> Doctors' Responses to Irritable Uterus
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Due to the lack of information about the cause
of and hence, treatment for IU, the medical care for IU sufferers
vary from hospitalization to total dismissal. Although some of us
have good experiences with our doctors, one too many doctors dismiss
the patients’ complains and attribute the pain as prenatal
psychological issues. Those doctors may…
- say you are not experiencing
any type of contractions but instead that you are feeling your
baby move/push on you, you have harmless Braxton Hicks
contractions or “round
ligament pain (RLP).”
- advise you to take a colace stool softener
if or because you are constipated
- tell you to call the doctor and/or go into
Labor and Delivery if you have more than 4-6 contractions an hour
(doctors who say this often do not have a clear understanding of
woman who suffer from IU as this could mean the woman with IU
would be calling the doc/going to the hospital every day for
months!)
> Typically, most doctors will first…
- check your cervical length, dilation,
effacement often
- monitor your contractions using a Non-Stress
Test (Toco Machine)
- give you more ultrasounds to check cervix
length and health of baby
> Some doctors will…
- prescribe meds – most commonly prescribed
are: nifedipine (Procardia), terbutaline – oral or pump,
progesterone shots (17P) or cream, indocin, brethine,
Indomethecin, magnesium sulfate, or visteral (an antihistimine
that is supposed to relax you/help with sleep)
- advise you to take a magnesium supplement
400 mg to 800 mg (being careful not to get one combined with
calcium, which can be a muscle stimulant)
- give you a fFN test (fetal fibronectin test)
– This test can be performed every two weeks from the 24th week
until the 36th week. If you get a negative result it means you
have over a 99% chance of not having the baby in two weeks. A
positive test result is less specific - you may or may not have
the baby in two weeks.
> Other doctors may…
- put you on bedrest, modified or complete
and/or pelvic rest (i.e. no sex or orgasm)
- perform cerclage, especially if a woman has
previously given birth to a preterm baby and/or been diagnosed
with an incompetent cervix
- refer you to a Maternal Fetal Specialist/Perinatologist
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