Mauie Flores

When I started my pregnancy work-up in December last year, part of the meds that I were given was folic acid capsules. I was advised to take a 5 mg capsule of folic acid daily and my doctor told me that it will help my ovaries develop healthy follicles. During my consultation, I asked if it's alright for me to take folic acid supplements because I wondered how it will affect my blood sugar. My doctor assured me that it may even help me with my condition. I did a little research and I found out that folic acid is helpful for diabetics.

Folic acid supplements are recommended for pregnant women. Diabetes UK however, recommends diabetics to take folic acid daily even before pregnancy to avoid the possibility of Neural Tube Defects (NTD) in the unborn baby. While it can be convenient to take folic acid capsules, it may also be acquired from eating cereals and green leafy vegetables.

Unfortunately, I still don't need to buy maternity clothes in the next months because I'm not preggers yet. At least, the folic acid I'm taking can still help me cope with diabetes.

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The year 2010 became the busiest year for me as I juggled three online writing projects with what's left of my time. I was so busy that I did not find time to go back to my doctors. For almost a year, I was able to survive without my doctors. Before November ended, however, I finally found the time to make a visit. Along with the routine tests that consultations I had was a hormone therapy that will help bring my period back.

Having polycystic ovaries for more than a decade now, I have gotten used to the fact that my menstrual periods will never be regular. I have also gotten used to telling people that it's the reason why my boy is an only child. My new OB-Gyne has given me Provera which I took for 5 days to induce my period. Then, I was advised a pill of Clomid for 5 days starting on the 2nd day of my period to induce ovulation.

Well, I'm now on my 4th day and I'm finally reaping the consequences of not going to the doctor. I have cramps that are so painful I just want to sleep. Believe me, menstrual cramps like these are more powerful that the most effective diet pill in the world. I just want to sleep and wake up when it's all over.

I'm almost done with Clomid. Hopefully, we'll finally have our second child. Wish me luck!


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Back in 2006, I received a forwarded email about the benefits of water therapy. I found it not only informative but logical as well. Our body is made up of 60-70% of water so we need to replenish what is lost each day so as to avoid possible health problems.


I tried it for a few months and it did help me regulate my blood sugar. It also helped me lose those unwanted pounds. Eventually, I got out of the habit of drinking water as I wake up because of the busyness of my mornings. Meanwhile my mother, whom I also forwarded the email to, practiced it up to this day. She was just diagnosed with diabetes in 2006 and already had a mild stroke the year before that. Miraculously, she doesn't drink any maintenance medicines until now and her blood sugar levels are doing okay. I think she's even healthier than me and I'm taking Metformin every single day!

So, I wanted to detoxify that's why I got back to drinking water in the morning. I was also worried because my period hasn't come for 8 months already. I blame myself for not going back to my OB-Gyne for that. Lo and behold, I started to have light menstrual bleeding 2 days ago! I am so relieved because it saved me from inducing my menstrual period once again.

If you're interested in starting the 4 glasses water therapy, here's what you should do:

• Drink 4 glasses of water as soon as you get up in the morning. One glass is around 250 ml of water so that means you should be drinking a liter of water.
• Water should be room temperature.
• Do not brush your teeth, yet. I just gargle with water. I read that the enzymes in the mouth is an important part of this therapy. Besides, you're just going to take in the substance that toothpaste and mouthwash will leave in your mouth when you do that. Nothing should enter your stomach aside from water.
• If you're having a hard time drinking 4 glasses straight, try drinking 2 first then drink the other two after 2 minutes. I also recommend drinking it slowly so you'll not be gulping more air than water.
• Do not eat/drink anything else 1 hour before or after doing the water therapy. 

There you have it. Hope you can try it out and share how it benefited you.

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Before you go on reading, promise you won't laugh or think that I am stupid. As in promise!

Last week, I went to my OB-Gyne to ask for help since I didn't have my monthly period since July. The home pregnancy test kit showed a negative result and that's when I knew that my bleeding had to be induced... again. It is never healthy for ladies to forego three months without the monthly menses. Especially so if your ovaries have cysts, like how my ovaries are.

So, anyway, my doctor instructed me to take Duphaston, one tablet a day for five days which was something new for me. My former doctor had prescribed it once for ten days and I always bleed anytime within those ten days. This time around, five days have gone and not a single drop of blood. I had my morning urine tested and the pregnancy test kit still showed a negative result. I was worried and I decided to go back this morning to my doctor.

She was surprised to see me back so soon! OMG, I was really embarrassed. She reminded me that I had to expect my menses within ten days after I finished taking 5 Duphaston pills. I'm glad that my doctor was a funny and approachable one. And I am glad too that my visit this morning was free care of my health insurance provider. I could have wasted 400 pesos for this doctor's visit that was 9 days too early. Take it from me, if you don't have a health card, now' the time to ask around for an insurance quote.

Lesson learned: I am getting forgetful by the minute so, I guess, I need to bring someone with me when I visit my doctors. Just in case I forget the instructions, there would be someone to remind me. Today, I was with my husband. And just in case I forget again and he's not around, do remind me that I need to visit my doctor on November 3.

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I had my period from December 28 - December 31 and it came at a record-breaking 42-day cycle! I did not induce it with medications that's why it came as a surprise. The last cycle I had lasted for 57 days, by the way.

This morning, as instructed by my doctor, I went to The New Medical City to have a transvaginal ultrasound. The best time to have a clear picture of my ovaries is just right after my menstrual period. I have had transvaginal ultrasound procedures done on me yearly because of my condition and this is the worst I have had so far.

My past ultrasound procedures were done inside my doctors' clinics but, this time around, I had to go to the Women's Health Center of the hospital. I felt uncomfortable because there were three female doctors present inside the ultrasound room. The doctor nearest me who appeared to be the most senior of the three, introduced themselves to me before starting the procedure. I already know what to do because, as I said, I have done this every year since I got pregnant with Rap. The senior doctor was instructing the two others while she held the instrument inside me. All the while she was explaining what they are seeing on the monitor. To add to my dismay, she even asked one of the doctors to hold the instrument and started to teach her how to use it. I remember her saying "up, down, right, left" and I felt like a lab rat being studied upon. I felt violated that I stormed out of the ultrasound room and demanded for the results to be printed out at once. I said that I can't afford to wait another 3 hours for the results and I will be calling my health service provider if they don't give it to me ASAP. From there, I went straight to the Medical City Satellite Clinic at Robinson's Cainta to have my results interpreted.

The doctor who saw me instantly became my angel for the day. Dr. Castro was very accommodating and friendly. She explained the results with detail and even told me to be happy with them. From her I learned that my ovaries are starting to ovulate on their own. Probably because of the Metformin that I have been religiously taking since the start of 2008. I can't remember the technical term that she called the black round spot that was present in my left ovary but she told me that it was a good sign because it only showed that the egg cells are starting to grow instead of remaining to be follicles. They needed to grow to be capable of fertilizaton. She advised me to just continue with my Metformin treatment and we will just observe for a few more months to see if the lenght of my menstrual cycles decrease and become closer to 28 days.

Since I got my period a few days after Christmas, she told me that it only meant that we missed the time of my ovulation! Sayang! It was supposed to be my chance to get pregnant. I won't lose hope though. She taught me a technique that I can't write about here because my image is wholesome! LOL!

As to the pain that I have written about weeks ago, she told me that it could me just my right ovary acting up because it wasn't able to produce a ripe egg during my last cycle. If it was appendicitis, I should be having fever, nausea, and vomiting which are signs of an infection. If it was my colon that's causing the pain, I should be having problems with my bowel movements right now.

So there. Another thing to be happy about this year. The future looks bright and we're getting closer to our Project Baby #2! Woot!

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