Allergic to the Doctor

I have learned a very important lesson over the last 2 years. Between trying to conceive and being pregnant, sometimes you need to forget what the doctor says and trust your own instincts.

In terms of TTC and my miscarriages, my doctor, once the mutant fibroid was found, didn't assume that was my problem and ran a million test. I absolutely appreciate her being thorough, but I felt in my gut the fibroid was problem. Since she would never definitively say so, I have been haunted throughout this pregnancy with doubt.

Next, the whole luteal phase defect which you guys are probably sick of hearing about from me. But I was convinced I had a problem and it wasn't an ovulation problem, it was a progesterone problem. My doctor thought I should be treated with clomid. I didn't want to accept that since I knew from my charts I ovulated just fine on my own. I then found a doctor that agreed to test me twice in my TWW, 6dpo like normal, and 12dpo when I was spotting. And I was right, it was a progesterone issue. Next month, I was pregnant, and the progesterone supplements helped me hold onto this baby.

The latest is this blood pressure issue that landed me in the hospital 3 weeks ago. It was high at the doctors, 140/80. The next week it was 140/100 and I was sent to labor and delivery to be monitored. It came down while there to a healthy level. The on-call doctor said it was probably white coat syndrome but come in the next week to get checked again. Last week it was 140/80. And they had me convinced the reason it was normal at the hospital was because I was lying down in the bed. At my last visit they said I should come in this week and if it is high again I will have to see my internist for medicine.

Without their recommendation, I ordered a blood pressure cuff online. I didn't like the idea that I would be walking around with high blood pressure for 5 weeks unchecked. If you have high blood pressure, your placenta might die off early, and your baby might not have the nutrients to make it full term, so you have to deliver early. Plus high blood pressure is more common in people that develop preeclampsia. I kept telling the doctors I always get white coat syndrome when I get checked at the doctors office but if I sit a while it will come down. This happened even before I was pregnant. I understand they need to worry about it, but I wasn't being heard.

My cuff arrived today. I seriously have taken my BP about 25 times and each time it has been well within normal range and more often then not, under 120/80, which is considered normal. The doctors had me so freaked that I wasn't sure if it was calibrated correctly. So when my husband came home, I took his blood pressure and then mine right after. His was in normal range and mine was lower than his. He just had a physical a couple weeks ago and had no issue, so now I believe it.

The point of all this is, sometimes you know yourself better than the doctors and need to be your own advocate. If you really believe you know what is going on with you, or why you have trouble getting pregnant, try to get your doctor to test your theory and if she refuses, find someone else. I fully believe I wouldn't have held onto this pregnancy, had I not advocated for myself for the odd request of a 12dpo progesterone test. I also would have very likely ended up on blood pressure medicine that I didn't need and could have caused my bp to crash.