No help from NHS services

[Akemi]

I had my period last week starting on Tuesday with 1.5 days of medium to heavy bleeding after 2 days of heavy spottting on Sunday and Monday. Bleeding stopped on Wednesday night and I've been light spotting brown since then.

I though last cycle was unsuccessful so on Saturday I took an LH test to start tracking ovulation again and it came back super positive which was weird for my "CD 5" so I took an hcg and came back positive. Not as dark as I thought it would be at "20 dpo" but clearly positive.

I knew straight away that this will not end well because I'm very sure of my dates given I'm tracking with LH and BBT but nobody will do anything! I called 111 and my GP and they both said that because I'm not in pain they can't refer me anywhere but to go to A&E if I develop pain ir heavy bleeding. But I know that by that point is usually too late in case of an ectopic.

The reason I'm so worried with an ectopic is because I know that bleeding before a positive hpt + erratic hcg is a classic pattern, and my tests have been varying in intensity since the first positive on Saturday but all of them are too light for "20-25 dpo"

I really don't know what to do anymore and I'm at the verge of a breakdown. Why is the system so horrible with pregnant women? I just want to know if this is a "safe" miscarriage or get the help I need if an ectopic.

Im so sorry your going through this uncertainty.. your gp should have got you in for blood work and tested a couple of days apart to see where your hcg is headed even if this did nothing but calm your mind. Im really disappointment in these womans lack of empathy for your situation, this is suppose to be a support group not a mockery of your feeling and worries and more love and understanding should have been given. You havnt been heard by anyone what so ever and im so sorry your alone in this right now. I looked at your tests that you uploaded and they look to be alright considering the tests you are using, also clearblue digital is not reliable as hcg levels vary greatly from person to person and even from pregnancy to pregnancy. My advice to you is find another doctor asap and have your blood work done a couple of days apart to check for correct doubling. I dont know where your from but where I am from you can order private blood tests online for a cost, so maybe thats something you can look into if you cant find a doctor to help you.

GP bringing people in for bloodwork in these circumstances isn't the norm protocol.
I think everyone is being understanding but also trying to explain clearly that what the OP wants isn't necessarily what the medics do in these circumstances.

In australia blood tests are standard protocol for every pregnancy. After a positive hpt you see your gp for a blood test to confirm and your able to get another blood test to make sure at that point its possibly viable then you have a viability scan at 7 weeks to check a heartbeat and that everything is measuring well and in the right place. Gp where I live absolutelty want to see you amd do your blood work we even have early pregnancy screening blood work.

The OP has specifically referred to the NHS though so is in the UK.

GPs generally don't do bloodwork, it's done at the maternity hospitals and much further on. The first scan is generally around the 11/12 week mark unless there is a clear medical need or history requiring early scan. Lots of people in the UK get private reassurance scans from 6+ weeks though.

In many trusts you self refer to maternity care and don't even see the GP early on.

Wow that is completely different then how it's done here. Even with ivf, the clinics dont take hpt as validation only beta hcg blood work and its done 7 days apart and then if all is well with the doubling rate they book your viability scan. In all pregnancies you have to be referred to the hospital for midwife care if going public, through your gp and if your low risk then you have what is called shared care between your gp and the hospital.

No one is mocking OP.
We are trying to reassure her and explain why she is not being referred for early scans and blood tests. The NHS simply doesn’t have the resources to spend on reassuring anxious women who are going through very normal symptoms.

In the UK the NHS can’t afford a blood test for every possibly pregnant person. Generally you are or you are not and you’ll find out later on. Australians pay to see the GP, Brits don’t. OP is perfectly able to pay to get private bloods done if she wants to but it’s not clinically necessary and therefore doesn’t require public funds.

IVF is different, in that you do get blood tests and early viability scan. But in a normal pregnancy via NHS or HSE in Ireland that's not the norm.... most likely due to lack of resources to be honest. Weeks 6-12 are looked after by the Early Pregnancy Units with very little resources and staffing, so are on a referral basis only for the most part (albeit some offer walkins, they won't always just give you bloods or a scan because you just want them).

Unless there is clinical reasons for needing EPU referral, you just either wait it out or go private.

Having an NHS which is free at the point of access means having to make certain concessions - healthcare isn’t free in Australia so I’d imagine that’s why you can get testing there

hcg testing isn’t an accurate diagnosis of ectopics - I had perfectly doubling of hcg and ended up with two ruptured live (heartbeats presents) ectopics

@Akemi by 20dpo yes I’d fully expect to see more than 1-2 weeks on the clearblue tests

if you can afford one then a private scan is an option - £90 isn’t too bad - that’s what I’ve paid in the past x

@Akemi this is obviously your choice but I would be very very hesitant to book a private scan in your shoes. If you are willing to spend that money I think it would be better spent on two private blood tests to track HCG.

I say this as I've obviously had multiple scans revealing horrible news. The private clinics have photos of babies everywhere and gender reveal cannons and keyrings with ultrasound photos etc etc, pregnant women in the waiting room with good news.

If you go to EPU for a scan it's much more sensitive. If you're spending money I would pay for two HCG tests and if they show HCG that's stagnating or rising less than expected use that information to get a scan at EPU at 6 weeks.