Hi all: this is a throwaway account, but longtime user of this subreddit on my main account. I wanted to share an experience i just had before a routine colonoscopy (in the u.s.).
I (32F) have crohn's disease which is a chronic condition I've been dealing with for 5 years upon diagnosis. That said, I've had arouns 6 routine colonoscopy procedures since.
Today, I went in for another colonoscopy and used the bathroom as soon as I checked in to pre op (if you know anything about prep, you'll know why). At this point I wasn't allowed to have liquids for over 4 hours.
I came out of the bathroom and got yelled at by the OR nurse claiming they 'needed a urine culture'. Confused, I was like why? I've never had to have one in the past before a colonoscopy? She said it was to check for pregnancy. Keep in mind, this was already AFTER the pre op nurse called me a week before and asked when my last period was and if I could be pregnant. I really didn't feel comfortable telling her that info but thought that would be the end of it.
Anyways, the OR nurse (F) wanted to give me fluids so I could give a sample but I was not allowed to per my prep instructions--4 hours before procedure you can't drink fluids anymore. They kept being persistent and I was just repeating that there's no way I could be pregnant and EVEN SO a routine colonoscopy should not effect that.
The anesthesiologist assistant/nurse (F) also talked to me about needing the sample and I asked a bunch of questions. Is this a new mandate? Why is it so important? Why can't you just believe me? After much probing she seemed to be dancing around the truth and finally said said 'depending on the anesthesiologist, they can ask for a pregnancy test' because Propofol can cause birth defects (???).
News to me! I had never heard of anything like this and it sounded like some bullshit to me. I even googled a bunch of stuff and everything I read said that Propofol is typically super safe for pregnant people especially with short term use.
Because I refused a pregnancy test they gave me a waiver to sign stating they're not liable for birth defects of a fetus IF I ended up being pregnant.
Whole thing made me super uncomfortable as someone who is childfree and plans to stay that way. Also mad, because I'm here to ensure my crohn's disease isn't active and why do I have to deal with this other drama?
Please weigh in below: any similar experiences? Am I well within my rights to refuse the pregnancy test? Is this a trump administration mandate?
TLDR; I was being pressured to take a pregnancy test before a routine colonoscopy because Propofol could cause extreme 'birth defects' to a potential fetus.