So just a quick update before I dive into this post. My last post was about me planning to try biofeedback. Well, my insurance said biofeedback would probably be covered under their mental health side, and I haven't been able to figure out if I even have that, much less if they would cover biofeedback. I called a bunch of doctors in my area and one was nice enough to give me contact info for a couple places that do biofeedback, but I never got around to calling them. My deductible starts over in January so there's pretty much no point in trying now. Has biofeedback helped any of you? I'm guessing I would still end up paying big copays either way, so I'd rather use that money to try massage, something I really feel would help because of all the tension I carry in my neck/shoulders. But I'm still working on convincing the husband because it's expensive.
Acetaminophen Study
When I was pregnant, I was told that acetaminophen is generally safe to take for headaches (I took Fioricet for the really bad migraines). I tried not to take anything but my headaches and migraines got way worse the first and second trimester, so I couldn't help it. The stress from enduring the pain without taking meds wasn't good for the baby, so it was pretty much a lose/lose situation. Anyway, I just read about this recent study that found:
"Close to four percent of women took Tylenol for at least 28 days total during pregnancy. Their children seemed to have poorer motor skills than kids whose mothers had taken the drug fewer times or not at all. Tylenol-exposed kids also tended to start walking later, have poorer communication and language skills and more behavior problems."I definitely took acetaminophen 28+ days during my pregnancy...not gonna lie. BUT the study also says:
"Heavy users most often reported taking the drug for five to seven days in a row a few times during pregnancy."I didn't do that and I don't ever do that because (1) I'm afraid of rebound headaches and (2) if I take meds too much my body adjusts and they aren't as effective (there's a medical term for this...google wasn't any help).
So far, my baby girl seems to be developing just fine. But I still want to warn anyone who is pregnant to be careful what you take and don't take too much of something (if you can help it) just because it's "safe."
Acetaminophen Infographic
On that note, I have an infographic to share - not related to the above study, but related to acetaminophen. The folks at the Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition (KnowYourDose.org) emailed this to me. The designer in me is loving it, and it's a great way to spread the word to, again, be careful what you take!
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| Larger version/download here. |
