Micah's ear tubes came out in January (they were in a whopping 5 months this time) and we visited the ENT in March to get them replaced. (Yes, it takes that long to get into the specialist.) At that time I mentioned that I'd like his tonsils taken out while he was sedated because he'd been having sleep apnea since Christmas.
Last August this same doctor replaced his tubes and checked to be sure his adenoids hadn't grow back. And she told us that she's learned to trust the parents because they know their child much better than any doctor ever will.
But in March she changed her tune. She suddenly made a 180 and gave me the fifth degree on why I would want extra surgery for my child. She checked his tonsils and determined that they were huge, but it was due to his cold. (Um, no it wasn't. His tonsils are huge all the time.) She put him on 3 weeks of an antibiotic and asked me to audio tape him sleeping after the meds were finished. Apparently I'm such an idiot that I'm not even sure what sleep apnea is. We were to go back in 3 weeks and she'd determine then what to do. (And obviously she has no idea that one cannot get an appointment that quickly either.)
So I half heartedly gave Micah the meds because 3 weeks is a bit excessive. We got the first appointment we could (today) and I taped him sleeping. He hasn't had apnea for a while but he now has very labored breath while sleeping. I got him wheezing, gasping and heaving. It's good.
And at today's appointment she had no idea why we were there. I said nothing and played along. She asked how he was doing since the last visit. I informed her that his hearing is a bit impaired and he needs his tubes replaced. "Oh, that's not good! We'll definitely do that for him." And then I casually mentioned that I'd like his tonsils removed at the same time because he's having labored breathing while he sleeps. She peeked in his throat (after much struggling on my part to hold him down) and instantly said "Wow! They definitely need out. And he'll sleep so much better."
What the heck?! I know sometimes people have bad days (trust me, I know!) but this Dr. Jeckyl/Mr. Hyde thing is a little too freaky for me. We've been doctoring there for 5 years now and I love that the Children's staff is so wonderful with Micah and his Downs. We have a wonderful ENT here in town (without the hour drive) but I just don't feel all that comfortable with the small-town hospital staff doing the anesthesia. Downs have so much more going on than a normal kid and it worries me not having him in the very best hands possible.
But I don't really want to keep dealing with Dr. Freakazoid either. She's nice as can be, and an excellent doctor and surgeon, but boy-howdy is she wacked.
His surgery is scheduled for July 2, which gives him sufficient time to recover for school in the fall. Maybe in the future, when he just needs tubes again, I'll transfer to the local doctor.
30 comments:
Yikes -- that doesn't exactly make you feel really secure with her. If has never happened before, I would chalk it up to a bad day. Good luck with the surgery!
I generally loathe doctors. My favorite? The OBGYN I saw the time my OBGYN was out of town - she (and I hate female OBs, by the way) told me I was gaining "too much weight" while pregnant even though I'd only gained 20 lbs! As though I didn't already feel bad enough about gaining 20 lbs . . . Anyway, I went on to gain 35 lbs. total and deliver a 9 lbs. 6 oz. baby. She sucked!
Also, I hate when they talk down to you like you're stupid. Especially when it comes to your child - I mean, it's clear to me that nobody knows your child as well as you (the parent) do. I don't know why doctors don't listen to parents' concerns more - especially when it comes to suspicions about developmental delays and autism. SO many parents just "know" their babies have autism and the pediatricians just ignore them! It's terrible!
Wow! That is crazy! I can't believe she did that! I don't expect them to remember me because I know they see so many patients- but look at the chart, make notes, pay attention. Oh my!
Glad my tonsil experience went better. Ashlyn's come out on June 10th! Hopefully it goes smoothly.
Maybe she has a twin. Or maybe it was Freaky Friday. Maybe you should tape record your meetings with her instead!
I hope the surgery goes well and his tubes stay in longer this time!
Scary. That's it. Just scary.
That wouldn't make me feel real confident either! I hope the surgery goes easily for Micah and you can find someone you trust just a little more...and who isn't a freakazoid.....;)
Oh man. Sorry your Dr. is being so great and so terrible every other time! What a pain. It's great that she thinks that parents know best (which, we do...we just do.) but not so great that she keeps taking that away from you!
It's good that you have the surgery scheduled, though. I hope it helps! Sleep apnea can be really scary, especially in children.
She does sound weird. Micah's surgery is on my birthday I will be sure to think of him. He will be fine. You? You will be stressed, so just think of me eating cake. That will make you so hungry you will forget your worries!
I always feel like then with my drs. It's like they never remember why we are they or who we even are. I guess we don't go in enough. But I hate going.
Wow, that's disappointing. And makes me count my blessings that we're near Chicago and thus have our pick of doctors with whatever specialty who do well with whatever type of child close by.
One of the things that a local special needs (all special needs kids vs one diagnosis) group has done is collect recommendations of services that do well with different types of kids (e.g., doctors, dentists, hair cuts) to provide a referral source. You don't have anything out your way, do you? I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but ...
In any case, best of luck to you!
Especially now with having J, I am much more aware of how doctors are. I've gone through three pediatricians. THREE.
The first one said she would not treat J if I refused to get him vaccinated. I DID NOT tell her I wasn't going to vaccinate him, I merely asked questions about the vaccines--in light of what we are learning, I figure that wasn't all that odd.
The second one NEVER TOUCHED J during his physical. I don't get it? He left the room and then an intern came in (without him) to do the exam.
The one we are with right now has a son, totally gets being a bit freaked out about vaccines, and, she touches J everywhere. I love her. At least for now . . .
Good luck! I hope all works out.
I HATE it when doctors do that. Why do they even TAKE the stupid neverending notes when they don't read them? I get sooo tired of explaining the same thing every.single.time. *sigh* It has to be the number of patients they see that causes this but it certainly undermines any confidence you have in a doctor.
"...but boy-howdy is she wacked.:
I laughed right out loud at that. Thank you for that one. I needed it. :)
On the flipside.... that would make me worry about every other decision my doctor had helped me make. Of course, I'm obsessive like that.
I know she has a lot of patients to keep track of but doesn't she take notes? Geez. Even if she read them right in front of you to get her facts straight it would give you at least a little confidence!!
I hate people who are inconsistent. I need a very stable set of rules in order for my life to be in order. Time to get that doc on some psych meds!
Oh my, I know exactly what you mean! Caroline's first ped was just my other kid's ped. She is SO nice, but she knows nothing about Caroline's issues. Every question I had, she would call Children's for the answer, then call me back. And she made so many dumb comments that I knew that I knew SO much more than she did. And she would also do that 180 thing about issues. And that gave me pretty much NO confidence in her.
So at about a year old, we switched to a ped about an hour away. It is a PAIN having him so far, but he knows his stuff. He is so knowledgeable and intelligent and I am really happy with him.
That's so frustrating! It's nice to have everything nearby, because our pediatrician is great and very knowledgable and he stays on top of any specialist care we have to have.
We'll be at CHP on July 2nd, too, for my son's nephrology checkup.
Wow, it's so encouraging when your doc can barely remember what day of the week it is. Sheesh.
What the? That is really weird. Well, at least you're getting the outcome you wanted and hopefully that will help Micah sleep better.
Wow. That's surely unsettling. But I am glad Micah will get what you know is right for him. I will pray for the surgery and that you will find peace about that doctor.
Can you say Schizophrenic? Hope his surgery goes well.
I'm telling you, that building is a vacuum of suck. One day people are some of the best in the world, the next they couldn't find the face if you gave them a mirror. It's very weird and I attribute it to the change in ownership and management.
At least you're getting what you wanted. At least there's that.
I'd be a bit worried about her too - boy-howdy!!
Good luck getting this all figured out and taken care of - poor Micah!
Have a good evening - Kellan
If this was the only time it happened I'd chalk it up to hormones, or just having been chewed out or handed new guidelines or SOMETHING. Everyone has a crappy day occasionally. But only if it was once.
Little Guy's having the tonsils and adenoids out in July. What fun! Hope it all goes well with Micah.
Wow. that's all. wow is all I can come up with. Not my most eloquent moment, but what do you say to that other than freakazoid-- which you covered.
July 2nd? Does that mean he'll get to eat ice cream on the 4th? Do they still do that? (not do they still do July 4th, I mean do they feed kids ice cream after surgery?)
doctors in general are in-out-wham-bam-thank-ya-ma'am and it irritates me. that is so crazy. our healthcare system is whack to begin with. ugh! that would drive me crazy!
I hate doctors ... all of them now. I think they either are too progressive or they do not listen. You have to diagnose the problem yourself just as you did and KEEP ON THEM like a hound! My youngest was scheduled for an MRI b/c she was puking and she said YES to having headaches - this was when she was three and she had a "HEADACHE of THAT" everytime I asked her to put her toys away, or do something she didn't want to do.
How old is Dr. Freakazoid? Because if she could like be going through menopause, she may be suffering from lots of memory loss. I have heard several women say they started forgetting everything around that time. I have also met lots of people like that, they totally remember you one time, totally forget everything the next time. Some never remember anything at all! She probably sees a bazillion people a week too. Who knows? As long as someone reminds her what she's doing the day of the surgery, I'm sure it will be fine.
sounds like the GP I used to have...except her short-term memory loss was within a couple minutes. Told her I was allergic to neomycin and polymyxin. She promptly wrote me a prescription for polymyxin eye drops and poo-poohed my concern about my allergy. Until I nearly scratched my eyes down. Idiot.
But I LOOOOOVVVVEEEEEEEEE my OB-GYN. At my 6-week check-up after Gavin, she walked in, knew his name, asked after Justin, etc. She did the same sort of thing at my check-ups with her while pregnant with Cooper (I'm at a big practice and only saw her twice during the pregnancy). I don't know if her memory is just that great or if she takes good notes, but it works! I love her! I purposely scheduled Cooper's induction on her day in the hospital because she did such a great job with me when she delivered Gavin.
That is crazy. I was also going to say that maybe it was her twin last time! An evil twin who wants to frustrate all her patients. Bwahahahah.
Good luck with the tubes and tonsils!
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