Did anyone see their GP prior to TTC?

[crazycatlady82]

Hi girls,

Just wondering, did anyone go to their GP or a pre-conception clinic prior to TTC?

If you did was it useful?

I have a GP appt due to a couple of issues, the first is I am on fluoxetine 20mg daily (maintenance dose, tried to come off but unfortunately not possible) and the second is my brother had an epidermoid tumour within his brain for which he required surgery. His consultant had said it is a type of neural tube defect so I feel whilst JSing I should really be taking 5mg instead of the usual 400mcg.

Any thoughts are hugely appreciated

xxx

Didn't want you to go unanswered. I have friends who did but I don't think it's generally necessary - take folic acid and crack on! BUT, if you're on medication or you've got other potential medical concerns then I think it makes sense to do so. Good luck.

If you have a family history of neural tube defect you will need to see your GP for a prescription for the 5mg folic acid. I'm not sure whether you need to be taking it for a certain amount of time before conception, I have found various bits of advice on this. My GP said it goes into your system straight away so as long as you are taking it when you conceive, and for at least 3 months after, that is ok. But I have read that you should take it for 3 months before conception too.

So make sure you get the prescription, you definitely don't want to risk a NTD, I recently had a termination at 13 weeks due to a very severe NTD (there was no chance of the baby surviving), and you don't want to go through that.

Good luck!

I had CIN3 cells and treatment so saw gp before we ttc and he told me to wait, glad I did as it gave me time to get another smear done to make sure I had the all clear.

If you have a doubt in your mind go, especially with family history!

Thanks girls. I have made an appt to see a female GP on Tuesday. I really hope she doesn't fob me off because when I had mentioned the folic acid thing to another GP she said I would be fine on the 40mcg

xx

Being a planner, I did and the GP just went 'why are you here?'. I did have a couple of concerns, which they did deal with (sort of) but I was surprised that they were surprised as all the books I'd read said to do it, and even the NHS site said it was best to go & check if your MMR was up-to-date. I think it's a thing people suggest but don't usually do.

If I had it to do over, I'd go with a set of questions & knowing what I wanted out of it - I thought they'd have A List or something, but no.

I didn't really have any medical issues but being a planner I went to see my gp too.
I had read all over the place that it is always a good idea to go to your gp before ttc as they can do a usual check up, blood pressure, weight etc just to make sure there is nothing you need to be looking at.
I went in feeling all happy that I was doing the right thing and 5 minutes later I was on my way out.
They just had a look at my details and confirmed that on my last few check ups my blood pressure had been fine, as had my weight. She told me to start taking folic acid 3 months before ttc if I could and make sure me and dp were not drinking too much alcohol. Then we went through a few things to think about for when I finally get pregnant, such as what things you can and can't eat (just because some people start to slowly think about cutting back to get used to it all) and that was it.
I found it helpful as I would have been frustrated with myself if I hadn't gone (being a planner and all) but I didn't get any information that I didn't already know.