Strange Cramping & Spotting

WOW im so sorry you are experiencing this frustration. I know personally, that getting advice from a medical person over the phone can be the worst! If you are on birth control perhaps that is causing it...i wouldn't worry at this point becuase there is really nothing you can do until you get more information. good luck!

First of all this nurse is incorrect. An ectopic pregnancy is not diagnosed one way or the other by a pregnancy test . Pregnancy tests show the presence of human growth hormone in the urine, and ectopic pregnancies result in the release of this hormone just like a normal pregnancy would. The only difference between the two is where the embryo is implanted. Yes it is possible to be pregnant and continue to have periods and test negative with a home pregnancy test, but it is not the most likely scenario. It is just as likely that you have developed a cyst, or a tumor, or toxic shock syndrome, or any number of other things could be going on. There is a reason that nurses are not allowed to diagnose or treat patients, and mo one should be giving you a probable diagnosis over the phone that is not based on the results of any kind of an exam.
Go ahead with the ultrasound if you are able to get it done sooner than you would be able to get in to your doctor. Although frankly, the decision to have expensive tests done should be made by your doctor and what his staff should have done is offer to let you come in at the end of the day and see him immediately before they sent you off to arrange for your own tests. It may be able to help rule out some of the more serious potential causes for your symptoms. Make sure that when you do get in to see your doctor, you make him aware that a member of his nursing staff is diagnosing patients incorrectly over the phone. That woman is a menace.

Sounds like you need to find a new doctor. There are so many different thing that could be going on. For that nurse to tell you that you're pregnant is ridiculous.

Hi M.. I know others have already stated this but you really need to find a new doctor. If you are concerned about your health no matter what the issue you should be able to get in to see your Dr. within a day or two.... not 4 months later. If you feel comfortable with the Dr. I would let them know exactly why you are leaving the practice so they can address it with their staff. Best of luck!

M.,
You are not over reacting. Female problems are scarey, believe me I know.It sounds like you might just have a benighn cyst, some go away and others need to be removed. I was in terrible pain though so I had let mine go too long.The surgury was a breeze for me and 3 days later I was back to normal.

Hi M., at the very least have you considered finding another doctor /practice that focuses on patient service? Regardless of what the ultrasound shows do you feel comfortable with the service you are receiving. I like to know I can get in to see my doctor when needed and that I will be treated with respect and kindness along the way. I'm sure she didn't intend on treating you poorly and is probably overwhelmed herself if their patient wait is 3 months for a non routine check up....but professionalism is still required. I hope you find relief and answers soon. I'm not sure if you are pregnant or not though your body is telling you something....these are clues for you to pay attention to and find out. You are NOT overreacting. Breathe deep through the process.

You need to find a new doctor. You don't say your age so I'm not sure if you are young or perimenopausal or even near menopause. There is so many things it could be. I would think after two months if you were pregnant the tests would be positive. I think you should let your dr know that thisa woman is playing dr on the phone.

I do not think you are over reacting. I do agree that you should have the ultrasound to make sure everything is okay and to have at least some piece of mind. I hope everything turns out okay for you!

I'd say go to the ultrasound, find out what you can, then find a doctor's office that cares enough to have the doctor call you and talk to you and fit you in if need be. My doctor has called me back when I had questions that I didn't feel the nurse could or would answer.

You are doing the right thing by talking to your doctor. Even if they are booked until February, they should have appointment times open for consultations outside of annual exams.

Call your family physician if your OB/GYN isn't being helpful. They can do all the same tests (though it is outside their specialty if something abnormal presents).

My sister had 6 negative pregnancy tests before one finally indicated she was pregnant with her second child.

Go with your instincts - they will not prove you wrong. I did a year and a half ago (when my OB/GYN was not concerned about something I'd found) and was diagnosed with lymphoma. My instincts were not to let the voice in my head be silenced until I knew what was going on. I'm glad I did as I've been successfully treated for almost a year.

GOOD LUCK! Please keep us all posted on what you learn.

I am not a Nurse or a member of the Medical community at all, but I find that nurse's behavior extremely unprofessional. Anyone that would tell you based on those symptoms that they are positive that you are pregnant is crazy. I have had the exact same symptoms myself on and off since my last child was born and my periods started and believe me, I am anything but pregnant. My doctor seems to think it may have to do with the pills that I am taking. Also, bleeding between periods is very commom and I think there could be many reasons behind it. I hope you get an answer tomorrow. I would definitely talk to your doctor about this nurse's behavior. She needs some coaching about how to relate to patients at the very least. You are not overreacting in my opinion. Good Luck!!

NO - you are not overreacting at all.

It is very likely you could still be pregnant - it does happen that people to spot and cramp for the first 2 months of pregnancies. It's likely that you could have an ectopic pregnancy. Whether or not either of these is true, the nurse should have just said, "Why don't we set you up for an ultrasound to try and see what's going on, and we can go from there."

I would actually suggest going to a different doctor. I've had good luck with Brillhart OB/GYN, and David McLaughlin in Noblesville (www.familyjoy.net).

Keep in mind that some pregnancy tests aren't that good. I've heard of several who took EPT tests, showing they weren't pregnant, but took a First Response pregnancy test, and it showed pregnant. The best way to find out is to have a blood test and an ultrasound.

Whatever happens, let the doctor know about the conversation with the nurse.

Good luck!

I can understand why you're nervous. That nurse shouldn't have told you all that and THEN told you they can't see you til February. That's crazy. I did have an ectopic pregnancy but the results for my pregnancy test came up positive. That's why the bleeding and cramping were something to be taken care of immediately. You definitely don't want to fool around with that. They will be able to tell when you have your ultrasound done if it's a tubal pregnancy so at least that will help you. Good luck!

Hi M.... no you are not overreacting. I had the same problem. I was having cramping and spotting between my periods but still having a period like normal. They first did some blood tests. They would come back normal. Then they suggested putting me on the pill to try and "regulate" my period even though I was having a normal period. That didn't work after two month it only made it worse. Once I called the dr back and said hey it isn't working. They sent me to a GYN?OB dr that also specializes in endrocolologist. He had me come in a do a internal ultrasound. They saw something in my uterus but weren't sure what it was exactly. He then had me come in and do a hyrdo ultrasound where they do something like a internal ultrasound but then shoot water into your uterus to try and remove anything that may be blocking their view. They found that I had a polyp right at the opening of my left ovary. So they scheduled a outpatient surgery to remove the polyp. The only reason they had to schedule a surgery is because they need a little more room that what a exam room can offer. The actually surgery lasted about a 45 minutes to a hour. You just have some cramping like afterwards but everything went fine. Not saying that is what you have but that is what I went through and had the same symptoms. My husband is military so we go on base for all of our stuff. Not sure how things would be done off base. I hope this helps some. Good luck at the dr's. I hope they can find out what is causing your pain.

There are so many things wrong with that phone call you had with the nurse I don't even know where to start! You did the right thing by talking to the second nurse. And I think she did the right thing by getting you an ultrasound for the following day. I had very similar symptoms the first two months after I went off birth control. I was only on the mini pill and was not expecting any complications. In fact after hearing stories from my friends I was sure I'd be pregnant after the first month of trying. NOPE! The spotting and cramping were no fun at all. My doctor also had an ultrasound done. It's an internal exam and they probably won’t tell you much. BUT I did get up the nerve to ask if I was pregnant and the tech politely told me I wasn't. Even though I was 99.999% sure I wasn't, I still cried. If I wasn’t pregnant then, what is going on! Turns out my body was just over reacting from going off the pill. The ultrasound didn’t show any problems and the next month everything normal again. Hopefully everything works out for you as well!! The next time you see your doctor, which should be in the next few days…not February…you really should tattle on that nurse. If she’s talking to you that way, imagine what she’s telling other patients!!!

When is the cramping and spotting occurring? Some women have something like this during ovulation.

As a professional nurse, I have to respond. Realize that in many doctor's offices, to save money, it is not a professional nurse who answers the phone, or even works in the doctor's office. Many times it is an aide, or a medical assistant, all who call themselves nurses, but do not have the training or knowledge-base to be giving the info they are giving. They are merely responding from experience. I hope that is the case here. Not really a professional nurse, but someone calling themselves a nurse who isn't. I realize this doesn't answer M.'s question, sorry for going off-topic.
R.