Dr. David Barad

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare disorder in which a person’s own immune system damages their nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. In most cases the problem persists for several weeks and then gets better on its own.

Yes, it is possible for sperm to survive up to five days after intercourse.

Blood in your urine deserves a careful exam by your physician as soon as possible.

Colace is safe during pregnancy. If you have constipation that is not relieved by colace you should consult with your physician.

You are only 17 so this is not likely to be anything serious. However if the problem persists you should have your physician take a look .

There are many reasons why a woman might have some cervical bleeding. Some can be quite serious. She should really see someone who can examine her.

Please STOP taking the medication and call your doctor right away. If you don't have a doctor, go to the ER. This could be an allergic reaction and could be very dangerous.

Over a short time pain medication should not be harmful for your baby. But if you don't feel that you need it don't take it. Have you tried any non- narcotic pain killers? THey would be preferable.

Significant pain, such as yours, deserves a full evaluation. You should really be seen by someone who could evaluate you fully.

Tubes are not tied as part of a normal ablation, though the ablation process may damage the part of the tubes near the uterus. If you feel pregnant you should have a pregnancy test. Pregnancy at 49 years would be unusual and even more so after an ablation.

Unfortunately, some vaginal bleeding often can occur when using Depo-Provera. Over time as your body adjusts, the bleeding should become less frequent and may even go away completely.

It is not possible to become pregnant from sperm floating in bath water. It is very normal for a young woman to have irregular periods. If you are really worried about your cycles you should speak with your doctor.

This is a good question, but unfortunately it has no easy answer. As a 22 year old you might have had blood drawn for a pregnancy test early in your pregnancy to help make sure the pregnancy was well established, however such testing is not really needed unless you had a history of prior problems, like a previous ectopic pregnancy or serious tubal disease.
Blood tests can be done to help detect metabolic problems like diabetes or thyroid disease that can be affected or revealed during a pregnancy.
At some point in your pregnancy you might have a complete blood count and metabolic panel. If you don't already know your blood type you might have a blood test to see if you are rH negative. If you have had previous transfusions you might have a test to see if you have antibodies to other blood types that could attack you fetus if it has one of those blood types.
If you were a little older you might have a blood test to detect cell free DNA of your baby to see if there are genetic problems.
The answer is that one size does not fit all, every individual may need a different approach and different testing depending on who they are and what conditions they have. You should ask your medical provider to explain what testing is ordered and what its purpose might be.
It possible that your mother and grandmother had no testing at all during their pregnancies. Pregnancy is, after all, a natural condition and could proceed without testing. Modern testing offers a way to diagnose some problems once symptoms occur, or based on a person's medical history. But a normal pregnancy might require no blood tests at all in a young women.

Women have many hormones in their body that fluctuate in concert with each other, No single hormone controls a women's fertility. For example home ovulation predictor tests measure the amount of luteinizing hormone (LH) in your urine. Early in your cycle LH is low and a day or so before you ovulate LH spikes five to ten times its normal level in what we call an LH surge. When the ovulation predictor changes from no detection of LH to detection it will give a signal telling you that ovulation will happen soon. However if you used the same test on urine from a women who is menopausal the LH would always be high and the test would always be positive, even though she is not ovulating, This is because LH rises to an equally high level after menopause.
As another example, Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) is low when women are young and steadily rises as they approach menopause, so a high level of FSH signals that a woman is becoming less, not more fertile.
If you have had hormone testing it is best to speak to your doctor about the interpretation of the results.

It makes a difference if you are trying to find ovulation to achieve a pregnancy or trying to avoid ovulation to avoid pregnancy. If you have a regular 28 day cycle then ovulation will occur between day 12 and 16, If you have a longer cycle you can approximate the day of ovulation by counting back 14 days from your anticipated next menstrual period. This is how the phone applications work by approximating the length of your average menstrual cycle and counting back 14 days. If you are trying to achieve a pregnancy and want to pinpoint ovulation you could use an ovulation predictor kit that will signal you about 24 to 36 hours before your will ovulate. Alternatively, you could just have intercourse around that time. If you are trying to avoid pregnancy with the rhythm method you would need to delay intercourse until at least 5 or 6 days after you think you have ovulated based on the above estimated times.

Most miscarriages occur before 12 weeks of pregnancy with the majority occurring between week 6 and 8 after your last normal menstrual period.

The right supplement will depend on your own body chemistry. What might help one person might hurt another. One size does not fit all. If you are planning to be pregnant it is good to take prenatal vitamins and extra folate, but these do not increase fertility, they just prepare your body for a healthy pregnancy.

There is really very little physical activity that you could do that would hurt a baby. Later in pregnancy you will maintain better blood flow to the baby by sleeping on your side (either right or left) instead of on your back.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome, characterized by some typical facial deformities and intellectual impairment. The best evidence tells us that no amount of alcohol is safe in pregnancy. However, drinking alcohol will not cause a miscarriage. In fact, many years ago, alcohol was used to prevent premature labor because it would suppress contractions. This would never be used today because of the negative effect on fetal well being.

Birth control is only as effective as your ability to use it. The advantage of a depot shot is that you don't have to remember to take it every day, though you do have to return at regular intervals for another shot. Used correctly both methods are equally effective.