frustrated.
peaceistheway
member
So I'm coming down with something, and I have no idea how to make myself feel better! All pregnancy books say "don't hesitate to contact your doctor with questions", blah blah blah. I called the naval hospital around noon today, was put on hold for 10 minutes, only to talk to someone who was not a nurse. She took a supposedly detailed message, including my symptoms, and that I was calling to see if they recommended any medicine that was safe for pregnant women. STILL NO CALL BACK.
I'm super new to this whole tricare thing... but so far, I'm scared sh*tless of the thought of delivering at this place. I'm not expecting everyone to drop everything because I'm coming down with something... but I also never expected the place I'm supposed to be relying and depending on for my prenatal care and labor and all that to be too busy to even call me back.
Ugh. I know i'm just hormonal and getting overly upset. But I feel like crap, and I have to go to work in the morning. With no illness relief in sight. BLEH.
Re: frustrated.
I'm sorry, that sucks that they didn't have a nurse on call to answer questions like that. Here's some resources for you as far as the medications go:
https://www.webmd.com/baby/taking-medicine-during-pregnancy
https://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/aap-approved-meds.html
I don't know how far along you are. But, at my initial paperwork appointment they gave me a printout of all the approved meds, and the nurse hand wrote in some additional ones.
Thanks for the links! I'm so sketched out with the "consult your physician" warnings for pregnant women... I'd feel MUCH better just speaking with a live human being.
I'm 5 1/2 weeks... my first OB appt. is on Dec. 12th. So hopefully I'll be loaded with information when I leave there. If not? Oh boy... is my husband going to have one ruffled pregnant woman on his hands :-X. Hahaha.
Did you call your OB, or did you call the nurse line? Try to call the nurse line if not. Whenever I call my OB, they take a message, and from there they have 48 hours to answer back. Whenever I call the nurse line, I always talk to a nurse.
This exactly.
Although my midwife calls me back right away. Usually within the same day, unless she's not in, in which case she calls me first thing in the morning.
I don't know who exactly you tried calling, But, also, until I had been seen for the first appointment they told me to direct my questions to the normal office (like whoever I was assigned to normally) and just inform them I'm pregnant. Then after I was seen for the first appointment I could direct my questions to the midwife/obgyn office, then after I was into the 3rd trimester I'd direct my questions to L&D.
However, they said at any time during my pregnancy (up until the third trimester) I could call or go into urgent care for assistance.
I also second the calling the nurse line. I've always gotten great help with them.
Some clinics have 72 hours to call you back for a telephone consult. In Army clinics, it's often a receptionist that enters the telephone consult request into the computer system. With the 72 hour rule, if you call on a Friday, you may not hear back until Tuesday.
Different MTFs have different standards of care regarding telephone consults; some clinics do not even take phone questions at all.
Next time you call your clinic, ask what the normal and allowed wait time is for someone to get back to you. Ask if they recommend that you make an appointment instead, or walk in to the clinic. You could also find out from your specific provider at your next appointment if they have a way that they prefer to communicate with patients outside of scheduled appointments (some give out phone numbers, some email, etc).
Yea, I'm seriously considering switching to tricare standard. I'm going to at least give the naval hospital a shot, though. I've got my first appt. on December 12th, so we'll see how that goes.
As for the nurse line, I'm pretty sure that's what I called. It was the "if you have a medical question and would like to speak to a member of our staff" option. I was kind of pissed off when I called again today, and got a call back within an hour from a nurse saying she called me yesterday but I didn't answer... I call BS, because I never got a call, and usually they leave messages, which I also did not get.
SIIIIGH. Oh well. I got my answers. And I'm feeling a TEENSY bit better, although I'm pretty sure the pregnant queasiness is starting to rear it's ugly head. BLEH. This is going to be one hell of a ride. But at least it's totally worth it
.
As for civilian medicine/standard, it's not all puppies and sunshine either. They have similar standards, and if they don't have a dedicated nurse line to call then you're left in the same situation waiting for someone to call you back.
I'd ask them next time you're there if there's a nurse line you can call directly instead. Some hospitals have those. Otherwise, like someone said above, you can always walk into the closest ER if you're seriously concerned. It's free, and while it may take a while, pregnant ladies normally get to jump to the front of the line with any major concerns, and it would give you peace of mind. Never ever just stay at home if you're really worried about your or your baby's well being.
Totally agree with this! If you're that concerned then drive there in person. I've had to do that before but I have decided not to switch to standard because when I looked at my options for out in town care they sucked unless I wanted to drive 45 min away!