Before I start writing this, I just want to warn you that it could take you a very, very long time to read it. Hell, I anticipate taking a very, very long time to write it. You might want to pop some corn...maybe make a few phone calls before the close of the business day...you get the idea.
When I first found out I was pregnant with Thad, I looked for an OB online. I found one that was rated with 5 stars, called, set up an appointment, and we all lived happily ever after.
No, really. I absolutely LOVED my OB(s). It was a large practice, and I think I went thru 10 different OBs that I could potentially see delivering my child, but I loved all of them and I didn't care. At the end of the day, the one who actually DID deliver Thad was my favorite anyways...so the taste in my mouth was always a pleasant one.
I expected this to always be the case, I suppose.
This time, when I found out I was pregnant, there were a few other factors involved. The first person I called was my primary care doctor (PCP), knowing that she delivered babies. While I love my PCP, she's not a high-risk OB, and she wanted me to see one in particular. So, she wrote me a referral, the high-risk OB's office called me, set up an appointment, and all was well with the world.
This particular OB I will refer to as Dr. Douche Bag (Dr. DB). I've never met the man, nor do I personally have anything against him. In fact, as you will learn further into this post, it's actually his staff that I have an issue with. But I can't very well refer to his practice by members of the staff, so there you go. Dr. Douche Bag it is.
My appointment for Dr. DB was set for Monday, March 5.
One week later, my friend, Pam, reminded me about the nuchal scan that you can request when you are pregnant. It has to be performed early on in pregnancy, right at the end of your first trimester. I was so thankful to her for reminding me of it because I have been on so much medication for so long, that I get this feeling that the chances of something actually being wrong with the baby are slightly higher than most mid-20s women who are in otherwise good working condition.
I called Dr. DB's office, and they set the scan up for last Thursday, February 16.
On the morning of my appointment, Dr. DB's office called me to tell me that my insurance does not cover anything related to maternity or pregnancy. I found that pretty shocking, especially since now, to have the scan completed, I was going to have to come up with $800 up front. I asked the receptionist if I could pay 30% up front, and they could bill me later. She said, "No." If I could not pay that day, they could not see me. So, I told her I would have to cancel the appointment and call back to re-schedule.
I think I already blahged about this, but I went to the Medicaid office, and I got coverage for pregnancy-related services.
On that same day, I called the office back to re-schedule. Dr. DB's receptionist told me she would call me back.
She never did.
On Friday, I called again. Again, Dr. DB's receptionist told me she would call me back.
She - again - never did.
By Monday, I was frustrated. The scan should be complete before your 14th week, and I was 13 weeks on Sunday. So, I called again.
I bet you can guess the outcome.
Despite calling again around 4pm, I never received a return phone call.
I was getting desperate.
So, I called my PCP. Upon speaking with her nurse, I found out that Dr. DB was no longer interested in over-seeing my case, and would only co-manage my care. He was recommending I find a new OB. I also found out that the same receptionist who told me I had to pay in full in order to be seen had told Dr. DB that I flat-out refused to pay anything, despite her giving me several options for payment.
Mmmkay.
So now you are not only unprofessional, but you are a liar.
I was so angry. I threw my hands in the air, said, "Screw it," and started calling around to other doctors.
FYI - it isn't easy to just "find" a doctor when you're on Medicaid. Lol. Most doctors only want to see Medicaid patients once a week, so they are typically booked for weeks out. I called 10 different OBs.
The 10th one managed to find a spot for me next Thursday. Phew.
In the meantime, I still wanted the nuchal scan. I wasn't going to be able to accomplish it with Dr. DB, so I asked my new OB to write an order for the test, and tell me where I needed to go and when I needed to show up.
This is the point in the story where I find out that Dr. DB is, quite literally, the only game in town.
Not only is he the only high risk obstetrician on the West side of the state, but he's the only one who does in-office nuchal scans. And, lo and behold, he's all booked up.
So, despite his office canceling on me, despite his receptionist being a liar, they have not only pushed me off to someone else...but they are refusing to administer the scan.
Today, as the nurse from my PCP's office was telling me this, I broke down in tears. It really shouldn't be this difficult to find the kind of care I would like. And I'm not even asking for much!
My requests of any OB:
1. Don't have a bitchy, liar receptionist working the phones
2. Understand why I want a first trimester nuchal scan, and don't question it
3. Allow me to pay what I can on the services insurance won't cover, understanding full-well that I am a decent human being who not only pays taxes every year, but I also pay my medical bills every single month as they come due.
Looking back on this list, I can't really see that anyone would find me demanding enough to pass me off.
Aside from not being able to have the scan that I wanted to tell me a lot of things that I really wanted to know, I'm faced with a new OB who has already told me that she is 100% unfamiliar with my condition. I can tell you - as a pregnant woman with an extremely rare, life-threatening disease - there is nothing more comforting than a doctor looking you right in the eye and saying, "I have no idea what you are suffering from, but I will do my best."
I have to admit, I've cried a lot of tears over all of this in the past couple of days.
The law student in me is just itching to find something wrong with Dr. DB so I can sue him for malpractice, lol. I've even considered calling him after hours and having him paged, just so I can get HIM on the phone, and not one of his bitchy receptionists.
But, instead, I made a decision on my way to school this afternoon.
I just have to let it go.
So my OB won't be high-risk. My OB with Thad wasn't high-risk, and at the end of the day I got a happy, healthy baby. As long as baby and I are going to be healthy and happy by the end of August, I don't really care if a lady in the supermarket delivers my baby.
But what I DO know, is that Dr. DB wants to co-manage my care. In other words, he wants to write scripts, and perform random tests, so that he can bill Medicaid for doing next to nothing.
No thanks, Dr. DB. I want you nowhere near me or my child during the rest of this pregnancy, and I hope I have made that incredibly clear.
Everyone says this guy is the best in town...of course he is. He's the ONLY guy in town. How can you be considered anything but the best when you literally have zero competition? I'm willing to bet if another high-risk OB set up shop in this part of town, his shitty customer service and staff would quickly become apparent, and his practice wouldn't be flourishing then quite like it is now.
Now the next step is to visit my new OB for the first time, and I pray, pray, PRAY that I am happy. I really am not a picky person when it comes to medical doctors, despite the fact that I have a lot of experience with some pretty bad eggs. So, I think everything will be alright. I've already called my ENT to put him on notice that he may find himself becoming involved with my pregnancy, as I anticipate needing at least one dilitation before the birth of the baby.
My doctor in Cleveland, as always, has been super supportive. She calls me at least once a week to see how I am doing, and how my breathing is.
So really, I am in good hands. Just because my doctor isn't labeled for "high risk" doesn't mean my doctor will be any less capable of managing my care.
It just means my doctor can't gauge me for care, and will be more willing to see me as a patient with needs, ideas and plans - as opposed to another woman who maybe shouldn't be pregnant in the first place, treating me like all the others.
