5 Weeks Along and Dealing with Tricare - Venting, Sorry

flanire12

  So my husband is military and we are within our first 6 mos. at our first base.We met and married quickly (when you know, you know) and got pregnant very soon after (Married 4 mos when we conceived). I want to make it very clear that I love my husband's job and that the Air Force is such a wonderful branch to have a family in. I am very grateful to be a spouse and have an immense respect for the military and the job it does. That said, here is my experience:

   I took two home pregnancy tests five and four days ago and (the first one in the evening and the other the next morning). Ignorant of the how to handle a pregnancy through Tricare Prime (silly me, i thought you just called and scheduled an appointment to get the hospital to confirm), I tried to make an appointment. I feel like its important to mention that the base that we're stationed at has a clinic and not a hospital. I told that the I would have to go to the women's clinic in building such & such and just ask for a pee test. Then after I got it confirmed, I would be referred out to an OB of my choice. "Simple," I thought, so I went in to the Women's Health Clinic and walked up to the desk looking for the sign in log. Instead, after minutes of searching and looking like an idiot I see a sign that says to go sign in at the main desk which is in another building on the campus. Why I was not instructed to go the the main desk and not women's health, I'll never get a chance to ask the woman who took my call. "Oh well, minor hiccup. It'll only take a few minutes to fix." I thought and left to hunt down the main desk.

   It wasn't hard to find as it was down a fairly major breezeway to bet to the main lobby and I walked in. I presented my base ID and without speaking to me other than to confirm my date of birth and full name the receptionist says that he can't find that I have an appointment. It's protocol, I realize that he was following and not his fault, but I couldn't help but feel like he should have asked me what I was there for instead of assuming that I would just show up to a clinic that requires appointments for everything other than a pregnancy test. I answered that I just needed a pregnancy confirmed and he asked if I had taken a home pregnancy test. Again, I realize it's protocol but come on! Why would I leave the comfort and privacy of my own home to get this done unless I had taken a test? Not his fault so I patiently answered the question and he hands me a form to fill out and a clipboard. I brought it back up to a different receptionist (the first left on something official looking) and she told me that she would let Women's health know, but that I was supposed to go to the Lab which was right next to the Pharmacy in an entirely different building. She was telling me where to and I was so annoyed that I was only vaguely listening.

   Why was I having to go to the Lab to pee in a cup? Why wasn't I going to Women's Health for that? I've seen the tests they use and it was supposed to be quick in, quick out, yes you're pregnant type thing. Anything I had looked up on the clinic's webpage had said that it was just a urine test and I felt like it was going to be done in a private exam room with just me and the doc or nurse, and now I am going to a lab to be tested by a technician? Again, I was annoyed but that's life, it doesn't have to be what you thought it was going to be to be okay so I took my little form and meandered down the way the receptionist had been pointing.

   I got to the lab and signed in and waited. I should point out that I was the youngest in the waiting room and the only other woman in the waiting room was well past her childbearing years and i couldn't help but feel that even though I had a legitimate reason to be that it was an unusual place to find out you're pregnant. At that point I had figured out that I had come for a blood test and not a urine test, which would have been fine accept that that meant I wasn't getting my results today (a bummer considering you have to wait three days after being notified by a doctor to call Tricare and get a referral so that I can even schedule an appointment) and that I was going to get stuck. I am not afraid of needles but I don't have a particular affinity for them either and would have liked to have known going in that that's what was happening. After i got done, they said that someone would call within seventy-two business hours and not to call before then, No congratulations, no have a great day, no nothing.

   I realize that this was not the worst experience in the world or even really a bad one but I just thought that it would be different. I realize that to them, it isn't special, that I am one of hundreds of women on at this base that they see for the same thing, but it was a big deal for me. This will be my first pregnancy and though I am with my wonderful husband I am away from everything familiar. I really hope that I don't feel like the whole time I'm pregnant that I am jumping through hoops to get info and to be prepared. I realize that I'm over-reacting I just can't help but feel like there was a simpler way to get that done and I could be calling to set up my first exam on Monday. Now I am going to have to wait until at least Thursday to get this ball rolling! Why couldn't a urine test have been good enough?