I’m 52 and they made me do a pregnancy test

[Anonymous]

If you decline assertively, they accept that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You were carded! Congrats! I wish this would happen to me

+1. At the cardiologist last week they asked me if I was pregnant or breastfeeding before an EKG. I turn 57 next month. Far from being offended, I was flattered (even though I'm sure it's just a routine question).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot of undignified stuff that happens when you have major medical procedures. Maybe some is preventable but some things just go along with you body barely functioning in the face of serious intervention. It seems excessive to me to worry so much about just peeing in a cup.

+1

Maybe OP has anxiety about her medical issues and is taking it out on this basic, common test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You were carded! Congrats! I wish this would happen to me

+1. At the cardiologist last week they asked me if I was pregnant or breastfeeding before an EKG. I turn 57 next month. Far from being offended, I was flattered (even though I'm sure it's just a routine question).

I would be so flattered for real! And next time tell me I'm pretty - talk about making my day!

[Anonymous]

Some jealous women posting here. Good grief. They have to ask OP. To avoid any and all possible future liabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They made my good friend, who had a hysterectomy almost 10 years ago, do a pregnancy test before her recent surgery because she still has her ovaries. Yeah...

Ectopic pregnancy. Pregnancies in the abdominal cavity, without a uterus, have happened before. They don't lead to viable babies, but they can lead to severe injury or death for the mother, and it's important to know before surgery in case there's a bleed-out. Pregnant women respond differently to anesthesia and hemorrhage.

This is so rare as to be asinine as a basis for forcing women to have pregnancy tests.

You say this is as if taking a pregnancy test is some incredible hardship. Some horrendous burden. Why are you taking it as some personal offense? Why is it seen any differently from all the other blood tests and diagnostic tests you have to undergo while going through medical treatment?

Is it because it's some sort of commentary on your sex life and therefore personal? Because you think it's sexist?

I just don't understand why it's a big deal.

[Anonymous]

I am 48 and I was worried I was pregnant and asked my DH to get me a test and he refused because he said if someone he knew saw him, they would assume he was having an affair with a younger woman before they'd believe his 48 year old wife thought she was pregnant!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They made my good friend, who had a hysterectomy almost 10 years ago, do a pregnancy test before her recent surgery because she still has her ovaries. Yeah...

Ectopic pregnancy. Pregnancies in the abdominal cavity, without a uterus, have happened before. They don't lead to viable babies, but they can lead to severe injury or death for the mother, and it's important to know before surgery in case there's a bleed-out. Pregnant women respond differently to anesthesia and hemorrhage.

This is so rare as to be asinine as a basis for forcing women to have pregnancy tests.

“Forcing woman?” It’s peeing on a stick. The benefits outweigh the risk (and there are no risks here, just benefits)

NP. Look, I take the pregnancy test before medical procedures like a good little patient because I understand the doctor/medical facility are worried about liability and I don’t want to be difficult, but you can’t just pretend there’s nothing but upside to these policies. Years of battling infertility have left me in a very fragile state when I’m forced to increase the number of negative pregnancy tests I’ve taken in my life. I’m no longer ttc and don’t even want a baby now (age 50), but taking a pregnancy test is still very emotionally fraught for me. Reminders of my fertility (or lack thereof) when I’m having an unrelated medical procedure are unwelcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You were carded! Congrats! I wish this would happen to me

+1. At the cardiologist last week they asked me if I was pregnant or breastfeeding before an EKG. I turn 57 next month. Far from being offended, I was flattered (even though I'm sure it's just a routine question).

I'm 49 and would have laughed too. Truthfully I would have been a little embarrassed but glad they asked rather than assuming!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some jealous women posting here. Good grief. They have to ask OP. To avoid any and all possible future liabilities.

I don't understand the "jealous" comment. What are you saying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They made my good friend, who had a hysterectomy almost 10 years ago, do a pregnancy test before her recent surgery because she still has her ovaries. Yeah...

Ectopic pregnancy. Pregnancies in the abdominal cavity, without a uterus, have happened before. They don't lead to viable babies, but they can lead to severe injury or death for the mother, and it's important to know before surgery in case there's a bleed-out. Pregnant women respond differently to anesthesia and hemorrhage.

This is so rare as to be asinine as a basis for forcing women to have pregnancy tests.

“Forcing woman?” It’s peeing on a stick. The benefits outweigh the risk (and there are no risks here, just benefits)

I'm a lesbian who has slept with 0 men in my life. They try to make me take pregnancy tests, too. While there's no "risk" there's also absolutely no need, and I won't have them charge my insurance or me for something that is completely asinine.

[Anonymous]

They have to ask and test. Just go with it. Stranger things have happened than a 50-something getting unexpectedly knocked up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is revealing the astounding lack of knowledge about health and human biology. There is absolutely nothing "sexist" about this protocol. Women in their 50s can and do get pregnant. More women in perimenopause have unplanned pregnancies than teenagers. And yes, ectopic pregnancies can and do happen. What is happening here? Why is this offensive?

It is ridiculous that they think I don’t know my own body well enough to know the answer to the question: “could you be pregnant?” If I were there for ectopic pg symptoms of course I’d consent. If I am there for a knee x-ray, no.

And I am the person who will experience the consequences if I am wrong, so the demand for a test to document what I already told them is paternalist nonsense.

That’s what is happening here and why it is offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is revealing the astounding lack of knowledge about health and human biology. There is absolutely nothing "sexist" about this protocol. Women in their 50s can and do get pregnant. More women in perimenopause have unplanned pregnancies than teenagers. And yes, ectopic pregnancies can and do happen. What is happening here? Why is this offensive?

It is ridiculous that they think I don’t know my own body well enough to know the answer to the question: “could you be pregnant?” If I were there for ectopic pg symptoms of course I’d consent. If I am there for a knee x-ray, no.

And I am the person who will experience the consequences if I am wrong, so the demand for a test to document what I already told them is paternalist nonsense.

That’s what is happening here and why it is offensive.

I have had so many major surgeries with excruciating recoveries that involve all kinds of indignities in the hospital and beyond... I just have such a hard time understanding how this is a big deal. There are a million hoops to jump through before procedures. The hoops are not the problem when there's a much bigger problem to worry about.

[Anonymous]

You sound like a pain in the @#$. It's peeing on a stick.