Home Grown

I usually just lurk here, but felt I had to add my two cents to this post.
This is one of the most outrageous things I have ever heard. I can't even imagine that a pediatrician would put a child through tests like that without more severity to the situation.
I agree wholeheartedly with your decision to leave that practice and would have done the same thing with my daughter. Makes me wish I could think of something more for you to do to get the point across to them besides just leaving the practice.
Good luck and hope Steven is feeling better very soon!

That IS extreme!

I'm glad to know that we aren't the only ones disgusted with outrageous diagnoses and bizarre tests!

We fired our pediatrician 2 weeks ago for similar reasons.

Good call, Mom. Best of luck finding a new, reasonable, thorough doctor. Preferably one that your baby adores!

An x-ray to diagnose a possible sinus infection?? The whole litany of tests just blew me away. Thank god you had the sense and the foritude to not go through with them.

Hope little Steven is on the mend.

Angie, I think you are completely on target here. I was lucky enough when my kids were little to have an experienced pediatrician who was state-of-the-art, but also had confidence in the body's natural ability to heal itself. He prescribed antibiotics reluctantly, and never ordered invasive tests under circumstances like that. He took my concerns seriously, but he would also tell me to calm down if he felt that I was over-reacting. (What? Me? Over-react?) The day that he retired was a bleak day in my life. Anyway, good on ya', as they say downunder. I'm sure that you did the right thing.

You are most certainly right,Angie. Some docs do that for adults too, and I think it is called "Covering your butt". Most of them are running scared of malpractice suits, so they order every possible test to be done so they can say that checked every possibility. It is overkill.

You are most certainly right,Angie. Some docs do that for adults too, and I think it is called "Covering your butt". Most of them are running scared of malpractice suits, so they order every possible test to be done so they can say that checked every possibility. It is overkill.

What is wrong with these people? Our little TJ was perscribed antibiotics 3 times before he was 5 months old! That is ridiculous.

You made the absolute right choice. Was Steve as upset about this as you were?

I think a call to the AMA or some governing insurance board is in order.

Amazing.

~K!

What is wrong with these people? Our little TJ was perscribed antibiotics 3 times before he was 5 months old! That is ridiculous.

You made the absolute right choice. Was Steve as upset about this as you were?

I think a call to the AMA or some governing insurance board is in order.

Amazing.

~K!

I am not trying to take the doctor's side in this, but I know from doctor friends of the family that some patients WANT all that stuff and will not take no for an answer. They don't want to wait to find out if it's a virus; they want results NOW and they want to fix it NOW. And so, since the insurance usually will pay for it, a lot of doctors do order all that stuff unnecessarily.

Good for you for calling bullshit and walking out, though. Where would this world be if we moms didn't follow our guts? And maybe if more people do this, the docs will get the message and the tide will turn.

I hope Steven gets better soon!

Good for you Angie! So many doctors order tests just to "cover their butts" as one previous poster put it! Not all doctors are like that though, and I hope you find one that shares your concerns and your views. It can be done. I'm speaking as a doctor's wife. Even my DH thinks doctors order too many tests and he questions the ordering doctors about the necessity of it all. I'm sure they love us~!~

Feel better soon Steven!!!!

I wish I'd had your guts and brains back when my son was little and suffered a multitude of ear infections. Did they even indicate what they would do had those tests come back positive? It is a sad day when when our healthcare is really in the hands of insurance companies and doctors who are paranoid. As an adult I just had the same situation with my doctor and a pharmacy.

My wishes are for Steven to have a full speedy recovery.

That's awful. Good for you for standing up for yourself.

It reminds me of when I was getting 30 year old breastfeeding advice from my old ped. Honestly, some of this stuff borders on malpractice. Making a child suffer to find out what is wrong when it's most likely nothing? Potentially sabotaging a mother's milk supply with poor advice? WTF?

Good luck finding a new doctor.

I have a similar story, but of the opposite problems. Three years ago, my three-year-old son was sick. I took him to the doctor twice, both times she said it was just something viral and would go away. The third time, she sent me home again empty handed. Two days after that doctor visit, I carried my son's limp body into the ER where he went thru a cat scan. They found nothing and wanted to send him home. At that point, my son could not even stand on his own. I took and stand and refused to leave that room until they found out what was wrong with him. I demanded they do a spinal tap on him (OUCH! I know, but I knew they'd get answers....mother's intuition, maybe?!?!) They did, and, guess what......He had meninigitis and spent the next 5 days in the hospital.

I guess sometimes a mother just have to go with her gut and make a stand. Good for you!

I hope Steven's feeling better. Having a sick kid is bad, but losing faith in a physician is horrible.

I hope Steven's feeling better. Having a sick kid is bad, but losing faith in a physician is horrible.

My 8 month old daughter got sent home from the emergency room Monday after a brief 104.8 degree spike with "just a virus." Had we insisted on at least a urine test, we would have learned then that she had pylonephritis, a severe bladder/kidney infection that can lead to permanent kidney damage. On Wednesday, she had to be hospitalized (though she may be released today or tomorrow). If there's a history of UTI in your family, I would recommend you at least consent to the urine test, but I agree that the rest seems a bit excessive for the circumstances.

3 that morning? Maybe there is something going around that they are not telling us. (Listen to how paranoid I am ...holy heck)

Feel better soon!
xo

Good for you !!! As an adult I walked out of a doctors office when he told me I had to have a procedure ( or possibly die). Turns out I never needed the procedure in the 1st place . I later found out he had 2 kids in college. A money emergency perhaps ? I think mom always knows best and you will know if he needs anything.
I also hate the way medical folks act like we do not have 2 brain cells clanging around in our heads. I am not a doctor but I am not an idiot either. I am so proud of you !!!! The bee

Wow.. just wow... I can't believe it either.

Hope the little guy gets better soon.

Gah.

I'm glad you walked out.

Also, it seems to me there's gotta be an easier way of getting a urine sample from a baby boy. Seriously, the equipment's right out there. It goes off like clockwork if exposed to cool air. What's the problem?

I was told the same thing, Angie. A friend of mine who is a pediatrician told me that the catheterization, blood test and x-ray are standard practice if they can't come up with a diagnosis. They even told me that if Gabe spiked a fever after vaccines that they would have to do all that, PLUS maybe a spinal tap. No way, Jose. I refused to take his temperature period, because there is no way I would let them do all that.

Good for you. I hope Steven is better soon.

I was told the same thing, Angie. A friend of mine who is a pediatrician told me that the catheterization, blood test and x-ray are standard practice if they can't come up with a diagnosis. They even told me that if Gabe spiked a fever after vaccines that they would have to do all that, PLUS maybe a spinal tap. No way, Jose. I refused to take his temperature period, because there is no way I would let them do all that.

Good for you. I hope Steven is better soon.

Just passing through...I had a similar experience with a ped 3 years ago and ended up leaving them for my family doctor. I now take all three of my children to my doctor. If you trust and love your dr. talk to them about it...you never know :)

Good lord. Good call on your part, that's just INSANE.

ANGIE! Where are you? Are you okay?

Angie- I am also worried . Are you ok ?