Not everyone has Il the luxury of calling up there Dr I only have a number for the l&d to call when a emergency happens, my midwife I can call Monday to Friday between 8am till 9am, luckily though I've not needed to or needed to ask a question here, would be nice to see that the people get support not shot down when they ask a question, i know we're not doctors and every pregnancy is different but some people can just be so rude on there replies. We're all going though the same thing and may just want reassuring, sorry rant over
Re: Dr's and insurance Post rant
I also do not have ANY access to my OB so whenever I have a question about symptoms and if I should come in L&D nurses are more than happy to answer my questions - they're a great resource to utilize if you're unsure if you should be concerned.
I don't think people are being rude because they ask a question here, I think some of us get annoyed when people ask a question WITHOUT trying to find an answer on their own first. My dr isn't 24/7 either, and I don't even have an l&d number to call in emergencies, (I got a booklet saying what to watch for and if any of it happens just go to the hospital) but if my body does something weird or unexpected I'll usually google it, or try to look it up in one of my books like What to Expect, or in a last case scenario I'll call my own mom or MIL and just ask if she knows anything about it. If I want to discuss a shared experience I'll come here and look for another post first, and if I don't find one in the past month or so I might start a new thread.
I think that's what most of us do, but when a newbie panics and posts "OMG I HAD DIARRHEA AM I IN LABOR?" without even trying to look up one of the other 50 diarrhea posts, they clog up the board from otherwise interesting topics.
And we are all mothers here too, so I think there's also a level of frustration that comes from the fact that we DO want to help the panicky FTM with diarrhea, but without adequate knowledge of the situation (I.e. Did this come out of nowhere or did you give in to your Taco Bell craving?) and with no medical expertise there is nothing we can to but sit there and hope that one day this woman can learn to help herself to the myriad of other, more reliable resources around her.
There's also the fact that some of the posts are unnecessarily graphic or hyperbolized. Granted, we get desensitized to a lot of stuff that is pretty gross (I could write a book about things that grossed me out before I got pregnant that come up in daily conversation now) but generally if something comes out of you that isn't a baby, we don't need you to post pictures of it here. I could make a rainbow from stand-alone posts asking if the color of your discharge/mucus plug/breastmilk/poop is normal (it probably is). And again, most of us have no medical knowledge, and only a few of us might have experience, so you'd most likely be better off asking your dr (when you can) or asking dr Google. Rarely is a problem life threatening and your dr should have already made you aware of anything that could be, so it's not asking a lot for you to wait until your dr is available to ask them.
And if you and your partner like to have freaky sex or bring other people into the bedroom, that's fine, but don't be surprised if people judge you. If you cheated or even slept with someone else with your SO's permission, and you don't know who the daddy is, you should keep that private among you, your SO, and possibly Maury Povich. Not that I don't love a juicy "Who is my baby daddy" story, but then I remember that you're a real person dealing with a life-changing issue and I feel like a bad person for treating it like a soap opera. Then I blame you for making me feel bad by posting personal issues in a public forum. And the cycle of Internet hate continues until you delete your post. Then I get sad because there's nothing else to gossip about.
tl;dr
People get mad/rude/snippy when the message boards are misused. It says in the fine print that this is here for Entertainment Purposes Only! And "This site and its content and any services provided therein are not intended to, and do not, constitute medical or healthcare advice or diagnosis..." We all should take a little more responsibility, whether it be for our understanding, our words, or our feelings.
@toddabunny I'm not trying to discourage you or anyone else. I'm surprised no one has made a "Back in January..." Comment yet, but no one is getting shot down. Some people might make snarky comments but they're usually sandwiched in between comments from people who are trying to be helpful and nice. You just have to ignore them.
Also having insurance like we do in the U.S. can actually be more of a hindrance than a help. The dr will say you need something done and your insurance will try to convince them to do something else because it's cheaper, even if it's less (or not) effective. My insurance has pulled a bait and switch on me a few times so far, where they'll tell me they'll pay for something and then later send me a bill for $1,000 because of some stipulation in the fine print.
@hannahwilderr I get that there are isolated women here with no one else to talk to. That's why I joined myself! I'm the first in my family and social group to have kids. I have a weird relationship with my own mom and I don't always feel comfortable talking to her about maternity. I lost my job when I was 5 weeks along, and my DH works 12-14 hour days. So for the majority of my pregnancy my only sounding board was my cats. They're not very helpful. But eventually one of them got sick of me and suggested I join a message board.
And I'm guilty of doing the same thing I complained about. My first post I panicked and I couldn't find the information I wanted fast enough so I posted something that had already been answered 100 times over. Some people were patient and nice, some not so much, but they still answered. Like I said before, we all need to be responsible for our feelings. It would be nice if no one was snarky, but they have a right to say what they want. It's up to us to decide whether or not to be a victim or to just say "Wow, what a jerk!" And move on.