Why You Should Ask To Pee In a Cup

Well, it’s Pee Week here at TheMommyhood.com. What is Pee Week, you say? And why on earth would I want to read that? Because it might help you. Or maybe it will make you laugh (or cringe).

Let’s start with why you should ask to pee in a cup at your annual gynecological visits.

About two years ago, I read an article written by a woman whose best friend died of some illness that could have been caught early had she just peed in a cup at her annual doctor’s visit.  I can’t remember the magazine or the exact illness, but it doesn’t really matter. The girl DIED. I heard the message.

When you are pregnant, they check your pee all the time. Wasn’t it fun to wiz in a cup when you were nine months pregnant? The best was when my then two-year-old who was with me felt compelled to share what we had just done with an entire waiting room. Lovely.  I even know her exact words because I keep a quotes list. “I went wif Mommy, an she pee pee in a cup!”

So why don’t they ask you to do it at your annual doctor’s visit? I dunno. If I had to guess it’s probably pressure from insurance companies to keep costs down.

Well, no matter their reasons for not doing it; you have the right to ask for it. And according to the girl who wrote that article, you should. Last year, I forgot about the article until after my appointment, but this year I remembered and it paid a dividend.

It just so happened that I had my appointment about two days before I was going on a trip. And as it turned out, I was at the beginning of a urinary tract infection. Okay, TMI for sure, but had I not asked to pee in a cup that would have made for a really sucky trip.

The urine test cost $90 and my insurance only paid only $65 of that, but still I will be making this request each year from now on. $25 is a small price to pay for some reassurance that several of my critical organs are functioning properly.

Okay, I have to make this horrible pun now. Wait for it…urine charge, so be your own advocate and ask to pee in the cup! Alright, that’s enough bossing you around for your own good today. The rest of Pee Week is much more light-hearted.

Have a great day, Friends!