Monday, July 23, 2012

Excited and Angry Goes Together.

I've had to step back the past two months and really let this all sink in. I mean, it's only right. Right? Most women find out they are pregnant at 4 weeks and then they start to tell people at 12 weeks. My husband and I decided we'd do it the same way. We waited eight weeks to make any announcements. Obviously, our families and closest friends knew right away. And, well, since I was showing pretty much the same time we found out, people I see on a daily basis know that I'm pregnant.

So that rash I discussed in my previous post (HERE), was caused by a high elevation of pregnancy hormones, NOT a virus. That blood work and urine sample they took the day I walked my blotchy self to my internist's office would have shown I was about 5 weeks pregnant IF THEY WOULD HAVE TESTED ME FOR PREGNANCY!

Oh, and that obgyn appointment I had? It was my annual exam, and yes, I had a pelvic exam. I told my obgyn that I was having major stomach problems. I told him I hadn't had my period since February. I told him I was seeing a gastroenterologist. That urine sample taken at my obgyn's office - it wasn't tested for pregnancy. I was 13 weeks pregnant when I saw him for my annual exam. Yes, I was in my second trimester!

I have to be honest and say we are angry. Angry at doctors. We are absolutely THRILLED we are pregnant, but we have lost a lot of faith in the medical profession. I want to be completely clear that we saw FOUR different doctors during the first 16 weeks of my pregnancy. I saw my internist twice, two different gastroenterologists, and I saw my obgyn. In those five different doctors visits, blood was drawn three times and urine was taken twice. Not ONE of those doctors thought they should test me for pregnancy. So what was supposed to be a joyous and fun time ended up a time filled of uncertainty and, well, I WAS FUCKING SCARED! Not happy, but scared! And that, my friends, just isn't right.

After finding out I was pregnant on that Tuesday evening back at the end of May (with a cheap home pregnancy test!), I realized in that crazy moment of chaos that I had an appointment scheduled for Thursday with the second gastroenterologist to discuss results from the pending catscan I should have taken that afternoon or early the next morning. Of course, we didn't end up getting the catscan at a hospital. We got an ultrasound at my obgyn's office instead. I called the gastroenterologist who ordered the catscan to tell him, and I quote, "I don't need a gastroenterologist. I need an obstetrician because, well, I AM PREGNANT!"

His response to me was a little less to be desired. He immediately told me I needed a new obgyn, and that he was disgusted at the fact that I saw my obstetrician for an annual exam at 13 weeks pregnant and that my obstetrician didn't realize I had a second trimester fetus in my uterus. He then told me that since I was calling to tell him good news that he could tell me EXACTLY what he thought was going on just one day prior. He told me that he thought I had cancer. He told me that he was worried that I had a tumor growing in my abdomen the size of a small apple. He told me he was angry. And all I could say was.... "I HEAR YOU!! Believe me, I HEAR YOU!" I told him I was embarrassed about the whole situation and I felt like I didn't know my body as well as I should have. And his response was EXACTLY what I needed to hear. He said, "Rebecca, the ONLY person who should be embarrassed is your obstetrician."

So with all this being said, we are a little angry. I'm angry every time I tell the story. I'm angry that I lost 16 weeks of my pregnancy going to doctors and having tests run that were ALL unnecessary. All I needed to do was pee in a cup and have one of those little paper pregnancy tests inserted. The fact that I told these doctors I hadn't had a period since February, but I didn't think I was pregnant because my first child was conceived through intrauterine insemination, was not a good enough reason to not test me for pregnancy!

Now that I've told the entire story.... it's really time to start moving forward.

16 weeks to go til we meet our little boy!! Wonder if he'll be a redhead?