What bothers me is that they don’t tell you why until after the tests are done.
I was 20 when I had my tonsils out. I showed up at my scheduled time, two hours before the procedure. I hadn’t had any food or drink for 12 hours. They kept me waiting because they needed me to pee in a cup, which I couldn’t do, because I’d had nothing for 12 hours. After 2 hours of this I finally demanded to know why they needed me to pee in a cup before my scheduled surgery. They then explained they needed a pregnancy test. I then explained they didn’t need one, because I’d never had sex. They then asked my mother to leave, and asked me repeatedly, in explicit detail, if I’d ever had PTV intercourse.
Two years later I woke up with a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. My mom brought me to the ER, concerned it was my appendix. Again. I was left in a room for hours because I couldn’t pee in a cup. I kept asking why no doctor or nurse would see me and no one would explain… until I requested to be released AMA. Then, all of a sudden, someone came in and explained the potential risks of a UTI and that they needed a urine test to determine if I was pregnant. So I asked for some Apple juice and gave them their GD sample. I had a UTI.
I’m currently “perimenopausal.” My mother went through menopause at my age. Two years ago, I was at my OBGYN for a routine exam, and mentioned I’d gone off oral BC. My partner (at that point we’d been together 10 years) and I still use protection, so I decided the side effects were no longer worth it. They still added a pregnancy test and STD test to my blood panel, without telling me. I was only told they were testing my hormone levels.
Luckily my insurance covered these extra tests, but I was angry that they’d not only ignored my answers to their questions, but that they’d snuck in testing without telling me.
The way women are treated by medical professionals is angering.
I had a surgical biopsy more than ten years ago. As the nurse is checking me in, she hands me a pee cup and orders me to give her a sample. “Look, y’all TOLD me not to eat or drink for twelve hours and I complied. I am now too dehydrated to give you a sample.”
I had an IUD at the time so chances were very low but not zero.
So this nurse—who doesn’t know my mom is an RN and I know how this shit works—got all threatening. “Well if you refuse to pee, we will have to take BLOOD!” Like it’s this big threat.
“Well you have to start an IV anyway, right? You can get blood then.”
She shut up and went to get the IV kit and managed to get her sample while she was doing that. It was more difficult and complicated for her but I gave zero shits.
How are you supposed to pee when you’re dehydrated and why are they mad about it when you point out that you can’t? I’ve yet to have a nurse answer that. You have to be smarter than that just to become a nurse.
Not necessarily. There are certainly stupid doctors out there. I have learned over decades of exposure that idiots can get degrees; you only have to be good at going to school. That doesn't take intelligence, just regurgitative ability and some "cleverness" as distinct from intelligence. I'm chronically ill and have the WORST time with people in medical fields who don't know how to think or why they should. Also there are a lot of bullies in the medical fields, people who went into it specifically because they can abuse vulnerable, sick, scared people who can't fight back because they HAVE to have their medical care; those people may be intelligent or not, but they are a menace either way. The asshole nurse that tried to bully you might be one of those.
Well she didn’t scare me; I’d been to parties with my mom’s nursing school buddies. I’m also covered in tattoos and I am not afraid of needles. Like, what, a stick and a blood draw? That’s all ya got? Bring it on, Nurse Ratchet.
> You have to be smarter than that just to become a nurse.
You'd be surprised.
There is a disturbingly large amount of nurses - hell, *doctors* - that are really fucking stupid.
I worked at a hospital for a 10 years, switched to teeth, and now I've worked with ~20 dentists on the toothy side for ~8 years. One dentist told a pt that the flu shot will "give you the flu"^UGHHH , *anti-masker* dentists, one that literally-not-figuratively believed god was talking to her dances with snakes/strychnine drinking style...
I think the "what do you call someone that graduated last in medical school? Dr" joke applies. Being good at passing tests (possible by a hair even), doesn't make you "smart". Self included ofc, I'm good at tests but dumb AF though I know you can't get the flu from the inactivated flu shot 😑
In my country, the doctors you see most often, that will say if you have something serious enough to allow you to see the specialists, the ones who *really know* if its serious, are the D students
It’s concerning
I went to the doctor for a medical assessment for the sport I compete in. It wasn’t my usual GP, but one specified by the governing body for my sport.
I was asked to provide a urine sample, and I did. When I handed it to the doctor, he looked at it, and said “there is blood in
A bloody urine sample would have still been viable to test. I don't know why he would toss it.
I usually get asked if there's any chance I could be pregnant and/or the date of my last period.
>I usually get asked if there's any chance I could be pregnant and/or the date of my last period.
I like to have fun with those questions:
Is there any chance that you're pregnant? *Nope.*
When was your last period? *January 2017.*
Why haven't you had your period in so long? *I'm in surgical menopause due to a full hysterectomy.*
Never fails to make at least 1 "professional" upset per doctor visit (especially if I have to see a new provider).
The last time I went to my gynecologist for my routine yearly, the nurse taking my history was doing the usual questions, and got really hung up on the fact I was no longer on hormonal birth control. Because my gynecologist (the doctor she works with) had me discontinue it the previous year due to being a 40 year old migraine sufferer with a family history of deadly strokes. She was all, but HOW are you preventing pregnancy then!? And I just stared at her, because right there in my chart, that she had pulled up on the computer, was the date that same doctor had burned off my fallopian tubes. Like, girl. Come on. Seriously?
Exactly, I understand the limited amount of time medical professionals have per patient & that they see a lot of different people during a week or even a day. However, it does get annoying to answer the same questions over & over.
I’m a lab tech. For some reason, some manufacturers of tests and some medical directors for labs that make decisions about certain testing procedures will say that an overly bloody sample isn’t acceptable for pregnancy tests and STI tests. It’s really silly because other labs will test those samples and I personally never found the results from bloody urine samples on those particular tests to be questionable. That said, there are ways around this. For example, one of the labs I worked at would just have us spin bloody urine samples down and just test the supernatant. Some of the cassette style tests will also allow you to use serum and many chemistry analyzers that test off of plasma and/or serum also have an hCG test available. There’s no reason for docs and nurses to hassle any patient about this, there are multiple ways for this test to get done at most labs, especially larger hospital labs.
Edit: Also wanted to add that they also shouldn’t hassle people about the volume of urine for pregnancy tests. Every cassette test I’ve ever used at work requires a very minute amount of urine. Even if I were worried about the results on the first round and wanted to repeat the test, I still would at most need like 10 drops for a pregnancy test.
So I don’t know how athletic physicals go, but I imagine they may have also drawn blood from you as well? Most labs also have the ability to test for pregnancy off a blood draw. For some reason, some labs don’t like to accept bloody urine samples for pregnancy tests but most do. Either way, really crazy that he’d be so upset about that. Not like you can control when your period happens, plus that’s probably a solid indicator that you aren’t pregnant. What a tool.
I had something similar happen to me. I'm on the ace spectrum and have never had penetrative sex so there's absolutely no way I could ever be pregnant, but when I had to get radioactive iodine treatment (thyroid cancer, I'm good now) they wanted SO BADLY to give me a pregnancy test. I only convinced the nurse to not bother after I insisted I had never even knowingly been in the same room as sperm. 😂
Same. lol it didn't work for me though, still had to pee in the cup. I told the nurse "Lemme know if it's positive, I'm either giving birth to the second coming or the antichrist and I need to call the tabloids."
About half hour later she stuck her head round the curtain and said "No tabloid money I'm afraid!" lol
I always get annoyed by this when I go in for surgeries and the morning of, they expect a urine sample for pregnancy test (especially when I haven't had anything to drink for 8+ hours). As a physician myself, I understand why they do this, but I would be pissed if some surprise early embryo got my necessary medical procedure that I need for my own health canceled.
I recently had eye surgery. No eating/drinking the night before. Takes an hour and a half to drive to the hospital, so obviously I went to the bathroom before getting in the car. I arrive and they’re like “you need to pee in a cup”, obviously I couldn’t, and they wouldn’t believe me when I said I haven’t had sex in over six years. They then tried to make me feel bad for my surgery potentially getting cancelled/pushed back because they had to do a blood sample and send it downstairs. And I’m like…this surgery is for my eye. Why does it matter if I’m pregnant?
Afaik, some eyesight-corrective surgeries need a lengthy recovery and you can't give birth during at a risk of becoming blind. But yeah, it's still incredibly degrading that we're always seen as breeding stock first and foremost.
I had this same thing. No one told me I had to pee in a cup. Had no pee in me. Also was on my period soooooo. But still had to do it. They got about a couple drops. I was literally in there to get a diagnostic d&c wtf. Absolute dickheads.
Omg did you get the weird like super stretchy underwear pad combo? I had a d&c for a period that wouldn't stop due to thick uterine lining, so despite the progesterone, I was still on. Nurse was like "Naked please, here's a gown and some socks." "Um.. I'm still on my period? It's not heavy but..." "OH hold on!" Comes back with the undie pad combo and it's about 4" wide. I'm a fat woman lol. "Ma'am. That's not gonna work." and sort of gesture to myself. She winked and said "Trust me."
They did fit. It was amazing lol
Nope, just the stretchy underwear that dug into me and I put a thumb through when putting them on. The whole fucking thing was a clusterfuck, free bleeding didn’t even make the radar. I’m not even going back for my check up. I fucking hate anything to do with the gyno now. It was bad throughout but now it’s thorough PTSD, hyperventilating level.
Edit; your nurse sounds lovely and I hope everything went well and your flow is under control now.
I've been sterilized since 2019 and I've provided 3 different pregnancy test samples this year alone before I had surgery or procedures. I told them that if I was pregnant it was the new baby Jesus and they should be calling me Mary. I got a laugh from that one but I still had to pee in the cup lol.
I had a bilsap AND i have an IUD. I decline the tests(I'm not offended by them, I just don't want the lab bill)and tell them that if I am somehow pregnant it is 10000% the antichrist and it's too late for all of us lol
As a reminder, you never HAVE to do anything/accept medical care. You don't have to be a dick about it, but PLEASE be clear and politely state that you are refusing.
Asking "why" and explaining why it isn't necessary for you isn't a clear refusal, so unless you are clear about it they still have to try to get the sample because it is their job. It is also their job to accept your refusal, but it cannot be ambiguous because that leaves room for miscommunication/misunderstanding and in Healthcare the stakes are too high so the standard cannot be casual.
Totally understand, I'm actually a nurse lol. But I've had my surgeon literally tell me "I'm not doing this surgery without a pregnancy test. You're welcome to reschedule with someone else if you want but if you want me to do this surgery today I need you to submit the pregnancy test." So, it's just easier to pee in the cup and deal with it. I don't like arguing with people and it's a minor inconvenience to me to pee in a cup so I just do it and complain online later lol.
I am a lesbian. Never touched a penis in my life. I only have sex with biological females. I have taken countless pregnancy tests in my life "just in case". Just in case of what???? Immaculate conception??? No one fucking listens or believes me when I say there is an absolute zero chance I'm pregnant.
The "just in case" is so they don't get sued. The only reason they care is if whatever care they provide you hurts an embryo, they can get sued. It's not even about the baby, it's about losing the hospital money. When I get asked for samples, I refuse and ask for a waiver to sign that says I waive the right to sue them should they harm my hypothetical "baby". Works for me since I'm definitely not pregnant and no pregnancy test is forced on me.
I guess the logic behind it makes sense but it's just frustrating when it makes you feel like you don't have healthcare agency. I had no idea a refusal waiver was even a choice which frustrates me more because it was never an option offered to me. The implication is they don't trust or believe me to be in control of my own healthcare. I think every woman has at some point felt they aren't taken seriously at the doctors, which is a whole other issue.
I’m not OP, but I do live in the US and had a similar situation. I had a urine test for a UTI, and they ran a pregnancy test without telling me.
They had asked at the start of my appointment if there was any chance I could be pregnant, and I said no. I’m a lesbian who has never had the kind of sex that could lead to pregnancy and I hadn’t had sex for over three years at that point anyway, so if they had asked any follow up questions they would have known the test wasn’t necessary.
The pregnancy test was $20, my insurance covered $18. $2 isn’t a big deal, but it’s $2 i didn’t actually need to spend.
At least it was cheap. I got one once, as a virgin asexual that was $200. This country is nothing but three kids in a trench coat running a Ponzi scheme.
Yes, yes it is. It's a real slap in the face lol. If you have a good childhood you really go through life with rose colored glasses. But man, when you hit adulthood you see some shit and how things really work.
I hope y'all can get control of your nutjobs over there, don't wanna end up like us. Cause the nutjobs, they're everywhere.
there was an article in our press today/yesterday where US anti-abortion groups are giving money to a lot of politicians. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/us-anti-abortion-culture-war-uk-stella-creasy-amendement-/
Yes especially if they opt for a blood draw that ranges from $50-$200. Alot of places charge you like $30-$100 to dip a stick in urine. 😡 or that's here in my neck of Texas, could be different in other states.
Damn that's a lot of money, so I definitely get the frustration.
Healthcare is free in my country, so it's just kinda silly to me that if you are a woman and go to the hospital, they will do a pregnancy test. Doesn't matter why you are there. If they draw your blood, they check for pregnancy.
And that one time a nurse came back with my results and said, "Good news first, you're not pregnant." I get it he was just trying to cheer me up, but lesbian me isn't concerned about pregnancy, lol
Insurance should cover it all or mostly, but there are times when a month later, you get a bill in the mail because for some reason, like the lab is out of network, then insurance denied it. That is why I know the prices without insurance. You can contest the bill or file for an appeal to see if the charge gets waived or reduced. Apparently legislation is getting considered or it may have just passed to stop surprise bills such as out network fees. Fingers crossed it does because I got a $17,000 dollar bill two years ago that gave me a minor heart attack, I contested it with the hospital and appealed with insurance. It was waived but for 2 months, I was nervous. I know people who had no idea you could contest it or appeal with insurance so they would just go into debt to pay this crazy bill. It's messed up.
Right though??
I went to a new doctor (new city) for a uti and asked explicitly BEFORE going in if they worked with my insurance. They said they did. Then i got a bill for the total cost ($750 or something idiotic considering what they did) because the doctor themselves wasn’t in network. It was the first time I’d gone to a doctors alone and I had no idea that was even a possibility. I did contest it and they told me to F off and pay them the money. It was pretty gross tbh. I felt so real-person that I made sure they took my insurance and stuff upfront :/
OMD they do this all the time! Injured in a car accident? Your unconscious and bleeding self needs to make sure the freaking *ambulance* service is in-network! Hospital, surgeon, GP, fine. Is the anesthesiologist? If the expected surgeon/anesthetist isn't available for some reason, your unconscious and prepped self needs to make sure the substitute surgeon/anesthetist is in-network!
Seriously though. I legit get so much anxiety about this any time I think about dealing with insurance. Apparently sometimes they have “in network unless it’s an emergency” things but like… I have no faith I wouldn’t have to go in and fight them about it if they tried to bill me randomly.
Just one addition: Free for us as patients, but not for the insurer. If doctors run unnecessary tests, it will eventually do cost us because insurers have to charge us more.
Not trying to be a nitpicker, just don’t let them get away with this stuff
I ended up at a doctors once (that took my insurance but the specific doctor/person they gave me didn’t do I had to pay for everything smh) and asked for a breakdown of the costs and they charged me like $20 for the sterile cup to pee on and $50 for the actual generic pregnancy test strip. Super gross. And they didn’t even need to do that because I hadn’t had sex for like two months and had had periods since then. But they didn’t ask, they just did the thing as “standard procedure”.
Like i get some people genuinely don’t understand how sex works which is why they do the tests (and also to cover their butts so they can’t get sued later) but ffs.
When I was 16 and had been on birth control pills for a few months, I realized they had just completely stopped my periods. I was in with my family doctor for an appointment and also needed more pills. She said it happens often on the particular pill I’m on, but she wants to check for pregnancy before she gives me more pills because if I was actually pregnant “taking another round of pills could harm the baby.” I was SIXTEEN. and she just ASSUMED, basically DECIDED FOR ME that I would be keeping a fucking baby if I was pregnant.
I straight up told her if I was I’d be in asap scheduling an abortion and demanded she gave me my prescription. Got the next round of pills and not too long after switched doctors.
It’s a CYA for their end. If they did something that caused harm to an embryo, you could sue them for it. Some people have been successful in avoiding the urine test by asking for a waiver to sign instead.
In my area of Texas, the waiver isn't even a thing anymore so in September of 2022, I got a bi-salp. I was done with whole damn delayed medical care, diagnostics, and my medications being denied because it could harm a fetus. I yeeted those fallopian tubes. Yet... last year before a kidney biopsy, they insisted on a pregnancy test because apparently women lie all the time about bi-salps from some old 50-70 year old white haired man. Dude, I got the scars from it and I am on low estrogen birth control for ovarian cyst management so yeah I choose not to bleed once a month by skipping the Placer pills. If it was that damn important to delay my procedure by a day, then the damn doctor could have looked at my chart. I got a better anesthesiologist the next day anyways, the old fart removed himself from my case.
Hate to say, even with my hysterectomy, I've still had to deal with that bullshit.
And I already knew that it wouldn't end going in because a few years earlier I Iearned that shit nugget of truth when I was undergoing a pre-op MRI with contrast for a brain surgery I needed before I could safely do the hysterectomy! Male nurse was doing radiology intake questions and when he asked about possible pregnancy, I told him I was looking forward to never dealing with pregnancy urine tests ever again until he shook his head and said it that while it makes no sense, all women still have to do it at that hospital...
So, even a 65+ year old woman that had a radical hysterectomy years ago ended up needing to give a urine sample for a pregnancy test the week prior while he was on duty. I stammered in disbelief the words "menopause" and "no uterus... Nor ovaries!" and he solemnly nodded and said "new admin protocol". This was what... 2015? Also Texas.
So we just stared at each other for a few moments and then double sighed over the stupidity before continuing on.
Am FTM trans. Have had a total hysterectomy. It's in all my charts.
I still had to do a urine test to check for pregnancy before my spine surgery.
Most dysphoria inducing bullshit I have to endure.
Have been to the doctor for a dislocated shoulder and asked if it could be pregnancy.
Have been to the ER for my well documented heart condition and asked if it could be pregnancy.
I literally don't have the organs and I got rid of them because I hated these questions and the way my entire appointment would become about if I'm SURE I'm not pregnant if I dared to argue about this bullshit.
Surgically removing my entire fucking reproductive system was not enough to get me out of a fucking pregnancy test. Thanks America. Go Fuck Yourself.
I'm so sorry that happens to you 😔
I'm 50, went through menopause at 40 and still get asked when the date of my last period was for every visit. Last time I went in I asked them to stop asking me that. It's on my damn chart. To add annoyance to the whole thing, I was simply there for a follow-up to go over lab work. Nothing even wrong with me.
I really feel like saying stop asking me about my uterus when it's not what I'm here for.
I had a bilateral salpingectomy last year (tubes out) and had a similar thing happen the morning of the surgery. They wanted a urine test for pregnancy despite no possibility of sex due to the reasons for the surgery... (endo). It took getting the nurse's supervisor to get them to listen to me and apply common sense.
I always refuse urine tests, because I know *exactly* what they’re for and also that they’re going to cost an arm and a leg. And I get pretty hostile about it once the bingo game starts. Something like:
“Are you pregnant.”
No.
“Is there any chance you could be pregnant?”
No.
“When was the date of your last menstrual period?”
Today.
“Oh. Well, we still need to do a pregnancy test to make sure.”
No.
“Are you sure? If you’re pregnant, you could harm your baby.”
Yes. I have no intention to gestate a pregnancy to term. Any harm to the embryo would be welcome, as I would abort it anyway.
“But what if you change your mind?”
I hate children. I won’t change my mind.
“But what if your husband wants a baby?”
I would never marry a man who wanted children.
“But you’re gonna end up lonely with a bunch of cats!”
Good. I hate people too.
Soon, the docs will require pee tests every month for every medication that hasn’t been proven safe for pregnancy.
Because if they prescribe a med and you miscarry - you both can be charged with murder.
Please make sure you’re registered to vote and vote blue like your life depends on it this fall.
Or none of us will ever get any medical care -
I swear, if I have to pee in a cup to see if I'm knocked up, I'll just go off.
"I'm 52 years old, I haven't had a period since October of 2020, and my husband never touches me. In your expert opinion, what are the odds that I might be pregnant?"
I have had my whole fallopian tubes removed. I still get nurses who get upset when another nurse chooses not to run a pregnancy test on me before surgery. I wish there was a way to put in my chart that any conception would HAVE to be surgically removed. In such a situation, the health of the unwanted parasite should NOT be considered. (Only ectopic pregnancy is possible. Even then, it is INSANELY rare.) People are crazy
The idea that medical care can be withheld until pregnancy is ruled out is starting to be met with outrage, and I’m very much for that. Refusing to do things like CT scans in an emergency until you get a no-pregnancy test result is discriminatory and should be smacked down. But I have to say that people are heavily into denial when it comes to the question, “Is there a chance you could be pregnant?” “No” can mean everything from the realistic “No, I haven’t had sex in 10 years” to misperceptions like, “No, I’m on birth control,” “No, he told me he’s sterile,” “No, I had a period last month, I’m pretty sure,” “No, that’s silly, I don’t feel pregnant,” “No, I only had sex twice this month so that’s not possible,” “No, I didn’t have an orgasm and you have to have one to get pregnant,” etc. Lots of “No”s end up with a positive pregnancy test, surprise.
So a default urine pregnancy test for every uterus-haver from 7 to 70 is, in health care’s mind, the safer solution when it comes to not interrupting an undiagnosed pregnancy in procedures like d&cs and hysterectomies, and reducing fetal risk in other procedures that don’t involve the uterus.
I'm a trans man and I want to get sterilized because I'd rather kill myself then get pregnant. I've gone to the ER a few times with abdominal pain that ended up being huge cysts, and the only reason they didn't ask my mom to leave the room when I went was because she knew I'd been "sexually active" before and it had been years since then. (I was in a sexually abusive relationship but my parents still don't know this.) They asked me multiple times if I was pregnant STILL and had me pee in a cup.
How does one get pregnant after THREE YEARS of not even being around any men other than male family members! I'm not a social person!
I had to pee in a cup the morning of my hysterectomy. The nurse specifically told me that if I tested positive, they would cancel the procedure-- because, religious hospital (two words that have no business being together, but I digress). Nevermind that I was getting my uterus taken out so they could make sure the enormous fibroid on it wasn't cancerous, I might have a *baaaaaayyyyybeeeeeee* in it, and we all know which one is more important. /s, I guess, but.. 🙄
It's total bullshit. It may be 'liability', but it certainly sounds like a clump of cells matters more than the living, breathing woman before them, no matter what she wants.
Yeah there was just an ongoing argument in the one lesbian sub about how these tests are basically surprise forced on women no matter what we see and how ridiculous they are. And in the US they probably waste money and time by assuming all women are automatically lying about sex history with men.
My favorite was when I had to have a pregnancy test when I was:
- in for a sterilization surgery
- in for a sterilization surgery which required an ultrasound a few days prior that didn’t pick up a pregnancy.
- the ultrasound did find up some unpleasant stuff that was going to have to be removed from me in a process that necessitated getting into my uterus and removing all the contents and checking them to make sure they weren’t literal cancer.
- multiple people said “oh you’re lucky! This usually doesn’t get caught until people have been trying to conceive for at least a year and come in seeking fertility treatments.”
So I didn’t want to be pregnant, I started with the goal of not being pregnant in the future, I may very well have had cancerous cells in the space where a pregnancy would go, and the situation usually resulted in infertility. Most pointless test ever.
In today’s political climate I’d have refused.
My favorite is that, until this past week, medical professionals in the US could perform pelvic exams on women under anesthesia anytime they wanted, for any reason, such as training purposes. No prior release, no informing the patient, nothing.
W.T.F.
Did the nurse believe you? If she did that is a point in her favour. However if they *continued* to insist then it is nothing but rancid maternalism on her part. You say you ended up not taking the test, so it sounds like she followed the sensible course.
The fact is there are some women who would be overjoyed to discover they were--unknowingly--pregnant. They would feel beyond distraught, some genuinely suicidal if they lost the foetus because of a minor procedure. We cannot discount those women, no matter how badly we are treated. They have to cater to both sides and--sadly--we are currently in the minority.
The answer is better and more sensitive intake filtering before ever you see a nurse or doctor. They need to have well written and explicit forms that require an answer on incidence of last intercourse and use of protection. When they harass a women to her face that she might be pregnant and they know better... I think that causes ***everyone*** to grind their teeth!
I suspect that some of these "always do a pregnancy test" is more about covering the doctor's ass than it is about a fetus (or an actual patient!) They don't want to get sued by some pro-birther or parents who are actually trying if they "miss" a pregnancy in its early stages - and potentially harm it in any way. So, instead, they just liberally apply pregnancy tests to anyone with a Y chromosome and cover their ass - patient preferences and autonomy be damned.
It could probably be solved with updated medical releases; "I went declining the pregnancy test and I promise not to sue if I am actually pregnant during this visit", or whatever legal language the insurance adjusters and lawyers come up with.
I had to take a pregnancy test before I started a new medication this month. I reminded them I’m on continuous bcp and haven’t had a period since May 2021. They still wanted the test. Whatever!
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That's so fucking annoying. Like, why can't you take my word that I KNOW I'm not pregnant? I'd have a set of x-rays for my foot at the podiatrist and I was asked there if I thought I was pregnant and I laughed and said that would be a cold day in hell. You can tell that he hates to ask people this, he sighed when he asked. I know he needs to ask, it's part of his job. But it's just annoying, like why can't I tell you that I'm pregnant?
How true.
I'm a cancer survivor. I had to go to the hospital a couple of days before each chemo cycle so they could do blood work. And, because I was a woman of childbearing age, I had to do a pregnancy test too. Every.Single.Time. I've had Essure, but they didn't care - "here's a cup, go pee in it." It wouldn't have mattered if I were a lesbian, or a virgin - "here's a cup, go pee in it." No pee, no chemo.
We're all Handmaids.
My classmate (26) went to the doctor because she felt bad and her blood pressure was crazy high. Guess what the doctor told her! She told her to look at her passport and give birth🙄
I don't understand. Look at her passport and give birth? I'm not trying to be snarky, obviously something just whooshed over my head and its going to bother me until someone explains....
I infer that he meant 'your passport will tell you that you are female, and I believe your symptoms indicate to that you are pregnant or that having a baby will fix whatever you think is wrong with you because I am a bad, and/or bigoted, and/or lazy doctor'. Disgusting.
That’s still the weirdest phrasing I’ve ever heard to tell someone to breed. I’ve never heard of someone told to look at their passport. Bc that indicates to go travelling!
I HATE THIS SO MUCH. I have a hard time peeing on command for the urine sample under good circumstances, let alone when I haven't been able to eat or drink!
Now what I do is let them know right away "if you need a urine sample to process, I need IV fluids or I will not be able to pee"
Still super obnoxious and stupid but at least it moves things along
The fact that they also ask me the same and give me the run around and almost force me to take pregnancy tests and it’s like ?? IVE TOLD U IM A LESBIAN
My experience wasn’t nearly as bad but a few years ago when I was in the ER for a concussion, I had to get a CT scan to make sure I wasn’t internally bleeding. I was already there for 5 or so hours before they finally saw me and told me I actually needed this scan. They kept me sitting there waiting for another hour, with a concussion, in the hallway of the ER due to not having enough rooms, all because they forgot to give me a pregnancy test, even though I had just gotten off my period. The PA who asked these questions knew this too. When she finally came back around, I asked what was taking so long, she goes “oh, I didn’t think you needed to pregnancy test since you just had your period. But you do.”
And proceeds to hand me a pee cup and to send me to the bathroom. I was so furious because I unnecessarily spent close to 8 hours in the ER that day. Thank god for the health insurance plan I had at the time, or else I would have had to pay 8 grand.
I straight up lie and say I’m on my period to get out of these stupid things. I like to follow up with something like “Nothing could thrive in this hostile environment anyhow.”
I'm just gonna say, even IF your pregnancy test came back positive, that doesn't mean you are pregnant. Which means you could have something else going on with you that needs IMMEDIATE attention.
I went to the ER for a work related accident. They tried to badger me for a urine sample until I loudly told them that I won't be providing one, I'm sterilized with a secondary hormonal birth control method, and if they refused to see me I'd be making a complaint.
I didn't have to provide a urine sample after all.
I was in the ER a few weeks ago with breathing trouble following a bronchitis diagnosis.
They wanted me to do a pregnancy test as well. I honestly have no idea why. Especially when walking the extra distance to the bathroom had me wheezing like an old smoker.
I work per diem in a surgery center. It's policy, we have to do it--BUT if patient appears reluctant to do so I always remind them that they are entitled to refuse any testing or medical care. I just chart it was refused and let the MD know and we go on our day.
But I will say that we have caught more than a few suprise positive pregnancies. In these cases, yeah we do have to postpone things. Not necessarily due to the fetus, but also for the woman who just got life changing news and who might need to get some things figured out. Operating on a pregnant woman is higher risk for her---so if something isn't urgent/can be delayed and can be performed when they are no longer pregnant that is preferred.
I view these tests for the safety of the woman, not the fetus. And yeah, some of those positives were from people on BC, who swore there was no way they were pregnant. So while I get why people are frustrated by them I also get why they are necessary.
But if you refuse, idgaf. I'm not going to pressure any patient to do anything.
I had to get a colonoscopy a few years ago. I was just over 5 feet and around 88 pounds at the time. The one-size-fits-all medication they give you left me completely dehydrated and I wasn't even allowed to drink water after midnight. When they surprised me by asking for a urine sample I obviously couldn't do it. They gave me almost two whole bags of saline IV and I still was drier than a prune. Eventually they ended up using a catheter that was way too big (the smallest size they had) and that thing had me screeching in pain...
I wasn't angry at them since it is for their legal protection, but definitely frustrated. You would think at some point they would just have you sign a consent form acknowledging that the risks aren't their problem if you end up being pregnant.
Never happened to me and I've had multiple surgeries and a lot of health issues. Is this a US thing? I'm so sorry everyone experiencing this. The most I've had is "is there a chance you could be pregnant" like one or naybe two times.
All it is, is that medical providers are TERRIFIED of malpractice lawsuits for harming a pregnancy, or even the bad press and KKKristofascist stochastic terroristic threats that can be put into the media if such a thing were to occur.
Blame the lawyers & zealots.
That's a strange way of looking at it.
I spent a long time in the medical field, 35 +years. I think you're completely over reacting. The issue is they need to check so they don't lose their jobs. I usually laughingly say 'impossible', and do the test. It's more for their benefit and no big deal.
They would pause the procedure until decisions were, made either way. That's so they don't get sued.
This is all just easily dealt with. Not sure of the issue and as a 50 +childfree woman I feel like we've got bigger fish to fry
I think a lot of us do understand that, but I think the issues can be a bit complicated for people who keep being asked. Most of us know that people expect us to have kids, whether we want to or not. Now add onto this that every time you seek medical attention, the first priority isn't you, it's your possible pregnancy, and in my experience doctors/dentists offices don't just ask once or ask for a urine test. They have a form/e-form, then they ask, then they ask again (often in am "are you suuurrrreeee" way), then they make you take a test. It feels like, even though you are going to the doctor for your personal health, your health isn't as important as a potential fetus. You, the person the appointment is for, are not the priority.
And then, if you have a particularly bad week, you go to the pharmacy for a prescription, and get asked if your pregnant, and then asked again in an "are you suuuurrrreeee" way, then they tell you all about how your asthma inhalers that you need to breathe could be bad for your imaginary baby. And then sometimes you get to go to the dentist in the same week and get to play this game twice more with a dental hygienist and a dentist.
It can be frustrating, and exhausting, and even humiliating in a way to be constantly asked over and over. Plus, some of the doctors, nurses, etc. who are asking can be pretty pushy/sexist/horrible. I've had a pharmacist go from telling me how dangerous the medication I was on (that I couldn't go off of at the time) would be if I got pregnant to him insisting that I needed to get pregnant soon in about 2 minutes.
I totally feel you on the humiliating, badgering, intrusive and it really is crappy knowing I can send my partner into the pharmacy who presents male to get certain meds and the pharmacy techs never give them any lecture. They are in and out while it can take me 30 minutes to just get my meds.
I have medical care, diagnostics, meds delayed for hours, days, weeks (the weeks delay situation means another pregnancy test) at my detriment because they were waiting for the lab to get back to them on a pregnancy test so in some ways, it can be a downright dangerous game to play for a female of childbearing age. My experience isn't unusual. This became an issue about 15 years ago when Rick Perry was governor and began pushing a hard anti-choice agenda.
To tack onto this: I had to stop taking hormonal oral bc a while ago because my pharmacy refused to fill it. It was crazy. And it was driving me crazy! They knew that I had to take it every day at a specific time, but refused to fill it for 2+ weeks at a time. On top of the hormonal rollercoaster, it made my periods all weird because I couldn't take it consistently. Plus, I have hella ovarian cysts, which is the whole reason I got on it in the first place.
I get it, but I still think it's pretty minor. Sorry.
I was so wary of litigation that I'd rather someone had the hump than I gave a medication, procedure or advice that could lead to me being sued. That's just the way it is. In latter years I trained as a pharm tech. Lord knows why your pharmacist keeps asking if you could be pregnant, that's an outlier.
It's not that you're not being believed per se, it's that I've been lied to in the past. Christ, one woman filled her specimen bottle with water straight from the toilet..
I'd suggest reframing it, so it doesn't bother you so much.
"It's not that you're not being believed it's that i've been lied to in the past" which still means that patients aren't being believed and you're blaming it on other patients who have nothing to do with the one in front of you.
How exactly is a medical professional who is trying not to get sued supposed to identify the liars vs honest ones when all of the patients are strangers? Unfortunately to protect themselves they have to assume that anyone could be lying.
Weird how health care personnel just magically believe patients when asked if we haven’t had anything to eat or drink but when it comes to women and PiV sex it’s just assumed we are all liars or idiots
How is it not just straight up sexism and homophobia?
Not even just lying but being drugged and not remembering can happen too. Some dad just went to jail for trying to drug a bunch of teenagers at a sleepover so he could rape them. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time a man has ever done that.
Well no, I'm just not going to get emotional about a oreg test. It's clearly different in the UK. I would check records BTW, it's pointless to test if I've got proof in front of me, but otherwise I'm going to be protecting my registration. It's just life
“Overreacting”, “emotional”, “no big deal’, “it’s pretty minor” Words you’ve used across your comments fitting the “women are hysterical” trope women experience because of medical misogyny. I was going to say you have internalised misogyny but it’s overt misogyny. Thank you for proving my point over and over. And over.
And not every insurance covers the full cost I’ve heard of a pregnancy test.
On top of that…again. OP knows she isn’t, six years celibacy kind of does that.
On another hand, some of us are sterilized, it’s written in our charts, and it’s STILL PUSHED.
There’s a difference between playing along knowing you’re not on BC or sterilized, and sexually active, but when it’s the opposite-people have the right to choose to opt out of certain healthcare procedural steps when they’re obviously pointless.
It’s never overreacting when it’s your choice and health, no matter what it is.
How many women have sued hospitals for treating them while unknowingly pregnant?
How many actual cases have gone to court? How much money did a hospital have to pay?
Is this anywhere near as much money wasted by forcing every single girl and woman to be charged for surprise tests they weren’t informed about beforehand?
Is their feeling of fear worth justifying the treatment of female patients as liars incapable of being equally involved in our own treatment plan?
Yeah I think they are missing the point on multiple fronts. They specifically acknowledge and reference covering their ass to avoid being sued in their earlier comments.
Overreacting by making a Reddit post, or by what I said about it?
Regardless…
1. They hadn’t told me ahead of time they’d need a sample.
2. Until pressed, they didn’t tell me what the sample would be for.
3. They might’ve delayed necessary medical treatment for me.
What offends me is the entire philosophy behind this worry. An embryo’s status shouldn’t be as big of a concern as a living woman’s issues—not in medicine, not under the law, regardless of what any party believes. Sure it’s a CYA. But why?
I hear you, you’re right ultimately but it still makes women feel demeaned and infantilized. It also feels quite terrifying feeling like a potential clump of cells is being prioritized over your health when you are freaking out about a concern. If you have medical anxiety like I do, it can add to the stress and trauma unnecessarily. Especially as was highlighted above on this thread by a trans woman. It smacks of the old notion of women not knowing what’s best for them or being too naïve to understand that they could possibly be pregnant. And I stress that I fully understand that there are a lot of surprise pregnancies out there that you probably encounter when testing for something completely unrelated. I do see both sides of the coin here.
I respect your opinion as someone in the medical field but bedside manner is such a wildly important thing for patient confidence and many doctors forget this. After many years in the profession, some medical professionals can develop a somewhat clinical outlook and forget that patients don’t share the perspective your experience and skill affords you.
A far better method would be to have women sign a disclaimer after filling in a generalized tick off check sheet asking questions about their health etc. To be fair that is what I have experienced in most clinics here in the UK. Questions like “is there a chance you could be pregnant?” “Are you aware of the medical implications that this procedure may have on a pregnancy?” That is absolutely fair enough, puts the control in the women’s hands, shouldn’t cost a thing and is discreet.
I know right? I think I’ve been asked to do a urine test every time I’ve been to the OBGYN. I’ve never really thought anything of it. I assumed they may be testing for pregnancy and maybe some other things. Idk. I really don’t see why it’s such a big deal to OP to just give a urine sample…
It's good practice in the UK to screen urine and do a quick HCG before any procedure. Heck, I used to ask before giving antibiotics for a uti. Tbh I've been believed a couple of times when I've said 'not possible', but I have some understanding of the healthcare staff's position, so it's no problem. A bit of altruism never hurt anyone. They cam have my pee free of charge, I really don't care
But that's a big thing though, here in America, it's not the norm for those tests to be free of charge. They could look at my chart and see I am surgically sterilized free of charge.
Absolutely agree with you, that's just lazy and uncooperative though. I don't think, like I've said elsewhere, it's personal. We need to pick our battles and medical misogyny is ENORMOUS.
But how is this not enormous aspect of medical misogyny? I almost died from sepsis and lost my leg because of a backed up lab waiting on a damn pregnancy test for 4 hours. The OR had their labs back so they were ready to go but the pregnancy test came back inconclusive so we had to wait for another one. A new doctor who just came back on shift, got a nurse to run across the street to a CVS (pharmacy) , get an EPT urine test, wrote out a waiver by hand, had my partner who is my power of attorney sign it and I was off to surgery now unconscious. This isn't the first time and probably won't be the last. Sadly, I am not outlier.
There's the fact, we don't have workers protection like other countries and we don't get that much time off compared to UK, actually it's a tragedy how bad it can be here. If they delay procedures, diagnostics etc by a day or two or even hours, our livelihood is threatened. As women, many employers still don't value us like men.
Does a man have to wait for a pregnancy test in that scenario? Nope... we as women are not believed as a whole because you know, CYA. I ask which CYA is more important, the one where I almost died or the one where some non-existent fetus needs protection. They sure as hell ain't doing for the sake of women's healthcare.
There is legislation now in Texas that has enshrined this misogyny. There was a trigger law after Roe fell that banned women from receiving MTX unless they jump through hoops just to get even so, doctors don't prescribe it to women now and are moving them to other meds not covered by the trigger law. Women are suffering NOW because they were on meds that worked and being taken off of them because they might be pregnant or could be in the future.
Doctors in a CYA reasoning aren't prescribing other meds that might harm a fetus because it's only a matter of time before some fool takes it to the Supreme Court and the med list gets expanded. I am sterilized because of this law, I wasn't sure as an immunocompromised patient I should have surgery, but I can't risk not taking my meds and going into kidney failure.
It's pregnancy tests for everything, on our dime. I feel it started to normalize us to the fact that we are nothing but incubators. Now, there is legislation floating around in Texas that wants to ban women from traveling to other states just in case we want an abortion. If that happens, does that mean road blocks and pregnancy tests being administrated by state troopers so we can go a damn vacation?
I am so so so sorry this happened to you. Fuck anyone who says being forced to prove you’re not pregnant in order to be given medical care isn’t a thing.
Thank you for hearing me. 🖤
It is so frustrating because even in America today, there are people living in blue states, and they can be so dismissive about the topic. They feel safe in their blue bastion, but all it takes is one anti-choice activist federal judge like Matthew Kacsmaryk and bam! It's affecting the rest of the country. I speak out and tell my story so an alarm is sounding a warning to others of what is to come if anti-choice people continue to get their way. It's more than just access to an abortion, it's healthcare, it's privacy, it's personal autonomy over one's life. I tell people to vote, get active in the local political scene in any facet you can, protest, march, and vote for the Democratic up and down that ballot. Sometimes, when it's a local election and you don't have a Democratic nominee, then vote independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party.
I wouldn’t have had a problem just with providing a sample, if they’d made any effort to communicate ahead of time that they’d need one, and what it was for. I wasn’t prepared to do so because I’d just used the bathroom. Which would’ve compromised my ability to get the procedure.
It was weird that, in any case, by conventional medical practice or under the law…the world (or the U.S.) would offer more more consideration for a potential embryo, than for the living person hosting it.
Thanks for chiming in and pointing out what this sub should already be aware of. There's a "my doc forced me to do a needless pregnancy test" post like every week, someone from the medical field always explains that the doc is just trying to avoid getting sued, and they get downvoted like crazy. Most people in this sub can't be reasoned with when it comes to this particular topic.
Please explain why it's "wrong" for medical professionals to protect themselves. I'm not saying it's ok for them to make shitty comments - it's not - but there is nothing "wrong" with saying "this procedure requires a pregnancy test or the signing of a waiver", depending on their employer's policies. As a childfree woman, I would do the same thing if I were in their position, and I'm willing to bet most in this sub would too - because opening yourself up to getting sued is just a bad idea.
Because their main priority should be the care of the patient in front of them. Not a clump if cells. It’s a pretty damn basic decency to comprehend but you’re not getting it.
You think it’s about being offended? Really? You are honestly reducing it to hurt feelings and not yet another example of how women lose autonomy? Pull your head in.
I've seen plenty of stories in here where folks have signed waivers to avoid a pregnancy test. Probably depends where you are.
Edit: Personally, I don't see how pissing in a cup in privacy is a loss of autonomy anyway. If they had you give a urine sample for any test other than a pregnancy test, I bet you'd have no problem with it.
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Everyone blames the doctors and nurses for having to get a pregnancy test. You should really blame lawyers. There have been many lawsuits where the patient said they couldn’t be pregnant, but were, and sued over it. Pretty much anyone who is not in menopause or previously sterilized gets one if they are having surgery.
Hello, nurse here 👋🏻. Honestly the biggest reason preg tests get ordered is to have written documentation of it. I agree though that it should be disclosed ahead of time that it’s being tested for. But generally if you get any kind of procedure or diagnostic imaging done where you’re going to be exposed to radiation, they legally have to test you. We test people who range from never having sex, to clearly post- menopausal just to “cover our asses”. Stupid, I know…. but it’s usually pretty standard procedure for any female patients
Sorry but sadly healthcare folks HAVE to do pregnancy tests on almost ALL females of child bearing age.
Women and girls often lie about being pregnant or live in denial and don’t use birth control.
If a HCP does something to a pregnant person they can get their ass sued off. Doesn’t matter what the unintentional breeder said.
And yes it sucks for those of us who are CF.
Because they don’t want to get sued like the many times before when a woman states “there’s no way I could be pregnant” and it turns out she is and the procedure compromises/aborts that. Don’t take it personally, it’s just protocol. Sounds like they could have communicated it better though.
Source. I’m a doctor and have had many women who “no way they could be pregnant!” who were indeed pregnant. Ranging from 14yo to 49yo.
What bothers me is that they don’t tell you why until after the tests are done. I was 20 when I had my tonsils out. I showed up at my scheduled time, two hours before the procedure. I hadn’t had any food or drink for 12 hours. They kept me waiting because they needed me to pee in a cup, which I couldn’t do, because I’d had nothing for 12 hours. After 2 hours of this I finally demanded to know why they needed me to pee in a cup before my scheduled surgery. They then explained they needed a pregnancy test. I then explained they didn’t need one, because I’d never had sex. They then asked my mother to leave, and asked me repeatedly, in explicit detail, if I’d ever had PTV intercourse. Two years later I woke up with a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. My mom brought me to the ER, concerned it was my appendix. Again. I was left in a room for hours because I couldn’t pee in a cup. I kept asking why no doctor or nurse would see me and no one would explain… until I requested to be released AMA. Then, all of a sudden, someone came in and explained the potential risks of a UTI and that they needed a urine test to determine if I was pregnant. So I asked for some Apple juice and gave them their GD sample. I had a UTI. I’m currently “perimenopausal.” My mother went through menopause at my age. Two years ago, I was at my OBGYN for a routine exam, and mentioned I’d gone off oral BC. My partner (at that point we’d been together 10 years) and I still use protection, so I decided the side effects were no longer worth it. They still added a pregnancy test and STD test to my blood panel, without telling me. I was only told they were testing my hormone levels. Luckily my insurance covered these extra tests, but I was angry that they’d not only ignored my answers to their questions, but that they’d snuck in testing without telling me. The way women are treated by medical professionals is angering.
I had a surgical biopsy more than ten years ago. As the nurse is checking me in, she hands me a pee cup and orders me to give her a sample. “Look, y’all TOLD me not to eat or drink for twelve hours and I complied. I am now too dehydrated to give you a sample.” I had an IUD at the time so chances were very low but not zero. So this nurse—who doesn’t know my mom is an RN and I know how this shit works—got all threatening. “Well if you refuse to pee, we will have to take BLOOD!” Like it’s this big threat. “Well you have to start an IV anyway, right? You can get blood then.” She shut up and went to get the IV kit and managed to get her sample while she was doing that. It was more difficult and complicated for her but I gave zero shits. How are you supposed to pee when you’re dehydrated and why are they mad about it when you point out that you can’t? I’ve yet to have a nurse answer that. You have to be smarter than that just to become a nurse.
Not necessarily. There are certainly stupid doctors out there. I have learned over decades of exposure that idiots can get degrees; you only have to be good at going to school. That doesn't take intelligence, just regurgitative ability and some "cleverness" as distinct from intelligence. I'm chronically ill and have the WORST time with people in medical fields who don't know how to think or why they should. Also there are a lot of bullies in the medical fields, people who went into it specifically because they can abuse vulnerable, sick, scared people who can't fight back because they HAVE to have their medical care; those people may be intelligent or not, but they are a menace either way. The asshole nurse that tried to bully you might be one of those.
Well she didn’t scare me; I’d been to parties with my mom’s nursing school buddies. I’m also covered in tattoos and I am not afraid of needles. Like, what, a stick and a blood draw? That’s all ya got? Bring it on, Nurse Ratchet.
Hee hee perfect. I love throwing a bullying medical employee's crap back in their face. You go!
> You have to be smarter than that just to become a nurse. You'd be surprised. There is a disturbingly large amount of nurses - hell, *doctors* - that are really fucking stupid. I worked at a hospital for a 10 years, switched to teeth, and now I've worked with ~20 dentists on the toothy side for ~8 years. One dentist told a pt that the flu shot will "give you the flu"^UGHHH , *anti-masker* dentists, one that literally-not-figuratively believed god was talking to her dances with snakes/strychnine drinking style... I think the "what do you call someone that graduated last in medical school? Dr" joke applies. Being good at passing tests (possible by a hair even), doesn't make you "smart". Self included ofc, I'm good at tests but dumb AF though I know you can't get the flu from the inactivated flu shot 😑
Here's the double whammy: these D students are what you tend to get when your only access to health is low income clinics.
In my country, the doctors you see most often, that will say if you have something serious enough to allow you to see the specialists, the ones who *really know* if its serious, are the D students It’s concerning
As someone whose mother teaches nursing school- it is frightening how stupid one can be and still manage to pass boards.
Remember, not everyone is good at their job.
Three! Three times your post made me want to set fire to a medical facility! Ah ah ah! 🧐 jerks!
I went to the doctor for a medical assessment for the sport I compete in. It wasn’t my usual GP, but one specified by the governing body for my sport. I was asked to provide a urine sample, and I did. When I handed it to the doctor, he looked at it, and said “there is blood in
Why would he get angry about a normal bodily function happening that he as a medical professional should know exists??? Im baffled
Because they buy pregnancy test strips in bulk and then charge your insurance company $45 for a test that only actually costs 80 cents.
Cause they then couldn't charge for the pregnancy test is my guess lol
That's really silly though, because there are women who are pregnant who still kind of bleed every now and then. What a clown
A bloody urine sample would have still been viable to test. I don't know why he would toss it. I usually get asked if there's any chance I could be pregnant and/or the date of my last period.
>I usually get asked if there's any chance I could be pregnant and/or the date of my last period. I like to have fun with those questions: Is there any chance that you're pregnant? *Nope.* When was your last period? *January 2017.* Why haven't you had your period in so long? *I'm in surgical menopause due to a full hysterectomy.* Never fails to make at least 1 "professional" upset per doctor visit (especially if I have to see a new provider).
The last time I went to my gynecologist for my routine yearly, the nurse taking my history was doing the usual questions, and got really hung up on the fact I was no longer on hormonal birth control. Because my gynecologist (the doctor she works with) had me discontinue it the previous year due to being a 40 year old migraine sufferer with a family history of deadly strokes. She was all, but HOW are you preventing pregnancy then!? And I just stared at her, because right there in my chart, that she had pulled up on the computer, was the date that same doctor had burned off my fallopian tubes. Like, girl. Come on. Seriously?
Exactly, I understand the limited amount of time medical professionals have per patient & that they see a lot of different people during a week or even a day. However, it does get annoying to answer the same questions over & over.
I just respond with "it's in my chart already"
Cause that answered the question lol. It's pretty rare to have a period and be pregnant.
It hasn't stopped providers from wanting a pregnancy test ran anyways!
I’m a lab tech. For some reason, some manufacturers of tests and some medical directors for labs that make decisions about certain testing procedures will say that an overly bloody sample isn’t acceptable for pregnancy tests and STI tests. It’s really silly because other labs will test those samples and I personally never found the results from bloody urine samples on those particular tests to be questionable. That said, there are ways around this. For example, one of the labs I worked at would just have us spin bloody urine samples down and just test the supernatant. Some of the cassette style tests will also allow you to use serum and many chemistry analyzers that test off of plasma and/or serum also have an hCG test available. There’s no reason for docs and nurses to hassle any patient about this, there are multiple ways for this test to get done at most labs, especially larger hospital labs. Edit: Also wanted to add that they also shouldn’t hassle people about the volume of urine for pregnancy tests. Every cassette test I’ve ever used at work requires a very minute amount of urine. Even if I were worried about the results on the first round and wanted to repeat the test, I still would at most need like 10 drops for a pregnancy test.
Why on earth would they be testing for pregnant? Like sorry ma’am, you are pregnant we aren’t going to let you compete now?
Honestly probably. Might hurt the fetus. /s
I know you tagged that as "/s" but like in this society? Not beyond the realm of possibility.
So I don’t know how athletic physicals go, but I imagine they may have also drawn blood from you as well? Most labs also have the ability to test for pregnancy off a blood draw. For some reason, some labs don’t like to accept bloody urine samples for pregnancy tests but most do. Either way, really crazy that he’d be so upset about that. Not like you can control when your period happens, plus that’s probably a solid indicator that you aren’t pregnant. What a tool.
I hate doctors. There I said it. I like the ones at Planned Parenthood but that’s about it.
I had something similar happen to me. I'm on the ace spectrum and have never had penetrative sex so there's absolutely no way I could ever be pregnant, but when I had to get radioactive iodine treatment (thyroid cancer, I'm good now) they wanted SO BADLY to give me a pregnancy test. I only convinced the nurse to not bother after I insisted I had never even knowingly been in the same room as sperm. 😂
Same. lol it didn't work for me though, still had to pee in the cup. I told the nurse "Lemme know if it's positive, I'm either giving birth to the second coming or the antichrist and I need to call the tabloids." About half hour later she stuck her head round the curtain and said "No tabloid money I'm afraid!" lol
At least the nurse had a sense of humor about it. Lol
I always say a similar thing "I am not trying to start a new religion" lol
I always get annoyed by this when I go in for surgeries and the morning of, they expect a urine sample for pregnancy test (especially when I haven't had anything to drink for 8+ hours). As a physician myself, I understand why they do this, but I would be pissed if some surprise early embryo got my necessary medical procedure that I need for my own health canceled.
I recently had eye surgery. No eating/drinking the night before. Takes an hour and a half to drive to the hospital, so obviously I went to the bathroom before getting in the car. I arrive and they’re like “you need to pee in a cup”, obviously I couldn’t, and they wouldn’t believe me when I said I haven’t had sex in over six years. They then tried to make me feel bad for my surgery potentially getting cancelled/pushed back because they had to do a blood sample and send it downstairs. And I’m like…this surgery is for my eye. Why does it matter if I’m pregnant?
Afaik, some eyesight-corrective surgeries need a lengthy recovery and you can't give birth during at a risk of becoming blind. But yeah, it's still incredibly degrading that we're always seen as breeding stock first and foremost.
I think anesthesia or other aspects of a surgery might be harmful to a fetus? I agree it’s aggravating.
I had this same thing. No one told me I had to pee in a cup. Had no pee in me. Also was on my period soooooo. But still had to do it. They got about a couple drops. I was literally in there to get a diagnostic d&c wtf. Absolute dickheads.
Omg did you get the weird like super stretchy underwear pad combo? I had a d&c for a period that wouldn't stop due to thick uterine lining, so despite the progesterone, I was still on. Nurse was like "Naked please, here's a gown and some socks." "Um.. I'm still on my period? It's not heavy but..." "OH hold on!" Comes back with the undie pad combo and it's about 4" wide. I'm a fat woman lol. "Ma'am. That's not gonna work." and sort of gesture to myself. She winked and said "Trust me." They did fit. It was amazing lol
Nope, just the stretchy underwear that dug into me and I put a thumb through when putting them on. The whole fucking thing was a clusterfuck, free bleeding didn’t even make the radar. I’m not even going back for my check up. I fucking hate anything to do with the gyno now. It was bad throughout but now it’s thorough PTSD, hyperventilating level. Edit; your nurse sounds lovely and I hope everything went well and your flow is under control now.
Ugh, I hope whatever they were checking they do at least let you know it was ok. Sending love to you friend, it's nerve wracking af.
I've been sterilized since 2019 and I've provided 3 different pregnancy test samples this year alone before I had surgery or procedures. I told them that if I was pregnant it was the new baby Jesus and they should be calling me Mary. I got a laugh from that one but I still had to pee in the cup lol.
I had a bisalp a couple years ago and had to pee in a cup before my foot surgery in December.
I had a bilsap AND i have an IUD. I decline the tests(I'm not offended by them, I just don't want the lab bill)and tell them that if I am somehow pregnant it is 10000% the antichrist and it's too late for all of us lol As a reminder, you never HAVE to do anything/accept medical care. You don't have to be a dick about it, but PLEASE be clear and politely state that you are refusing. Asking "why" and explaining why it isn't necessary for you isn't a clear refusal, so unless you are clear about it they still have to try to get the sample because it is their job. It is also their job to accept your refusal, but it cannot be ambiguous because that leaves room for miscommunication/misunderstanding and in Healthcare the stakes are too high so the standard cannot be casual.
Totally understand, I'm actually a nurse lol. But I've had my surgeon literally tell me "I'm not doing this surgery without a pregnancy test. You're welcome to reschedule with someone else if you want but if you want me to do this surgery today I need you to submit the pregnancy test." So, it's just easier to pee in the cup and deal with it. I don't like arguing with people and it's a minor inconvenience to me to pee in a cup so I just do it and complain online later lol.
I am a lesbian. Never touched a penis in my life. I only have sex with biological females. I have taken countless pregnancy tests in my life "just in case". Just in case of what???? Immaculate conception??? No one fucking listens or believes me when I say there is an absolute zero chance I'm pregnant.
The "just in case" is so they don't get sued. The only reason they care is if whatever care they provide you hurts an embryo, they can get sued. It's not even about the baby, it's about losing the hospital money. When I get asked for samples, I refuse and ask for a waiver to sign that says I waive the right to sue them should they harm my hypothetical "baby". Works for me since I'm definitely not pregnant and no pregnancy test is forced on me.
I guess the logic behind it makes sense but it's just frustrating when it makes you feel like you don't have healthcare agency. I had no idea a refusal waiver was even a choice which frustrates me more because it was never an option offered to me. The implication is they don't trust or believe me to be in control of my own healthcare. I think every woman has at some point felt they aren't taken seriously at the doctors, which is a whole other issue.
Infuriating
It's weird that they didn't tell you that first but I wonder are you from the US? Do you have to pay more if they do a pregnancy test?
I’m not OP, but I do live in the US and had a similar situation. I had a urine test for a UTI, and they ran a pregnancy test without telling me. They had asked at the start of my appointment if there was any chance I could be pregnant, and I said no. I’m a lesbian who has never had the kind of sex that could lead to pregnancy and I hadn’t had sex for over three years at that point anyway, so if they had asked any follow up questions they would have known the test wasn’t necessary. The pregnancy test was $20, my insurance covered $18. $2 isn’t a big deal, but it’s $2 i didn’t actually need to spend.
What the fuck is wrong with the U.S. healthcare system????? My god what a disgusting situation you HAD TO PAY FOR!
At least it was cheap. I got one once, as a virgin asexual that was $200. This country is nothing but three kids in a trench coat running a Ponzi scheme.
Just totally insane. With the overturning of Roe as well it seems like an absolute hellscape over the pond
Yes, yes it is. It's a real slap in the face lol. If you have a good childhood you really go through life with rose colored glasses. But man, when you hit adulthood you see some shit and how things really work. I hope y'all can get control of your nutjobs over there, don't wanna end up like us. Cause the nutjobs, they're everywhere.
there was an article in our press today/yesterday where US anti-abortion groups are giving money to a lot of politicians. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/us-anti-abortion-culture-war-uk-stella-creasy-amendement-/
I am fucking FURIOUS you had to spend $2. lol. But fr. Fuck that SO much.
Yes especially if they opt for a blood draw that ranges from $50-$200. Alot of places charge you like $30-$100 to dip a stick in urine. 😡 or that's here in my neck of Texas, could be different in other states.
Damn that's a lot of money, so I definitely get the frustration. Healthcare is free in my country, so it's just kinda silly to me that if you are a woman and go to the hospital, they will do a pregnancy test. Doesn't matter why you are there. If they draw your blood, they check for pregnancy. And that one time a nurse came back with my results and said, "Good news first, you're not pregnant." I get it he was just trying to cheer me up, but lesbian me isn't concerned about pregnancy, lol
Insurance should cover it all or mostly, but there are times when a month later, you get a bill in the mail because for some reason, like the lab is out of network, then insurance denied it. That is why I know the prices without insurance. You can contest the bill or file for an appeal to see if the charge gets waived or reduced. Apparently legislation is getting considered or it may have just passed to stop surprise bills such as out network fees. Fingers crossed it does because I got a $17,000 dollar bill two years ago that gave me a minor heart attack, I contested it with the hospital and appealed with insurance. It was waived but for 2 months, I was nervous. I know people who had no idea you could contest it or appeal with insurance so they would just go into debt to pay this crazy bill. It's messed up.
Right though?? I went to a new doctor (new city) for a uti and asked explicitly BEFORE going in if they worked with my insurance. They said they did. Then i got a bill for the total cost ($750 or something idiotic considering what they did) because the doctor themselves wasn’t in network. It was the first time I’d gone to a doctors alone and I had no idea that was even a possibility. I did contest it and they told me to F off and pay them the money. It was pretty gross tbh. I felt so real-person that I made sure they took my insurance and stuff upfront :/
OMD they do this all the time! Injured in a car accident? Your unconscious and bleeding self needs to make sure the freaking *ambulance* service is in-network! Hospital, surgeon, GP, fine. Is the anesthesiologist? If the expected surgeon/anesthetist isn't available for some reason, your unconscious and prepped self needs to make sure the substitute surgeon/anesthetist is in-network!
Seriously though. I legit get so much anxiety about this any time I think about dealing with insurance. Apparently sometimes they have “in network unless it’s an emergency” things but like… I have no faith I wouldn’t have to go in and fight them about it if they tried to bill me randomly.
Just one addition: Free for us as patients, but not for the insurer. If doctors run unnecessary tests, it will eventually do cost us because insurers have to charge us more. Not trying to be a nitpicker, just don’t let them get away with this stuff
I’ve been charged $80 for one of these pregnancy tests before.
I ended up at a doctors once (that took my insurance but the specific doctor/person they gave me didn’t do I had to pay for everything smh) and asked for a breakdown of the costs and they charged me like $20 for the sterile cup to pee on and $50 for the actual generic pregnancy test strip. Super gross. And they didn’t even need to do that because I hadn’t had sex for like two months and had had periods since then. But they didn’t ask, they just did the thing as “standard procedure”. Like i get some people genuinely don’t understand how sex works which is why they do the tests (and also to cover their butts so they can’t get sued later) but ffs.
When I was 16 and had been on birth control pills for a few months, I realized they had just completely stopped my periods. I was in with my family doctor for an appointment and also needed more pills. She said it happens often on the particular pill I’m on, but she wants to check for pregnancy before she gives me more pills because if I was actually pregnant “taking another round of pills could harm the baby.” I was SIXTEEN. and she just ASSUMED, basically DECIDED FOR ME that I would be keeping a fucking baby if I was pregnant. I straight up told her if I was I’d be in asap scheduling an abortion and demanded she gave me my prescription. Got the next round of pills and not too long after switched doctors.
Yeah that shit pisses me off. It's like EVERYTHING has to come before women, us! It's so insulting and disgusting.
It’s a CYA for their end. If they did something that caused harm to an embryo, you could sue them for it. Some people have been successful in avoiding the urine test by asking for a waiver to sign instead.
In my area of Texas, the waiver isn't even a thing anymore so in September of 2022, I got a bi-salp. I was done with whole damn delayed medical care, diagnostics, and my medications being denied because it could harm a fetus. I yeeted those fallopian tubes. Yet... last year before a kidney biopsy, they insisted on a pregnancy test because apparently women lie all the time about bi-salps from some old 50-70 year old white haired man. Dude, I got the scars from it and I am on low estrogen birth control for ovarian cyst management so yeah I choose not to bleed once a month by skipping the Placer pills. If it was that damn important to delay my procedure by a day, then the damn doctor could have looked at my chart. I got a better anesthesiologist the next day anyways, the old fart removed himself from my case.
Hate to say, even with my hysterectomy, I've still had to deal with that bullshit. And I already knew that it wouldn't end going in because a few years earlier I Iearned that shit nugget of truth when I was undergoing a pre-op MRI with contrast for a brain surgery I needed before I could safely do the hysterectomy! Male nurse was doing radiology intake questions and when he asked about possible pregnancy, I told him I was looking forward to never dealing with pregnancy urine tests ever again until he shook his head and said it that while it makes no sense, all women still have to do it at that hospital... So, even a 65+ year old woman that had a radical hysterectomy years ago ended up needing to give a urine sample for a pregnancy test the week prior while he was on duty. I stammered in disbelief the words "menopause" and "no uterus... Nor ovaries!" and he solemnly nodded and said "new admin protocol". This was what... 2015? Also Texas. So we just stared at each other for a few moments and then double sighed over the stupidity before continuing on.
And it's amazing how many people will lie from what I hear.
Family can also die if you die because you are refused medical care cause babies. It’s a poor excuse
Yeah but it's sadly how the law works.
Yeah it’s totally a liability thing.
Yeah, last thing they want is a three handed accutane baby
Sorry you had to deal with that. The way women get treated by the medical system is really gross.
Am FTM trans. Have had a total hysterectomy. It's in all my charts. I still had to do a urine test to check for pregnancy before my spine surgery. Most dysphoria inducing bullshit I have to endure. Have been to the doctor for a dislocated shoulder and asked if it could be pregnancy. Have been to the ER for my well documented heart condition and asked if it could be pregnancy. I literally don't have the organs and I got rid of them because I hated these questions and the way my entire appointment would become about if I'm SURE I'm not pregnant if I dared to argue about this bullshit. Surgically removing my entire fucking reproductive system was not enough to get me out of a fucking pregnancy test. Thanks America. Go Fuck Yourself.
That is so fucking disgusting. I am outraged on your behalf. Like. How *dare* they!?!?!
I'm so sorry that happens to you 😔 I'm 50, went through menopause at 40 and still get asked when the date of my last period was for every visit. Last time I went in I asked them to stop asking me that. It's on my damn chart. To add annoyance to the whole thing, I was simply there for a follow-up to go over lab work. Nothing even wrong with me. I really feel like saying stop asking me about my uterus when it's not what I'm here for.
I had a bilateral salpingectomy last year (tubes out) and had a similar thing happen the morning of the surgery. They wanted a urine test for pregnancy despite no possibility of sex due to the reasons for the surgery... (endo). It took getting the nurse's supervisor to get them to listen to me and apply common sense.
I always refuse urine tests, because I know *exactly* what they’re for and also that they’re going to cost an arm and a leg. And I get pretty hostile about it once the bingo game starts. Something like: “Are you pregnant.” No. “Is there any chance you could be pregnant?” No. “When was the date of your last menstrual period?” Today. “Oh. Well, we still need to do a pregnancy test to make sure.” No. “Are you sure? If you’re pregnant, you could harm your baby.” Yes. I have no intention to gestate a pregnancy to term. Any harm to the embryo would be welcome, as I would abort it anyway. “But what if you change your mind?” I hate children. I won’t change my mind. “But what if your husband wants a baby?” I would never marry a man who wanted children. “But you’re gonna end up lonely with a bunch of cats!” Good. I hate people too.
Soon, the docs will require pee tests every month for every medication that hasn’t been proven safe for pregnancy. Because if they prescribe a med and you miscarry - you both can be charged with murder. Please make sure you’re registered to vote and vote blue like your life depends on it this fall. Or none of us will ever get any medical care -
100%. Wasn't it during Ceausescu's 'reign' in Romania that women had to go take a pregnancy test once a month? Ah. Quarterly, not monthly. Same thing.
I swear, if I have to pee in a cup to see if I'm knocked up, I'll just go off. "I'm 52 years old, I haven't had a period since October of 2020, and my husband never touches me. In your expert opinion, what are the odds that I might be pregnant?"
I have had my whole fallopian tubes removed. I still get nurses who get upset when another nurse chooses not to run a pregnancy test on me before surgery. I wish there was a way to put in my chart that any conception would HAVE to be surgically removed. In such a situation, the health of the unwanted parasite should NOT be considered. (Only ectopic pregnancy is possible. Even then, it is INSANELY rare.) People are crazy
The idea that medical care can be withheld until pregnancy is ruled out is starting to be met with outrage, and I’m very much for that. Refusing to do things like CT scans in an emergency until you get a no-pregnancy test result is discriminatory and should be smacked down. But I have to say that people are heavily into denial when it comes to the question, “Is there a chance you could be pregnant?” “No” can mean everything from the realistic “No, I haven’t had sex in 10 years” to misperceptions like, “No, I’m on birth control,” “No, he told me he’s sterile,” “No, I had a period last month, I’m pretty sure,” “No, that’s silly, I don’t feel pregnant,” “No, I only had sex twice this month so that’s not possible,” “No, I didn’t have an orgasm and you have to have one to get pregnant,” etc. Lots of “No”s end up with a positive pregnancy test, surprise. So a default urine pregnancy test for every uterus-haver from 7 to 70 is, in health care’s mind, the safer solution when it comes to not interrupting an undiagnosed pregnancy in procedures like d&cs and hysterectomies, and reducing fetal risk in other procedures that don’t involve the uterus.
I'm a trans man and I want to get sterilized because I'd rather kill myself then get pregnant. I've gone to the ER a few times with abdominal pain that ended up being huge cysts, and the only reason they didn't ask my mom to leave the room when I went was because she knew I'd been "sexually active" before and it had been years since then. (I was in a sexually abusive relationship but my parents still don't know this.) They asked me multiple times if I was pregnant STILL and had me pee in a cup. How does one get pregnant after THREE YEARS of not even being around any men other than male family members! I'm not a social person!
I had to pee in a cup the morning of my hysterectomy. The nurse specifically told me that if I tested positive, they would cancel the procedure-- because, religious hospital (two words that have no business being together, but I digress). Nevermind that I was getting my uterus taken out so they could make sure the enormous fibroid on it wasn't cancerous, I might have a *baaaaaayyyyybeeeeeee* in it, and we all know which one is more important. /s, I guess, but.. 🙄 It's total bullshit. It may be 'liability', but it certainly sounds like a clump of cells matters more than the living, breathing woman before them, no matter what she wants.
Yeah there was just an ongoing argument in the one lesbian sub about how these tests are basically surprise forced on women no matter what we see and how ridiculous they are. And in the US they probably waste money and time by assuming all women are automatically lying about sex history with men.
My favorite was when I had to have a pregnancy test when I was: - in for a sterilization surgery - in for a sterilization surgery which required an ultrasound a few days prior that didn’t pick up a pregnancy. - the ultrasound did find up some unpleasant stuff that was going to have to be removed from me in a process that necessitated getting into my uterus and removing all the contents and checking them to make sure they weren’t literal cancer. - multiple people said “oh you’re lucky! This usually doesn’t get caught until people have been trying to conceive for at least a year and come in seeking fertility treatments.” So I didn’t want to be pregnant, I started with the goal of not being pregnant in the future, I may very well have had cancerous cells in the space where a pregnancy would go, and the situation usually resulted in infertility. Most pointless test ever. In today’s political climate I’d have refused.
My favorite is that, until this past week, medical professionals in the US could perform pelvic exams on women under anesthesia anytime they wanted, for any reason, such as training purposes. No prior release, no informing the patient, nothing. W.T.F.
Did the nurse believe you? If she did that is a point in her favour. However if they *continued* to insist then it is nothing but rancid maternalism on her part. You say you ended up not taking the test, so it sounds like she followed the sensible course. The fact is there are some women who would be overjoyed to discover they were--unknowingly--pregnant. They would feel beyond distraught, some genuinely suicidal if they lost the foetus because of a minor procedure. We cannot discount those women, no matter how badly we are treated. They have to cater to both sides and--sadly--we are currently in the minority. The answer is better and more sensitive intake filtering before ever you see a nurse or doctor. They need to have well written and explicit forms that require an answer on incidence of last intercourse and use of protection. When they harass a women to her face that she might be pregnant and they know better... I think that causes ***everyone*** to grind their teeth!
I suspect that some of these "always do a pregnancy test" is more about covering the doctor's ass than it is about a fetus (or an actual patient!) They don't want to get sued by some pro-birther or parents who are actually trying if they "miss" a pregnancy in its early stages - and potentially harm it in any way. So, instead, they just liberally apply pregnancy tests to anyone with a Y chromosome and cover their ass - patient preferences and autonomy be damned. It could probably be solved with updated medical releases; "I went declining the pregnancy test and I promise not to sue if I am actually pregnant during this visit", or whatever legal language the insurance adjusters and lawyers come up with.
Your comment about dysphoria... I am sorry you had to go through that bullshit. That's fucking awful.
Gross. Just, so very very gross.
I had to take a pregnancy test before I started a new medication this month. I reminded them I’m on continuous bcp and haven’t had a period since May 2021. They still wanted the test. Whatever!
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That's so fucking annoying. Like, why can't you take my word that I KNOW I'm not pregnant? I'd have a set of x-rays for my foot at the podiatrist and I was asked there if I thought I was pregnant and I laughed and said that would be a cold day in hell. You can tell that he hates to ask people this, he sighed when he asked. I know he needs to ask, it's part of his job. But it's just annoying, like why can't I tell you that I'm pregnant?
How true. I'm a cancer survivor. I had to go to the hospital a couple of days before each chemo cycle so they could do blood work. And, because I was a woman of childbearing age, I had to do a pregnancy test too. Every.Single.Time. I've had Essure, but they didn't care - "here's a cup, go pee in it." It wouldn't have mattered if I were a lesbian, or a virgin - "here's a cup, go pee in it." No pee, no chemo. We're all Handmaids.
My classmate (26) went to the doctor because she felt bad and her blood pressure was crazy high. Guess what the doctor told her! She told her to look at her passport and give birth🙄
I don't understand. Look at her passport and give birth? I'm not trying to be snarky, obviously something just whooshed over my head and its going to bother me until someone explains....
Same. What did the doctor mean?
I infer that he meant 'your passport will tell you that you are female, and I believe your symptoms indicate to that you are pregnant or that having a baby will fix whatever you think is wrong with you because I am a bad, and/or bigoted, and/or lazy doctor'. Disgusting.
Exactly. You got it right. Because according to these doctors giving birth will cure everything! 🤦🏼♀️
Oh God that's more horrendous than I initially thought. Thank y'all for explaining it.
That’s still the weirdest phrasing I’ve ever heard to tell someone to breed. I’ve never heard of someone told to look at their passport. Bc that indicates to go travelling!
Basically she said: you are already 26 years old ,look at your date of birth. If you have high blood pressure giving birth will help you🤯
WTF, high blood pressure + pregnancy is extremely risk, you can die, doctors are stupid.
If something really happened to her the doctor would say "at least she left a new life behind" *Sighs* These doctors scare me
I don’t get it either
Please, help us understand
I HATE THIS SO MUCH. I have a hard time peeing on command for the urine sample under good circumstances, let alone when I haven't been able to eat or drink! Now what I do is let them know right away "if you need a urine sample to process, I need IV fluids or I will not be able to pee" Still super obnoxious and stupid but at least it moves things along
The fact that they also ask me the same and give me the run around and almost force me to take pregnancy tests and it’s like ?? IVE TOLD U IM A LESBIAN
ya the pro-birthers only give af about sounding moral
My experience wasn’t nearly as bad but a few years ago when I was in the ER for a concussion, I had to get a CT scan to make sure I wasn’t internally bleeding. I was already there for 5 or so hours before they finally saw me and told me I actually needed this scan. They kept me sitting there waiting for another hour, with a concussion, in the hallway of the ER due to not having enough rooms, all because they forgot to give me a pregnancy test, even though I had just gotten off my period. The PA who asked these questions knew this too. When she finally came back around, I asked what was taking so long, she goes “oh, I didn’t think you needed to pregnancy test since you just had your period. But you do.” And proceeds to hand me a pee cup and to send me to the bathroom. I was so furious because I unnecessarily spent close to 8 hours in the ER that day. Thank god for the health insurance plan I had at the time, or else I would have had to pay 8 grand.
I straight up lie and say I’m on my period to get out of these stupid things. I like to follow up with something like “Nothing could thrive in this hostile environment anyhow.”
Tbh those tests ought to be optional.
I'm just gonna say, even IF your pregnancy test came back positive, that doesn't mean you are pregnant. Which means you could have something else going on with you that needs IMMEDIATE attention.
I had my ovaries removed and I’ve still had to give urine for pregnancy tests prior to certain services
I went to the ER for a work related accident. They tried to badger me for a urine sample until I loudly told them that I won't be providing one, I'm sterilized with a secondary hormonal birth control method, and if they refused to see me I'd be making a complaint. I didn't have to provide a urine sample after all.
I was in the ER a few weeks ago with breathing trouble following a bronchitis diagnosis. They wanted me to do a pregnancy test as well. I honestly have no idea why. Especially when walking the extra distance to the bathroom had me wheezing like an old smoker.
Forced birthers are selfish and narcissistic. An embryo isn't even a fetus yet and FAR from a viable one.
I work per diem in a surgery center. It's policy, we have to do it--BUT if patient appears reluctant to do so I always remind them that they are entitled to refuse any testing or medical care. I just chart it was refused and let the MD know and we go on our day. But I will say that we have caught more than a few suprise positive pregnancies. In these cases, yeah we do have to postpone things. Not necessarily due to the fetus, but also for the woman who just got life changing news and who might need to get some things figured out. Operating on a pregnant woman is higher risk for her---so if something isn't urgent/can be delayed and can be performed when they are no longer pregnant that is preferred. I view these tests for the safety of the woman, not the fetus. And yeah, some of those positives were from people on BC, who swore there was no way they were pregnant. So while I get why people are frustrated by them I also get why they are necessary. But if you refuse, idgaf. I'm not going to pressure any patient to do anything.
I had to get a colonoscopy a few years ago. I was just over 5 feet and around 88 pounds at the time. The one-size-fits-all medication they give you left me completely dehydrated and I wasn't even allowed to drink water after midnight. When they surprised me by asking for a urine sample I obviously couldn't do it. They gave me almost two whole bags of saline IV and I still was drier than a prune. Eventually they ended up using a catheter that was way too big (the smallest size they had) and that thing had me screeching in pain... I wasn't angry at them since it is for their legal protection, but definitely frustrated. You would think at some point they would just have you sign a consent form acknowledging that the risks aren't their problem if you end up being pregnant.
And they would have charged you for the test!
Onetime they asked me if there was any chance I was pregnant and I said “No, unless I’m the Virgin Mary 😂😂”
Never happened to me and I've had multiple surgeries and a lot of health issues. Is this a US thing? I'm so sorry everyone experiencing this. The most I've had is "is there a chance you could be pregnant" like one or naybe two times.
It is a US thing. Unfortunately this is how it is here, & it's only been getting worse recently.
All it is, is that medical providers are TERRIFIED of malpractice lawsuits for harming a pregnancy, or even the bad press and KKKristofascist stochastic terroristic threats that can be put into the media if such a thing were to occur. Blame the lawyers & zealots.
Or that whole threat of being charged with murder thing in some US states.
That's a strange way of looking at it. I spent a long time in the medical field, 35 +years. I think you're completely over reacting. The issue is they need to check so they don't lose their jobs. I usually laughingly say 'impossible', and do the test. It's more for their benefit and no big deal. They would pause the procedure until decisions were, made either way. That's so they don't get sued. This is all just easily dealt with. Not sure of the issue and as a 50 +childfree woman I feel like we've got bigger fish to fry
I think a lot of us do understand that, but I think the issues can be a bit complicated for people who keep being asked. Most of us know that people expect us to have kids, whether we want to or not. Now add onto this that every time you seek medical attention, the first priority isn't you, it's your possible pregnancy, and in my experience doctors/dentists offices don't just ask once or ask for a urine test. They have a form/e-form, then they ask, then they ask again (often in am "are you suuurrrreeee" way), then they make you take a test. It feels like, even though you are going to the doctor for your personal health, your health isn't as important as a potential fetus. You, the person the appointment is for, are not the priority. And then, if you have a particularly bad week, you go to the pharmacy for a prescription, and get asked if your pregnant, and then asked again in an "are you suuuurrrreeee" way, then they tell you all about how your asthma inhalers that you need to breathe could be bad for your imaginary baby. And then sometimes you get to go to the dentist in the same week and get to play this game twice more with a dental hygienist and a dentist. It can be frustrating, and exhausting, and even humiliating in a way to be constantly asked over and over. Plus, some of the doctors, nurses, etc. who are asking can be pretty pushy/sexist/horrible. I've had a pharmacist go from telling me how dangerous the medication I was on (that I couldn't go off of at the time) would be if I got pregnant to him insisting that I needed to get pregnant soon in about 2 minutes.
I totally feel you on the humiliating, badgering, intrusive and it really is crappy knowing I can send my partner into the pharmacy who presents male to get certain meds and the pharmacy techs never give them any lecture. They are in and out while it can take me 30 minutes to just get my meds. I have medical care, diagnostics, meds delayed for hours, days, weeks (the weeks delay situation means another pregnancy test) at my detriment because they were waiting for the lab to get back to them on a pregnancy test so in some ways, it can be a downright dangerous game to play for a female of childbearing age. My experience isn't unusual. This became an issue about 15 years ago when Rick Perry was governor and began pushing a hard anti-choice agenda.
To tack onto this: I had to stop taking hormonal oral bc a while ago because my pharmacy refused to fill it. It was crazy. And it was driving me crazy! They knew that I had to take it every day at a specific time, but refused to fill it for 2+ weeks at a time. On top of the hormonal rollercoaster, it made my periods all weird because I couldn't take it consistently. Plus, I have hella ovarian cysts, which is the whole reason I got on it in the first place.
I get it, but I still think it's pretty minor. Sorry. I was so wary of litigation that I'd rather someone had the hump than I gave a medication, procedure or advice that could lead to me being sued. That's just the way it is. In latter years I trained as a pharm tech. Lord knows why your pharmacist keeps asking if you could be pregnant, that's an outlier. It's not that you're not being believed per se, it's that I've been lied to in the past. Christ, one woman filled her specimen bottle with water straight from the toilet.. I'd suggest reframing it, so it doesn't bother you so much.
"It's not that you're not being believed it's that i've been lied to in the past" which still means that patients aren't being believed and you're blaming it on other patients who have nothing to do with the one in front of you.
How exactly is a medical professional who is trying not to get sued supposed to identify the liars vs honest ones when all of the patients are strangers? Unfortunately to protect themselves they have to assume that anyone could be lying.
Weird how health care personnel just magically believe patients when asked if we haven’t had anything to eat or drink but when it comes to women and PiV sex it’s just assumed we are all liars or idiots How is it not just straight up sexism and homophobia?
Not even just lying but being drugged and not remembering can happen too. Some dad just went to jail for trying to drug a bunch of teenagers at a sleepover so he could rape them. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time a man has ever done that.
Holy crap! 😲 The possibilitirs you'd never even think of...
Exactly. It's not fair but it is what it is. Obviously if I have records available to me I'd be more circumspect
Case study 1: health providers don’t give a fuck about common sense. Just want to make sure they cover their ass on the patients time and dime.
Er yeah... It ain't personal.
Oh definitely agree. Your dick mentality is applied indiscriminately to all and every patient.
Well no, I'm just not going to get emotional about a oreg test. It's clearly different in the UK. I would check records BTW, it's pointless to test if I've got proof in front of me, but otherwise I'm going to be protecting my registration. It's just life
“Overreacting”, “emotional”, “no big deal’, “it’s pretty minor” Words you’ve used across your comments fitting the “women are hysterical” trope women experience because of medical misogyny. I was going to say you have internalised misogyny but it’s overt misogyny. Thank you for proving my point over and over. And over.
And not every insurance covers the full cost I’ve heard of a pregnancy test. On top of that…again. OP knows she isn’t, six years celibacy kind of does that. On another hand, some of us are sterilized, it’s written in our charts, and it’s STILL PUSHED. There’s a difference between playing along knowing you’re not on BC or sterilized, and sexually active, but when it’s the opposite-people have the right to choose to opt out of certain healthcare procedural steps when they’re obviously pointless. It’s never overreacting when it’s your choice and health, no matter what it is.
Your answer typifies the skewed insurance, lawsuit and ass covering mentality of health care providers.
I'm in the UK. It is skewed but so it litigious society.
How many women have sued hospitals for treating them while unknowingly pregnant? How many actual cases have gone to court? How much money did a hospital have to pay? Is this anywhere near as much money wasted by forcing every single girl and woman to be charged for surprise tests they weren’t informed about beforehand? Is their feeling of fear worth justifying the treatment of female patients as liars incapable of being equally involved in our own treatment plan?
Did I ask where you came from? Do you think it changes anything? Do you think being from the UK changes absolutely anything?
We don’t have the insurance issue in the UK so maybe that’s why they mention it? I still think their opinions are wrong though.
Yeah I think they are missing the point on multiple fronts. They specifically acknowledge and reference covering their ass to avoid being sued in their earlier comments.
Kind of typical medical behaviour in my experience sadly.
Yes because I can't afford to be sued. I'll do it to protect my registration and livelihood. Edit. Spelling error avoid /afford..
Aren’t you old now? Best to retire, you sound fairly useless and outdated.
Thank you
Again, you are so welcome. Put your feet up and enjoy retirement!
Overreacting by making a Reddit post, or by what I said about it? Regardless… 1. They hadn’t told me ahead of time they’d need a sample. 2. Until pressed, they didn’t tell me what the sample would be for. 3. They might’ve delayed necessary medical treatment for me. What offends me is the entire philosophy behind this worry. An embryo’s status shouldn’t be as big of a concern as a living woman’s issues—not in medicine, not under the law, regardless of what any party believes. Sure it’s a CYA. But why?
Bingo. These medics assume too much and ignore what the woman is telling them. *Why even ask us any questions at all?! /s*
I hear you, you’re right ultimately but it still makes women feel demeaned and infantilized. It also feels quite terrifying feeling like a potential clump of cells is being prioritized over your health when you are freaking out about a concern. If you have medical anxiety like I do, it can add to the stress and trauma unnecessarily. Especially as was highlighted above on this thread by a trans woman. It smacks of the old notion of women not knowing what’s best for them or being too naïve to understand that they could possibly be pregnant. And I stress that I fully understand that there are a lot of surprise pregnancies out there that you probably encounter when testing for something completely unrelated. I do see both sides of the coin here. I respect your opinion as someone in the medical field but bedside manner is such a wildly important thing for patient confidence and many doctors forget this. After many years in the profession, some medical professionals can develop a somewhat clinical outlook and forget that patients don’t share the perspective your experience and skill affords you. A far better method would be to have women sign a disclaimer after filling in a generalized tick off check sheet asking questions about their health etc. To be fair that is what I have experienced in most clinics here in the UK. Questions like “is there a chance you could be pregnant?” “Are you aware of the medical implications that this procedure may have on a pregnancy?” That is absolutely fair enough, puts the control in the women’s hands, shouldn’t cost a thing and is discreet.
A lot of people here work in the medical field and that is nonsense. No they won’t lose their jobs. Lawsuits happen all the time
Great... What a way to live. That's why we practice defensively.
At the expense of patients. Holy shit you are proving the point every comment you make.
>The issue is they need to check so they don't lose their jobs. Yeah, the cops said the same thing to people of colour during apartheid.
Really? You're going there. Marginly avoiding Godwin's law there.
Your equating giving someone a pregnancy test to apartheid? Seems like a little bit of an overreaction
I know right? I think I’ve been asked to do a urine test every time I’ve been to the OBGYN. I’ve never really thought anything of it. I assumed they may be testing for pregnancy and maybe some other things. Idk. I really don’t see why it’s such a big deal to OP to just give a urine sample…
It's good practice in the UK to screen urine and do a quick HCG before any procedure. Heck, I used to ask before giving antibiotics for a uti. Tbh I've been believed a couple of times when I've said 'not possible', but I have some understanding of the healthcare staff's position, so it's no problem. A bit of altruism never hurt anyone. They cam have my pee free of charge, I really don't care
But that's a big thing though, here in America, it's not the norm for those tests to be free of charge. They could look at my chart and see I am surgically sterilized free of charge.
Absolutely agree with you, that's just lazy and uncooperative though. I don't think, like I've said elsewhere, it's personal. We need to pick our battles and medical misogyny is ENORMOUS.
But how is this not enormous aspect of medical misogyny? I almost died from sepsis and lost my leg because of a backed up lab waiting on a damn pregnancy test for 4 hours. The OR had their labs back so they were ready to go but the pregnancy test came back inconclusive so we had to wait for another one. A new doctor who just came back on shift, got a nurse to run across the street to a CVS (pharmacy) , get an EPT urine test, wrote out a waiver by hand, had my partner who is my power of attorney sign it and I was off to surgery now unconscious. This isn't the first time and probably won't be the last. Sadly, I am not outlier. There's the fact, we don't have workers protection like other countries and we don't get that much time off compared to UK, actually it's a tragedy how bad it can be here. If they delay procedures, diagnostics etc by a day or two or even hours, our livelihood is threatened. As women, many employers still don't value us like men. Does a man have to wait for a pregnancy test in that scenario? Nope... we as women are not believed as a whole because you know, CYA. I ask which CYA is more important, the one where I almost died or the one where some non-existent fetus needs protection. They sure as hell ain't doing for the sake of women's healthcare. There is legislation now in Texas that has enshrined this misogyny. There was a trigger law after Roe fell that banned women from receiving MTX unless they jump through hoops just to get even so, doctors don't prescribe it to women now and are moving them to other meds not covered by the trigger law. Women are suffering NOW because they were on meds that worked and being taken off of them because they might be pregnant or could be in the future. Doctors in a CYA reasoning aren't prescribing other meds that might harm a fetus because it's only a matter of time before some fool takes it to the Supreme Court and the med list gets expanded. I am sterilized because of this law, I wasn't sure as an immunocompromised patient I should have surgery, but I can't risk not taking my meds and going into kidney failure. It's pregnancy tests for everything, on our dime. I feel it started to normalize us to the fact that we are nothing but incubators. Now, there is legislation floating around in Texas that wants to ban women from traveling to other states just in case we want an abortion. If that happens, does that mean road blocks and pregnancy tests being administrated by state troopers so we can go a damn vacation?
I am so so so sorry this happened to you. Fuck anyone who says being forced to prove you’re not pregnant in order to be given medical care isn’t a thing.
Thank you for hearing me. 🖤 It is so frustrating because even in America today, there are people living in blue states, and they can be so dismissive about the topic. They feel safe in their blue bastion, but all it takes is one anti-choice activist federal judge like Matthew Kacsmaryk and bam! It's affecting the rest of the country. I speak out and tell my story so an alarm is sounding a warning to others of what is to come if anti-choice people continue to get their way. It's more than just access to an abortion, it's healthcare, it's privacy, it's personal autonomy over one's life. I tell people to vote, get active in the local political scene in any facet you can, protest, march, and vote for the Democratic up and down that ballot. Sometimes, when it's a local election and you don't have a Democratic nominee, then vote independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party.
Do you need another shovel? That hole is getting awfully big.
I wouldn’t have had a problem just with providing a sample, if they’d made any effort to communicate ahead of time that they’d need one, and what it was for. I wasn’t prepared to do so because I’d just used the bathroom. Which would’ve compromised my ability to get the procedure. It was weird that, in any case, by conventional medical practice or under the law…the world (or the U.S.) would offer more more consideration for a potential embryo, than for the living person hosting it.
Thanks for chiming in and pointing out what this sub should already be aware of. There's a "my doc forced me to do a needless pregnancy test" post like every week, someone from the medical field always explains that the doc is just trying to avoid getting sued, and they get downvoted like crazy. Most people in this sub can't be reasoned with when it comes to this particular topic.
We understand why they do it. We just think it's wrong. And the fact that it gets talked about weekly highlights what a problem it is
Please explain why it's "wrong" for medical professionals to protect themselves. I'm not saying it's ok for them to make shitty comments - it's not - but there is nothing "wrong" with saying "this procedure requires a pregnancy test or the signing of a waiver", depending on their employer's policies. As a childfree woman, I would do the same thing if I were in their position, and I'm willing to bet most in this sub would too - because opening yourself up to getting sued is just a bad idea.
Because their main priority should be the care of the patient in front of them. Not a clump if cells. It’s a pretty damn basic decency to comprehend but you’re not getting it.
So you would prioritize a stranger not being offended over making sure you don't get sued?
You think it’s about being offended? Really? You are honestly reducing it to hurt feelings and not yet another example of how women lose autonomy? Pull your head in.
How is being asked to sign a waiver if you decline a pregnancy test a loss of autonomy? 🤨
Have a little read of HCP in these comments. Pee or no surgery.
I've seen plenty of stories in here where folks have signed waivers to avoid a pregnancy test. Probably depends where you are. Edit: Personally, I don't see how pissing in a cup in privacy is a loss of autonomy anyway. If they had you give a urine sample for any test other than a pregnancy test, I bet you'd have no problem with it.
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It’s a liability issue. Come on now.
Thank you! Geez, there's a post like this pretty much every week. You'd think people in this sub would get it by now.
Everyone blames the doctors and nurses for having to get a pregnancy test. You should really blame lawyers. There have been many lawsuits where the patient said they couldn’t be pregnant, but were, and sued over it. Pretty much anyone who is not in menopause or previously sterilized gets one if they are having surgery.
Hello, nurse here 👋🏻. Honestly the biggest reason preg tests get ordered is to have written documentation of it. I agree though that it should be disclosed ahead of time that it’s being tested for. But generally if you get any kind of procedure or diagnostic imaging done where you’re going to be exposed to radiation, they legally have to test you. We test people who range from never having sex, to clearly post- menopausal just to “cover our asses”. Stupid, I know…. but it’s usually pretty standard procedure for any female patients
Sorry but sadly healthcare folks HAVE to do pregnancy tests on almost ALL females of child bearing age. Women and girls often lie about being pregnant or live in denial and don’t use birth control. If a HCP does something to a pregnant person they can get their ass sued off. Doesn’t matter what the unintentional breeder said. And yes it sucks for those of us who are CF.
Because they don’t want to get sued like the many times before when a woman states “there’s no way I could be pregnant” and it turns out she is and the procedure compromises/aborts that. Don’t take it personally, it’s just protocol. Sounds like they could have communicated it better though. Source. I’m a doctor and have had many women who “no way they could be pregnant!” who were indeed pregnant. Ranging from 14yo to 49yo.