got another question: and I'm not worried, just curious!
How far along were you when you got your FIRST U/S and how far along were you when you saw more than the Gestational sack?
aw i'm sorry you had a bad appointment I would get a second opinion and ask not to be seen by him again.
with nathanael the hospital I went to didn't do ultrasounds until like week 15 unless you we'e considered high risk so with him I was about 16 weeks.
and this time around I was(still am) 10 weeks and baby's feet and hands are already formed so I didn't get to see my baby's as sacs. But this time was because by the time I found out I was pregnant the baby was no longer a sac. sorry am not much help!
I'm sorry your first appointment was s u c k y, I hope you can find a better doctor asap!
My first u/s was at 6 weeks 3 days I believe and we could barely see a baby but we did see a tiny flicker of a heartbeat. I have a pic on my profile if you want to see it. It is really hard to see the baby if I am not there to point it out lol.
pic is on the 4th page of my album and the baby is on the bottom left of the sack, you can sort of make out a bean but my OB tried to zoom in a lot so it's pretty distorted.
I also saw the baby at 6 weeks and 3 days, still tiny but he was there!
first thought that came to my mind was change your ob, and it didn't alter after i read the whole post. i saw a hb at 6 weeks...that is early to see it though.
My first u/s was at 8 weeks I think and the next was at 14 and the last at 18w.
I think that the doctor is trying to take as many precautions as he knows and that is fine. I know you know your condition and maybe he doesn't but you have to give him kudos for being cautious.
You haven't been taking any pain meds while you were ttc besides tylenol, I think that you should try to avoid any more serious medication until you are further along, this time during your pregnancy is the most sensitive and serious and is when all orgnas, bones, tissue is forming so you don't want anything in your body that could potentially harm it. Once the baby is more developed then I think you are more free to take other prescription medication. Specially Vicodin is an anti-inflamatory medicine and you should avoid all anti-inflamatory medication in the first 12 weeks or it could lead to a miscarriage.
The high risk factor probably doesn't have much to do with your skin condition, however based on your medical history on your last pregnancy with TJ, they might consider you high risk from it. Also some skin medications (and I don't know if you take any) like accutane have proven to cause severe risk of birth defects, maybe that's another reason to be categorizing you as high risk.
You can't be upset with a doctor because he is doing or saying something that you don't want to hear. Some facilities have specific routines and guidelines that they have to follow and plus the man has gone through over 12 years of medical education, plus some years of work experience, I think he may know what he's doing.
However if you don't feel comfortable with the way that this doctor is approaching your care, it is compleatly up to you to switch.
Had an ultrasound at 4 weeks and saw nothing (other than the lining of my uterus was thickened) and then at 5w6d we saw the heartbeat and everything. It sounds like you're right on track!
thanks ladies! With TJ I saw his HB at 5w6d... :)
Mumita~ thank you for replying. When they say no antiinflammatory it's no NSAIDS. I can't function without something to help manage the pain. It's Chronic pain. I have it every day, every night, 24/7... And if it were that dangerous, I never would've had 3 OB's say it was considered safe.
I understand what your trying to say about the doctor being cautious.... But that wasn't the case with him. He just didn't want to deal with me at all...
I do not take accutane or Soriatane, no topical steriodal creams, or vitamin A derivatives (accutane is vit. a )... Accutane is out of the body in 1-3 months, Soriatane takes 3 years before it's safe to get pregnant. I am VERY familiar with treatments for my skin disorder because there are so few. I waited until the 3 year mark before getting pregnant with TJ. (i spent about 1 yr on soriatane). As a matter of fact, I never even got back to using "tazorac" which is like a topical form of accutane except it's out of the body in a couple days... because i wasn't on a formal method of hormonal BC.
So, that probably doesn't have bearing on being considered high risk.. However.. I had contacted the high risk clinic I went to with TJ... Because I figured I'd still be high risk. But they spoke to the dr,'s and everything and were told that I'm not.
I found it strange... But I can't do anything about it or force them to do anything about it.
I am definitely going to go see someone else... I'm not mad because he wouldn't do what I wanted him to, even regarding the medication, but because he was very ignorant to everything I asked him. He may have gone through years of schooling to become an OB but you wouldn't know it by speaking to him. My sister was there with me and she thought he was a complete jerk also.
I hope at my next scan we get to see a HB and fetal pole. :)
Well do your research before going to a new doctor.
My first appointment at 6 weeks they only had me pee in the cup and all they told me was "You are pregnant!" which I knew already. So the next appointmet at 8 weeks or so they did a u/s to confirm the dates and also did the blood work. But they didn't tell me any hcg levels or anything. Which looking back I preffered it that way because knowing my hcg levels would have worried me unnecessarily. I like the low or minimal intervention method. So far I only see my docs every 3-4 weeks which is pretty cool.
Anyway, the longer you wait for a u/s the better you'll get to see more and the more you see the less stressful it is. It also depends on your insurance how many ultrasounds you will get.
I suggest you see someone else in different practice. I wasn't big on my practice, but it was too late to change - you are still early, and someone else can care about your issues more than this moran you are describing - I think I would be better doctor than him - he sounds old, and I wouldn't want to deal with someone of that kind when it comes to labor.
Thanks ladies! I got alot of ultrasounds with TJ even before the diagnoses of the skin problem and D/S.
Ania~ i'll need another C-Section because they'll only be 16 or 17 months apart, I also don't want to go through with a vaginal birth because I wouldn't like to risk a uterine rupture. I never went full term with TJ, and he was a tiny baby... (5lbs5oz 1 mo early).
I'm definitely changing doctors.. I'm gonna make an appointment and let them know that I'm trying to find a doctor who'll meet my needs for care. If I don't like the OB, then I'll just find another. :) Ive only got 2 to choose from anywayse.
Good Luck and I hope you find a OB that you like! Keep me posted!
Hello!
Congratulations on your pregnancy! I had my 1st appointment with my son at 6w2d and the current pregnancy at 6w0d and i saw heartbeat at both times.
And sorry to hear about your OB..i am sure he wasnt trying to annoy you or anything.. :)
if they rotate, chances are you can't avoid him. At the practice i first went to, the dr's rotated. The only appointment available was with the 1 doctor out of 8 who i didn't want to see at all. I was told i have to get used to all of them because you don't know who's going to deliver you. I promptly found another practice.
However, given the number of lawsuits these doctors are facing these days (and the reason why so many are no longer practicing obstretrics due to the insane cost of malpractice insurance), i do not blame the doctor for being uncomfortable with taking your case. In your initial post, you yourself say that there are risks associated with the medications you must take, in addition to your other conditions. If the other high-risk practice won't see you, maybe you should find another. You may need to go out-of network. My current dr is out of network, so there is a bit of a cost for me. But the quality of care is worth every penny.
by the way, by 6 weeks i saw the hb, but have heard many people say that they didn't until after 7 so i wouldn't worry about that. Good luck in your search.
thanks ladies!
Tiredbuthappy~ there are only 2 good high risk places near where I live that could see me. I've got to talk to the 2nd high risk place in Riverside. Other than that I'd have to travel over 2 hrs each way to go to sandiego.
I'm giving them a call Monday. :)
Have you heard of Methadone? I work in a substance abuse clinic which treats opiate addiction with methadone and Methadone is proven to be one of the safest drugs to take during pregnancy, the reason being that an individual can take a single dose of methadone once a day, which stops the fetus from having the ups and downs that are associated with other opiates like Oxy, Lortab, Percocet, etc
***This is not intended to be medical/professional advice in any way******
bioclock1~ ??? I'm not sure where your going with this.. are you talking of using methadone to control pain?
I haven't been on opiates since around the time I conceived, so I'm not worried about the baby... but I didnt' even consider it. I've always considered that to be a "hard" drug. lol, I don't know too much about it.
As of right now I"m not worried about the baby having any withdrawals or anything. I need a way to control my chronic pain, at least to where I can function easily enough that I'm not having to take 2-3 class C med's (ibuprofen, naproxene, stuff like that) multiple times a day. I'd much rather take a single Class C med 2-3x a day rather than 8-9... KWIM?
I'm not trying to misunderstand you. lol
I understand your issue is pain, and I was under the impression that perhaps doctors were prescribing you opiates like Lortabs (hydrocodone) for your pain. THus, I was simply offering what I know about methadone...a pain pill/opiate that is shown to be safe in pregnancy. That's all...not saying anything about withdrawals or addiction. :) But if you aren't taking any opiates, then its probably a moot point.
First, I would definitely get another OB. Regardless of his level of knowledge, you don't feel comfortable with him and his bedside manner is horrible. In a practice you could wind up with any of those doctors delivering your baby. I also know what it is like to have a health condition that you know a lot about and having doctors treat you like an idiot and not listening to a word you say because "they are doctors and they know you better than you do" Bulls***T!!!!!!!
I would go to the doctor that has been treating you for your skin condition and the chronic pain and continue with them for that reason. They can always consult with an OB to decide the best pain medication for you. To ask a doctor that is less familiar with your history to treat you like they should know is very difficult. Most doctors don't want to risk treating without their own diagnosis and tests. You can thank our sue happy society for that.
I would also consider taking the vicodin. NSAID's are NOT good during pregnancy and should be avoided. Vicodin has tylenol which is safe. The narcotic, although it can be addictive and may pose a risk (hence the cat c) is actually safer than the NSAID's. The last thing you want is to bleed to death which is what can happen with NSAID's. Methadone is also another viable option. Given in very low doses, it is very good at treating chronic pain and fairly safe. Make sure you get a doctor that starts you off with a really LOW dose though. Doctors that aren't familiar with prescribing it for pain will give you way too much! My roommate was given 2mg tab which she took every 6-8 hours. Worked fantastic so her sister asked for it to help her with chronic headaches. The doctor gave her 100mg tabs and she felt like she was ODing.
bioclock~ Thanks, I was only curious to see if I understood your reply. lol
Cmoretti~ Thanks to both of you for letting me know about the methadone. I was looking it up. I'd love to only have to take something a couple times a day to manage back pain. I'm definitely bringing it up to the doctor when I see her (i'm seeing a local OB in my town to see what she has to say.)
I didn't know it was considered a safe treatment.... more than likely I"d wind up having to take several doses of vicoden, The ppl in my family have a high tolerance to pain meds. It's not from being on them for a while but rather a genetic thing... even at the dentist we have to get extra shots.