I eat TF, think I'm too low carb, sugar aversion, pg

[PreggieUBA2C]

Is this possible?

I eat a traditional european diet, minus the foods I'm asking about here.

I'm 16 wks pg and have been having headaches since December with increasing frequency and they last usually a week. Concurrent with this, I have an aversion to sugar and carb-rish foods and have been struggling to eat two pieces of bread, one small square of oats made with eggs, cream and cinnamon, or one potato. Some days I manage the one carb at breakfast and the potato at dinner. I do love potatoes and used to love toast with butter and oats too, but this past week, it has become very difficult for me to eat even that much.

I eat no refined sugar. I might have a tsp of raw honey in 1 litre of mint tea, or none at all.

That's it for carbs. I cannot tolerate raw carrots or apples, or any fruit that's sweet. I have added a handful of wild blueberries to a blender drink made with plain yogurt and leafy veggies, but they are sour with just a touch of sweet- very little.

So it seems as I eat fewer sugars (complex and simple inclusive), my headaches increase, but the taste of sweet is so disgusting to me that I cannot eat it.

I don't crave sugar, carbs, or sweet anything. And irritatingly (tmi coming), I now seem to have a yeast infection, which is utterly bizarre to me given that I don't know how it could live, let alone multiply without dietary sugars.

Does anyone know how much carbs are necessary for me while pg? I don't trust most sources for this info and have a limited selection of TF sources that I do trust.

TIA!

[BetsyPage]

I haven't really heard anything about *carb* requirements during pregnancy, mostly just PROTEIN requirements.

Not sure about the headaches though... how is your fat intake? Are you craving anything else instead?

[jplain]

A YI seems really unlikely if you're eating low carb. Do you have access to a blood sugar meter? If your blood sugars are normal (below 100 most of the time, and never above ~120), a YI is unlikely. In that case, you might have bacterial vaginosis instead, which can be indistinguishable in symptoms from a YI.

How is your fluid intake? I'd step that way up if you're feeling headachy. Are you salting your food to taste? And finally, consider whether your headaches are your body's way of saying it needs more rest right now. Try getting at least an extra hour of sleep for a week or so, and see if that helps.

If you can tolerate nuts, you might try snacking on some of the higher carb nuts, like cashews (10 grams carb per 1/4 cup) or pistachios (6 grams carb per shelled 1/4 cup). Those carb counts have the fiber subtracted out already.

You might also try upping your protein intake. Your body will make glucose out of some of the excess protein, so that'll reduce your dietary carb needs. Increase fluid along with the protein, as your kidneys will be more active if they have to handle more protein.

I hope you feel better soon!

[FairyRae]

I only had one thought--are you eating any probiotic foods or taking probiotics? Some folks have trouble tolerating certain foods b/c of gut issues that can be helped by getting in the good buggies...

Sorry I don't have any other ideas--good luck figuring it out!

[cristeen]

You don't really *require* carbs beyond the basic veggie carbs. SO long as you're eating veggies, I wouldn't worry about the rest. Starches and sugars are neither one required for life. If you're eating dairy products, nuts, or non-green veggies, then you're getting carbs.

I agree with the pp about BV, that is the most likely culprit - discuss it with your doctor/midwife, because it's something that needs to be dealt with.

If you're getting enough protein, salt and water in your diet, then headaches can be indicators of other problems in pregnancy and i would urge you to discuss them with your doctor/mw.

[Koalamom]

Headaches during pregnancy? The first thing that comes to mind is magnesium. Natural Calm brand is good and best is epsom salt baths. Helps with circulation and legs cramps too.

[PreggieUBA2C]

Hmmm.

Well, I eat l-b fermented foods and lots of fat and protein. I definitely have between 80 amd 100 gms of protein every day and I'm not sure about fat gms but I eat it with everything. I don't eat a lot of veggies that are not leafy because right now it's pretty hard to find them organically grown and shipped as they all are.

I do eat homemade yogurt every day, though, and I didn't list that (forgot) but of course that has a lot of carbs.

I do take a prenatal and extra magnesium (and C and D) because I really cannot get away with less.

I salt to taste with unrefined sea salt and have no cravings at all this pg. I feel nourished, actually. I am just concerned about finding sweet things disgusting and also the headaches.

I suppose it could be thyroid (I am healing from endocrine insufficiencies)- or iron.

Last night I ate chicken liver (onions, parmesan cheese and rosemary) with broccoli (I found some!!! ) and red potatoes made in bison broth. My headache disappeared within twenty minutes, and now I don't know if it was the potatoes (I ate two instead of one) or the liver. The headache hasn't returned.

I don't have other low-iron symptoms though- breathlessness, low energy, etc.... Just headaches.

I do drink lots of water, but maybe I need more with this pg than before, but I am not thirsty.

I have been taking a probiotic capsule as well this past week and haven't had improvement with the yeast/bacteria. I don't have any digestive problems at all either.

Why would I have BV? I need to look that up. It showed up with this nasty cold I have now and seems to be mimicking the rythm of the cold. Does that make any sense? I've never had this before.

I will also try the epsom salts tonight.

Thanks for the ideas. I had read that low carbs can cause headaches, but I wasn't sure if that would be because of something else like when people eat few carbs, they tend to be dieting to lose weight and them also don't eat enough fats.

But as I wrote, I do feel nourished, not hungry, not craving anything at all. I am also not gaining nearly as much as I usually do during pg (12 lbs holding steady now for a month and I'm 16 weeks), but my fundal measurement is very high. Maybe there are two in there and that would explain a lot.

If the headache returns, I'll have liver without potatoes and if it doesn't go away, then I'll have a potato and maybe that'll help me figure it all out.

Thanks again mamas!

[newcastlemama]

You could put some of the plain homemade yogurt in your vagina at night to try and stop that issue. I would eat what sounds appetizing (becasue you have such a healthy diet!) and not worry about adding carbs too much (unless you find that helpful). I hope the potatoes helped your headache. I get headaches from stress ( I tense my teeth and shoulders) and being tired. How about a potato, a bath, and a nap

[dogmom327]

Totally possible to get a YI (or one of the other types of vaginal infections) while pregnant even when you are low carb. Numerous things beyond sugar and carbs can contribute such the altered ph in your vagina during pregnancy, contamination (let's face it, our vagina's are not exactly well located from a hygiene perspective even if we are really careful) and technically you can catch a YI from your partner (although I think it's fairly unlikely).

[PreggieUBA2C]

Originally Posted by newcastlemama

You could put some of the plain homemade yogurt in your vagina at night to try and stop that issue. I would eat what sounds appetizing (becasue you have such a healthy diet!) and not worry about adding carbs too much (unless you find that helpful). I hope the potatoes helped your headache. I get headaches from stress ( I tense my teeth and shoulders) and being tired. How about a potato, a bath, and a nap

Well that sounds wonderful! And impossible... except for the potato. I do the same with stress, actually. I also grind my teeth at night. I'll try the yogurt too. Thanks.

Originally Posted by dogmom327

Totally possible to get a YI (or one of the other types of vaginal infections) while pregnant even when you are low carb. Numerous things beyond sugar and carbs can contribute such the altered ph in your vagina during pregnancy, contamination (let's face it, our vagina's are not exactly well located from a hygiene perspective even if we are really careful) and technically you can catch a YI from your partner (although I think it's fairly unlikely).

Hmmm. My dh has systemic yeast from mercury fillings and a terrible work schedule that has him often awake for 24 or more hrs at a time (which means he eats well about 50% of the time and the rest, he fasts a lot because he cannot stand eating non-food and that's usually what's available to him since he cannot ever remember to bring food with him or to eat it if he has it ). It's possible that his yeast overgrowth combined with altered ph may be the cause. I'm not sure what to do about it then (do you have any ideas?). It also seems to be linked with this cold, which I am surprised I've had this long. I am usually finished with any virus within 3 days and I've had this for almost five now and I felt worse this morning than yesterday.

[ursusarctos]

Originally Posted by PreggieUBA2C

Hmmm. My dh has systemic yeast from mercury fillings and a terrible work schedule that has him often awake for 24 or more hrs at a time (which means he eats well about 50% of the time and the rest, he fasts a lot because he cannot stand eating non-food and that's usually what's available to him since he cannot ever remember to bring food with him or to eat it if he has it ). It's possible that his yeast overgrowth combined with altered ph may be the cause. I'm not sure what to do about it then (do you have any ideas?). It also seems to be linked with this cold, which I am surprised I've had this long. I am usually finished with any virus within 3 days and I've had this for almost five now and I felt worse this morning than yesterday.

This brought a couple things to mind.

- My dp had an acute yi that he got from me, but which took him forever to kick because he was living a very unhealthy lifestyle at the moment. During that time (a month ish), sad to say, we didn't have sex because he would have just passed it right back to me. I don't know about systemic yeast though, unfortunately.

- However, it doesn't seem from what you said that your dh has been giving you yi until possibly now, so my bet is just that your immune system is down. You say you have a lingering cold - I bet that would explain at least some of the appetite weirdness. And the infection you seem to have could be a result of a combo of your immune system being taxed by the cold and the pregnancy hormones changing the ph of your vagina. Both of these things could let the yeast that naturally lives in your vagina get out of control. Personally I wouldn't worry about the yi/whatever it is unless it's still around after you've been fully recovered from your cold for at least a couple weeks (or if it gets much worse sooner, of course).

[dogmom327]

Originally Posted by ursusarctos

This brought a couple things to mind.

- My dp had an acute yi that he got from me, but which took him forever to kick because he was living a very unhealthy lifestyle at the moment. During that time (a month ish), sad to say, we didn't have sex because he would have just passed it right back to me. I don't know about systemic yeast though, unfortunately.

- However, it doesn't seem from what you said that your dh has been giving you yi until possibly now, so my bet is just that your immune system is down. You say you have a lingering cold - I bet that would explain at least some of the appetite weirdness. And the infection you seem to have could be a result of a combo of your immune system being taxed by the cold and the pregnancy hormones changing the ph of your vagina. Both of these things could let the yeast that naturally lives in your vagina get out of control. Personally I wouldn't worry about the yi/whatever it is unless it's still around after you've been fully recovered from your cold for at least a couple weeks (or if it gets much worse sooner, of course).

ITA that the cold and YI are likely linked through a currently suppressed immune system. My MW did suggest just using condoms to prevent a YI transfer (rather than just not having sex). I'd also look at using probiotic capsules inserted vaginally to give your a boost on the good bacteria front (Jarrow formulas makes some called Fem-doph I believe that are actually for this--you want some that will dissolve--not those made to survive part of your digestive tract).

[PreggieUBA2C]

Originally Posted by ursusarctos

However, it doesn't seem from what you said that your dh has been giving you yi until possibly now, so my bet is just that your immune system is down. You say you have a lingering cold - I bet that would explain at least some of the appetite weirdness. And the infection you seem to have could be a result of a combo of your immune system being taxed by the cold and the pregnancy hormones changing the ph of your vagina. Both of these things could let the yeast that naturally lives in your vagina get out of control. Personally I wouldn't worry about the yi/whatever it is unless it's still around after you've been fully recovered from your cold for at least a couple weeks (or if it gets much worse sooner, of course).

This makes a lot of sense. I tried the yogurt and no improvement, but the YI isn't bothering me physically, so I can wait it out for a while I guess. I checked into the symptoms of BV and other infections and I don't have those. It seems to be pretty classic YI. There is improvement when my cold improves, but our schedule is chaotic and I probably will not sleep much tonight because dh is away and dc don't sleep well when he's at work all night. So, it'll likely be worse tomorrow. BUT maybe not.

Originally Posted by dogmom327

ITA that the cold and YI are likely linked through a currently suppressed immune system. My MW did suggest just using condoms to prevent a YI transfer (rather than just not having sex). I'd also look at using probiotic capsules inserted vaginally to give your a boost on the good bacteria front (Jarrow formulas makes some called Fem-doph I believe that are actually for this--you want some that will dissolve--not those made to survive part of your digestive tract).

I also tried the probiotic capsules yesterday, and no improvement.

Maybe I also need to be more patient and not expect everything to work at once. Can you tell I don't like being sick?

It's pretty surprising to be this affected by a cold, but I guess with having just begun to be able to eat again after a couple of months of awful nausea/morning/all-day sickness, my body was probably worn down. It hasn't had nearly the same effect on my dc.

So, wait and see, keep eating ferments (and liver and/or potatoes- the headache hasn't returned so I can't test for the remedy ). That's the plan. Still don't understand the disgust at sweet flavours though. Strange.

[ursusarctos]

Originally Posted by PreggieUBA2C

Maybe I also need to be more patient and not expect everything to work at once. Can you tell I don't like being sick?

It's pretty surprising to be this affected by a cold, but I guess with having just begun to be able to eat again after a couple of months of awful nausea/morning/all-day sickness, my body was probably worn down. It hasn't had nearly the same effect on my dc.

So, wait and see, keep eating ferments (and liver and/or potatoes- the headache hasn't returned so I can't test for the remedy ). That's the plan. Still don't understand the disgust at sweet flavours though. Strange.

I hope you feel better soon!

[dogmom327]

I know it's hard but take the disgust at sweet flavors to be a blessing. Many pregnant woman end up binging on sugar which doesn't do them or their baby any good. My first homebirth midwife used to constantly remind me that fat, protein, water and salt build baby parts--carbs (and especially sugar) do not.