Doctor's advice - Is pregnancy 'an option'?

Doctor's advice - Is pregnancy 'an option'?

Q I am an 18-year-old girl, and I hope you can help me with some serious problems. First, I haven't seen my menses for several months. The idea of being pregnant is not an option, because I know that I am not.

Second, I get quite a lot of bellyache. It hurts really bad. Third, I haveurine problems. I use the bathroom 15 or 20 times a day. I think this is abnormal.

Finally, every morning I wake up with an odd taste in my mouth. What do you think is going on, doc?

A I must tell you that I wish I had a dollar for every female patient who assured me that pregnancy was not possible - but who then turned out to be with child.

You see, the symptoms of absent menses, intermittent bellyache and urinary 'frequency' - plus an odd taste in the mouth - could all be due to pregnancy. So I feel that it would be rather foolish NOT to get yourself a pregnancy test this week.

However, let us assume that the test turns out to be negative and that you are NOT pregnant. What else could be wrong with you?

Well, the fact that you are having to pass urine 15 or 20 times a day does suggest that you may have a urinary infection. These are real common in women. So certainly, you should have a urine specimen tested for infection.

Also, it is pretty clear that you need to have a doc examine your belly, and then do an internal (vaginal) examination. The doc may well need to send some tests to the lab - such as a swab taken from the upper part of the vagina.

Only when all this has been done will it be really clear what is wrong with you. You can see what I am saying: you must try and see a doc this week. You owe it to your health to do so. Good luck.

Q I am a 20-year-old male and I have a huge problem, in that I have little white bumps on the underside of my penis. Are these VD?

A It is real unlikely that they are caused from venereal disease, since I know of no form of VD that causes little white bumps.

As a matter of fact, I regularly receive emails from young guys who are fretting about 'little white bumps' on the penis. Obviously, I cannot actually see your bumps, so I cannot be absolutely certain as to their nature.

However, in younger males tiny white pearly lumps on the penis, looking rather like large grains of salt, are usually what are called 'milia.' I would say that at least 30 per cent of male teenagers have them.

Milia are just small glands in the skin, and they are totally harmless and normal. So I imagine that is what you have, and that you have nothing to fret about. However, if you are still worrying, then why not spend five minutes in simply having your penis checked out by a doc?

Q Doc, I would really like to have a baby by my boyfriend, but he always tells me 'No'. He says he does not want any children - ever. He will not even discuss it. But I have come up with an idea to let me conceive his child. It is this.

We always use what I think is called 'the withdrawal method' - that is to say, he pulls out of me shortly before he discharges. Usually, the fluid goes on my thigh or belly.

Well, it has struck me that if I slipped out of bed immediately after he discharge, I could collect that fluid in some kind of spoon. Then I could quickly inject it somehow, so that it went into the top of my vagina.

Obviously, I understand that I would have to do this when I am at the most fertile time of my cycle.

What do you think, doc? Would this work? And would the resulting baby be OK?

A It is probable that your 'trick' would succeed - if not on the first time, then on some subsequent occasion. Really, what you are suggesting is a form of artificial insemination.

And artificial insemination of sperm does generally work, provided that the woman is fertile, and provided that the sperms are injected into her vagina on one of her 'fertile days.'

You ask if the baby would be OK. Yes, the child would probably be fine, since most babies who are conceived by artificial insemination turn out to be healthy.

What concerns me is that this is really a serious deception that you are intending to practise on your boyfriend. He has said that he wants no children - ever. Yet you are playing a trick on him to make use of his sperm.

I am not an expert in legal matters, but I amwondering if the law would regard it as illegal for a woman to 'fool' a man into fatherhood in this way. In any case, your guy might be likely to react real badly to the idea that he has been 'conned' into becoming a baby father.

Q Ever since I reached puberty, which was around seven years ago, I have engaged in masturbation. So is it possible that I could 'run out' of fluid, or have problems in impregnating my future wife?

Also, I have realised that if I get an erection soon after masturbating, it can be somewhat paining. Is this normal, doc?

Finally, can masturbation affect a male's intellect or thinking - or 'numb' the brain in any way at all?

A It is a little surprising that in 2007, I am still getting emails from young men who are worried that they have done themselves some harm through masturbating. Gentlemen, you have no need to fret! Masturbation cannot harm your health.

Let me answer this particular young man's queries, one by one. No, you cannot 'run out' of fluid - except for a few hours. Your body just keeps making more and more, and will continue to do so till you are an old guy.

No, you should have no trouble in impregnating your future wife.

I have no idea why your erection is sometimes 'somewhat paining'. But this is not a symptom of any significant medical problem. Perhaps you have just been rubbing too hard?

Finally, masturbation cannot harm a man's intellect or thinking, or 'numb' his brain. nTo repeat a phrase I often use: quit fretting!

Q Doctor, for the last six months I have been coughing up yellow stuff. Do I need medical help?

A Yes. When a person coughs up yellow or green material, that usually indicates that an infection is present. Your problem has been going on so long that I am sure you need a course of antibiotics to 'kill off ' the infection. So see a doc.

Also, if you are a smoker, give up now!

Q I live in Trelawney, and am aged 24. For the last eight years I have been troubled by nausea. Also, in the last couple of years, I have had pain in my belly, especially at night.

I went to a doctor, who told me I had a 'sore' in my stomach, and advised a change in diet. She gave me some pills, which helped. But since I had a burger and fries the other day, my symptoms have started to come back. Could this sore develop into cancer?

A I don't think so. My guess is that this 'sore' is actually an ULCER - either in the stomach or the duodenum, which is the tube that leads out of the stomach.

This can be diagnosed by having a special x-ray, or by having a kind of telescope put through the mouth and down into the belly.

However, you may not need these tests if you go on some anti-ulcer pills and find that they clear up the symptoms. Bear in mind that you may have to stay on the pills for months, or even years.

Also, stick to the diet the doc recommended, which sounds like a good one.