Are all consultants like this?

[tadpolesmum]

I am going to try my hardest not to turn this into a rant but this is going to be long.

Am 28 weeks gone now and at my 20 week scan the lady spotted that I had some Fibroids and a low lying placenta. She didn't make a big deal about it just said I needed to come back at 36 weeks to see if either had moved. So far so good, I then see my midwife at my 24 week appt and she says that i need to see a consultant further to the 20 week scan, just procedure but she explained that if either is near my cervix when i came to full term i would most likely need a c section. Not ideal from what i wanted but I take the view that if it can't be helped no point stressing about it.

The earliest consultant appt i could get was at 26 weeks. The guy came into the room and without even examining me and just looking at my scan results from 6 weeks ago announced that I am probably going to go into prem labour . He also said that i would be lucky to get to 36 weeks and proceeded to prescribe steroids to get 'the baby's lungs maturing early'. He then told me to see him again at 34 weeks to basically book a section and walked out before I can get a word in telling me to take it 'easy' and not to do anything to trigger prem labour. Seriously I am not exagerrating, i was just sat there trying to work out what that meant, i.e. was i meant to stop work and bed rest or what.

Anyhoo, I take my 2 steroid injections in a flood of tears thinking its the end of the world, then spent the week after surfing the internet researching premature births and all the horror stories. Then DH said enough was enough and booked a private scan where they can't see any Fibroids and that the placenta has moved away from the cervix.

Sorry it took so long to get to the point but here it is, is it just me and DH that think this consultant is dangerously incompetent or are all consultants scalp happy sods that are there to scare the sh** out of pregnant women? I can see now why this hospital has something like a 35% cesearean rate. Probably an unfair question to put on a discussion but this guy made me go through hell for 2 weeks for basically nothing right? Also has anyone else been wrongly diagnosed with Fibroids?

[tadpolesmum]

Ooops just reread my post apologies for my bad grammar and spelling. I am at work trying to write this as fast as possible.

[LittleMissTickles]

To answer your OP, yes, just about all consultants are like that in NHS.

[MissKubelik]

poor you

unfortunately yes, this is my experience of NHS consultants too. You did the right thing in getting a second opinion (obviously).

My first pregnancy was ectopic and just two days before I was rushed into surgery I was told by a consultant that he was 99% sure it wasn't. Thank goodness for the junior doctors who were a bit more cautious and made sure I was scanned and given blood tests.

I'm glad the private scan turned out well, it seems like everything is fine and chances are your birth will be dealt with by your midwives and you won't have to see a consultant again. I know it's hard but try not to dwell on this - concentrate on looking after yourself and enjoying the rest of your pregnancy

[mumofk]

Hi, I'm so sorry you've had such a traumatic experience. I can't comment on most of what has happened to you, but I can give you a little more info on the fibroid thing.
On a scan a fibroid looks like a knot in the muscle of your uterus, and that is exactly what a contraction looks like. All through your pregnancy, even without you feeling it, you have these contractions going on, and they can be seen on the scan. Usually, if one is seen the sonographer will go back and look at that area again at another time in the scan, and if it dissapears then its clear its just a contraction. When is stays there, its more likely to be a fibroid BUT sometimes its just a contraction lasting a bit longer- so next time you have a scan they can't find it.
The other thing with fibroids is they can be affected by pg hormones- some get bigger, but some get smaller- and that may also be a possibility for you.
Your sonographer gave you very usual advice, don't worry about it, as the next scan (as it did in your case) can give a different spin on the results. The long timespan suggested is inline with NICE guidelines, which basically means waiting for the majority of stretching to have happened to the results of the scan at that stage accurately reflect what is likely at term (e.g. lots of people have an apparently low placenta at 20 weeks, but the lower segment stretches the most, so many are fine on later scans).
I'm sorry seeing a consultant was such a horrible experience, and I would suggest complaining- your hospital switchboard should be able to put you through to the PALS (patient liason people) team who should help you sort out your poor treatment.
In answer to your last wee bit- yes,from what you've said it sounds like you've been put through hell and fortunately all the reasons for it have come to nothing. I would have hoped that would be more the type (though preferably a 2-way conversation, not just dr giving you list of scary stuff!) of discussion that would have happened after the 36 wk scan your sonographer recommended, not before.

[theressomethingaboutmarie]

I have to say that my consultant (at the Royal Surrey) was a peach. She came to see me with a medical student (I was in for pre-eclampsia) who presented my case to her. At the end of presenting my case, this rather awkward medical student asked me if there were any questions I had (I'd just been told that my baby would be born within a week either by induction or naturally - I was 36 wks pg with my first so not expecting this!) and I burst into tears saying that I wasn't mentally prepared.

The consultant sent the medical student off on some routine task to give us some privacy. She held my hand and told me that I had nothing to worry about; that I should make the most of the enforced rest whilst in hospital and that I would be a marvellous mum!

[MrsBadger]

write to his boss (usu the Prof and head of dept - check on the hospital website)

My consultant was an angelic fluffy bunny, but his junior doctors were fiends from the deepest pits of hell.

[Yarghsvelte]

Not a childbirth one but on Monday the consultant neurologist I'm seeing (privately I may add - I am lucky to have Bupa cover through dh's work) said that my symptoms - which have been getting worse rapidly - are typical of a particular type of benign brain tumour (which would need surgically removing).

I have had an MRI which showed nothing a few weeks ago so she said she wanted to get it reviewed and that she would phone me back yesterday. She didn't. So having jumped at the phone all day (am incapicitated by symptoms so am at home all the time) I'm still none the wiser. She's a nice woman but leaving me hanging seems a bit thoughtless.

Oh and I know she's probably horribly busy and important but it's not consolation so you have my sympathies.

[Yarghsvelte]

Mrs B - my consultant's secretary is not only also a resident of those pits but doesn't seem to be very good at her job either

[SlartyBartFast]

some consultants honestly think they're God, particularly the small man ones, small man syndrome plus huge inflated ego, what a combination

[Yarghsvelte]

Like the name Slarty. Hitchhikers is a work of genius

[SlartyBartFast]

ps you must be scared. hope your consultant rings you soon

[Yarghsvelte]

I am and thanks from a whoopy frood who really knows where her towel is

[Tommy]

I had a very bad experience with a SHO when I was pregnant with DS1. I left her office in tears (which upset all the other mums-to-be in the waiting room as they all thought something was very wrong - which it wasn't at all)

I told my MW about her and she complained to the top dog consultant - wasn't the first time this doctor had upset women apparently.

I agree they tend to just loook at notes and mae decisions which is a bit IMO

[madmouse]

My consultant is great. Did not even know I had one until after the birth of my son, but he came to see me on the ward due to his complications, and recently took an hour to talk to me and dh about what happened to me, my lo, and what to do in future pregnancies (basically extra scans, close review and an elective ). He is a busy high risk obs at the JR in Oxford but takes pride in his job and I am sorry in this respect that we will be moving away this summer, as I would have liked him for future pregnancies. By the way the registrar that delivered my son was also fab.

[Weegle]

Not pregnancy related - but I've had a v similar experience lately of an NHS consultant. She revoked a diagnosis, left me untreated for 6 months and had me beside myself with pain. Paying to go back privately reassured me the original diagnosis was correct and was put back on appropriate care plan - under NHS consultant - haven't seen her again yet but she's gonna just love me . Anyway, whilst going through all this my GP (lovely) told me that the sad truth is that this consultant probably hadn't spoken to my previous consultants, or even read my (very thick) pile of notes until a few minutes before she saw me and therefore wasn't looking at me as an individual, or really in any depth at all. The thing is once you've lost confidence in someone medically that's kind of it, so if I was you I would ask to be seen by someone else if you have to be seen again.

[thelittlestbadger]

I had a fab consultant when I was pregnant with DD but then had to see a junior doc for infected stitches who was horrible. So based on my limited experience female gynaecologists are great, male ones are misogynists who like making helplessish women miserable.

I agree with Mrs B though - definitely worth a complaint about the consultant

[MissusH]

I feel for you tadpolesmun

I had a rough time when I was pg with dd. I was referred to consultant care automatically as I had a high bmi and at my 16wk appt was seen by a registrar. I had already been examined by a mw and all was fine (urine, bp etc). She took one look at my notes and declared that I would most likely need a cs (which would be dangerous for a "person like me"), I would get diabetes due to my size, my bp would soar and that baby would be huge. And it was "all my fault" - her words not mine.

I sat in the car and sobbed afterwards - I actually believed that I was harming my baby.

What actually happend is that I had a few extra scans to make sure baby was not too big (all okay), I had the glucose tolerance test and did not get diabetes, my bp was steady throughout, I went into labour at 39wks and had a normal delivery resulting in a 7lb 15oz baby.

I think that they look at what might happen but not at the individual patient, iyswim?

[Rolf]

My NHS obstetric consultant is lovely. She's been looking after me on and off for 4 years since I first saw her following a late m/c. She's always followed up our consultations with a letter explaining her advice. In my subsequent pregnancies she's done all the scans herself. When I had a v early complete m/c a year ago (when I hadn't seen her and didn't even realise she knew anything about it) she wrote to me to say she was sorry and that I oould see her if I needed to.

I'm now having a straightforward pregnancy so seeing much less of her. The only criticism I have is that she medicalises things that aren't necessarily a big deal but I guess that's becuase she's so used to complicated pregnancies.

So there are lovely ones out there!

[pinkyminky]

my new consultant is lovely, my old one a disaster, and beware of the juniors. Question everything is my new motto these days. Good luck!

[whomovedmychocolate]

I've had terrible NHS consultants and one good one. But I've been such a pain in the arse asking difficult questions that the crap ones have shuffled me off towards the good one just to get rid of me.

But my pet peeve is the newbie registrars who come in all bluff and bluster and then when you ask them specifically about your history rather than their hospitals policies, immediately get cross .

[pinkyminky]

LOL I'm sure newbie registrars are told to be like that - all the ones I've met have. 1 registrar told me I was deliberately not drinking fluids to stay in hospital when I had HG- she obviously had no experience of leaving her 11month old child for the first time- and that the full jug of water on my table had just been refilled by the nurse!
It took three foetal scalp tests, a senior MW, me and my husband nearly an hour to persuade two registrars to get the consultant as DS was stuck and in distress during my labour.Not really a lol, actually, is it?

[TheAccidentalParent]

The consultant I saw was great. Really nice, reassuring etc. Came to the maternity ward to say congrats after the delivery. Treated me like a person.

I wish I could say the same for the dozens of different midwives I saw. Some of whom appeared to lack basic knowledge, eg what to do if a pg woman has a raised BP! (wtf, they spend whole mornings measuring BPs and tummies and dipping wee, how can they not know everything about these 3 things?) They treated the pregnancy-related troubles I raised with "well, what do you expect, you are pregnant," (and btw, I hardly ever complain unless really suffering) and breast-feeding related ones with "well, what do you expect, breastfeeding is hard".

In the end, I just tried to see my GP as much as possible rather than the random midwife in the clinic.

One midwife did seem quite good, but I only saw her once.

Sorry, hijacking thread with rant of my own!