A Post for Ladies

Sorry about the sudden break in blogging.  I had finals, then I moved back home, and then I had to find a job for the summer.

But I return bearing a really good post. 

Last night, the clinic in my area hosted a "Female Teen/Young Adult" get-together; in order to discuss topic a that every female PKU'er worries about.

PKU Pregnancy

It was actually pretty cool, because it brought people, who weren't following their diets currently, out.  I met several girls who I had never seen before.  (And the PKU community is a rather small one.)

We ate at a restaurant, which was kind enough to cook some low-pro food for us, and we talked.  We talked to woman who had already been pregnant or were currently pregnant and had PKU.  What they said was very reassuring.

It's not as hard as one might think. 

The lady I talked to said, "the hardest part was getting her levels down to a 2 before trying.  After that it's really easy to keep it down, because your tolerance goes up."  

Which makes sense, because suddenly you're feeding two people instead of one.  Some other helpful things she said were: 

"Your formula also goes up, but sometimes if you can't eat it all they'll half it with pills."

 "You have to keep a diet record and do weekly blood draws..."

"When I go see my doctor he doesn't have to do anything different than other pregnancies."

 And finally:

"It's a lot of work, but once your holding that little baby in your arms, it'll all seem worth it." 

It's not impossible.  That is the message I wanted to spread today.  Just a message of relief.  It's hard work; but every pregnancy is.  And if that's what you want... YOU CAN DO IT! 

(And I believe there are blogs of PKU woman who are currently or have been pregnant if you want to see more of the day-to-day stuff.)