switched pediatricians

[magicicada]

called the new ped and made an appt. called the old ped and cancelled the appt and asked about records transfer. i'm not sure why this is bothering me so much. they are nice people but they have sold their souls to the drug reps. i think it's nostalgia for when sylvia was teeny tiny as opposed to just being quite small.

Comments

[fizzgig-bites.livejournal.com]

Our first ped. would have drug reps in and out all day. The difference was that our ped. respected our wishes and it was noted on the interview appointment. The doctor's point of view was there were mom's who wanted to drug their children and those who don't. He was all in favor of giving samples away than having people pay for it and have it not work. The only time medication was mentioned was when Anna still hadn't gained weight after several tries with the consultant and hope-and-prayer. He gave me some formula just in case. Luckily, I never had to use more than 2 ozs. of it for that purpose. We used it because our doctor was really concerned and we were desperate (Anna was extremely lethargic). Our doctor was conservative on the miracles-by-Dupont in principle himself.

Doctors are unfortunately bombarded with more requests for medication than to wait it out or natural processes. The classic is parents wanting antibiotics when the infection is a virus. As a parent, I can understand that you will do anything to make your kid feel better. I don't like antibiotics but if you took my infant Motrin away there would be problems. Welcome to the "magic pill" society.

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

at the original peds, we were given a huge tin of formula at the open house and the lactation consultant gave us a 4 pack of ready mix formula at the first office visit. or rather tried to, when we asked her where to get rid of some other formula we'd gotten she offered to give us just the book it was attached to. at the initial appt, sylvia was gaining weight. we had a bad night and sylvia started refusing to nurse and losing weight. at the second or third daily weigh-in, they started recommending supplementation. sylvia at that point was losing an oz a day, but never got below 90% of birthweight or became lethargic. she was always a very strong baby. to make a long story short, there were a few weeks of pumping and cup feeding and 28 oz of milk from the milkbank(to which i owe a great debt). i still sometimes think that if i had not spent so much time pumping and going to the peds (while recovering from a c-section), my supply would have increased much faster and none of the bullshit would have been necessary. in the end, sylvia figured it out. one day, she just started nursing like a champ and has been packing on the ozs and lbs ever since.

offense #2, they keep trying to get us to sign up for a trial for a rotavirus(messy, but fairly innocuous if you keep your eyes on baby's fluids)vaccine. the vaccine is a refinement of one which has a side effect of the occasional fatality!

so, rant over *clears throat*, yea, it's a good thing we switched peds.

Rotavirus...

[loucheroo.livejournal.com]

Rotavirus can definitely be fatal.... in fact, Amy and Ira's daughter lost a ton of weight and was hospitalized with it. Amy's just lucky they got her into the hospital so quickly.

HOWEVER....... to keep trying to talk you into a TRIAL of a vaccine, whose occasional side effect is fatality????? Sheesh, I can understand their asking you once. Hell, I suppose kids are needed for medical trials, though I'd never put my kid through one unless it was, god forbid, our only option..... but to keep trying to talk you into it once you'd made your feelings KNOWN? Fie on them... FIE, I say! (ok, so I'm in a bizarre mood, so sue me)

I'm glad you switched, is the basic point of this post..... they do sound like drug company whores....

Re: Rotavirus...

[h-postmortemus.livejournal.com]

The specific research being done was on a new vaccine for Rotavirus, to determine if they had eliminated the complications of the original vaccine developed a decade or so ago.

No, I do NOT want to take the risk of Sylvia developing FOLDS IN HER BOWELS due to a vaccine. I don't care if the surgery to fix it is free, that's just as much a risk damn it.

I have absolutely no problem with the initial asking if we wanted to join the test. But they kept mentioning it after we said no. I think it was because the head doctor at this pediatricians office was in charge of the particular trial for the area...

Pediatricians and drugs

[loucheroo.livejournal.com]

I HATE that.... i have so many friends whose kids are on drugs at the drop of a hat! The only non-motrin/tylenol/nose-unclogging meds either of my kids have ever taken (now remember, this is in 4.5 collective years of life): Zach had antibiotics once, for a high, long-lasting and unexplained fever. Once they got the blood work back and found it was viral, they stopped the meds. Sarah's been on and off Zyrtec (on for a bit, and i found it wasn't helping with the allergies so we stopped, but now we're hoping it--in conjunction with something called rhinocort--will help clear up her cute little ears to prevent the necessity for tubes. I don't think it will work, but we'll find out next week). That's IT!! Then there are kids I know who are Sarah's age and put on antibiotics at the first sign of a sniffle--not because of parents requesting, but because of doctors offering.
I'm SO glad I go to a doctor who not only DOESN'T specifically offer meds unless needed, but tells parents who ask that it's not necessary and won't help. It's important to find someone who shares your philosophy. Failing that, at least find one who respects your philosophy.

If Sylvia's doctor was really pushing the formula (And from what you've said, it doesn't seem that she's having any major feeding problems, so what's the need?) and/or drugs, you're right to find someone who makes you feel more comfortable.

Now I'll get off my soapbox :)

Re: Pediatricians and drugs

[ximinez]

Rinocort is pretty nifty stuff. Keeps my allergies nicely in check, and can reduce the intensity of sinus problems when I have a cold. I assume that's why the want her to use it? To prevent sinus buildup that will back up into the ear canal?

Re: Pediatricians and drugs

[loucheroo.livejournal.com]

I haven't told everyone the SAGA OF THE EARS OF SARAH?
Hmmm.... thought I had. All I know is that the Rhinocort doesn't seem to be working so well (though sarah was amused at the thought that it might be made of rhinos! She giggled and gave ben a look that said he was clearly not as smart as she'd thought *grin*). She still seems a bit stuffy. Perhaps she takes after me and has "non-allergic rhinitis" instead of allergies (this means that she gets all the fun stuff of allergies, such as congestion, itchy eyes, etc., but it's not ACTUALLY allergies, so NO FRELLING MEDICINES WORK ON IT)

*ahem*
See my journal entry for tonight to get the story of the ears and treatments
I'm not cool, so I don't know how to put a link in. sorry!