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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be haunted by this GP experience

28 replies

Hopeinabottle · 26/01/2018 07:17

This happened 7 years ago but still makes me upset.
I was experiencing stomach cramps with pain going down one leg and after the third day went to see a GP. (Not my usual) He asked me for a urine sample. He tested and said "oh, there is lots going on here but I will send it off to the lab anyway". He gave me some anti biotics.
I took the 5 out of 7 days of the medication but had to go back to the GP as I was now in worse pain. I saw another GP and he asked me to repeat my urine test. He tested it and told me I was pregnant. He said "why did the previous GP not tell you that? Because the anti biotics he gave you are not to be used in pregnancy".He seemed really upset. I sat there completey shocked.booked me an emergency appointment for a scan.
I was seen really quickly and was told that one embryo had sadly broken away but the other one was doing fine and that I was 8 weeks pregnant.
I had a wonderful beautiful child. But I occasionally think that I could have had twins. Whenever I see that GP he always turns away from me. The other GP left the practice shortly after.
I just feel angry about this sometimes. Especially as I can't have more children.

OP posts:

QOD · 26/01/2018 07:21

How upsetting 🙁
I’m no pharmacist but isn’t the antibiotic thing due to damage to teeth in the development stage ? Don’t they come thru yellow or can?
Have you googled the actual antibiotic and looked at why?
I’m sorry though that that’s haunting you 💐

Nannyplumssillyoldelf · 26/01/2018 07:22

I don't blame you for feeling angry, I would too.

TroysMammy · 26/01/2018 07:22

Sorry for you but a urine test for pregnancy and one for an uti would be different. Perhaps your symptoms at the time indicated an uti and unfortunately GP's don't have to time to go through every scenario under the sun. You must have been very early in your pregnancy if you didn't know or think you were pregnant.

VivaLeBeaver · 26/01/2018 07:23

I’m sorry about what happened.

Maybe the first GP didn’t do a pregnancy test. It’s not part of the usual urinalysis test and to be honest I’m surprised the second GP did it. They normally just dip your wee for nitrites, leucocytes.

Yes some abx aren’t recommended in pregnancy but not normally to the extent of causing a miscarriage. Sadly a lot of pregnancies end in miscarriage for natural reasons, inc twin pregnancies where one twin survives and the other doesn’t.

RedHelenB · 26/01/2018 07:24

Often 1 twin dies before birth . I would have thought if the antibiotics were the cause then you would have list both. Unfortunately although we all make mistakes Dr mistakes can be catastrophic. I have 3 children and even though that's my dream family size I still think what if about my mmc. I truly think you have no alternative but to let it go, nothing can be done . Have you thought about fostering ?

Laiste · 26/01/2018 07:24

I'm sorry this has been worrying you all this time OP.

Have you talked to anyone about weather this particular anti B could have been the cause of what happened?

I know nothing about the subject - hopefully someone will be along who does! - i'm just hopeful that perhaps it's not possible for 5 days of an anti B to do this. This would give you some peace of mind?

picturesAndText · 26/01/2018 07:24

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

kaytee87 · 26/01/2018 07:29

I'm sorry you lost one of your twins

It's unlikely to have been caused by the antibiotics though. Have you done any research on the type of antibiotic?

Faking · 26/01/2018 07:31

That's horrendous, OP. I think the second GP was right to do a pregnancy test, seeing as you were having stomach cramps and was in pain.

What an awful situation for you

Laiste · 26/01/2018 07:33

I'm just thinking more about this and the second GP would have seen the notes the first made. It would have been apparent that the first GP hadn't tested for pregnancy, and it doesn't seem very professional for him to have said

*"why did the previous GP not tell you [that you are preg], Because the anti biotics he gave you are not to be used in pregnancy".

It seems to me that the second GPs comments are more to blame for your 7 years of fretting tbh. Did you ask the second GP or the sonologist if the tablets could have caused a breakaway embryo?

Faking · 26/01/2018 07:33

"why did the previous GP not tell you that? Because the anti biotics he gave you are not to be used in pregnancy"

Is GP2 saying that GP1 knew that you were pregnant and still prescribed the antibiotics?

Laiste · 26/01/2018 07:36

I believe i lost a twin of DD4 (4) at around 12 weeks. (massive sudden blood loss ect) I still think of it now and wonder about it. There was no question of blame in my case, but i can see how that thought would haunt you.

Can you access your notes and see what you were prescribed. Try and get your mind put to rest on the blame thing.

Laiste · 26/01/2018 07:38

faking yes it can be interpreted either way can't it. Will the notes from both visits still be on record i wonder?

Quartz2208 · 26/01/2018 07:46

The comments are odd though, you presented the first time with what looked like a uti ( presumably he neither asked if you could be pregnant or you offered you could be) antibiotics were prescribed.

Now maybe the sample was sent away and it noted you were pregnant (I doubt the doctor checked) in which case the surgery should have rung you. Or the doctor the second time decided to test as the symptoms matched

But truthfully the likelihood is that you were experiencing the pain and discomfort because you were miscarrying sadly the twin and therefore the antibiotics were incidental. It’s often the infection that causes issues not the treatment

Sorry for your loss

JustAnIdiot · 26/01/2018 08:01

If the first GP had known you were pregnant, they would not have prescribed Trimethoprim as it is a folate antagonist. I'm assuming that's what you were given.

Unlikely it would cause a miscarriage though.

RidingWindhorses · 26/01/2018 08:07

I agree that the pain may simply have been miscarrying the twin, rather than a UTI, in which case he misdiagnosed you with a UTI because he didn't check for pregnancy. Stomach pains and cramps down your legs are classic miscarriage signs.

Equally, if you prescribe antibiotics or any drugs to women of childbearing age that cannot be taken while pregnant, it's standard to ask if there's any chance of being pregnant (i.e. you're sexually active). If so you would do a pregnancy test before being prescribed the drug, or alternatively, be given a drug that's safe in pregnancy.

CantChoose · 26/01/2018 08:14

I can’t emphasise enough that I mean this in a nice way but I think a lot of your worry about this is grounded in not having the medical knowledge to understand the likely chain of events here.
I would suggest writing to your GP to ask if someone could sit down with you to discuss it with you, with your notes. They would need sufficient notice to find the right things in the notes and bear in mind that note taking even a few years ago was nowhere near as thorough as it is now so you may not get a full answer.
From what you’ve said here it doesn’t sound like anyone was at fault, other posters have explained why and I would agree with them but without your notes it’s not really possible to comment properly.
Sorry you had to go through that and that it’s still causing you distress.

lookingforthecorkscrew · 26/01/2018 08:15

I’m 20 weeks pregnant with a DD, early scans (7 weeks) detected 2 sacs and I had a big bleed at 12 weeks which was probably me losing one. Recently my best friend went through the exact same thing.

I could turn myself inside out seeking blame for this, but the simple fact is that it’s very common to lose one twin at an early stage. The reasons are so wide and varied that pinpointing blame is pointless really - it’s almost certainly due to genetic factors.

The bleeding was painful and uncomfortable but I simply felt relief that DD was still there and healthy. I’m excited to meet her.

There are several reasons why you shouldn’t blame this GP for losing your twin.

The first GP in your story could’ve just done a dipstick urine analysis - which would not detect pregnancy.
The antibiotics the GP gave you would almost certainly not have caused you to lose your baby - drugs that aren’t recommended in pregnancy don’t all cause miscarriage, some just haven’t been tested enough. I’m currently on antidepressants that aren’t recommended in pregnancy but without them I’d have withdrawal symptoms and be very ill. My baby is fine.
GP2 was probably a bit unprofessional in hinting that GP1 knew about pregnancy - they have absolutely no way of knowing that for sure.

In short, I do understand your sadness at losing your baby, but you have no way of ever proving that this GP visit was the start of your miscarriage.

CantChoose · 26/01/2018 08:15

When I saw no one at fault, I mean clinically. The communication of doctor no 2 was ill advised, at best.

SharonMott · 26/01/2018 08:19

I agree with others. There has to be more to this OP and suspect Riding is closer to what actually happened. This is not to denigrate you OP. You are going on information received at the time and that is what we all do of course. A normal dipstick test at the GP that prompts them to give antibiotics (or not) checks for glucose, white blood cells, protein, blood and also the specific gravity (density) and the Ph of the urine. High protein, blood and WBCs indicate a urine infection. None of those can indicate pregnancy. The lab may have run a pregnancy test in the background but as a PP said, you should have had a phonecall to tell you about this and I suspect that is where the procedural element of all this fell down. I have never had a MC but I am sure the PP that said what you describe is similar to her MC. I am sorry for your loss and those of other posters. Try not to dwell on it but I know that is easy for me to say.

Witchend · 26/01/2018 08:20

With a lot of medicines when hey say they're not suitable for use in pregnancy what they actually mean is they haven't been tested to check that they're safe. Naturally people aren't keen to be testers, and you have to have human testers in this county.
Obviously there are some where they're not (flamidomide for example) but there is a good chance that the antibiotics didn't harm your little one.

TheMaddHugger · 26/01/2018 08:45

QOD Fri 26-Jan-18 07:21:58
How upsetting 🙁
I’m no pharmacist but isn’t the antibiotic thing due to damage to teeth in the development stage ? Don’t they come thru yellow or can?

Yes. My teeth have always been a yellow brown. They came out that way

TheMaddHugger · 26/01/2018 08:47

Soft (((((((Hugs)))))))) Hopeinabottle

ForgivenessIsDivine · 26/01/2018 09:14

I am so sorry for you that you have lost a child. The knowledge that there was another child who is no longer here is painful and I think you are right to explore it, try to deal with it and find a way to heal as best you can.

I am sorry that you had had such treatment during your early pregnancy and that neither doctors were fully open with what they saw or tested. There are many factors that could have been at play here and the risks should have been explained to you at the time.

There are antibiotics that are not recommended in pregnancy, that cause higher risk of miscarriage and folate antagonists do lead to a higher risk of miscarriage. In prescribing antibiotics that are not advised in pregnancy, doctors should ask patients of childbearing age if there is a possibility that they might be pregnant. I have been asked this on numerous occasions over the years.

It is not clear whether the second embryo had broken off before you started to take the antibiotics, whether an infection caused this or indeed, if there was some other reason for the miscarriage which was in fact the cause of the pain.

In an ideal situation, the first doctor would have discussed the urine test results with you and the possibility that you might be pregnant. He would have also explained the risks to your unborn child / children and in some cases the risks of the infection are greater than the risks of the treatment but the principles of informed consent should ensure that you have understood those risks. As others have pointed out, the first doctor may not have known you were pregnant, which make the comments of the second doctor odd at best. It is possible that the lab test results included an HCG test and that his subsequent comments were in shock at the unintentional mistake that had happened.

If you can, I would make an appointment with a doctor to discuss the events and your concerns. Insist that you understand that the events may have had no connection with the miscarriage but that it would help you to understand the chronology of events and that the comments at the time have been playing on your mind. You are never likely to know for sure what caused the loss of your child but you might be able to stop these thoughts going round in your head. Doctors do make mistakes and sometimes medications do cause unwanted effects. I would do this within the safety of counselling to support you through this, help you deal with the loss and the fact that you cannot have any more children.

Take care of yourself lovely lady.

Falmer · 26/01/2018 09:48

Nice post Forgiveness. So sorry OP, hope you can heal and move forward.

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