Pregnant for the 1st time - bad experience at the GP surgery, advice needed

[MrsBloop]

Sorry this is so long-winded, but I'm feeling rather unhappy after my visit to my GP this morning and would like your advice.

I'm around 4 weeks pregnant ? my period comes like clockwork, its 3 days late so after a few negative early tests I finally got 2 positive results yesterday. So I went to my GP?s surgery this morning - around 6 months ago another doctor at the surgery placed me on an antibiotic and at the time I told her that we would be TTC, and I SPECIFICALLY asked whether this medicine could do any damage in pregnancy. She assured me nothing to worry about, completely safe.

So today, I saw a different doctor, and he announced that the antibiotics could cause the baby bone and teeth problems - when I pushed for more info on this, and explained that his colleague had reassured me it was safe, he muttered something and said ?well just stop taking them? and changed the subject.

Who else can I speak to about the chances of the baby being damaged by the medication (which I have of course stopped taking)?

There were several other things which thinking about now I was unhappy with, but as I have nothing to compare against I don?t know if I?m just being precious. He didn?t repeat a pregnancy test just took my word for it - I guess this makes sense, but is it normal procedure? He said that the next step is to go for a scan at the hospital around week 12 ? is it usual to have no other contact with the medical profession til then?

I feel I?ve come away from the appointment with lots of unanswered questions that he didn?t/ couldn?t /wasn?t interested in answering. Should I save them until I see a midwife?

Firstly congrats on your pregnancy!

I'm not sure about antibiotics, but my experience was that they don't like to say any meds are safe doing pregnancy, i think they are really over-cautious. Thats not to say you should take them of course, just that i wouldn't worry. Easier said than done i know.

Regarding your doc not doing a test-thats totally normal. Normally first appt with doc takes about 2 mins-they just refer you to midwife.

Our midwives are very good in that they see you at 6 weeks, then 10, but they did say there's not much they can do at that point - its more for if you have questions. I know that most areas they don't do that though.

Most questions can be answered on here! I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me will be along shortly...

With regard to your medication I have no idea I'm afraid but for the rest of your appointment it sounds pretty normal.

I went to GP with my first they asked if I was taking folic acid, was smoking and if I had any questions and then referred me to a midwife. I then had a letter for my scan at 12 weeks and saw my midwife for booking appointment at 14 weeks.

This time I just went to reception and asked them to refer me, had letter for scan at 12 weeks but had my booking appointment slightly earlier at 10 weeks. I think it depends how busy they are as to when they can see you. There have been several threads here asking similar questions about the first appointment with a GP you can look up to see that it is pretty normal. Hopefully someone can come along and answer your other question about the antibiotics soon. Congratulations.

Hi

sorry you had an unsettling experience.

It is normal for them just to take your word for it as modern pregnancy tests are so sensitive, and it is normal not to have any contact until 12 week scan, yes. There's not a lot a GP can do at 4 weeks other than name a note and give you some basic health advice like take folic acid.

As to the antibiotics damaging a 4 week old fetus, my hospital has a helpline for pregnant women where you talk to a midwife - I rang about some hayfever drugs and they checked with a consultant and came back to me. Maybe you could ask your GP's surgery if there is a similar service locally?

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

If yiu need more advice re the antibiotics then call the surgery this afternoon

Totally usual for them not to do a test and refer you onwards

Io didn't see my gp with either pregnancy - straight to the nurse and then a scan at 12 weeks

If you have loads of questions MN is a good place to ask them

Congrats on your pregnancy

hi

You conceived 2 weeks ago - my guess is the antibiotics won't have much impact on the baby's bones or teeth given that you are such early stages of development. I have heard of such problems where the baby was given abs shortly after birth. I would keep your immune system strong with good food, supplements and probiotics. I am not a doctor so better to do some research yourself. Also, many women take abs during pregnancy.

My GP took my word for it and didnt do any tests.

Might be worth dropping a letter to the practice manager.

It's always a bit of an anticlimax when you visit the GP to tell them you are pregnant, at least in my experience!

Quite normal not to repeat the pregnancy test, waste of NHS resources if they did that for everyone I think.

The community midwives will be notified of your pregnancy and you will probably be contacted from around week 9 for a booking appointment where the midwife will take blood, take medical history and give you lots of information. You should get a scan appointment through the post shortly after that.

I don't know about the antibiotics, if I were you I'd look up that particular antibiotic. I am an Amoxicillin 500mg at the moment and TTC#3, the doctor said that was fine as it is the one they prescribe pregnant women anyway.

I know it seems like a long time until you see someone again, can you get a decent book and do plenty of reading in the meantime?
Good luck!

Hi
I know different county's do things slightly differently but... All sounds normal with his approach to taking your word for it, they've done that both times in my pregnancies. However his approach to your concerns regarding the antibiotic is pretty poor in my opinion. If it were me and I really needed to discuss this further I would go back to see a different GP and complain about the 1st consultation re the no worries approach to taking them and the 2nd consultation re the - yes could cause damage to bones and teeth. I'm no expert but even if any damage has happened you will probably not know until much later in the pregnancy. If you stopped taking them as soon as you found out only 3 days late (which is very early) then I personally wouldn't be so worried, but that's me. Make sure your taking folic acid and eating well now.

The other thing I would be wondering about is why you arn't booked into see the midwife usually you don't really need to see one until about 8/10 weeks (providing all concerned are well and healthy) but the GP would usually tell you to make an appointment with a midwife.

I had a horrible first appointment with a doctor too. In fact I now make sure my appointments are not with him, there are a few doctors at my surgery and I can pick a different one without coming across as fussy!

He was very dismissive, asked if I smoked and when I said no he said well I guess that's one good thing!!! Just to clarify I am 28 married, my husband was with me and the dr had already established that the pregnancy was wanted so I would have thought the whole thing was a 'good thing!' Anyway, lots of other things and in the end I burst into tears on the way home as I felt he had ruined what should have been an exciting dr's appointment!

I have never had a pregnancy test by the medical profession but apparently home tests are so accurate nowadays if you get a positive then it's as good as any test they would do!

I had a booking in appointment with a midwife (very hard to get hold of for me) at 11 weeks and had to squeeze that in as the scan had been booked already for 2 days later. Booking in appointment was basically just getting family history and giving leaflets so if your dr did all this you maybe don't need the midwife appointment. I think this is different area to area?! Either way I know you need to have a booking appointment before they can do your scan, but I think some areas you have this with midwife and some with the doctor.

Sorry for the rambling message, hope it helps though!

Congratulations by the way!!

Thanks all for your advice and congratulations.

I think I'll give the surgery a call to see if I can speak to someone in more depth about possible side effects of the antibiotics - better than my current internet research which is focussing on all the worst case scenarios. In the meantime I shall put it out of my mind and focus on the excitement of being pregnant!

which antibiotic was it?
Definitive advice about what is and is not safe can be found at the British National Formulary website, bnf.org.uk
If BNF says you shouldn't have been taking it then you should complain about the erroneous advice you were given.

It was Lymecycline

Hi and congratualtions!

Afraid I am not sure about the antibiotics but you can ask your midwife about all that when you get another appointment or you could call NHS direct or make another appointment to see a different doctor as that one sounds crap.

When I first found out I was pregnant I had a bad experience too. Not knowing normal procedure, I made an appointment at the doctors to let them know and then got the most Godawful doctor in the world who was about 12 and looked lobotomised.

Rather than just say to me that normal procedure is to go to the midwife first she proceeded to um and ah and gave me the wrong due date and mentioned about folic acid which I already knew about but we spent most of the appointment sitting in an awkward silence while I waited for her to direct me as to next steps and she stared blankly at me. I also thought they would do a pregnancy test to check I was correct, but nope they take your word for it.

She DID tell me to arrange an appointment with the community midwife though with their receptionists as they come to the doctors surgery every week for appointments. I arranged my booking appointment (your first appt) which took place at around 8 weeks so it was quite a long way off as I was just over 4 weeks when I went to the doctors.

The midwife didn't ask to do another pregnancy test either - again - she just believed me. I could have been making the whole thing up. When I went for my first scan I did think "I wonder if they will actually find anything in there - how embarrassing if I'm not actually pregnant!" - although the morning sickness was a big clue.

Agree that the antibiotics should be OK as it's so early and you've stoped taking them. I was on a prescription skin cream that I knew wasn't suitable for pregnant women (deformities from studies) and specifically asked my doctor before I became pregnant if I could still use it while ttc or if I should stop. She told me it was fine while ttc and just to stop it as soon as I found out I was pregnant, so effectively I used that for 2 weeks of pregnancy.

Having said that, the whole medication issue is very confusing and I've been given conflicting advice re: other medication from other GPs. I've found speaking to pharmasists useful as they are very knowldegable about drugs/can look up any possible risks. Infact, my midwife told me I shouldn't take any medication whatsoever (even anything prescribed by my GP) without checking with the pharmasist first. I persoanlly thought this was a bit OTT, as surely GPs should onlye prescribe something for you if they feel it is safe/the benefits outweigh the risks, but then one GP had given me ear drops for an ear infection that she says are fine for pregnancy whereas another GP has specifically told me these ones arn't safe in pregnancy, so maybe best err on side of caution by checking with anything in future with pharmasist.

I saw my GP at 5 weeks, she didn't do a test, but she took my details and gave me the contact details for the community midwives. Met one of them at the local Sure Start centre at 7 weeks for a chat, and they'll be sending me a letter confirming booking appt at 10 weeks and scan at 12 weeks. All very smooth - wish I felt more pregnant though, it's very odd! Your GP sounds like an ass - poor you. Once, I moved house and changed doctors and the new guy wouldn't give me a prescription for the Pill because my medical records hadn't moved across yet and he wouldn't take my word for it that I'd been happily in the same bloody pill for seven years. I was twenty-seven. I complained to another GP in the same practice the next day and she was very apologetic.

Were you still taking the antibiotics when you got pregnant?

This what the BNF says:

Pregnancy
Tetracyclines should not be given to pregnant women. Effects on skeletal development have been documented when tetracyclines have been used in the first trimester of pregnancy in animal studies. Administration during the second or third trimester may cause discoloration of the child?s teeth, and maternal hepatotoxicity has been reported with large parenteral doses.

So I would definitely put a complaint in about the advice you were given by the other GP. FWIW GPs are not experts on drugs these days, so always check the patient information leaflet before taking anything and ask a pharmacist if in doubt. Online, it's free to register for the BNF or patient.co.uk and nhs.uk have decent info.

It is normal to not have a doctor confirm the pregnancy - there's no point as HPTs are now so good.

You should see a midwife for a booking in appointment before 12 weeks, but if your scan is booked seperately (so you don't have to wait) then there's no rush.

MrsBloop - firstly a huge CONGRATULATIONS, hope you're feeling OK?

That first visit to the GP is a huge anticlimax (I remember thinking she'd give me a hug or some flowers or something! )
From your GPs point of view you are not yet very interesting as you are only just pregnant and there's nothing they can do other than refer you to the midwives and tell you to take folic acid. You will get a much more detailed chat at your booking appointment with the midwife but you are really very early in your pregnancy and they're not interested. Just wait til you hit 30 weeks and it feels like their prodding you, taking your urine / blood on an almost weekly basis, you'll be desperate to be left alone

I know it's hard not to, but you shouldn't worry about the antibiotics I don't think. If it was something serious, your GP would have reacted differently. IIRC they say you should only take paracetamol when you are pregnant (one chemist even refused me thrush cream citing this excuse) but this is a real belt and braces thing. With DD I was 9wks before I realised I was pregnant (damn irregular cycles) and had spent most of that time boozing, smoking and behaving like a reprobate. There were no ill effects at all. Please step away from google, it will drive you crazy, and try not to fret about it. Loads of people do things they shouldn't before they know they're pregnant, this does not sound major to me.

And good luck!

as an aside, I don't think the NHS routinely does pregnancy tests nowadays as the ones in the shops are so good they just take your word for it. I remember going for my 12 week scan and thinking: 'I could be a total fantasist making the whole thing up to waste NHS time and resources'

Congratulations on your pregnancy!
I would definitely put in a complaint at the surgery regarding the anti-biotics. I think as you've stopped taking them almost immediately no damage will have been done at such an early stage but as you told the gp you were trying for a baby they should never have been prescribed in the first place - what if it hadn't been picked up on until much later. Surely it's basic knowledge that many anti-biotics aren't compatible with pregnancy. My dh has tetracycline syndrome from being given this antibiotic as a baby and as a result it discoloured all of his second teeth. It isn't prescribed for under 3's as a result.
I really don't think you have anything to worry about for your baby (although being pregnant makes you worry about everything) but a complaint to the surgery is deserved.

I think I might have the most useless GP/ pregnancy appointment annecdote. After managing to bodge the pregnancy test, mine told me I wasn't pregnant and in his most patronising voice said 'there are lots of reasons why your period could be late young lady' (I was sat there with my husband and we're both in our thirties). Oh and before that bit, while I was off peeing into a tube he asked my husband, if I were pregnant, would he want to keep the baby? I don't know what he was going to do if DH had said no. Leap out at me as I walked back in the room and chloroformed me?

DS just turned one by the way.

Poppet - oh my god! What an absolute asshole!

Hi MrsBloop,

I know this is an old post but I wondered if you could please update on the outcome of the above? I'm in exactly the same situation as you were - and am so worried. I took Lymecycline for the first 10-14 days after conceiving (without knowing this had happened). Online I can see mixed medical opinion about the level of risk.

Thanks so much. X

Hi MrsBloop/anyone who might be able to help,

I know this is an old post but I wondered if you could please update on the outcome of the above? I'm in exactly the same situation as you were - and am so worried. I took Lymecycline for the first 10-14 days after conceiving (without knowing this had happened). Online I can see mixed medical opinion about the level of risk.

Thanks so much. X