Aaarghh!! Stupid assaultative medical establishment. (rant- sorry.)

1653 Views 11 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Kavita, Jun 12, 2005

flapjack

Discussion Starter · Jun 10, 2005

So, Monday I had the consultants appointment. My urine sample was taken away, tested, empty bottle returned to me, I was told everything was fine. My blood pressure was checked (up a staggering 30 points on the week before due to stress), I refused the fundal prodding (the midwife did it last week) and the doppler for the same reason- at which point the doctor gave me a look as if to say "uh-oh, this means trouble." We discussed the homebirth- he didn't express an opinion, but has marked my notes to say that I was booked for a homebirth assuming there were no problems. So, so far everything normal and I can now relax, right??
Wrong. This morning I had a phone call from my doctors to say that the results from the urine sample I had taken on Monday were returned and I have a UTI- please come down to the surgery to collect a prescription for antibiotics. WTF??? It wasn't even a sterile bottle and they most certainly did not have my permission to carry out such a check. I told them they were mistaken, they doublechecked and saw that the sample had been sent from my consultant. We don't know if it's me, if the results are right, and if there's any contamination- let alone why this test was carried out without ANY word to me. I am just livid right now, but I'm giving myself the weekend to calm down before I start the formal complaints procedure.
Sorry for length- I just wanted to get this off my chest.

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Amy

· #2 · Jun 10, 2005

I'm sorry you are feeling so invaded Helen. I've had my own battles with the medical community so I understand how frustrating it can be!!

Regarding the UTI, not that this will make you feel any better - but I believe it's standard to collect urine at most OB visits to check for infection and other such things, at least in the US. That being said, your doc should have certainly talked to you about it beforehand.

And assuming you do have one, there are certainly plenty of other options besides antibiotics!

Hang in there sister. It'll all be OK.

And if worse comes to worse, you can always go punch them in the neck!

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mzfern

· #3 · Jun 10, 2005

Sorry to butt in here (saw this in the 'New Posts' section), but I've had UTIs in the past and there is NO mistaking them... unless your urine is normally blood red and burns like the hells of Satan! Stupid doctors

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flyingspaghettimama

· #4 · Jun 10, 2005

I have had UTIs with no symptoms until later (very unpleasant, the burning others described, but higher). They check for them at every visit in pregnancy because it *can* cause preterm labor and othe problems. It would be nice if they would inform you first though about WHY and etc...

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onlyboys

· #5 · Jun 10, 2005

You need to do a clean catch before they culture your urine and/or you take antibiotics. Ridiculous that they would do a culture on urine that they did not tell you to clean catch, I think. Perhaps you just had some extra WBC in your urine and they are being ultra-cautious. Either way, they should *talk* to you about it all.

If you do have a UTI, there are non-antibiotic things you can do to ensure that it disappears.

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flyingspaghettimama

· #6 · Jun 10, 2005

I wanted to also point out - I have also had UTIs and tested negative for a UTI. They are unmistakeable when at some points. I also agree, antibiotics can work for a "quick fix" sometimes but sometimes, then again, they don't work at all. For me, chronic UTIs went away when I started eating every two hours, drinking lots of water, and taking cranberry pills when I get that ol' time feeling. I haven't had one for about 5 years now.

That's super weird they didn't want you to "clean catch." As an Inveterate Master of the UTI, I've never had them NOT give specific instructions and the towelette and all that everytime. Maybe just ask your MW to test you again?

What is the fundal prodding?

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flapjack

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 10, 2005

Prodding- I've now had something like 50 antenatal checks in my lifetime. Never, never, NEVER have I had one that hurt until now. Literally, he was prodding my uterus hard, as if he had no idea what a fundus actually felt like(or that it could possibly be uncomfortable.)
With having had midwife-led care over here, nobody had ever thought to mention to me that random testing for UTI's is frequently done at our antenatal clinics. Urine tests consist, as far as I'm aware, of testing for protein and sugar only- at least, that's what was always explained to me. I've had a few problems with UTI's in previous pregnancies, so I know about the need for control but to me, this feels like an invasion of my privacy- and completely dehumanizing. Aargh. I haven't had any symptoms at all, apart from maybe slightly stronger Braxton Hicks than usual, so it's nothing i'd expected at all.
Thanks for listening. I do feel much calmer now.
Oh- the rest of the story. I went down to my GP's surgery to get a clean bottle for them to run a repeat test. Five hours later, the surgery rang me back- they gave me the wrong bottle. So I have to go and do it- yet again- on Monday, and drag my poor spotty boy back down that hill one more time. I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or throw things.

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flyingspaghettimama

· #8 · Jun 10, 2005

:
How annoying!!!

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BensMom

· #9 · Jun 10, 2005

That stinks. In the meantime, get some concentrated cranberry extract pills. I took Cran-Actin, found at the health food store, not sure if that is available across the pond. Six a day for 2 days seemed to knock out my UTI symptoms. So maybe you can fix it yourself and not even bother with the test, the antibiotics, etc.

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PicnicBear

· #10 · Jun 10, 2005

If indeed you do have a UTI go for the cranberry. I did both extract (liquid) and pills and it worked for me. Plus I drank and insane amount of water over 2 days to flush it out. But it sounds like since they collected the urine improperly and that you don't have any symptoms you're probably OK. The cranberry is one of those natural rememdies that really works fast so good to keep in mind if you do get one!

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flapjack

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 11, 2005

I put myself on cranberry extract tablets (I don't think there's a brand name over here, but got Boots instead) and I'm self-prescribing 2 litres of water a day over the weekend and large quantities of blueberries- apparently they have some of the same effects as cranberries? Hopefully everything should be clear by next Monday morning.

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Kavita

· #12 · Jun 12, 2005

Sorry to hear that--sounds like an inconvenience, at best.

To followup on some previous posts--generally urine is tested for glucose and protein with a dipstick at prenatal visits--those things are unrelated to checking for infection. Some dipsticks also check for other things such as leukocytes, which can indicate a UTI. However I don't think anyone would order antibiotics on the basis of a dipstick, but rather order a urine culture to be sent to the lab, and that should be a clean catch, midstream sample. One midwife that I interviewed did say that she does request send urine culture on everyone, because she has found that about 10% of her patients do have UTI's, and that they are sometimes asymptomatic. But obviously she's telling them that she's doing it!

Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed that your followup test goes well--although with all the measures you're taking, if the test comes out fine I guess you'll never know if they had the wrong sample or if you cured yourself!

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