Too late to switch OB's?

SammieLou88 · October 2012

I'm starting to question whether or not I should switch OB's offices. The 2nd week of September, I pulled something in my back. I called my OB's office to see what I could take and they said, because of where the pain was located, they wanted me to go to the ER. That made sense to me at the time because I only found out I was pregnant when I went in for a surgical consult on some kidney stones that I needed to have removed. They were worried about a kidney infection. I got to the ER and they said it was a back strain and to take it easy. No harm, no foul. Last Wednesday, I called because I was having moments of dizziness and seeing spots. They again told me to go to the ER. I went in, got a few bags of fluids and a new prenatal with a higher iron content and was told it was most likely dehydration/low iron that caused the dizzy spells. Monday, I took a fall in the parking lot at Starbucks. I twisted my ankle and, later in the afternoon, my back started hurting. I called my Dr. to ask what I should be watching for to make sure the baby was okay and they, again, sent me to the ER. When I got to the ER, the doctor there told me that my OB shouldn't have sent me because, since I could easily walk on my ankle (although it was painful), there was no way it was broken, so there was no x-ray's to be done. They couldn't give me any pain meds for it. Same with my back. She said even with the back pain, if it WAS something wrong with the baby, there would be nothing they could do at that point, anyway, because the baby isn't yet viable. She said that if my OB was concerned, they should have asked to see me in their office. They gave me a couple Tylenol and sent me home. So, in the matter of 6 weeks, I have managed to rack up $300 in ER co-pays when, each time I went in, there was virtually nothing wrong. It's making me think that maybe I should consider switching OB's offices since they'd rather the hospital deal with my care than deal with it themselves. I love my actual doctor, but every other person in his office seems to just blow me off or send me to the ER everytime I call there. Is it too late to switch? Would you consider switching in this situation or are they right to be so cautious that they send me to the ER for everything? TIA!

RussianMommy · October 2012

Where I'm from, ER is for emergencies only so, yea it seems weird to me that they are sending you there instead of just a normal dr.

No advice on what you should do, but it's never too late to switch. You could change drs at 37 weeks if you wanted!!

arianejent · October 2012

Since you really like your doctor, I think you should call your doctor and tell him your concerns with getting sent to the ER every time you call. Possibly there is a disconnect with the staff and he is not aware that they are doing this.

branmuffin2112 · October 2012

No, it's not too late to switch.

brevans02 · October 2012

RussianMommy:
Where I'm from, ER is for emergencies only so, yea it seems weird to me that they are sending you there instead of just a normal dr. No advice on what you should do, but it's never too late to switch. You could change drs at 37 weeks if you wanted!!

Yep, you ALWAYS have the option to change doctors. I'm not sure if I'd necessarily switch for this, but it does seem a little odd. I'd think an urgent care place would be more appropriate for most of the situations you've described. But, since I pay ER fees out of pocket, I'd better be in danger of losing a limb before I'll go. (That, and I don't necessarily have a lot of faith in the ER in this town...if it was that serious, I'd hightail it to the bigger city sort of nearby.)

SlopesShredder · October 2012

I think its strange for you OB to be sending you to the ER for those kinds of things. The few minor things that have happened to me this time, my OB just told me to come into their office first. If I were you, I would start looking around for a new one.

JSS1002 · October 2012

It sounds like the third ER trip was really the only errant one -- and they should have just sent you to Urgent Care. I don't agree that there's no need for x-rays just because you're walking on it -- I've walked on plenty of bad injuries before, it is all about your personal pain threshold.

If you were concerned about the baby from the fall, I would have thought they would listen for a heart beat and do an ultrasound just for peace of mind, not necessarily to "fix" anything. I was in a car accident around 15 or 16 weeks and that's exactly what I did -- I knew I was fine, but I've always been taught to go right to the ER after a car accident, because you never know. Since I was pregnant, I was extra concerned and wanted to go. They checked me out, gave me a quick ultrasound, and sent me on my way. THEN, I called my OB to let them know what had happened, and they had me come in to hear the heartbeat -- again, for peace of mind.

SammieLou88 · October 2012

brevans02:
RussianMommy:
Where I'm from, ER is for emergencies only so, yea it seems weird to me that they are sending you there instead of just a normal dr. No advice on what you should do, but it's never too late to switch. You could change drs at 37 weeks if you wanted!!

Yep, you ALWAYS have the option to change doctors. I'm not sure if I'd necessarily switch for this, but it does seem a little odd. I'd think an urgent care place would be more appropriate for most of the situations you've described. But, since I pay ER fees out of pocket, I'd better be in danger of losing a limb before I'll go. (That, and I don't necessarily have a lot of faith in the ER in this town...if it was that serious, I'd hightail it to the bigger city sort of nearby.)

I did ask them if an urgent care would be sufficient. They said only if they had the capability to do an u/s...which apparently none in my area do. But 2/3 times that I've called, it's been early in the day where the OB's office was still open. I don't get why I wasn't just asked to come in to their office.

Mrs.Leah.Maria · October 2012

arianejent:
Since you really like your doctor, I think you should call your doctor and tell him your concerns with getting sent to the ER every time you call. Possibly there is a disconnect with the staff and he is not aware that they are doing this.

Definitely this.

With a an additional bit of: No, it's certainly not too late.

And an added dose of, even if your OB's staff told you to go to the ER, you can definitely still engage discernment in whether it makes sense to go. I'd have been concerned regarding the possible kidney stones and possibly the dehydration, but I would definitely not have gone to the ER for your ankle.

nikknakk4 · October 2012

It's never too late.

If you're concerned switch; or like PP said, try to talk to your actual Doctor about your concerns. See if he knows that is going on.

Ann003 · October 2012

Maybe they should have told you to see your primary care physician or urgent care instead, but i wouldn't expect my OB to deal with back pain (outside of back labor) or an ankle injury. They may have referred you to the ER because those symptoms/injuries are outside of their specialty and they aren't supposed to treat them. I know that my OB and RE wouldn't even try to talk about my heart issues and immediately had me consult my cardiologist. I figured it was an issue of not having the knowledge and also a liability issue as well. They probably should have seen you for your dizzy spell though. I would ask your OB why they didn't have you come in.

You can always switch your OB. I meet my new one next week at 19 weeks (my OB is moving).

SammieLou88 · October 2012

Ann003:
Maybe they should have told you to see your primary care physician or urgent care instead, but i wouldn't expect my OB to deal with back pain outside of back labor or an ankle injury. nbsp;They may have referred you to the ER because those symptoms/injuries are outside of their specialty and they aren't supposed to treat them. nbsp;I know that my OB and RE wouldn't even try to talk about my heart issues and immediately had me consult my cardiologist. nbsp;I figured it was an issue of not having the knowledge and also a liability issue as well. nbsp;They probably should have seen you for your dizzy spell though. nbsp;I would ask your OB why they didn't have you come in.You can always switch your OB. nbsp;I meet my new one next week at 19 weeks my OB is moving. nbsp;

Both times, the back issues felt like cramping, which is why I called my OB instead of my regular Dr.

skoogirl · October 2012

Yeah, I agree with others that most of those things aren't OB type problems. If an OB patient is having a stroke for instance (spotty vision/dizziness) they would need to go to the ER. I wouldn't call my OB regarding my ankle hurting though. I think you mentioned that they wanted you to go somewhere with an ultrasound, but as others pointed out there's nothing the ER would have been able to do for you regarding that either. So, for the ankle I would call my primary care physician or go to urgent care. If you were worried about the baby from the fall I would think that the OB's office would want to at least try the doppler. It sounds like there may have been a miscommunication with office staff. Definitely bring it up with your doctor either way so that you understand what they want you to call them about and what to go to L/D for and what to go to the ER for. But, I don't think it's too late to change doctors if you find one that will take a patient at this stage.

Murraydog · October 2012

when you call the dr's office who are you talking to? The front desk scheduling clerk or the nurse for your doctor? I think that would make a big difference on what kind of advice you would be getting. I work in a doctors office as a scheduler and we have very tight restrictions on reccomendations we are able to give patients. I would make sure that when you do call the office, that you are talking to either your doctor or the RN for the clinic. No one lower than that should be giving you medical advice. That could be why they are telling you to go to the ER. It's kind of a liability issue.

With all of that said, it's not too late to switch doctors. If you're not feeling that you're getting the best care, then you should do it sooner than later. BUT...if you really like your doctor, I would bring this up in your next appointment. I wouldn't call the office for something like this, but talk to your doctor face to face about it at your next appointment and really lay your concerns out there. Like other said, there could be a real disconnect between the doctor and the support staff and he may not even know it is happening without a patient telling him. I'd be afraid that by calling the clinic, you'll get the same run around. I know that part of my job is playing gate-keeper for my providers to keep them from having to deal with non-urgent phone calls because the providers get enough urgent phone calls to handle in one day and although this feels very urgent to you, it can wait until your next appointment.

Good luck with your decision.

principessa81 · October 2012

That's really bizarre that they keep sending you to the hospital. I also think it's strange they said they couldn't give you ANY pain meds; I was having horrible back pain about two months ago, and I went to see my PCP. I told her I was pregnant, and she recommended physical therapy (I've been going for about a month now, and it's working wonders) but she also prescribed Loritab-sp?-for the very pain. It's safe to take during pregnancy, and it took away the pain so I could sleep at night. So yeah, I'm kind of surprised they didn't offer you ANYTHING.

All that being said, it's definitely not too late to switch. I know women who have switched during week 39 of their pregnancies.

JSS1002 · October 2012

principessa81:
. I also think it's strange they said they couldn't give you ANY pain meds;p>

This too -- Vicodin is also pregnancy-safe.

Ann003 · October 2012

SammieLou88:
Ann003:
Maybe they should have told you to see your primary care physician or urgent care instead, but i wouldn't expect my OB to deal with back pain outside of back labor or an ankle injury. nbsp;They may have referred you to the ER because those symptoms/injuries are outside of their specialty and they aren't supposed to treat them. nbsp;I know that my OB and RE wouldn't even try to talk about my heart issues and immediately had me consult my cardiologist. nbsp;I figured it was an issue of not having the knowledge and also a liability issue as well. nbsp;They probably should have seen you for your dizzy spell though. nbsp;I would ask your OB why they didn't have you come in.You can always switch your OB. nbsp;I meet my new one next week at 19 weeks my OB is moving. nbsp;
Both times, the back issues felt like cramping, which is why I called my OB instead of my regular Dr.

In that case, I would expect to be seen by my OB. I would definitely talk to him.

Too late to switch OB's?

Elisabeth Lee "Ella"
Born April 14, 2013

Re: Too late to switch OB's?

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Too late to switch OB's?

Elisabeth Lee "Ella"Born April 14, 2013

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Elisabeth Lee "Ella"Born April 14, 2013

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