Saturday started out as any normal day. I went to work for 3 hours to QA during the lunch rush and they thought they may need me to help out that night so I went home and cleaned up around the house for a while until I needed to call in and see. They didn't need me to come in so I went off to pick up the kids from my in laws. On the way over there I started feeling contractions which I didn't know was possible at 15 weeks. They continued for the next couple hours and I started to get concerned. I messaged a friend to see if it was possible to get contractions that early and she told me to contact my OB right away. I called L&D and they told me that they couldn't do anything about it since I'm not 20 weeks yet. They suggested I lay down and drink lots of water and try to relax. She then went on to say that they aren't able to do anything if they continue because the baby isn't considered "viable". WOW! That is the scariest thing I've ever heard and definitely didn't make it any easier to relax. I took it as easy as possible that night and felt a bit better in the morning when I woke up, but continued to have contractions each time I rolled over or got up to go to the bathroom. I went into work and let my manager know what was going on and asked if he could get me out of there as early as possible because of everything. I ended up working 2 hours and by the end of my shift I was having a lot more contractions than I'd had the night before and started having a sharp vaginal pain come and go. As soon as I got home I laid back down and got some water and grapes to snack on. After a while of laying down the contractions let up a lot and the pain dulled until it was gone. I was able to get my lower back pain gone by using a heating pad on low and felt a lot better until I moved a lot or got up for something.
This morning I gave my current doctor's office a call and told then what happened over the weekend. They told me the nurse would have to call me back between patients. After a while I got a call back from the nurse and told her what happened all over again. She then told me that it's normal to have a discomfort as the baby gets bigger and my stomach stretches to accommodate the baby growing. I then told her that this is my third pregnancy and by this point know the difference between contractions and my body stretching. She told me if I felt it was more than that then I could come in and get checked out but recommended I lay down if it was bothering me. I told her she obviously wasn't listening to my issues at all and I didn't feel comfortable being seen by that office if they were going to disregard concerns and hung up. I then called the office I was attempting to switch to so I could see if they received my records from my previous cesarian. They hadn't so I followed up with my doctor in Maryland and they assured me they would get them sent over. I called Dr. Jones' office back to let them know and asked if I could make an appointment anyway because of everything going on. They then told me I couldn't make an appointment until they received my current prenatal records, which they never told me I needed when I discussed transferring last thursday but said ok. I called Dr. zweig's office to see what I needed to do for them to send my records over to Dr. Jones and they told me to sign a release at the new office and have them request them for them to release them. They then asked my name. I arranged for my husband to pick up the authorization form from Dr. Jones so I could fill it out and bring it back. While waiting for the form, I got a call from the office manager at Dr. zweig's office apologizing for the nurse and asking me to give them another chance and it wouldn't happen again. She also told me the doctor was standing there and would love to discuss my issues with me and I was welcome to come right in and be seen if it was convenient for me. I told her I was concerned with my care in that office and didn't feel comfortable and had already started the process of getting my records transfered over to another office.
While waiting for my husband to get the authorization form back to Dr. Jones' office, I got a call from Dr. zweig himself. He told me how sorry he was and how wrong the nurse was and I should have never been treated that way. I told him he had made me feel the same way regarding a possible vbac and I had already been seeking another office that would be more supportive in my attempt for one. He told me he never meant to make me feel like he wasn't supportive and he has no issues doing them at all, his limitations are with the hospital guidelines. Because they have to have an operating team there and ready during labor for a vbac, they have a lot of pressure from the hospital if things dont progress quickly. He said the hospital pressures them after a while to just do a cesarian because they are paying that team to do nothing and dont want to. I may be crazy here, but as my doctor, he has an obligation to make decisions best medically for his patient. That does not mean force your patient into an unnecessary cesarian because the hospital doesn't want to pay their staff even though it's their policy requiring them to be there the entire time. Forcing a patient into an unnecessary surgery for convenience and cost efficiency of the hospital is not right. He agreed with me and told me he feels there are way too many cesarians and repeat cesarians being performed daily that are not necessary and it's not right. He also assured me he would do everything he can do ensure all efforts are made within the hospital guidelines for my vbac and be more supportive of it. I agreed to go in and check how the baby was because at this point that was important.
When I went in he immediately apologized to me as soon as he saw me which was just in the hallway. The nurse had me check my weight and do my urine sample and brought me back into one of the rooms. She started to take my blood pressure and as she was she chose then to say she was sorry for what happened over the phone and she understood why I was so upset and she didn't mean to make me feel that way at all. She then asked me if I still had the cramping. I told her no, I never had any cramping. She then asked, "so it was just the stretching feeling". NO. How she got that out of contractions and sharp vaginal pains I will never understand. I told her that's how I KNOW she didn't listen to a word I said at all and that was obvious cause I never said anything about either of those. I looked away and wouldn't even look at her after that. She then said she was sorry again and left the room to get the doctor.
Dr. zweig came in and apologized again for the issues I had this morning and told me they wouldn't happen again. He then suggested he do an ultrasound and check my cervix to ensure it hadn't dilated at all from the contractions. The ultrasound showed my cervix was still closed and no dilation which was great. He did notice that a small part of my placenta was a bit low and close to my cervix which he said could be causing the issues I was having. It's something that can correct itself as my uterus gets bigger which is good. He told me to take it easy and rest as much as I can. If the contractions continue then he'd have to put me out of work for a while, until things get better. The baby looked totally healthy though and was moving around a lot, also had a nice healthy heart beat. He kept trying to figure out if it's a boy or a girl and had a hard time getting a good view. He said he thinks he kept seeing something there which would mean boy but couldn't be sure cause of the view.
When leaving, he told me if I have any concerns at all or just want to check how things are going with the baby feel free to give them a call or even come by if I'm already out and he'd be more than happy to do an ultrasound and check the baby out for me at any time. It made me feel a lot better than earlier. The office manager also came and introduced herself to me and gave me her private line and told me if I have any concerns at all feel free to give her a call and she will be sure to take care of it.
I also got a call from Dr. Jones' office through all this letting me know that they got my records from my cesarian and he would not do a vbac for me but if I wanted to switch to him knowing that I'd have to have another cesarian they'd be happy to make an appointment for me. Thanks, but no thanks.
At this point, I dont know if I'll continue to see Dr. zweig through my entire pregnancy or not but I'm going to give him a chance. I honestly can't even think about what to do about doctors right now anyway. This day alone has been quite a whirlwind. I am incredibly thankful the baby looks completely healthy though and hope things get better from this point.
No comments:
Post a Comment