Confused, Jacob's sick, don't know what to do

[mom2boys9802]

I am just so cofused at the moment.  Jacob came home from Ed's sister's house sick. No biggie.  I was sick as well over the weekend.  Sore throat, fever, ect.  Jacob the say except he threw up too.  Yesterday I though he was better.  He seemed fine so I went on with my plans to go work with my manager and I dropped him at a friends house to catch the bus.  A little while later I get a call and she is in an uproar that he is sick.  Yes he did take a turn for the worse again.  She says Jacob needs to see a doctor, which I was OK with and I told her to write a note and take him as she offered.  She insists that they do a strep test even though the doctor was not going to do one.  He does have strep and Fifths Disease is what the doctor diagnosed.  My friend really thinks it is scarlet fever I think she said which is common with strep.  Could be something else.  I can't thinks straight at the moment.  Then she calls this morning and thinks the antibiotics is the wrong dose.  She things it should be taken 3 times a day verses 2 and he should be on a higher dose.  I called the doctor and this is what they always prescribe for his weight.  I trust my friend, but I also trust me doctor.  I don't know what to do.  My friend is a nurse so she has knowledge here as well as the fact her kids get strep all the time.  We don't get it even when swabbed it usually comes back negative.  She is talking about all teh things that can go wrong like heart problems and arthritis.  I feel horrible enough that he was still sick and turned worse and I was not there.  I thought he was better or he would have never went to her house.  I probably would have taken hime to the doctor and all would have been fine.  They may not have done a strep test though if it was me.  Jacob also did not see our regular doctor so I don't know if he would have done somthing differently.  She is also upset as she thought Caleb last her had pnuemonia.  I took him to the doctor and they said he was fine for the most part.  She feels he should have been taken to x-ray to have a chest film done.  Now she wants me to change the boys doctor and I can see her point, but I also don't believe we have a bad group of doctors.  He kids do go to a pediatrition where our doctors are family practice, but there are peds they call in when neccessary like when Caleb had RSV .  My mind is spinning as I feel horrible Jacob is sick.  I don't know if I should trust the doctor or my friend more as I trust both.  Should I change doctors?  Should I stay?  We all have been fighting one bug or another and we have just let them ride out themselves and we have been fine.  I am against the over use of antibiotics and feel they are over used, but they are a good tool when really needed.  I just don't know what to do.  I worry enough about being a good mom that this is so getting to me.  I don't panic when the boys get sick.  I wait and see and go with my gut norally and that seems to do me and our family fine, but now I have a huge doubt that I know what I am doing.  I am going to talk with hubby tonight as we did not get a chance last night with everything and scouts and my major meltdown.  Thanks for listening.  I needed to get this out of me.  I know it is jsut a bunch of babble and I just go on and on and not use proper grammar and paragraphs.  It just all came out in a flood of tears.  Thanks.

[Mimomof3boys]

Jan. 17, 2008 at 11:35 AM

Well what do you think...I think your friend is to nosey and needs to butt out...is she a doctor? Some people are parnaoid....if you think he is that sick then I would take him back to the docs and ask all the questions.

 

Good luck and I hope he is better soon.

[bethanystardust]

Jan. 17, 2008 at 11:55 AM

I agree. "Friend" should butt out and quit giving you more to worry about. It's great that she wants to try and help, but it seems like she's going completely overboard. Sometimes people in that field become a type of hypochondriac and they think they and everyone else has everything in the book.

I use www.WebMD.com to check symptoms. It's not fail proof, but it can tell you when to call the Dr.

And, just to quell your nerves about Scarlet Fever, I had it as a kid. Came down with it the first day of 1st grade. (Of all times!) Yes, there are risks from it, but I'm perfectly fine. I think you'd know if it was something as severe as that anyway. Very high fever and a white coated tongue are the biggest flags. I'm sure the Drs would have noticed if anything like that was going on. After-all, they went to medical school too! Apparently not the know-it-all school of doctoring though.... ;)

BTW, my kiddo and husband were sick with the same symptoms last week. Took a week off school/work and are right as rain now. There's a nasty bug going around, that's for sure!

[princesscecemom]

Jan. 17, 2008 at 1:25 PM

Try not to beat yourself up! It sounds to me like your friend is a bit paranoid.  Strep Throat is a common childhood (and adult) illness.  Yes, there can be serious complications, but let me tell you, it is VERY rare and it would have to have gone on without treatment for a long time.  I know a lot about strep because my son is a carrier.  He always tests positive even when he isn't sick.  He can also pass it along to others and we went through a time when I ALWAYS was sick with strep.  The Fifth's Disease is totally unrelated (I think).  I think that is the hand, foot, mouth if I remember right.  Do a search on google or web md as Bethany suggested.  In my opinion, you didn't do anything that most of us moms haven't done.  It's better to NOT make a big fuss over the kids being sick.  You most likely would have taken him to the doctor later that day or the next as you realized he wasn't getting better.  Your friend should have just called and said that Jacob seemed too sick to go to school and that maybe you need to come back and pick him up.  Fine if she wanted to suggest that he goes to the doctor, but to keep calling you after him seeing the doc is a bit "paranoid".  You need to give the drugs that were prescribed a chance to work.  Strep can take awhile until you feel better and some people get much sicker than others.  If he isn't feeling better in a few days then I would call and ask to have checked out.  You can ask then about extending his antibiotics if they think it will help.  Sorry this is so long I just feel bad for you because I can tell by your post that you are very upset and really, you shouldn't be.  Trust yourself, you are the mom!   

[princesscecemom]

Jan. 17, 2008 at 1:34 PM

Ok, Fifth's Disease is not what I was thinking.  It is a virus so the antibiotics wouldn't help it.  It just has to run it's course.  If he has a rash, then it may be scarlet fever which can come with strep throat.  The antibiotics will take care of it.  On the website I visited, it said that a 10 day course of antibiotics are usually prescribed.  It depends on what was prescribed and at what dosage.  I would just call the doctor with any of your questions and try not to listen to everything the friend gets hyped up about.  Good luck and I hope he feels better soon!