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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to make my own decision about what I out on my body in pregnancy

130 replies

ichifanny · 02/07/2018 13:33

Nearly 30 weeks pregnant got absolutely massive agony haemorrhoids that are stopping me from sleeping from be pressure , went to a pharmacy to get a treatment cream as I was desperate and was told as I’m pregnant I’d need to see GP for a prescription even though I can buy it in any shop off the shelf . Naturally I came home empty handed and have ordered same day delivery on Amazon . I’m getting slightly fed up with feeling like public property in pregnancy , anyone can walk in and buy the cream but my being pregnant meant they would t allow me to ,if I want to drink a bottle of vodka or smoke some heroin or use cream on my arse I will .

OP posts:
CantChoose · 02/07/2018 21:59

CelticPromise it's fairly widely accepted that some antihistamines are considered safe in pregnancy but that's a relatively recent thing. And the BNF says very clearly 'manufacturer advises to avoid' so I can understand some GPs being apprehensive tbh.
I've issued scripts quite a few times that pharmacists haven't felt able to dispense - not for anything weird and wonderful either. But it's complicated and with lots of red tape so I do understand.
God help someone who tries to stop me buying wine when pregnant though (8/40 at present - will have to stock up before I start to show!!)

TheCheeseStandsAlone · 02/07/2018 22:01

It's not your body though it's your baby's body?

Eh? Confused

Icklepickle101 · 02/07/2018 22:05

The lady in boots refused to sell me thrush cream last week and insisted I needed to see my GP to be tested for gestational diabetes. No I don’t have GD, it’s 30 degrees, I’m huge and it’s a breeding ground for those kind of bugs Angry

Doccc · 02/07/2018 22:20

The product literature for anusol 4 way (with hydrocortisone) explicitly says do not use whilst pregnant/breastfeeding, so you can understand the pharmacist’s point even if it’s a pain in the arse (sorry)

readyforapummelling · 02/07/2018 22:32

@Wellwouldyoulookatthat if you read my previous posts you will see that the system frustrates me sometimes too. I did (don't work in primary care anymore) take time to speak to patients, listen to their needs and and respect their bodily choices and I would bend the occasional rules if I thought it was in the patients best interest.

I did try and make people's lives easier. It's like anything, you have to apply common sense to the situation. If someone walked in having an asthma attack I would never tell them I needed a prescription before dispensing, I would throw an inhaler at them and demand they puff away!

I've sold pessaries to pregnant women with the advice to insert with fingers and not the applicator despite that we aren't allowed. I have been on the receiving end of thrush whilst pregnant. I know how shit it is.

Pharmacy has changed so much over the years. When I first started it was very much patient orientated, you could spend time with patients and use your own judgement far more freely without fear of having the book thrown at you. Then gradually over time as more services started coming out like MURs, (the NHSBSA would pay the pharmacy £24 pure profit per MUR performed on a patient. MUR = medicines use review) and it became more about meeting targets and making profits than actually providing good old hearty community care.

We would be expected to carry out 400 of these bastard MURs a year and if we didn't we would be questioned and harangued by the company accountants who had no idea about patient safety. Poor Mrs Bloggs doesn't want to sit in a room with me for 10 minutes discussing her medication when she has just had a review with the GP ffs. Sadly it has turned into the exact opposite of why I trained to be a pharmacist in the first place.

I now work in a more research and development setting which suits me much better. No more legal vs ethical battles that I cannot win either way.

AlphaBravo · 02/07/2018 22:37

"It's not for me" problem solved.

Seasawride · 02/07/2018 22:41

I am with you op. It’s annoying and patronising. But it’s a sue culture no days isn’t it and common sense has departed to the greed of lawyers and in all honestly ourselves are to blame.

readyforapummelling · 02/07/2018 22:49

@Icklepickle101 you are quite right about it being a breeding ground. She referred you because Thrush during pregnancy can be a sign of GD as the yeast thrives on excess sugar. She could have just sold you the cream and said mention it to your midwife at your next appointment because at 30 weeks I imagine you are being monitored for GD anyway.

Because selling the cream wouldn't give you GD, just make your fanjo itch less.

AgentHannahWells · 02/07/2018 22:53

I remember taking prescription into chemist for my home birth pain relief, a syringe thing to have on standby during labour, and the stoooopid pharmacy person going to double check about it's suitability for pregnant women Hmm

ZibbidooZibbidooZibbidoo · 02/07/2018 23:00

I get it OP.

When I was pregnant with DS1 I was having a Friday chippy lunch at work. I ordered my food and then the lady asked what dip I wanted. I asked for mayonnaise. She said “are you allowed mayonnaise?” Hmm and looked around to her colleagues for back up. I felt like a naughty child being asked if I was allowed the sweeties I was eating. Angry

Guiltypleasures001 · 02/07/2018 23:17

Can I suggest something it's a bit grim but I was so desperate a while ago

I've got some slim line cool bag ice packs? Rather a fetching orange colour
Sturdy plastic, slip between bum cheeks straight on to pile, lay on side on bed mumsnetting. ''Twas bliss I tell thee 😏

lisaBee123 · 02/07/2018 23:25

I remember asking for some Laculose while pregnant and the pharmacist told me I should really be eating prunes and not to use laxatives and that they weren't good even though my midwife had advised using it and it was perfectly safe during pregnancy.

Really enjoyed being talked down to like a bloody naughty child while I was massively pregnant and desperate to do a poo! Let me poo and leave me be!!!

ShakeVigorously · 02/07/2018 23:30

I had horrendous bowel problems in pregnancy that led to terrible piles.
I found the anusol cream much better than the ointment. Straight from the fridge-bliss!
YANBU, you're in pain and miserable.
Hope it's better soon Thanks

LeighaJ · 02/07/2018 23:32

My local Boots didn't give a flying fuck what I bought during pregnancy. I never bought the stuff at the pharmacy counter though, I always went to the front cashiers. Have you tried Boots? Grin

Original poster
ichifanny · 02/07/2018 23:33

Thanks everyone currently in bed with my bad cream on and feel so much better . Bloody prunes how long would they take to work .

OP posts:
Original poster
ichifanny · 02/07/2018 23:33

Will make sure to go in a moo moo next time and go to boots or Morrison’s .

OP posts:
WhiteWalkerWife · 03/07/2018 21:40

Yanbu. I was refused night nurse and Echinacea which was for my poorly husband outside in the car. I told her it wasnt for me three times and i looked very healthy.

I had to help him inside, awful flu he was shaking, and she did look embarrassed. Didn't apologise though.

Using lubricant before you poo can help ease the way with piles. And using a small stool. You havd my sympathies as i too suffered the feeling of a cheese grater and grapes up my arse.

Fluffyrainbows · 03/07/2018 22:18

It's the same with thrush treatment, however if you phone your gp they will do a prescription over the phone and you can collect it, you won't need to be seen and then also it will be free.
It is a pain but there is a good reason, unfortunately the way some pharmacists manage this situation can be quite annoying.
I had similar with my dd who had allergies and piriton on prescription, she was 10 months and I'd spilt the bottle and it was a Saturday. Rather than trouble out of hours, I thought I'd buy a bottle (we knew correct dose to give) the pharmacy were so annoying, they asked how old dd was and I was honest so they refused to sell it.
I ended up going into another pharmacy and saying it was for my other child. It does drive you nuts but it is what they have to do.

SallyCinnamon3009 · 03/07/2018 23:42

Oh my god this was exactly me a year ago. Sent DP to chemist for Anusol. I knew I could get it free on prescription but was desperate and didn't want to faff about with a dr appointment. He made the mistake of telling the pharmacist it was for me and as I was pregnant they did the same thing and wouldn't let him have it. I ended up ordering on same day delivery from Amazon as I really needed it/couldn't sit down.

If your still struggling OP I found that a couple of drops of lavender oil mixed with milk then added to your bath works far better than Anusol!

Original poster
ichifanny · 03/07/2018 23:47

That sounds amazingly soothing Sallycinnamon never had such a pain in the arse in my life .

OP posts:
SallyCinnamon3009 · 03/07/2018 23:50

Amazon do the lavender oil on next day delivery- keep some back for after giving birth as well amazing if you have to have stitches or the piles make an unwelcome return. I used to put a few drops straight on to my pad.

Also Wikipedia with a baby wipe and not toilet roll - loads softer

MrsBobDylan · 03/07/2018 23:51

I'm without op, you can make your own decisions. Nobody should tell a heavily pregnant woman with haemorrhoids to do/not do anything. Unless they have a death wish.Grin

ALongHardWinter · 04/07/2018 00:03

This was quite a few years ago,but when I was 7 months pregnant with my DD,I asked my GP if it was safe for me to take a travel sickness pill,as I was making a 70 mile coach trip to a wedding. He assured me it was fine. When I asked for the tablets at the pharmacy (in Boots) the assistant asked if they were for me. I stupidly said yes,and she refused point blank to let me have them,even though I said that my doctor had said they were perfectly safe!

fourmileswide · 04/07/2018 00:32

Now you see, these days they don't like you to take Piriton for hay fever during pregnancy, and one of the reasons given is that it hasn't been established whether or not it is safe (presumably because they haven't been allowed to test it).

The thing is... for decades it was one of the few medicines that we were told was ok, and in which case it has probably been taken by millions of pregnant women over the years. So in real life it has been through the equivalent of being thoroughly tested, and if there was an issue with it being unsafe, they would know by now.

Celticmombella · 04/07/2018 01:07

@ichifanny
I had them when I was pregnant on my ds.. I feel ur pain. Only place I was comfortable to sit was on the loo and had a friend over having a coffee with me while I sat on the loo, with a towel covering me!!! I was past caring... Comfort was more important.
Also Get a blow up swimming ring to sit on and take off all ur clothes from waist down... Put a blanket over u... Comfort for you
Old pharmacist who was near retirement told me to freeze sanitary towels or tena ladies towels/underwear...OMG...the relief was wonderful.
Good luck with pregnancy