Last November I wrote a post about a new study that connected some UTI medications and birth defectsOnce I found out that my doctor prescribed me Macrobid I was LIVID! I hunted that on call man down. Isn’t that what “on call” is for? Once I got him on the phone we had a long conversation. Basically, I was screwed. Here’s a little background. When I was 18 I got hives when I took penicillin, and from then on I told all doctors that I was allergic to penicillin to be safe. And one of the safest drugs to take when pregnant is…wait for it….penicillin. And erythromycin. But it turns out that erythromycin won’t cure the strain of bacteria that I have. So that leaves Penicillin…which I can’t take…and Macrobid. Do you see the dilemma? My doctor told me that I didn’t have much of a choice because the Penicillin could kill me, and if I didn’t treat it with Macrobid then I could get sepsis from the UTI. On a better note it seemed that the doc wasn’t worried about the Macrobid. He told me that he prescribed it to women for years, and that I shouldn’t lose sleep over it….ya right!

The doctor told me that he usually recommends to his patients that if they “think” they are allergic to penicillin that they should go to an allergist and get tested for sure. It sounded like a wonderful idea to me. I mean why not? At least if I found out for sure, I could have peace of mind. Well that sounded all wonderful and great till I actually had that appointment with the allergist. Actually, you almost have to laugh at the outcome of this….ready? They CAN’T test me to see if I am allergic to Penicillin because it could be harmful to me and baby. WHAT? That’s right. The test includes taking different doses of the Penicillin to see if any reactions occur. BUT..if a reaction does occur then I could lose the baby!? Therefore, the test isn’t safe.

So where does that leave me? Back to where we started. I am now finishing up this round of meds, and I just get to hope and pray that I don’t get more UTI’s. Not the best course of action but there is really no other option for me. It’s amazing how my body is no longer my own. Every choice I make for myself will now affect our baby. It’s amazing and scary at the same time. I guess the worrying will continue for the rest of my life when it comes to this kid….don’t worry. I am up for the challenge!