Ticked

Whatever happened to preventative healthcare? It seems instead of preventing the worst, modern medicine has become concerned only with stopping the existing. Just because bodies are able to be revived and medication heals does not mean that nothing should be done until something bad or worse happens.

I went to the ER tonight because of severe cramping in my lower abdomen. I'm nearly 4 months pregnant. I wouldn't have been too concerned except the pain was severe enough to conjure flashbacks of labor pains I had over 4 years ago. To my surprise, the on call OB-GYN was present in the room for barely 5 minutes only to press a few places on my belly and ask me "Does it burn when you pee?" "No" and "Do you have a history of cysts on your ovaries?" "No" and "Any discharge?" "No" and inform me when I cringed at one point, that the only thing there was an ovary. Then he left. I felt like I was being a complete nuisance telling him (as he was leaving the room) that the cramping kept me from being able to walk and had been ongoing for weeks and steadily getting worse over the past few hours. He nodded. I was appalled when he returned with a prescription for an antibiotic (it turns out I do have a slight infection) and a pain reliever to stop the cramping. I was stunned for a moment (I've never had a UTI) and once again I felt avoided when I had to stop him as he was leaving to ask if the pain reliever would hurt the baby and if he thought the child was even okay. "Yeah." When the nurse came in to give me the script and the release form I asked her specifically what the drug did. Annoyed she answered that it help stop the cause of the symptom and told us which door we could leave through. Stunned, we left. As I stood I doubled over due to the pain but walked out and tried to suck it up the whole way home thinking I was over-reacting.

Wait a minute. 

What the hell? What about the baby?! I didn't go because I thought there was something wrong with me. I was concerned about her. It's my body and I want to know. My healthcare is paying for this visit. I can't believe there wasn't an ultrasound performed or even simply a heart beat checked for (it's a friggin handheld device)! And the drugs? What if I don't want to fill my blood stream with a medication thats going to stop alerting me that there could be something wrong? Assuming that it is just 'severe gas', 'constipation', or a 'slight infection', what are my options for relieving the pain naturally? 

I came home, started the antibiotic, and then self medicated the cramps with a comfy couch and a ridiculous amount of water. The pain is still coming and going, not as severely though. I'm gonna hold the couch hostage until Monday and not take the pain relievers. The side effects were reason enough!

I'm calling a mid-wife Monday. I need some natural advice. And if the pain gets worse, we're headed to a different ER, just in case.

*Added Disclaimer: I'm SURE this bitch fest only applies to a select few local hospital staff. I'm a HUGE supporter of modern medicine and it's miraculous capabilities... just sayin, don't forget the thousands of years of knowledge we had before little bitty miracle pills*