Thursday, July 27, 2006

So you gotta let me know should I stay or should I go?

My OB appointment today started out crappy, but ended OK. Going into the appointment, I knew I was going to have to have a discussion with the doctor because I had some residual resentment over stuff from my last few visits. I had actually done some preliminary research on doctors who were also in network for me that I had gotten good references on, because I was that upset. When I had my 18 week ultrasound, their sonographer was a jerk. She went on and on the entire hour long appointment telling me how I shouldn't even be there with her, I should be at a perinatologist getting a level 2 ultrasound and fetal echo cardiogram. Just railed and railed on me, how I was diabetic and I "shouldn't even be on" her table. My hubby & I were excited for our ultrasound because we were going to be seeing the baby & finding out the sex, but she made it miserable for us by basically giving me an hour long lecture, right up until the point where we were walking out the door! (I shut her up by saying "OK, I know, I'll go to the specialist too, I'll go!") Knowing I have to have many, many more ultrasounds with this person, I was actually thinking of changing practices because I don't want to see her again. Even my husband felt like we were getting reprimanded for being bad parents just for being there! As it turns out, it is the normal practice of my OB to have the level 2 ultrasound and fetal echo around 24 weeks, which I did a few weeks ago. So it was all this lecturing basically for nothing.

I was also upset because last time I was there, the doctor said he wanted to do an oral glucose tolerance challenge to check for gestational diabetes...and I was like "ummm, did you even look at my chart?" And then I showed him my insulin pump and he felt stupid. He's the head of the practice and it made me feel very uneasy. Diabetes in pregnancy is a big deal, and he really should have known that I had diabetes and am on a pump. So today I went in and the nurse had me do the regular pee test & weighed me and then SHE said "oh and we have to get you scheduled for the oral glucose tolerance challenge to check for diabetes" and I just about lost it. I was all "Were you NOT just reading my chart? Does my chart NOT say I have primary diabetes? Why would you have a DIABETIC PATIENT do an oral glucose tolerance challenge?!?!" I was starting to cry and hubby was all upset that I was upset. And she just said "I'm sorry if I said something wrong" and I explained that it's not that she said something to upset me, I was upset because what she said showed me that the staff there is totally incompetent and doesn't pay attention to very important details! I mean, how am I supposed to trust these people to take care of me and deliver my baby when they can't even read the big red letters on the front of my chart that says "DIABETES"? I wanted to leave. I just wanted to leave. I didn't even want to wait for the doctor to come in, I just wanted to get the hell out of there. And I'm bawling my eyes out, which pissed me off because my makeup came out really good today, and THEN she wants to take my blood pressure. And I'm like "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Don't you think it would be a LITTLE high right about now?!?!"

Anyways, so I got through the stupid nurse portion of the visit and when the doctor came in he was apologizing left & right for the nurse. I explained why I was so upset, that it wasn't the first time someone there asked me that and I was really scared that nobody is paying attention to what's in my chart, and something very important is going to get missed. And he showed me in my chart where it was written that I have diabetes and I am on an insulin pump, and they have records of all my endocrinologist reports and stuff. The nurse was just following their standard routine he said, but he had no excuse for the other doctor. We went over week by week what tests I am supposed to have when until the end of my pregnancy and he answered all my questions. And I told him about how much of an ass his sonographer was to us, and he said he would talk to her. He told me how she's one of the best in the state, blah blah blah and I said "well that's great, but that doesn't give her license to make me feel like crap."

There are 3 OB's in this practice and 1 nurse practitioner. And you have to rotate through all the doctors because one of them will be on duty when you deliver but you don't know who, they all take turns. But I only really LOVE 1 of the doctors, the one I saw today. The other one was OK but just not very personable and the head doctor was the idiot that told me he had to do a "boob check" and then wanted to do the glucose test. The fact that he called a breast exam a "boob check" really turned me off...I mean, when they are checking to see how far dilated I am in the hospital, is he going to call it doing a "cooter patrol"? Ugh. Anyways, we made it through the appointment without killing anyone, even though I really wanted to punch that stupid nurse in the head.

I still am undecided if I need to fire the practice or not. What do you think? Because "Esta undecision me molesta". Should I cool it or should I blow?

3 Responses:

The Mama said...

Ummmm, Boob Check??? Are you kidding me??? Seriously that's grounds for sexual harrasment. I fired a chiropractor because he referred to my breasts as "your husbands play things". What is up with men who have oodles and oodles of education using slang for body parts during appointments? Do they think it makes us more comfortable or something, because they should know it does not!!

Anyway, personally if I were you I would go. But that's because I learned my first go round with childbearing that if something feels off it probably is. I ignored it when I was pregnant with Gracie, a decision I seriously regret. When pregnant with Ian, well, I changed practicioners 4 times. I kept going until I got what I wanted. And I was very satisfied in the end. I think the fact that they overlooked your primary diabetes is a huge, huge, huge red flag. You do not want to be dealing with stupid questions like that in labor, a poorly timed question could make things 1000 times worse, labor is physical and emotional enough!!

I came to the conclusion that I wanted no birth attendants at all and I just wanted to go to the woods and have my baby myself behind a tree. But James wouldn't let me. Oh well.

felicia said...

Yeah, "boob check". Thank goodness he's not a urologist. Then he'd do weiner watches and cooter checks. :(

I personally think setting up a birthing pool in our spare room with maybe a nice doula or midwife would be my #1 choice. Of course, that's not an option for me with my diabetes.

At least I discussed my preliminary birth plan desires with the Cool OB. He agrees that ideally I will go into labor on my own instead of being induced or having a scheduled C early just because I have diabetes. I'll let them induce if there's signs of fetal distress. I would never fight it if my baby was in danger. But if I'm OK and he's OK I just don't see a point in evicting him early from his cozy womb-home.

The Mama said...

Yeah, they tried to freak me out with all that stuff too because of GD, but you know, Ian came out just fine. I think that if things are managed properly and you keep your numbers in the safe range the baby will just grow and thrive and come out a normal size. The only problems are when things aren't under control, like when I had Gracie. Then that's bad, NICU and all that crap. You want to avoid that for sure!