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[deleted] t1_ivma96g wrote

Reply to comment by Nepene in In House M. D. there is an episode in which the doc asked the lady who was concerned about weight gain. Doc asked her to raise their hand and by seeing that he was able to determine she was pregnant. Do arms and pregnancy have some correlation? by Abhinav_Mani

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mcnabcam t1_ivmydyv wrote

The idea being that someone on implanted birth control is more likely to be sexually active and less likely to have a secondary birth control method like condoms. She would presumably have noticed a condom failing and would not be as oblivious to her pregnancy

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EmilyU1F984 t1_ivnp8iz wrote

It‘s insane to me that people on continuous Bc are not recommended to do monthly pregnancy tests. Those tests are less than 50 cents when bought in bulk.

And you will most likely miss the pregnancy on an implant or IUD far past legal limits for abortion.

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unofficialShadeDueli t1_ivnzao7 wrote

They are.

Technically I should take a pregnancy test every 6 months. But I don't have enough sex to warrant that...

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finishedlurking t1_ivnwljn wrote

you speak rationally but many 'working class' don't have the know how or time to do that

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EmilyU1F984 t1_ivnwuwi wrote

That‘s why I complained about this not being a standard recommendation by prescribing physicians. Not about laypeople not knowing everything.

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finishedlurking t1_ivnxgyg wrote

well it may be recommenced but the outcome is the same; due to limited time, distrust and resources of many people

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EmilyU1F984 t1_ivny2ds wrote

Nah it‘s not recommended in the first place. That‘s the major problem.

Otherwise: 50 cents a month is cheaper than the eventual late term abortion or full term pregnancy.

The problem is people not being given adequate information to make informed healthcare choices. Not poverty itself. In this case specifically.

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Ruca705 t1_iw2c2qp wrote

Have you considered the huge amount of plastic production and chemical waste that would take place if every user of a Bc implant started testing monthly? We are talking a very large amount of pregnancy tests here. Millions upon millions of people around the world have these implants, you want to multiply that by 36 for the duration of the implant, can’t you see how astronomically wasteful and damaging to the planet that would be?

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[deleted] t1_ivnydqf wrote

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EmilyU1F984 t1_ivo0t6p wrote

Mate I’m saying that‘s how it is, because it’s not standard practice. Individual physicians going above and beyond official guidelines is commendable but not standard practice.

Just like painkillers and anesthesia isn‘t standard.

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Tricky_Violinist_906 t1_ivo00zs wrote

Actually I remember this episode mentioning that. Something along the lines of “and do you test regularly as you’re supposed to?” And she of course says no because plot haha

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Alpacaofvengeance t1_ivo7q18 wrote

Implant (if inserted correctly) is crazy effective though, it'd be a waste of money to be doing the tests.

Might be worthwhile for Mirena/IUD.

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Ruca705 t1_ivo9vvq wrote

It’s almost impossible to get pregnant on the implant, testing monthly is a waste of resources

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snpods t1_ivoem03 wrote

The counter-argument to that is that an implant like Nexplanon is highly effective. More effective than condoms or the pill based on actual usage by a decent margin.

1 in 1,000 people using Nexplanon over three years will become pregnant. There’s no such thing as user error once the device has been in place for several weeks.

For condoms, the practical efficacy rate is about 87% per year. For the pill, it’s about 93%.

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EmilyU1F984 t1_ivopyzh wrote

It‘s 6 USD per year to test monthly, a non medical abortion runs you at least 300USD, having to birth the child risks you half a million or death and permanent disfigurement plus the psychological trauma of being forced to carry a baby to term.

Seems like with the 1 in 1000 rate per 3 years, it’s advisable to just test.

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ArbitraryBaker t1_ivoirua wrote

Fewer than eight out of 1,000 women (0.8 percent) become pregnant over five years using Mirena. Why should I do more pregnancy tests than someone who uses condoms? My daily activities wouldn’t change much based on whether I got a pregnancy diagnosis or not.

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Voctus t1_ivol4a8 wrote

Presumably someone using only condoms would have a missed period as a hint that they need to take a test, while many women on continuous birth control have infrequent or no periods so wouldn’t otherwise notice something was different.

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dbossman70 t1_ivo2bsz wrote

the more important difference is the show ran from ‘04-‘12 so nexplanon probably didn’t exist yet.

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DeltaBlack t1_ivo7p4b wrote

Nexplanon? Yeah, probably not. These types of birth control implants however are older than Nexplanon and date back to the late 1980's to the late 1990's.

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PaulClarkLoadletter t1_ivojysl wrote

He likely looked at her medical records like most doctors. A normal doctor would ask about it and request a pregnancy test and/or ultrasound. House likes to look amazing.

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snpods t1_ivovmoj wrote

Based on your username, I’m guessing you’re a gynecologist? If so … is it also true that the manufacturer improved the insertion device when transitioning from Implanon to Nexplanon?

My doc was mentioning something during the insertion procedure for my first Nexplanon (after I had already had Implanon), but I get squeamish and wasn’t paying attention. Lol. I’ve been curious for years, but never asked again!

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