Questioning my doctor? and feeling concerned

kristinat0807

Hi, All! I am about 8 weeks pregnant. I recently switched to a different OBGYN. My first OBGYN (although I am sure she is very good at what she does) was very cold/rude/unavailable for questions. And her office is vey far from me. I have seen a new doctor..I went for a consult (went well), he sent me for an ultrasound (all went well, heard the heartbeat)..he had me back to "make a game plan" as he put it. I asked about taking ibprofen (totally spelt that wrong)..He said it is totally fine to take. He also took blood but only testing normal stuff, and does not seem to be mentioning checking hormone levels or doing anything other tests currently. From all my reading right around now I should be getting tested to make sure my HCG levels are good? Also I read that ibprofen can be extremely dangerous to the baby's heart. These things are making me question the doctor. Has anyone had similar experiences? Should I stop reading and just trust my doctor? I need this baby to be healthy, and I just want to be sure that I am making the right decisions. Thanks so much in advance for all your responses!

kristinat0807

AFwifelife... thanks so much! That makes me feel much better

24karat

kristinat0807 said:

Hi, All! I am about 8 weeks pregnant. I recently switched to a different OBGYN. My first OBGYN (although I am sure she is very good at what she does) was very cold/rude/unavailable for questions. And her office is vey far from me. I have seen a new doctor..I went for a consult (went well), he sent me for an ultrasound (all went well, heard the heartbeat)..he had me back to "make a game plan" as he put it. I asked about taking ibprofen (totally spelt that wrong)..He said it is totally fine to take. He also took blood but only testing normal stuff, and does not seem to be mentioning checking hormone levels or doing anything other tests currently. From all my reading right around now I should be getting tested to make sure my HCG levels are good? Also I read that ibprofen can be extremely dangerous to the baby's heart. These things are making me question the doctor. Has anyone had similar experiences? Should I stop reading and just trust my doctor? I need this baby to be healthy, and I just want to be sure that I am making the right decisions. Thanks so much in advance for all your responses!

It's good to do homework, but I don't think you need to be concerned with your OB at this point. There is no reason to do HCG levels, it's not standard to have run. It's useful if you are high risk/prior losses, have unexplained bleeding/threatened miscarriage, or it's too early for an u/s. Since you've had an u/s there's no need for it to be run. My OB said avoid ibuprofin except for in certain circumstances.

kristinat0807

kjkarats03 I actually am high risk. My doctor explained it as my pregnancy is "risky" but not "super high risk"..so I guess I am somewhere in between.

24karat

kristinat0807 said:

kjkarats03 I actually am high risk. My doctor explained it as my pregnancy is "risky" but not "super high risk"..so I guess I am somewhere in between.

Ok. I still wouldn't expect them to run betas since you had good u/s results. HCG draws are for measuring doubling time and you are past the time where that's the best measure of viability if you're seeing a heartbeat.

Cryssteen

Since you already heard a heartbeat, that also lowers your risks.. If you like this OB better than your first, I would stick with it.  Truth is, if you ask for betas, he'll tell you why he didn't order then, or just order them to put you at ease.  They'd normally done a bit earlier - 6 weeks?

coffee89

My first OB did a beta because it was one cycle out of a m/c and he wasn't going to send me for an u/s until 13 weeks. I switched to my current for various reasons and he never did a beta because we had a hb on the u/s so they saw no point.

If you don't feel comfortable taking a medication then don't take it. Ask your OB again if you are conceded with it, perhaps they misheard you. If you like this new doctor, stick it out with them. If you end up hating them in a month or two or more then you can always change to another.

runningmama22

hmm the only odd thing is the ibuprofen. Which I wouldnt take, and it's generally recommended by OBs not to take. Betas isnt that weird, but like pp said, ask him why he didn't order them if you're curious. Seeing HB is a better indication of a thriving pregnancy, however. Did you ask him if it was Ok that you HAD taken it? Because I asked my OB that as well, I took stuff before I knew I was pregnant and he said "thats fine just stop now"... 

kristinat0807

Thanks everyone! No, I hadn't taken any ibuprofen. I have been getting bad headaches and I asked him what I can take. He asked me what I would normally take..I told him ibuprofen..he said go for it, and that it doesn't have asprin in it so it is okay. I thought it sounded weird and looked it up...Other than that I have been a fan of him. Worst case scenario if things like this continue I will switch. I want to feel 100% confident with my doctor! 

argonne

Quantitative HCG (betas) aren't standard for women who got pregnant easily.  Usually they're done when the woman suffered from IF (and she's under the care of an RE), recurrent early losses, etc.  The ibuprofen thing is a bit alarming as you should not be taking ibuprofen while pregnant.  Tylenol is fine.  Iburprofen, not fine.

mmooki

I'm high risk and this is my 2nd pregnancy and I've never had beta levels drawn. I guess it isn't standard in my dr office unless there was a previous loss or some other reason

mirizzi&A

I'm lurking from TTGP:

A great resource to get the most informed medical opinion on safety of drugs during pregnancy is motherisk.org . It's run by SickKids in Toronto, and it looks at the available medical literature and offers a recommendation based on that. The part that addresses ibuprofen (under the heading non-steroidal anti-inflammatory/NSAID) is here:

https://www.motherisk.org/prof/updatesDetail.jsp?content_id=922

Your Obs/Gyn was offering you the best medical opinion science has to offer in terms of telling you that taking ibuprofen in your first trimester is safe (the studies back him up). Taking ibuprofen (or other NSAIDS) in late pregnancy can cause premature closure of the ductus arteriosus (the neonatal connection between the pulmonary artery and aorta). Thus taking ibuprofen in late pregnancy is not safe because it alters the fetuses circulation to that of an infant before it is delivered. Discussing this with your MD would likely be more than worth your time: the more knowledge you have, the better decisions you're able to make for yourself as far as your care is concerned. 

As always, this is my opinion and doesn't constitute medical advice.