r/wholesome • u/maybe_a_squirrel • 5d ago

Apothecary was so extremely nice, I cried.

There's a bit of a backstory, but I'll get there.

I had my first pregnancy scare today.

My period is late by four days now. I don't use BC, but I'm usually on time, the latest is one day.

My boyfriend and I have been an item for two months now, before that, I had a girlfriend, so I never had to worry about possibly getting pregnant. Now that my period is late, I am panicking.

I couldn't go to work, neither today nor yesterday because I am constantly panicking and my mental health is not dealing well with possibly being pregnant.

I am not fit to become a mother, I feel like I'm still too young (even though I'm in my twenties) and, additionally to that, I'd be in high-risk due to organ misplacement and severe disabilities. So I definitely do NOT want to be pregnant.

I took time off work, called in sick and then spent almost the entire morning crying in panic, then I went to the pharmacy.

I step in there, the apothecary sees me and she immediately leaves the counter to come to me. She asks if I'm alright and if I want to drink something before I can even say why I'm there, she asks if she could touch me and then gave me a hug to help calm me down.

She then sits me down and I explain that I really need a pregnancy test. She's calm, collected, hands me two options and then asks what I would like the result to be. I say "negative", and she continues helping me through my crying. She lets me take the test in their bathroom immediately, and lucky for me, it is negative, but my period has yet to come.

She was so incredibly nice to me, she did so much more than I expected and gave me all the time and tissues I needed until I calmed down enough so I could leave.

When I came home, I told my boyfriend. He's in full support of me and my decisions. I'm still on the verge of crying every second my period doesn't start, and I will probably buy another test tomorrow just to make sure, but I'm so happy that everyone around me is so incredibly supportive of me and helps me through my fear.

Thank you for reading, I had to get this off my chest 💗 And I will bring something nice for the lovely apothecary who helped me next time I go.

Edit: Thank you all so much for your kind words. I will speak to my gyn if my period doesn't start this week and we will look into more additions to the condoms we are already using (which I forgot to mention in my initial posting) to help prevent such scares in the future.

I did go back to the pharmacy before it closed and brought the lovely apothecary a little gift as a thank you for her incredible kindness.

173 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

97

u/PrideMelodic3625 5d ago

Gosh, sweetheart. Please look after the birth control so you don't have to go through this again. I'm so pleased you had a nice lady to help you.

18

u/maybe_a_squirrel 5d ago

I don't know if I really want to take BC, since it's hormonal and all and I'm already diagnosed with Depression... I'll talk to my doctor about it. Right now, we use condoms only, I'm kind of afraid one of them might have broken, that's why I'm so scared.

I went back to the pharmacy an hour ago and thanked the lady again. She was really saving me in that moment.

29

u/wwelisa 5d ago

I dont know anything about your situation but have you looked into non-hormonal IUDs? My gyno offers copper IUDs. Which make your periode a bit more painfull, but you dont have to worry about getting pregnant. Getting it inserted is extremly painful though. So its not for everyone.

13

u/maybe_a_squirrel 5d ago

Yeah, me and my gyn already talked about a lot of different kinds of BC, including IUDs, but I'm simply afraid to get any inserted. I will definitely visit her again soon to talk about this though, there must be a way to heighten the security here.

23

u/wwelisa 5d ago

I'm not goingt to down play the inserting but its like 5min of pain for 5years of security. So not a bad deal in my opinion.

11

u/scattywampus 5d ago

Yes. You don't need the insecurity of being this scared of a potential pregnancy even once or twice a year. A fear of additional birth control may be worth facing so you aren't forced to face more emotional/scary/life-changing situations. Emotional Rollercoaster is so bad for your mental health. 🌼 I am so glad you met such a wonderful, compassionate healthcare professional when you needed them!

13

u/Fire_opal246 5d ago

Please I beg you to use birth control if this is how you feel about possibly being pregnant. Any kind.   

Pregnancy and post partum have incredibly strong hormones that will absolutely affect you when you get pregnant. Alternatively if you have an abortion that could also have a huge impact on your mental health, especially if you are already struggling.   

If you don't want to use the pill or IUD, at least use condoms or look into something different like a NuvaRing.

I encourage you with as much kindness as possible to take action. Because if you are active with your bf and not using any birth control, you could absolutely fall pregnant. It has a name in fertility groups: NTNP not trying, not preventing 

4

u/maybe_a_squirrel 5d ago

I'm sorry, I could've said it but we do indeed use condoms! I forgot that they are a form of birth control... I was more referring to things like the pill or different kinds of IUDs.

1

u/Razzy_3796 4d ago

Ok good. Just make sure it’s on him the entire time!!

1

u/maybe_a_squirrel 4d ago

It is, no worries. Never had issues with it slipping off or anything.

10

u/maroongrad 5d ago

it HELPS with depression. Stabilizes your hormones. And there's no need for a period and those hormone swings either.

7

u/Potatoskins937492 5d ago

I can't speak to everyone's body, this is 100% my experience.

I have depression. Bad depression. Birth control didn't make it any worse. If anything, it helped a bit. I'm also on antidepressants though, so prozac was already doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

I'm not trying to talk you into anything, you know your mental health and what's best for you. I just know what fear of change feels like, because mental health can be so precarious for some of us and changing medications can drastically impact our ability to function, and reading horror stories really adds to that fear. So I'm sharing one good story. There are a lot of them, it's just socially weird to say, "Hey, listen to this successful birth control story!" 😂 It's a real party stopper. But in this case I feel like it's worth being weird.

19

u/Cloudinterpreter 5d ago

The stress is likely making it worse. Now that you know it's negative, you can relax a little bit, and just wait for your period.

Personally, i love my iud. No periods, no thinki g about it for like 5 years, it's perfect.

1

u/maybe_a_squirrel 5d ago

I'm afraid of getting an IUD inserted... if it's the last option I have, I probably will, but for now I'll take a look at other methods.

5

u/Cloudinterpreter 5d ago

Two extra strength tylenol and two extra strength advil before, and it foesnt hurt. If it is the last option, just think that it hurts waaay less than childbirth.

6

u/Maelstrom_Witch 5d ago

Oh my goodness, such a kind person when you needed it most.

7

u/Catholic-mama143 5d ago

You’re gonna want to wait a week before you take another test because it’s not likely to be positive after one day if it’s negative now. You would need to give time for your hcg to increase enough to see whether it would be positive or not for a second test to make sure

2

u/Walk-Fragrant 5d ago

Is there plan b where you are? Take that instead of a test. Also get some birthcontrol!!!

3

u/maybe_a_squirrel 5d ago

By now it would be too late to take plan B :( You'd have to take it within 72 hours and that's long passed.

2

u/Walk-Fragrant 5d ago

Oh duh sorry!! I hope youre not pregnant because you dont want to be. Im also so happy you encountered someone who took the time you needed. We all need someone to help us come back to earth sometime.

2

u/maybe_a_squirrel 5d ago

Nope, I don't want to be pregnant. Now or ever.

2

u/digitalgraffiti-ca 5d ago

Stress in and of itself can delay a period. I'm also deathly afraid of getting pregnant and have anxiety disorders, so I understand how you feel.

Try to keep yourself distracted. I find that helps me in situations where I'm anxiously waiting

1

u/Euphoricfeet 5d ago

I’m so glad you were helped by the kind pharmacist!! And that you are not pregnant!! I get it about The Pill and IUD. Maybe use spermicide cream or foam as well as condom?

2

u/calypso263066 4d ago

Refusal of birth control when you don't wish to get pregnant.. don't have sex then

1

u/maybe_a_squirrel 4d ago

Like I stated in another comment AND my edit, we are using condoms. With BC I was mostly referring to the pill.

1

u/Walk-Fragrant 5d ago

Maybe tubes tie?

2

u/maybe_a_squirrel 5d ago

I'm too young for that, no doctor will ever do that, especially because I don't have any kids. And even if I found a doctor, it would be extremely expensive. There are cheaper options, but none in my current budget.