Should I Get a New Pediatrician?

Before I selected my pediatrician I called an scheduled a meet and greet...where I sat down with the doctor and we talked to see if she would work out as my doctor and if I would work out as a good potential "patient" (even though my child was the actual patient).

I just clicked with my pediatrician immediately. She was actually my OB/GYN's children's doctor...she is amazing. She also was a bit unconcerned about vaccines, but I trusted her and things went fine.

Go interview possible new doctors and see if you would be a good fit in their practice...they will tell you if you are not...

HUGS!!

Perhaps childrens hospital can refer you to a pediatrician that is familiar with your daughter's type of condition. That way, you'll have someone that knows there will be extra visits. It seems rational to me to be cautious when an infant already has a condition. You're doing the right thing.

Yes, you should. If for no other reason because you have lost confidence in your present doctor. It is so difficult, and somewhat embarrassing, to switch doctors, but I think you should find someone you feel more confident with. I would discuss this with your kidney specialist. Then ask around and choose a doctor that is not only knowledgeable, but open to your questions.

I would switch peds doctors. I worked as an medical asst in a peds office for over 7 years and the questions you are asking about vaccines need to be asked. I have seen many children have complications due to vaccines. WHen the rota tag vaccine first came on the marked it was pulled because it had caused intestinal blockage and death in some of the infants that were vaccinated with it. I also worked with peds doctors that would not give the combined MMR injection to childern that had a family history of autisum. I worked for about 15 different peds doctors over that 7 years (multi ped practices) and I do know that some are alot better than others and some should not even be in practice. If you are woundering, yes I am going to vacinate my baby but not with every vaccine. do your research. find a doctor that will talk and listen to you.

I personally would look for a new pediatrician. I signed my kids on with a pediatrian who turned out to be very supportive and was a team player with specialists. My son was diagnosed with leukemia so his specialist was an oncologist. Our protocal was to bypass the ped for certain symptoms because it could be a very serious situation for him that would require an ER or oncologist visit. I was always catious about other issues that didn't require an oncology appt and I'm sure the staff came to know me as someone who called all the time, but they never gave me atttude about it. I know, however, that I drove them crazy calling every few days about getting flu shots for my kids, but it was an important precaution for my kids. I wasn't going to just drop it. You need to have a doc who is understanding to your needs as a new parent and as a parent of a child with special medical needs. Maybe the specialist can recommend a ped that they work well with. Best wishes to you.

ND - bless your heart - you are a great mom for being so "on top" of this stuff - especially doing it by yourself.

As a mom of two teens - looking back - sometimes I wish that I had avoided peds and simply gone to an internist or general practitioner (or even a naturopath) with my children. It takes a very gifted ped to be able to communicate properly with parents while maintaining competence (yet healthy curiosity and open-ness to learning new stuff) in the practice of medicine. Practicing medicine is an ART and a calling - not an "X + Y = Z" engineering job. Sometimes I feel that today's peds are all about well child visits (read: vaccines) and handing out antibiotics. And not much else. But that's JMO (and I do like my current ped even though I have to "push back" with him too).

I have seen veterinarians with better clinical, intuition and empathy skills.

My suggestion is that you seek out someone with whom you are much more comfortable. I sense a hesitancy to change, and a fear of being judged. You need to let all of that go. When you do go to a new ped or doctor - try to wipe out all the emotion (I know that's hard when it's your child) and just stick to the facts. You are your child's advocate - wear that "hat" and don't take it off!

Good luck and God bless you.

There is nothing wrong about calling all the time. I'm also a single mom, and new at it too. I have no idea what's going on with my baby, so I don't feel comfortable just saying it's this or that. I even post a thousand questions on here. Just look at my history and pages and pages of questions.
I know you have already said you would look in to a new doctor, but your old doctor sucks. Just the pure fact she isn't caring about your concerns about vaccines, shows what kind of doctor she is. Every doctor should hear your concerns and work with you about them. Just because she doesn't believe that vaccine and autism are linked, doesn't mean that other people don't have those concerns. My doctor and I agreed that an alternative schedule works well for us.

I would find a new Pediatrician if it were me. You should be able to go in and meet them to see if they are a fit for you. I don't care if you call 2 million times that is why you have a Doctor and in the mean time if you have to call your Doctor (until you get another one) I would ask to talk to the supervisor or the head nurse and just tell them that you have been getting attitude from the nurse and ignored by both the Doctor and Nurse. You know your child better than anyone. It is sad that today we do have to insist and be pushy just to get our kids seen at the Doctor they act as if you are asking them for an arm or one of their vital organs, that is their JOB if they don't want to see patients then they need to find another JOB. Good Luck to you and I hope you find a good fit for you and your Daughter.
Kay

Hi N D!

I am a Baby Planner from Rochester, NY. From the Womb to the World, I help expectant mommies ready for their new arrival, support them post-natal & throughout the early years. I see you are a single mom. (I have a special place in my heart for single parents!)

RED FLAG: I read your post & you need to call the specialist at Childrens Hospital (I am assuming he/she is a Pediatric Nephrologist). Leave a message with your specialist that you need the recommendation of a couple of pediatricians in your area he/she would suggest. They will probably give you two. That's fine. Your baby was born with a special condition that's being properly monitored and treated, so should all of her conditions, no matter how little anyone thinks they are!

Too many first time mommies wait because they feel they are being an "over reactive mom" or whatever else the case may be. Once you switch, in your first visit, have a laundry list of all the questions you need answers to. I recommend to new mommies a "Pediatricians journal" (spiral bound notebook). The key to any good pediatrician is that they listen to you. They are the "Gatekeeper" of your baby's health & you want the best!

Secondly, you little one needs to see a pediatric Gastroenterologist & Endocronologist. Let your new pediatrician refer you to whom they trust.

We are Eco-friendly baby planners, so we believe in organic products (full spectrum) and nutrition for both mother and baby. Did your current pediatrician recommended you switch to soy formula? That is probably what she was trying to say but might have said rice? If so, swich to soy.

To give you peace of mind, there is absolutely no link between autism and vaccines. The Dr. who published the article a couple of years ago & started this panic, retracted it a couple of months ago. I don't have the article from the NY Times handy to attach a link, however he did. His findings were falsely reported.

One final mention, find a mommies group in your area. You need some emotional support as well. The local library might have one! (Our's has a "lap time" each Friday and any baby ages 0-12 mths. is welcome!) It's a great way to meet & chat with new mommies.

Hope this helps!

I am always here for a sounding board.

Feel free to E-mail me at ____@____.com

Everything will be o.k. in the end, if it's not o.k. it's not the end! :)

Warm regards,

M.

Trust your instincts and find a new doctor. I would definately interview them before making a decision and try and get referrals from people you know in your area.

We recently had to switch insurance carriers and we lost our favorite pediatrition. The new one, though she has over 20 yrs experience, sucks and didn't want to take the time to get to know the kids or their history. Needless to say I am looking for a new ped too. If only I could get back to our old ped. A good ped will take the time and listen to your concerns. We used to be able to call and leave a message. She would call me back and discuss our concerns further and occassionally she would tell us to come in due to symptoms. There are other docs/peds out there with open door policies that won't label you that way. In my opinion the ones that do are burnt out and don't care anymore. That's not who I want caring for my kids. Good luck finding a new ped.

Of course you should find a new pediatrician. Clearly you are not comfortable with the doctor or the staff. If you can't have open discussions with your child's doctor about your concerns you need to find a doctor with an open mind and a better bedside manner.

I think if you want to switch you should, but if you do you need to make very clear to the new pediatrician that your daughter has this kidney disorder. It doesn't seem like the current office understands she has these other issues and maybe if they did they would be more inclined to take you seriously. Pediatricians are busy, and yes they should be reading her chart, but you need to bring up her other issues every time you talk to them just to be sure everyone is on the same page.

Also, I think you should talk to her specialists about the vaccines. You will get a ton of conflicting advice about them, but I agree that there is no link between autism and vaccines, it just doesn't make sense and I feel the research supports that. But, you should ask her specialists b/c they may have some interesting things to tell you in regards to a connection between her particular disorder and vaccines, like maybe it could do her more harm than the average child if she contracted one of the diseases vaccines prevent against b/c her immune system is already compromised. I don't know for sure if that's true, but I think you should find out b/c it makes sense.

Yep-you should switch. You have lost faith in your ped and that's not good. You have to trust your gut. Ask the specialist at the hospital for a referral. Also research online.

I would definitely seek out a new pediatrician, if for nothing else but your peace of mind. I think that very often pediatricians can become lazy, and instead of properly investigating the cause of some ailments, they just suggest the most frequent causes. My SIL is going through the same treatment right now, and she is pretty much on a first name basis with the office staff as well.

Too often some docs (and even more often, their office staff) can be dismissive of a mother's intuition, but YOU know your baby and you were dead on with this. Rather than just poo-pooing you, the nurse should have FIRST checked your daughter's records and she could have clearly seen the history, which warrants a heightened level of caution. Unfortunately you probably HAVE become "that mother," unfair and unwarranted as it is. I'd go elsewhere, where the staff and the doc respected me.

I'd ask your specialist if s/he would suggest a pediatrician. We found our fantastic doc this way, by asking hospital staff their opinions.

I know you've already gotten your answer, but I wanted to add (in case no one said it yet) that you should talk to the doctors at Children's and ask them for a referral to a sympathetic Ped in your area. I'm sure they have the resources to find you a good referral.

In my opinion, my child's health is number one priority and if I were you I would switch doctors. It isn't going to hurt anybody to switch, and you may find your self in a much more nurturing situation. If you stick with the pedi just hoping things are going to get better, you could be wasting your time. Based on your post, you have a lot of emotion surrounding this pedi. Those emotions are not just going to disappear and you are always going to go back to these emotions if something else negative happens. So I think you might be better off starting fresh. You could post on here looking for recommendations in your area and specifically note what you are looking for in the doctor. Best of luck to your little one and given her enlarged Kidney's being cautious is important and a natural instinct as a mommy to protect your little one. Don't feel bad for wanting her to get checked- if the docs start to see improvement they will tell you and should help you gain confidence in knowing when you should investigate health issues in the future. But, it has to be the right doc!