So, let me catch you up to speed...
The start of my last menstrual period (LMP) was Sunday, March 6th.
I've been off an oral contraceptive for 4 cycles now.
My cycles have been approximately 28 days long since being off any contraceptive.
With the literature I've read*, it's my understanding that the average woman ovulates approximately 14 days before the first day of her next menstrual period. So if my next period is expected (although I really don't want it to come for obvious reasons) April 3rd, then I should have ovulated yesterday.
So did I do the baby dance (aka - have sex) yesterday?
Nope!
Why?!?
Last night, after we got back from Jasper, and after I decided to start this blog, I went to the bathroom. After I wiped I noticed there were a few drops of bright pink blood. This was a little confusing to me, as I'm not one to regularly spot, and when I do it's more of a light brown colour.
So I searched around online.
Honestly, I thought that maybe this was the famous "Implantation Spotting", but apparently that doesn't happen until 5-10 days after conception - so I quickly ruled that out. Sigh!
Before I could even look into other causes for this bleeding, I was heading back to the bathroom. This time when I went pee it was really uncomfortable and it felt like I was forcefully (but uncontrollably) bearing down. Again a little more blood.
Back to the internet.
My searching didn't last long... Five minutes later I was back in the bathroom again. Again, I had an uncomfortable urination experience.
Back to the internet.
In my searches I found that many of my symptoms were matching up with a urinary tract infection (UTI). Frequent need to urinate, pain during urination, and blood in urine. Oh my! I've never had a UTI before so I was a little freaked out and because we've been trying to conceive, my first thought was Is this safe for me and the baby?
Through my searches I found that women are much more prone to UTIs, even pregnant women can get UTIs, and that they can become dangerous if not treated.
Back to the bathroom. Ouch! This wasn't getting any better.
At this point in the evening, no walk-in Medicentre would be opened, so again I returned back to the internet to see if there was anything I could do.
Fluids, fluids, and more fluids. Specifically cranberry juice. Not the cocktail. Not sweetened. 100% cranberry juice. I checked to make sure that cranberry juice was considered "safe" for pregnant or women who are trying to conceive. Passed! Of course we didn't have any in the apartment so my Dear Husband (DH) went to the corner store.
I also found a home remedy of 1 tsp of baking soda in a glass of water. Gross, right? I figured that there would be no harm in try. So I did. It wasn't as bad as I expected. Then I continued to drink about 1 L of water before DH got home (combined with many, many bathroom breaks).
There was also discussions about antibiotics online. This made me nervous. I really want my body to be in the most natural, healthy state during conception and pregnancy. I'm not necessarily saying that I think antibiotics are unnecessary or unhealthy, again, I'm just really thinking about the effects of things on my body. Again, make your own choices. Apparently there are antibiotics available to pregnant women who have a UTI.
I put on a movie, trying to distract myself and focus on something else in the mean time. But the DH delivered! Within 15 minutes I had drank 1 L of cranberry juice. Whew!
The movie did help distract me a little, but I knew that it was only a matter of time before the water would filter it's way through my body and I'd be back in the bathroom. I also soothed my tight abdomen by placing a hot water bottle on it.
I probably drank another 2 cups of water before I went to bed that night.
Now I did notice some relief before I went to bed. Each time that I used the bathroom seemed a little easier than the last. I don't know if it actually was easier, or if I was just getting used to the pain.
I only woke up once in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and when I did, I didn't feel like I was bearing down as hard (keep in mind this was an uncontrollable urge) at this point, but my abdomen remained quite tight.
The next morning I woke up and drank another litre of the cranberry juice. My symptoms had almost completely disappeared besides the dull pain in my lower abdomen.
At this point, I was relieved that I wasn't as uncomfortable as I had been the night before (and that I was able to get a decent sleep), but I was also nervous because I read online last night that cranberry juice can just mask the symptoms of a UTI, but not cure it. I also read about the damaging effects of an untreated UTI.
I was unsure what to do. My symptoms this morning seemed to almost have entirely passed, but I worried that maybe I had only masked the symptoms and that I could have greater problems.
I called by doctor's office. Luckily, they were able to get me in.
I went in, provided a urine sample, and tested negative.
Yay!
So what was it?
Who knows? The doctor said that I may have caught it early enough that the infection didn't progress into a full blown infection. He also said that I had done a good thing drinking all those fluids, especially the cranberry juice. I didn't tell him about the baking soda and water (I felt a little silly about it).
He did warn me to watch my symptoms and as long as I didn't get a fever, wasn't getting worse, or didn't have back pain then I should be fine as long as I continue with fluids.
He also mentioned that my symptoms could have been from trauma of intercourse. He explained that UTIs often develop in overly, sexually active women - especially women on their honeymoon or women trying to conceive.
...
Blush.
Anyhow, I thought this was a good way to introduce myself to you. To share with you my experience. Who knows? This could be you right now.
*I am not an expert. Please do your own research or consult someone who is a qualified expert.
