To be seriously concerned a nurse didn’t know this?!

[CrossedToTheDarkSide]

Just been to the doctors and seen a practise nurse. I was prescribed antibiotics for a suspected minor localised infection. The nurse asked if there was any chance I could be pregnant. I told her there was a chance as we are currently TTC but that I wouldn’t know for a couple of weeks only half way through my cycle (cycles hit and miss but know I just ovulated so could be literally a couple of days pregnant maybe)
She told me this affected which antibiotic I could have so I needed to do a pregnancy test first and then depending on the results come back and get one of two types.
I told her I couldn’t do a test yet as it wouldn’t show anything and I would have to wait nearly 2 weeks til I am due on.
She then proceeds to say “no, these new tests are very sensitive... You can take one any time and it will tell you”
IS IT JUST ME?! Surely it is very worrying a nurse doesn’t know I can’t take a test two days after I’ve ovulated and magically know if i’m pregnant?! I am genuinely worried about the advice she could be giving people...

Surely a pregnancy test would be positive if you were pregnant enough to have a placenta for drugs to cross?

A blastocyst is not going to be effected by antibiotics.

So, she doesn't need to know if you have an embryo on board, she needs to know if you have a pregnancy advanced enough to show up, i.e. advanced enough to be affected by drugs.

(2 days PO, you could have post-coital contraception inserted. It doesn't count as an abortion, because you're not 'pregnant'.)

So I think the nurse is correct, medically, and in terms of your care, and I hope you weren't rude to them.

I've been asked to do pregnancy tests despite telling them that I'm infertile. Quite funny really; I could laugh because I'd long since adjusted to it and had already adopted my DDs. But it could be quite upsetting for someone who was still coming to terms with if.

Just to clarify: definitely wasn’t rude to the nurse.
Asked her if we could please stick to the pregnancy safe on as I am feeling poorly and just wanted to be out of there.
Also really not starting a debate about what stage a pregnancy is classed as “really pregnant” etc.
My only concern going away from there was...
I told her I couldn’t be sure I was or wasn’t pregnant as I wouldn’t be far enough along to do a test at 2dpo and she insisted a regular pregnancy test would tell me
That isn’t specialist knowledge, even the “sensitive” tests says they are only 99% effective from the day of a missed period. I am already fairly phobic of doctors and nurses and this just made me a little concerned as I would have bet it was common knowledge.

She’s right though - you aren’t pregnant yet at 2DPO - even if sperm has met egg and began to fertilise and goes on to develop into a pregnancy - you still aren’t pregnant now.

At 2 days post ovulation, you won't be 'pregnant' by definition.

She wanted the test in case your dates were wrong and you were actually pregnant. A regular pregnancy test will tell you if you are pregnant enough to affect your antibiotic choice now.

No test can tell you if you'll be pregnant in 2 weeks time. (At which point, by the weirdness of definitions, you'll be defined as four weeks pregnant, although you won't have been pregnant for four weeks.) But I'm assuming it wasn't a 2 week course of antibiotics?

*Surely a pregnancy test would be positive if you were pregnant enough to have a placenta for drugs to cross?

A blastocyst is not going to be effected by antibiotics.

So, she doesn't need to know if you have an embryo on board, she needs to know if you have a pregnancy advanced enough to show up, i.e. advanced enough to be affected by drugs*

^^ This
You aren't pregnant at 3dpo, nothing would happen. The only drugs you would avoid would be something that would induce bleeding.

Bold fail!

There's not a debate- there's definition of when pregnant is, and you either are or aren't, and most tests are sufficiently sensitive to be 99% accurate on that. Once you are pregnant (ie. a test is positive), you choice of medication may be affected.

If you're not pregnant, take the most effective antibiotic. No placenta, no worries.

@Jemima232 GP surgeries buy their own tests from their own budgets so some will have better ones than others. They’re no different to ones anyone can buy.
At my surgery we buy the very sensitive ones. But we get them from amazon!

@FrowningFlamingo

My last 2 drs have made me buy my own! Apparently they didn't stock them due to their budgets!

Yes downgraded can prescribe but mine seem to know the difference between iu and ug.

I had a nurse do my blood pressure on the arm that had a cannula still in even though my platelet count was stupidly low.

She was apologetic after especially considering I warned her but I was shocked she didn't think!

Should say nurses can prescribe

@Freyasmum1 we keep them for when it’s clinically significant and would change our management e.g. if we suspect an ectopic pregnancy in a woman with abdominal pain.
We won’t do them just because someone wants to check if they are pregnant if there’s no specific clinical need.

Just to illustrate that making a mistake can be costly even if you are good at your job.

There a drugs that have a prolonged effect after taking them, which means that you should not take them if you are likely to conceive within a certain time frame. For example, Roaccutane should be stopped at least one full month before TTC.

However, a short-acting drug will be out of your system before it can affect the pregnancy. This chart is quite interesting.

I don't think your nurse was necessarily wrong, you just weren't communicating the same concepts.

What was the antibiotic, by the way?

@FrowningFlamingo

I've been told to do a pregnancy test and then go to the hospital for an early scan when I had a suspected ectopic pregnancy. They didn't have them in stock at all then. I think it depends on the practice and area.

YANBU, I've been surprised a few times at things health professionals don't know.

I know a nurse who is extremely thick

Lol, spanishwife, reminds me of my ex-SIL: extremely thick and a community nurse. My friend (a very intelligent nurse) pissed herself laughing when ex-SIL did a course in using maggots on wounds, she reckoned it would be better to let the maggots do the nursing too, as they're probably more intelligent than ex-SIL!

Mind you, my late mother (who wasn't thick) used to tell us kids that if an injured limb could be bent, it wasn't broken. I went to work for 3 days with my arm broken in 3 places, because I was too thick to know better!

I’ve taken an early test at the doctors, trust me they are very sensitive!

I once had an argument with an obstetric registrar pointing out the due date he insisted was correct meant a conception date 2 weeks after I'd had a positive pregnancy test (with no bleeding since my regular period started 5 weeks before the BFP) So it's possible.

Nurses are for the most part intelligent, and most of the ones I've come into contact with have been wonderful.

But, like any profession/group of people you will undoubtedly get the occasional numpty.

I remember once being in a busy a&e with a broken leg, when a nurse yelled across to the Dr I was with some info relating to something else....
"There's ORGASMS on the dish! ORGASMS!! Have you got that? ORGASMS!"

The Dr looked annoyed and a bit embarrassed, and said "she means organisms".

I couldn't stop laughing, which made my broken leg hurt more.