4) When will I know how far along I really am? I've kind of estimated but my doctor said due to my cycle not being normal she can't be sure when it happened either.

Yeah any other important things I should know would be helpful.

[LittleMiss]

Congratulations!

Um, I can't really answer your questions though... except for 3...

I've had chronic constipation for the past 4 months, I had stabbing abdominal pains and I've tried several different laxitives. I'm seeing the GI specialist next month.
Lactulose - Softens faecal matter by upping the osmotic concentration in the bowel, drawing water into the stool and bulking it up.
It helped a little but as my colon was described as 'chockers' it wasn't shifting my issue fast enough.
Cons - I got terrible gas (smelt really bad).
Pros - You can't get dependant on it (you can take it for years without ill effects). Very gentle laxitive, adjustable dose.
Coloxyl with Senna - Adds bulk to the stool and the senna activates the muscles in the colon.
Cons - didn't work for me (not really a con though), can become dependant with long term use (months).
Pros - Shifts things faster, especially if your problem stems from having a sluggish bowel.
Movicol - Softens and adds bulk to the stool by drawing in water BUT is a lot more powerful than the lactulose.
I haven't taken it for very long but when I started it worked very well, however, after a few days there was a day I didn't drink enough water (very important when taking laxatives) and I didn't go to the toilet. A few days of no results later - got the squirts. That's probably a result of it sitting in my gut sucking in water - my fault. (It also could have been the fact that I had exams/got up before 5am in the morning 2 days in a row/flew interstate so, stress related)
This one is quite powerful, probably designed to clear you out.

Remember to increase fibre in the diet (veges, fruit and wholegrains), drink lots of water and to do exercise! (30-45min walk 2-3 times a day).

Most laxatives have a warning for pregnant women - see your doctor before taking. So maybe try that first

[Jennifer]

my doctor told me I can take my fiber pills. I just haven't because I thought I'd be fine. At least I'm not the only one that is going through the pains. I had this problem before I even knew I was pregnant. I had issues so this should be a fun ride lol. As for exercise, I get worried that I will over do myself which is a big no, no. So maybe I should do more moving around than I have been.

[LittleMiss]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

my doctor told me I can take my fiber pills. I just haven't because I thought I'd be fine. At least I'm not the only one that is going through the pains. I had this problem before I even knew I was pregnant. I had issues so this should be a fun ride lol. As for exercise, I get worried that I will over do myself which is a big no, no. So maybe I should do more moving around than I have been.

Just remember to drink lots of water (2 litres minimum, 2.5 is preferred) and to avoid things that have a diuretic effect such as caffeine.

As for walking, you should be pretty right, I mean, you don't have to walk fast, it's just the action of physically moving your legs when you walk assists your bowel muscles and gets them to move, otherwise they get lazy and sluggish and you get stopped up. Even 30min a day will help.
It's better to do your walking in a block as 1x30mins will get your bowels working faster than 3x10mins.

[Jennifer]

i cant have caffine anways due to heart issues in the past (I would not like to make i worse especially now that I have another life inside of me). So I feel better that the last 3 days I've been drinking at least 3-4 bottles of bottled water. I think I got so many odd looks at he hospital asking my husband for water as I was sitting waiting for my blood work. I know I can't over do my water consumption either because that's not good. I just need to learn to exercise more and know my limits. I just get worried becuase as is I get warm far too easy.

[guillotine_blades]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

Well two days ago I found out I am expecting, not sure how far along I am yet. I have my pap in about a month. I do have like a handful of questions I hope some girls who've been through this can answer. I hope I don't feel dumb asking them.

1) What is the pap smear for exactly when you're pregnant?
2) The doctor said I get my first ultrasound in 1-2 months, is there any thing I should expect to happen?
3) (this is more of a general question). How common are gas/constipation pains and how is a good way to ease those I have a bad problem with it?
4) When will I know how far along I really am? I've kind of estimated but my doctor said due to my cycle not being normal she can't be sure when it happened either.

Yeah any other important things I should know would be helpful.

1. A pap smear when pregnant is really really pointless. Most of the time while pregnant it will come back abnormal anyways (when really nothing is wrong) and irritating the cervix like that isn't a good idea. You can opt out of it.
2. Possibly a transvaginal ultrasound, they will insert a "probe" (I call it the dildo cam, because honestly...it looks like a really skinny dildo) into your vagina to get a better view of baby. Some places just wait until you are further along and just do the abdominal, just depends on your doc.
3. Very very common! Its another lovely part of pregnancy! I just kind of grin and bear it :/
4. An ultrasound will be your best bet. I have irregular cycles also, last time I was pregnant by lmp I should have been 8 weeks at my first ultrasound, I was barely 6. This time I know when I ovulated (I kept track of that since I knew how off my dates could be) so I know about when I am due. When was your lmp and how long are your cycles normally?

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by guillotine_blades

1. A pap smear when pregnant is really really pointless. Most of the time while pregnant it will come back abnormal anyways (when really nothing is wrong) and irritating the cervix like that isn't a good idea. You can opt out of it.
2. Possibly a transvaginal ultrasound, they will insert a "probe" (I call it the dildo cam, because honestly...it looks like a really skinny dildo) into your vagina to get a better view of baby. Some places just wait until you are further along and just do the abdominal, just depends on your doc.
3. Very very common! Its another lovely part of pregnancy! I just kind of grin and bear it :/
4. An ultrasound will be your best bet. I have irregular cycles also, last time I was pregnant by lmp I should have been 8 weeks at my first ultrasound, I was barely 6. This time I know when I ovulated (I kept track of that since I knew how off my dates could be) so I know about when I am due. When was your lmp and how long are your cycles normally?

My cycles--used to be regular. But for the last few months it was weird (I only went to the doctor thinking my hormones were wacky and I was just missing my cycle because of something I did) I'm assuming I ovulated around the 10th of May when I had nasty ovulation pain. They used to be 28 days at least I know my gas and constiaption is normal. It had me worried, my stomach hurts and then I move and well pass gas and move (sorry if it's too much) and feel totally better >.> argh. I'm no stranger to trans vag ultrasounds from having cysts in the past.