Dr. James Leo Gildner, M.D.

Unfortunately probably not a lot you can do. Most likely due to the hormones of pregnancy especially if you are going to have an above sized baby. Limiting your salt intake probably won't do much (don't use excess either). Only concern is if you start to experience signs or symptoms of preeclampsia(headaches, visual spotting, increasing high blood pressure). You can discuss with your OB provider. While almost all women with preeclampsia swell most women with swelling will not get preeclampsia.



Otherwise just drink to comfort. Drinking excess fluids to 'flush' your system out is a fallacy and you will just urinate more. Elevating your legs will help some but generally as soon as you stop it will return. Rest assured as long as your blood pressure behaves it will go away after delivery. And unfortunately yes, it can get worse.

Hard to tell without a pelvic exam. Yeast infections are very common with pregnancy and can cause significant itching. A pelvic exam and examination of your discharge will answer that. Some providers will just treat and see if helps. Yeast is not dangerous to your pregnancy but can be uncomfortable. If external itching could be a sensitivity or reaction to something you are coming in contact with (ie cosmetic, fabric etc). Not likely to be a medication allergy if only noting symptoms in the vagina. Not to be alarming but if confined to a very localized area (thumbnail size +/-) could be indicative of a herpes outbreak but there are usually sores and some level of pain. When all else has been ruled out this could be due to hormone. Always possible. Hope this helps.

Difficult to know without knowing what symptoms she was having or what her provider is thinking is the problem, but to answer your question as best I can...

Doxycycline is most commonly used to treat suspected cases of Chlamydia or Gonorrhea, but that is not the only use. Can also be used if suspicious of pelvic infection (uterus, tubes). Could also be used to treat any skin type of infection of the outer vulval skin, although generally not the first choice of antibiotic for that. Could sometimes be used to treat possible bacterial infections of the vagina when not responding to other antibiotics, but again would have to know what her provider was thinking. Could also sometimes be used if provider thought she might have a chronic low grade infection of the uterine lining (AKA chronic endometritis). Hope that helps some.

Pain could be due to any number of things including non OB/GYN issues. Possibilities include appendicitis, but not likely would go on for 10 days and usually associated with fever, and nausea and possibly vomiting. If these symptoms exist, yes, you need to be seen ASAP.
Kidney stone a possibility, but most likely would take an ultrasound or other type of imaging to detect. If OB related, could be an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, but if that is the case, a pregnancy test would be positive. If so, these are emergencies and need to be evaluated and treated immediately.
If you are not on BCPs, then could be an ovarian cyst or an issue tied to ovulation. If that is the case, should hopefully fade with time. Ovarian torsion is also a possibility, but not likely to last this long. If persists or progresses, then needs to be evaluated and if fever/chills or positive pregnancy test, needs ASAP evaluation.

This is a very broad overview. Do not hesitate to seek medical advice if you have concerns.

Good luck.

Some labs will have a specific normal range depending on which trimester of pregnancy you are in. If so, refer to that range to see if your result falls into that range. If not, then aTSH below 4 is usually considered normal.

Hard to say, but some patients do have quite a bit of discomfort with ovulation. Generally does not imply a problem, but if progressing then make sure to discuss with your healthcare provider to make sure not concerning for endometriosis and to make sure that is what the symptoms are from as best they can tell. If need be, could take a course of at least medium strength birth control pills to suppress ovulation and make sure the pain is better and if not, then that should be investigated further. That's it in a nutshell, but feel free to discuss with your healthcare provider. Good Luck!

The traditional metal detector should be fine and the risk from then whole body scanner also should be very low. Check with you obstetric provider to see if they have specific recommendations.

Pregnancy can definitely have an effect on your skin and patient's do note rashes from time to time. In my experience most pregnancy 'hormone' rashes (can google 'PUPP') usually start on the abdomen and can be frustrating and bothersome. There are however some rashes or skin symptoms that can indicate a possible issue during the pregnancy. There is an entity called "Cholestasis of Pregnancy" which can at times be a risk for baby. It can present as itching especially of the palms. Make sure you discuss with your pregnancy health care provider and they can decide if you need blood work to check into that further. Otherwise I have had patients develop hormone type rashes so bothersome that no topical measures help and have to take oral steroids to get relief. Good luck.

Tough question. No easy answers. Several thoughts however.

#1. Hopefully, your mother and/or grandmother are still living and if so, have they ever been tested for the breast cancer gene (BRAC)? If not, I would highly recommend that be looked into. If they are positive, that would increase your risk and would highly recommend that you then be tested. If they have been tested and are negative, that would provide you some protection, but you still have a significant family history.
#2 when should you start having mammograms. You can start them at any time, but they might be less reliable in a younger woman given density of breasts. Also, concern with exposing your breast/chest to excessive amounts of radiation. Some experts would advocate you undergo MRI examination of your breasts since it does not involve radiation, but that is a costly test and good chance your insurance may not cover.
#3 if undergo mammograms, then difficult to know how often that should be done or when to start. I would think 30-35 would be reasonable and give you several years of screening prior to the onset of your relatives disease.
#4 might want to consider genetics consultation to assess your overall risk of breast cancer and also they can help recommend screening strategies.
#5 need to have regular breast exams by medical provider and monthly breast self exams are also very important.

Good luck and hopefully this will provide some basic guidance.

While always a good idea to cover the abdomen in case of pregnancy or early pregnancy the risk (if any) to your baby would be very very low. The films were not directly over the uterus. Personally I would not worry and in my opinion does not require anything special to be done for your pregnancy. Consult/notify your OB provider and I suspect they will tell you the same thing.

As long as your pap is normal it is OK. Depending on your age your cervix could be everted ('flowered' out) exposing the inner cervical tissue which is more sensitive and prone to bleeding. Also in order to get a good quality pap sometimes we have to be more aggressive to really get a good batch of cells and that can cause bleeding. W are more likely to see bleeding in younger women ( less than 30) because of eversion or older women (over 55) due to thinning of tissue. Occasionally bleeding can occur with an irritated cervix secondary to a vaginal infection (STD and non STD). Let your provider know before your next pap and they can maybe see what category you might fall into. Hope this helps.