Hi everyone. I am 9 weeks pregnant with my second child. I went in to my first OB appt which is with a nurse. It's more of a paperwork appt, then I see my Dr. in two weeks. Anywho, before trying to get pregnant and consulted with my primary care physician who switch my meds to safe pregnancy meds. During the appt with the nurse, she told me she wasn't sure Rhinocort is pregnancy safe and she needed to ask the Dr. I told her I had already spoke with the primary care dr who told me it was fine. Nurse wanted to double check which was fine.. I left my appt and later that day got a call from another nurse at the OB office who told me I needed to stop taking Rhinocort because it's not safe during my first trimester of pregnancy. She told me to consult my primary care physician for other alternatives. I told her I already consulted my PCP and my PCP with my Pharmacist concluded this was the safest meds for pregnant woman. Nurse plainly state it is not. So I asked her since I've been taking it for the first 9 weeks have damaged been done? She said she wasn't sure and to just stop. I don't have an issue getting off any meds however she sent me into a worried state. I then asked her what medication did her office recommend and she said that is not her dept and to consult my PCP. I told her I did and obviously it was wrong. She didn't say much else and we hung up. I called my PCP to inform them of the issue. My PCP told me she doesn't know why the OB office told me that and it is the safest meds to take. I asked about the damages done and my PCP told me not to worry...which calmed me down a little. After this call, I decided to not take any meds until I see my OB. Yesterday, I got a message from the OB office, from a receptionist, stating the particular nurse who told me I couldn't take the meds said it's safe to take now so go ahead and start taking it again. The receptionist was not able to answer any questions....
I felt that the nurse could of called and tell me herself and explained a little. She should also apologize for the misinformation and causing me to freak out for the weekend....My family pays way to much for this particular medical insurance and I although I know things aren't perfect I felt that the Nurse should have dealth with this a different way...
If you were me what is your next step or am I over reacting?
Honestly, I'd switch to another practice. I've done it before because the staff was horrible in one case, and in another for the doctor not taking my concerns seriously and being condescending to me.
What you pay is irrelevant. It's like saying those who can't afford more, should only get mediocre care.
Next, did you Google the medications? It took me 2 minutes to google it and find that it is a class B medication, which means there has been no evidence that Rhinocort causes any issue's to the fetus, and is safe for pregnant woman. That would have eased your mind.
Never follow advice blindly, this is such a peeve of mine. Just cause a doctor says it's okay, doesn't mean it is. Nothing goes into my body, or that of mu children's without me looking into it first. Doctors do not know everything, just like this nurse, they make mistakes. If she didn't know what this drug could do, she gave the best info available to her, she'd be wrong to not say what she did considering she didn't know it was a class B. Could she have Googled it? Of course, but most likely not until the evening when things were calmer around the office.
She probably figured out that she's wrong and is now embarrassed. That's what it sounds like to me.
FWIW, I was on Rhinocort through 2 preggos, and my kiddos are just fine.
You can look it up yourself to make sure what class of drug is. But in short, you've heard from 2 docs....you're fine.
Just let it drop with the nurse. But I don't think I'd be working with her on future appointments.
PCPs are not as well versed on the affects on the fetus and OBs are not as well versed on medicines for other conditions (they do typically know which to avoid when pregnant).
My OB gave me a list of medicines that were safe during pregnancy (with my oldest). With my 2nd, a different OB said Excedrin was safe when I asked what I should take for a headache instead since Tylenol does not help my headaches. When I pointed out that it has asprin he was surprised...the non-asprin version was fine but not the regular version (which has aprin and he didn't know it).
My point is that they do the best they can and it is good to not blindly follow without questioning. Sounds like you should be fine with your meds but should discuss with the OB when you go (just to ease your mind and to clarify).
Let it go. There are often ranges of advice for meds. I've been given different information from the pharmacist, doc, ob, etc. If the information is nuanced or not clear (or there isn't a lot of information), it's probably not harmful. If you were taking meds that were really, really bad for pregnancy, the OB, PCP, and pharmacist would all have been telling you the same thing.
And how much you pay for insurance has little to do with the information you received.
So you think that because you pay what you feel is too much money for your health insurance you should get better care? Interesting.Your OB's office has no knowledge of how much money you pay for your insurance. The nurse gave you what she thought was correct information. She checked with the physician who said it was fine to use and you received a call from the OB's office telling you it was ok to go back on the medication.
It's obvious that you thought ahead to ask you pcp if the medication was pregnancy safe but sometimes the ob's office has more up to date information because they deal with is pregnant women all the time.You sound like a wonderful mom who wants nothing but the best for her children both before birth and after.
Yes I think you are over reacting.
Go talk to a pharmacist. All drugs are classified by how safe they are for pregnant and nursing moms. They can also tell you what the dangers are to your baby and what the risk level is for birth defects. Pharmacists are more up to date on drug information than doctors are and definitely more than nurses are.
I would trust my pharmacist - as they have all the books and latest information on medications.
Are you a high-risk pregnancy? I'm sure the pharmacist asked you how far along you are, etc. so I doubt VERY seriously a Pharmacist would lead you astray.
let it go. You don't need to stress over this. Yes, she could have handled it differently. But NOW she knows. Take a deep breath and press on. enjoy your pregnancy!!
She should have stepped up and apologized. The End.
Things happen. Im sure you have been wrong sometime and felt too embarrassed to say something. She might have worked for a different doc before that didn't feel the med was safe. She was wrong.
I think you are overreacting in a way but it's a serious matter and every decision during this time seems huge.
The good news is that the OB didn't drop the ball. He/she had someone call you. It's my opinion that the nurse is not really a very good nurse.
You have plenty of time to find another OB practice. I would consider doing that. You could see what the next appointment is like, telling the OB just what you thought of this entire interaction. You could also tell him that you want a different nurse, that you don't have faith in her dealing with you, and see what he says.
His attitude about the whole thing should be something you pay close attention to.
I will tell you that many moms switch practices because of the staff. I did with my first baby because the woman stuck me 6 times in one arm, while I was begging her to try the other arm. I had a bruise the size of a grapefruit from all that sticking she did. It took ONE stick to get blood in the arm I wanted her to use. I was shaking like a leaf walking out of there, and that was IT for that practice. A family member found a new practice for their 2nd baby because the staff didn't take her worries seriously enough and it ended up that she had a UTI while pregnant with her first. The doctor can't call if they haven't bothered to tell him.
There are lots of reasons that people have to find another practice.
Okay. I've said it before and I'm saying it again. Talk to the pharmacist. Ask them to print out a copy of the med sheet that is about a pregnant woman taking this med. THEN take it to both docs.
I would double check though to see if there are ANY legal issues pending this drug for side effects that might effect an unborn fetus. There are always things happening that weren't there before. Most of the time pharmacists are the first ones to find out though.
I NEVER believe a doc about meds. They are not professionally trained in medications. Neither are nurses.
Take the copy of the paper to the OB/GYN office, have the areas in question highlighted. Ask the nurse what part of that says it's dangerous for an unborn fetus. If there are no possible side effects then they should shut up and say their information might be out of date.
You might also find the primary care doc doesn't know what he's talking about too. I don't trust docs about meds. They only know what the drug reps tell them and if they've taken time to read up on it in the past few weeks or months.
Rhinocourt used to be a Category C drug which means the nurse legitimately believed she was correct and looking out for your best interests. Her info was outdated though, the FDA changed the ranking to Category B. (This still does not make it the absolute safest medication for allergies, it means birth defects are rare.)
In any case, you are overreacting. The nurse's motives were the best possible, and that is a good thing. There is no point in being all worked up about a receptionist relaying a message. That is a standard office procedure, so don't read anything into it. What you pay for your insurance has no bearing on the situation at all.
Not professional. She must have been embarrassed.
The nurse absolutely should have been the one to call, and she certainly should apologize. Even if she framed it as a "I was thinking about the wrong medication" or "I was misinformed." I don't understand why it's so difficult for people to just admit when you're wrong. Yes, you may feel embarrassed, but get over it because a patient's health should come before your pride.
That said, Rhinocort, according to Dr. Thomas Hale's InfantRisk, is rated SAFER for all stages of pregnancy and L1 (safest) fro all stages of breastfeeding. "Human studies are either unavailable or have failed to show that the use of this drug by pregnant women is harmful to the fetus. The recommendation is that inhaled budesonide may be used when indicated in treating Asthma during pregnancy." It goes on, but it still amazes me that some doctors and nurses don't consult the most extensive and most researched expert on drugs in pregnancy and lactation (Dr. Thomas Hale). If you ever have a question about a drug, especially if you get conflicting advice, you can call the InfantRisk line at ###-###-####. They also have a website http://www.infantrisk.com, as well as a smartphone app (costs a bit).
Congrats on baby #2, and be confident in your choice of meds :)
Sounds horrible! I do not think you are over reacting!!! I do not think the nurse should have been so adamant about something she didn't know! I feel for you. I also had to be on meds while pregnant. If you ever want support you can PM me. That said, I don't think you need to take it further, unless you don't think you could put it to rest unless you did. I'm sure you want an apology, but how would you feel it you put yourself out there and still didn't get one? It might feel worse. I wish you luck! Congrats on baby #2!
