Doctors just irk me...UPDATE

[wise1]

So much, that I cried last night. Like a baby. My son had a 4 month wellness checkup last week. He had a cold. NO symptoms of anything else. All he did was cough. There was no fussiness, no sleeplessness, no runny nose diarrhea, no NOTHING. Just a cough. I told her I didn't want to get his vaccines because he was a little sick. She said "Well you know, he can still get his shots, he doesn't have a fever." I was like "No, he has a weakened immune system and I am not going to take the chance." I believe that vaccines are beneficial, they have risks, but overall, they are what is best. But you have to give them responsibly! She was trying to convince me to give my son all this crap when he was already fighting off a cold.

Then she looks at his ears. She says there is a little wax buildup and pulls out this long skinny metal tool. And she starts scrapping his ears. She scrapped one so much that it started bleeding. He is screaming by this point. She then looks into his ears again and says, looks like he has a little ear infection. WHAT?! Ok, that is common, I know. But he has NO SYMPTOMS. No ear leakage, no pulling of ears, no loss of appetite. NOTHING! So of course she says she is going to put him on antibiotics.

He was born with nasal congestion. We have exhausted all resources when it comes to clearing up his congestion. Basically he is just a mucousy baby. SHE tells me that when he gets older, his body will be able to accommodate the mucous better. So knowing this, and he didn't even have bad congestion when we were there. She hands me a free sample of some new fda approved cold medicine that is the only one on the market that is ok for his age group. I look at the box, there is nothing on there that would be beneficial to him since he has no symptoms of anything. And his nasal congestion, is just his regular congestion.

The last part, which is probably the part that makes me the most uneasy, is when she was checking out his penis. My son is intact, he is not circumcised. It is advised that you DO NOT retract the foreskin. The child will do this on their own when they are old enough. If you retract it, you could cause tears and thus could cause infection. I turned away for literally a second and a half and when I looked back, she was pushing his foreskin up so hard, I could barely see his penis anymore. Out of pure mommy protection mode, I slapped her hand away and said, "I don't want the foreskin to be retracted". It is sad, but this is the common thinking in a lot of medical professionals.

All this makes me very skeptical. What is she trying to do to my son?! That is what I ask myself. He was FINE, normal, and NOW since I have given him the antibiotics because the AAP recommends children under 6 months of age be given the antibiotics at even the slightest sign of an ear infection. But now, he is sick, sick as a dog. He pulls at his ears, he doesn't sleep good, he has cold sweats, diarrhea, fussiness. I feel he is just a guinea pig to them. I am livid about it. I want answers. If this is all normal, then I will admit I am wrong. But if there are people out there who feel the way I do, and know things about this situation, I would love to talk. Oh and my baby is breastfed. Basically, I believe he shouldn't have gotten this sick. I think it is direct result of the medication. It made him worse, not better. Thank my lucky stars I didn't give in and let him receive the vaccines. I can't even IMAGINE what would have happen.

OK, now before you read this, I don't need you to judge the decision I made.

I chose to take him off the antibiotics. I believe wholeheartedly that he never even needed them in the first place. He had a cold for a week by the time we went to the doctors office. And she said he had a LITTLE ear infection. Which makes me believe it was a viral ear infection and it was close to running it's course. While he was on the antibiotics he was not himself. Whether that was due to the antibiotic or the fact that he is teething now, was going through the last bit of a growth spurt, or still had a little cold left over, I don't know. But he had gone from happy, healthy little boy, to sick, irritable little boy. The day after I took him off, he started rubbing his ears. So I got really nervous that I hadn't made the right decision. So I did more research. And my research concluded that he was indeed teething. And a lot of symptoms of teething are similar to ear infections. So I go back to my original thought about his little ear infection. Now, after 4 days off the antibiotics he is happy and healthy again. Still teething, but normally, not as extreme as before. I just think they made him feel yucky. I did not call the doctor. I did not take him in. I don't trust her to the right thing for my son. I am looking into finding a new pediatrician. One that is more homeopathic. One that isn't so willing to medicate children for such silly, simple things like colds and LITTLE ear infections. Thank you everyone who showed so much concern for him and me. I really really appreciate it. It was a hard time, but I came out in the end with more knowledge and peace of mind when it comes to the health of my child. Once again, THANK YOU!!

[mrsduff723]

Nov. 14, 2008 at 6:22 PM

Well, my pediatrician never gives shots if my boys have a cold, even without fever.  And I've NEVER seen him pull out that metal scraper and scrape wax out of their ears even if they HAVE an ear infection.  I personally believe antibiotics are given much too frequently in general.  I don't know anything about the uncircumsized penis, but it seems like the Dr should know not to retract the skin if you're not supposed to.  I don't know.  Have you considered changing doctors? 

[wise1]

Nov. 14, 2008 at 7:38 PM

My kids are on medicaid, this is the nicest facility out of the bunch. But I suppose I could change docs within the clinic. I have seen one other doctor from there, she was about as smart as this one was. I need more a home remedy type doctor....

(Original Poster)

[mrsduff723]

Nov. 14, 2008 at 8:55 PM

Why did I think your husband was in the military?  I guess b/c so many on here are military!  Yeah, that sucks.  Medicaid doctors are had to find, too.  Have you tried Bossier?  (I'm assuming your doc is in Shreveport).  What happened to you would have upset me too, very much! 

[TheLostMuppet]

Nov. 15, 2008 at 12:42 PM

You need to find a different Dr. Shes not even takin into consideration your feelings on the matter. PHDs mean nothin next to a Mothers instincts!  There are things that Drs have a say in, and ,to a point, they kno best, but go with your gut. You kno whats best for him!