I am hoping I get my period soon, but I haven't yet. I also have had sporadic pan on my left side. I am 8 days late (maybe... I have gone off of bc two months ago. My cycle might not be regular, even though I have ovulated this month- for those who don't know the situation).. Because I have endometriosis, I am at risk for an ectopic pregnancy... I am trying not to think about that, though. The pain I have been experiencing is sharp but not persistent. Having endometriosis makes everything more confusing, because it generally causes me pain. Usually, it is only when I ovulate or get my period, or during sex, sometimes.
I am spending a small fortune on pregnancy tests, all coming back negative. I don't want to be that person that goes to the doctor over nothing. When would it be reasonable to call my doctor to make an appointment?
Re: When to see a doctor
Take your temperature before calling, and ask to speak to your nurse practitioner or physician on the phone, a call back. You are right to not want to go to the doctor for every little thing. Sometimes a person who is constipated and has maybe started taking iron recently but not increased their fluid intake, gets such hard dry matter in the intestines that it won't move on, and your system is giving a hard cramping squeeze. And doing it hours later ten inches down the intestine.
Starting prenatal vitamins often leads to this type constipation, though it often takes a couple of months to build to lots of iron. Provided you are not swelling anywhere, like ankles and such which may be kidney trouble or low potassium, it rarely hurts to wait until hours after a meal, when your stomach is empty, and mix a tablespoon of an oil, corn oil works as well as drug store ones, with 2 cuts very warm water, not as hot as coffee, but tap hot, and drink it all within five minutes or less. This can be repeated many hours later, maybe near bedtime. The point is to get a rush of warm fluids down your go track, to mix with what is there and make the mix softer. Cold drinks do not help. If you drink more than is necessary your body pulls the excess from your intestine and you pee . So you should not do it frequently and overload your kidneys. But a couple times in 24 hours can help .
Dr. visits for constipation, especially if unusual for the patient are extremely common after starting vitamins, and most often it is a matter of being told, drink more warm water, and take an over the counter softening agent like an oil or colace, a stool softener that draws water to your bowels.
Annoying to go to the doctor's office and take time off of work for that.
Then check it out, make a call. Take care of yourself.
Would you rather be the person who ends up in emergency life-saving surgery because they ignored the warning signs their body was giving them?
Use the money you're spending on pregnancy tests to pay for a co-pay to your doctor.
If you're ever in pain and you think something is wrong, I think it's time to call your doctor. You don't need to call an ambulance to take you to the ER or anything dramatic like that.
But you can just call and ask for the earliest appointment or get on a cancellation list. If things are more pressing, go to an urgent care.
You can do things like buy a BBT thermometer if you want to watch your body temp to see if/when you ovulated and if you want pregnancy tests, look on Amazon. I bought a bunch of LH and HCG test strips for something like $20.