This really might be a stupid question-- re: your doctor

jshrop · January 2014

So, the more I think about it, the more concerned I am about the care I receive at my doctors office. I seriously picked this place because they were first listed on Google and I was freaking out (plus they took my insurance). My question is this: what happens at your doctors visits?
I've often laughed and said my doc is a flake but reading some of these threads, I am starting to get a little bit worried she really is a flake. Each time I go in, I get vitals taken, urine collected, then the doc comes in with a Doppler. She listens to the baby for 15 seconds, says "sounds fine" then asks me if I've had any problems. I say "nope" or "hips are killing me" and she says great, see you in a month and leaves. (Entire doc portion < 2 minutes) Should we be discussing options for birth, preparations I should be doing, nutrition, or anything like that? Anytime I do ask specific questions, she hands me a pamphlet or recommends I read What to expect while you're expecting because they can"explain it better than her."
I've never been to the doctor much, actually only for yearly paps, but is this normal?

lellymine · January 2014

I usually spend about 15-20 minutes with my dr. Her nurses do the vitals but she does the Doppler and answers any questions I have and gives me places to do more research if I want to look into something. She also asks how I'm doing emotionally and mentally but I do have anxiety issues and my family has a history of severe PPD so that might be why she spends a bit longer with me.

JNerd · January 2014

That's pretty much my appointments. Short and sweet. Do you feel comfortable asking questions? That part is huge. If you have questions about a test or about what you are feeling and don't feel like you can ask, or like the answers you are getting are setting your mind at ease that is a point of concern.

With DS when I tried to talk birth options in 2nd tri they told me to wait as there was a lot to get through before getting to that point.

I think this is all very routine for a lot of doctors and they forget that this very much isn't routine for their patients.

rainbowdashh · January 2014

My appointments last maybe 10 minutes with the actual doctor. Before she comes in I have my vitals taken, urine sample collected, then I get placed in the exam room. The doctor comes in and goes over my vitals and asks how I'm feeling. She'll do an ultrasound (I'm not sure why, but I've had one at every appt) and ask me if I have any questions or concerns.

The one thing that would raise a red flag with me about your doc is her deflecting your questions to what to expect. That would piss me off. She's a doctor. She should be able to explain it.

ETA: with my last pregnancy, we started discussing birthing plans and preparation a little further along. Maybe 25ish weeks? I can't remember but we did eventually talk about it. The first 20 weeks was mostly about how I was feeling and how baby was doing.

aleksandra_irmina · January 2014

I'm usually with my doctor for about 5 minutes... That being said, she has answered questions I have, but as far as the birth plan, etc, I think it's a bit early for her to be worrying about that (I'm at 17 wks)

jshrop · January 2014

Hmm. Do you talk about classes or what you should expect or recommendations or anything?
I have no problems asking questions, but any questions I've had either have a two second answer or a referral to a book. The other part is-- I gave no clue what to ask!!!! If it weren't for this site I'd totally forget about things like birthing classes, ect. I just don't know how/what to expect!

Pepper6 · January 2014

amoot890 said:

This part sounds normal: I get vitals taken, urine collected, then the doc comes in with a Doppler. She listens to the baby for 15 seconds, says "sounds fine"

This part seems weird: "hips are killing me" and she says great, see you in a month and leaves. she hands me a pamphlet or recommends I read What to expect while you're expecting because they can"explain it better than her."

I think there should be more of a discussion between the two of you, not just her handing you pamphlets or telling you to read a book. When my brother had issues with his gall bladder and had to go to the ER the guy said "just google it if you have any questions" umm... what are we paying you for?!

All of this. My regular appointments at this point in my pregnancy are very quick as I haven't had any questions. However, if I do have a question, I fully expect my doctor to answer it for me, not refer me to a book...

tbmadeamistake · January 2014

Sounds like mine unless I have an issue, then we talk about that. If you want more attention/time, ask for it.

chaysefaith · January 2014

That's basically what happens in my appointments. I'm starting to feel comfortable asking questions (I really don't have a choice this time...) but in past pregnancies I didn't ever ask questions. If my back hurt or I was peeing more than usual I chalked it up to carrying around a kid inside of me and never asked questions. I honestly didn't even talk birth plan with my docs except with my oldest I asked to be induced because I was moving an hour away.

I do think it's weird that she refers you to what to expect instead of answering your questions.

jshrop · January 2014

Okay, so I think you all have helped me. It's too early to be worried about classes/birth plans/options and go in with whatever questions I have written down. I honestly haven't asked her too much, but she told me I was Strep b positive on one visit. Upon telling me this she says "it's no big deal, you'll just get an antibiotic during delivery" and then handed me a pamphlet BC it explained it better than she could. And the other major question I had was about weight gain and nutrition and she referred me to the book instead of discussing guidelines or whatever. Any symptoms I've had she's said "that's normal". Including the time my nipple changed color and was hot (it went completely flesh colored, no idea why), she said "nipple changes are normal, especially if you've had a boob job." To which hubs burst out laughing as she was lifting my tits to find the incision! I had to explain they were all natural thanks to this kiddo!!

mrs_drc_rn · January 2014

That's basically my appointment in a nutshell. Although, if I do tell my OB I'm having any symptoms he'll ask me a lot of questions about it and then from an opinion. Any questions I ask of him are answered directly. I'd be annoyed if my OB was just throwing pamphlets at me!

Sareynoo · January 2014

amoot890 said:
This part sounds normal: I get vitals taken, urine collected, then the doc comes in with a
Doppler. She listens to the baby for 15 seconds, says "sounds fine"

This part seems weird: "hips are killing me" and she says great, see you in a month and leaves. she hands me a pamphlet or recommends I read What to expect while you're
expecting because they can"explain it better than her."

This! ^^ all of my appointments are very very short. My doctor was recommended to me by a lot of coworkers and friends and everyone loves him. If I ask a question he will answer though. I'm not sure if you are having issues with your pregnancy but if anything was wrong I'm sure your appointments would be longer. I think they go into more detail about your birth when you get closer to your due date.

Mommiekel · January 2014

It sounds normal to me, my dr. Visits are usually 2 minutes and the dr always seemed confused I have no questions. With DS, I also was strep b positive and my dr. Did the same thing. The next visit I asked questions about the pamphlet and explained I really didn't understand what being positive entailed. Once I asked he explained everything and then told me what could happen.

I agree with all PP, these appt. are routine to them. If u are confused about anything ask!

jshrop · January 2014

Thank you all so much!! I feel much better!

flerlgirl · January 2014

Mine does exactly what yours does! I'm even high-risk and he does give me every opportunity to ask questions, but the actual appointment is like twelve minutes!

Luna C · January 2014

amoot890 said:

This part sounds normal: I get vitals taken, urine collected, then the doc comes in with a Doppler. She listens to the baby for 15 seconds, says "sounds fine"

This part seems weird: "hips are killing me" and she says great, see you in a month and leaves. she hands me a pamphlet or recommends I read What to expect while you're expecting because they can"explain it better than her."

I think there should be more of a discussion between the two of you, not just her handing you pamphlets or telling you to read a book. When my brother had issues with his gall bladder and had to go to the ER the guy said "just google it if you have any questions" umm... what are we paying you for?!

This. The first part is how my exams go. The second part is weird -- she's not even referring you to a good book. And she should be spending more time answering your questions herself.

I do think it's probably too early to be going into birth plans, etc. For all you know, you'll have some issue crop up in 3rd tri that requires inducement or a planned C-section, so why go through all the planning now.

Is there another doc in the practice you can start seeing instead?

lest12 · January 2014

Sounds like my appointments, as well. He will ask questions but nothing seems to alarm him too much. I was wondering if I was missing something myself, but then my doctor called today with blood results and talked me through everything. Anytime something has been wrong (not pregnancy related) he's been great. It's just that you don't know until you are in that situation.

almendarez · January 2014

jshrop said:

Anytime I do ask specific questions, she hands me a pamphlet or recommends I read What to expect while you're expecting because they can"explain it better than her."

This seems a little odd to me. She should answer your questions and then give you further reading if you want to know more... pamphlets are so general.

Otherwise, your appointments sound like my doctor visits as well. However, I have been meeting with the nurse practitioner for most of my appointments lately because the doctor is too busy and takes more days off. The nurse practitioner spends a lot more time with me per appointment than the doctor does and she discusses everything at length. She's also really funny and made me feel a lot better when I received scary test results. I think I might switch to her full time since the practice is at a hospital and there are plenty of doctors around in case something goes terribly wrong...

GolfWidow001 · January 2014

amoot890 said:
This part sounds normal: I get vitals taken, urine collected, then the doc comes in with a
Doppler. She listens to the baby for 15 seconds, says "sounds fine"

This part seems weird: "hips are killing me" and she says great, see you in a month and leaves. she hands me a pamphlet or recommends I read What to expect while you're
expecting because they can"explain it better than her."

I think there should be more of a discussion between the two of you, not just her handing you pamphlets or telling you to read a book. When my brother had issues with his gall bladder and had to go to the ER the guy said "just google it if you have any questions" umm... what are we paying you for?!

This. My appts are short, but that's because I haven't had any questions so far. I've been feeling good and this is my second time around. If my appt lasts longer than 5 min it's because I'm getting my pap and they are making sure we are on the same page regarding a scheduled c section. When I ask a question, they answer it...not refer me to a book. That would scare me.

Kinipela7 · January 2014

Sounds like my appointments, however if I do have questions the doc always answers them and your doc should as well. It's too early to be discussing birth options and all that jazz, but if you have questions, she needs to answer them herself!

misscarter87 · January 2014

nnh7 said:
I have to say, I kept calling my Midwife a whack-a-doodle after several appointments. For example: I asked if Vicks vapor rub is ok to use while sick.. she proceeded to google it. *THAT WAS AWKWARD* So the next appointment I made with the Dr at the same practice... I have to say the entire visit was different. Every question I asked was legitimately answered without the use of google and I felt so much better about the visit. So I will definitely be staying with that
Dr for the rest of my appts.

So my recommendation is to see
if there is another Dr in the practice that you can see. That may change your whole
experience.

Wow google it really that is so strange i would find me another doctor!

LegalLadyBug · January 2014

My time with my OB is short. At the start I have a 45 min ultrasound where they measure the twins etc. then I do vitals with the nurse. Then I go in a room and take my pants off for a cervical check with the OB. He asks how I'm feeling and if I have questions. I actually stopped him from walking out the door yesterday because I wasn't done asking questions but he was apparently ready to leave.

If you are uncomfortable with your OB, especially her apparent inability to answer questions, I would switch ASAP before you get too far along.

Gigi8212 · January 2014

It sounds a lot like my appointments. Most of the time, I have no questions. Even when I do though, my doctor is very to the point. I would say he is in and out of the exam room within five minutes, usually less. It doesn't bother me because he always answers my questions when I have them.

As far as birth options, we didn't discuss it until third tri with my first, when we talked about induction. This time it has come up earlier because of complications I had during dd's birth.

MrsCase1 · January 2014

Instructing you to read a book because it knows better than her is more of a read flag to me than a pamphlet or short visit. I mean it sucks she is so quick but sometimes that is common. It is a bit early to discuss birth and such so I guess it is normal for a quick visit if you're low-risk. But yeah, she sounds sucky.

brooklyngirl46 · January 2014

My appts are also quite quick. My dr is good at calling back when I have questions, and takes his time with that. I'm OK with being unimpressive enough to warrant more examination. I see it as a good thing.

I would, however, be ticked off at the book answer. It's one thing to recommend it as an aside. It's another thing to dismiss a question.

mrscbrad · January 2014

I feel like you should be super confident in and trusting of anyone who gets to look at your vagina. If you don't feel that way you may want to ask other docs in your area what their typical visit is like. My OB does something called Centering where we meet once a month with her and about 15 other women with our bith month to ask questions and do basic vitals in addition to regular checks.

curlylocks3 · January 2014

I'd say the only thing that seems abnormal is her inability/unwillingness to answer specific questions. I don't think pamphlets are necessarily a bad thing (after all, who can remember everything that we're told during an appointment? I personally like having something in writing to refer back to later) but I think they should be accompanied by a verbal explanation. Referring you to a specific book seems way off to me too unless she was saying "you can find specific meal planning suggestions or breakdowns to get your extra calories in X book".
If there aren't any issues going on, routine OB appointments WILL be very short. But given what you've said I'd probably look for a new OB. Do you have any friends you can ask for referrals? Or else maybe try your primary care doctor.

Dharmatron · January 2014

My appointments are less than 10 minutes and I've only seen a nurse.

Mztwilson · January 2014

My doctor is super thurough compared to some of yours. She spends atleast 10 mins discussing lab results risk factors asking how I'm feeling ect.

LegalLadyBug · January 2014

mrscbrad said:
I feel like you should be super confident in and trusting of anyone who gets to look at your vagina.

This. You are going to have enough stress on delivery day and you want to trust and be comfortable with the person who is either between your legs or cutting you open.

With DD I was supposed to have the OB on call deliver her, not the OB I had been seeing. It was a healthcare system and they all took delivery rotations and that's just the way it was. I lucked out and my regular OB just happened to be at the hospital doing L&D Triage. When she saw my name come up on the patient list she made the time to come up and deliver DD. It made a huge difference to have her there, someone I knew and trusted. I can't imagine having someone I didn't trust or felt was flaky.

lscal20 · January 2014

My appts are just how you describe, I get weighed, give urine sample, nurse checks vitals, Dr listens to heartbeat with a Doppler for maybe 10-15 secs, asks if I have questions. If I do have questions, they answer them, if not that's it and they say see you in a month!

As far as labor plans, etc. I assumed it was too early and that's not how they do it. I honestly have barely thought about it and wouldn't even know what to talk about yet. I just started to realize I'm actually having this baby

BTW..at 12 weeks I did have an internal/ pap but that was the only difference so far

2blessingsin1 · January 2014

Most of my Reg OB appts are short and sweet. Unless I have some "abnormals" I have questions about.

This past visit did result in a panic attack due to her addressing a C-section (I am 16 weeks with twins Twin A is breech) my HR doc said it was too early to have been having that conversation. My panic attack resulted in my fear of surgery, not because it was a "c section." Just wanted to clarify that.

Any concerns you have when the doc hands you a pamphlet, stop her and ask questions. She should be able to do that for you. That is what her job consist of.

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This really might be a stupid question-- re: your doctor

Re: This really might be a stupid question-- re: your doctor

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