QuestionHi, I'm 38 and 9 weeks pregnant. I'm very concerned about hormone levels and risk of miscarriage. I was diagnosed as entering perimenopause in Dec and was put on a 10 day cycle of depo provera(sp?) for progesterone treatment to regulate my cycles. It worked and I became pregnant on Feb 19th, not a planned pregnancy. I immediately called the local clinic and made an appointment which wasn't until April 8th. I was not examined, no vitals were taken. I informed the person of my hormone issues and she blew it off. My second appointment was this last Tuesday. Still no vitals or exam. I told her again about the progesterone issue and she said i couldn't have been in Peri because there is no way I could have gotten pregnant. I also reminded her that I'd been through a treatment cycle. She then looked at my chart and said ohhh I didn't realize you'd been through treatment. My my first question is should I be concerned that I have not been examined and hormone levels tested yet? Should I get pushy and make sure I get checked out right away? The woman hasn't been listening to me or taking my concerns seriously. I'm low income and single so don't have the option of changing providers or clinics. I really feel that I should see a Dr. during my first trimester, but they scheduled my first exam for week 13!
Thank you for any advise you can give :)
AnswerDear Gaea,
Well, if you are unable to change doctors, you will have to make the best of the situation. I would not be overly concerned about the Provera that you took. More than likely all that did was to regulate your cycles enough to enable your body to conceive a pregnancy. The fact that you took that in December would not adversely affect your pregnancy.
Of course, it would be preferable to be seen by a doctor sometime in your first trimester so that hCG and progesterone levels can be drawn, an initial ultrasound can be done for dating the pregnancy and confirming an intrauterine pregnancy, an initial physical assessment can be done, prenatal vitamins can be started (if not already), etc,... especially with you being 38 (over 35 is considered advanced maternal age). However, if that is not possible for whatever reason, it does not mean that it puts your pregnancy at significantly higher risk.
You might try calling in (very pleasantly) and saying, "Unfortunately I'm not sure I'm going to be able to work my schedule to get in on the scheduled date, but I got to thinking that since I am a higher risk pregnancy because of my age, a first trimester visit would probably be better than waiting anyway. Can we try to get that re-scheduled for about two weeks sooner to get in under that first trimester mark?" Hopefully that will spur somebody to re-think your appointment date. :-)
I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.
Brenda
