We went to the ear/nose/throat doctor today for Sam, and it was a fairly frustrating appointment. The baby has been on antibiotics on and off for the past 4 months -- and he's most recently been on a 20-day stint of 2 strong antibiotics -- don't love the idea of him taking that much medicine, but there isn't much I can do seeing he keeps getting ear infections. Anyway -- the ENT doctor was this old man and his office seemed like it was straight from 1950. Thankfully, he had a young med student there with him, and the guy was wearing the UCONN lab coat -- which made me feel right at home seeing I saw so many of them for the 5 weeks I was at Dempsey! Anyway, we had to wait forever to get in to see the doctor -- Sam and Ben entertained all the old people in the waiting room for a while, until Ben decided to challenge Sam to a duel (I was in line with Sam at the check-in and Ben was sitting across the room with Roy -- and started SCREECHING at Sam -- it caused quite the scene). Anyway, the doctor checked Sam's ears and he doesn't currently have an infection (not a surprise seeing he's taking so many antibiotics), and then they did a hearing test on him to see if he has fluid in his inner ear, which is our concern -- the pediatrician was worried that he had residual fluid that would cause hearing loss and delay his speech -- two problems we don't need seeing he's already "behind the 8 ball" b/c he was a preemie. Anyway, his hearing was great and showed no signs of fluid -- so then we met with the ENT again to discuss options. Because he doesn't have a current infection and no fluid, the recommendation at this point is not to put in tubes (which is a relief, I can't imagine putting the baby under anesthesia ...). The ENT doctor was very condescending, though -- he recommended either doing nothing and waiting until Sam gets his next ear infection and then making a decision after that, or putting Sam on a low dose of an antibiotic for 30 days to see if he gets another infection. Well -- I told him I'm uncomfortable leaving Sam on antibiotics unnecessarily for 30 days, especially because it gives him diarrhea and an upset stomach (amoxicillin doesn't work for him, so he has to take really powerful stuff). I told him I worry about creating a "super bug" that is antibiotic resistant from the over-prescribing of antibiotics. He looked at me like I was some stupid kid who had been reading too many liberal parenting magazines and told me that Sam can't become antibiotic immune and that superbugs can't be created through low-dose antibiotics, only through high doses. Well -- whatever, told him I'm not putting my kid on drugs that he doesn't need to take. Roy agreed with me, which I knew he would because we talked about it last night. So -- the plan at this point is to wait and see if Sam gets another ear infection. If he does, we'll put him on antibiotics for 10 days, and then try the 30 day low-dose to see if that staves off another infection. If not, he'll get the tubes. If he gets another infection, though, I will suggest we go to a different ENT because I'm not comfortable with my child's doctor treating me like I'm an idiot. Some of these crusty old men doctors really irritate me, I'm not some stupid kid making ignorant decisions about the care of my children!!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Ear/Nose/Throat doctor
We went to the ear/nose/throat doctor today for Sam, and it was a fairly frustrating appointment. The baby has been on antibiotics on and off for the past 4 months -- and he's most recently been on a 20-day stint of 2 strong antibiotics -- don't love the idea of him taking that much medicine, but there isn't much I can do seeing he keeps getting ear infections. Anyway -- the ENT doctor was this old man and his office seemed like it was straight from 1950. Thankfully, he had a young med student there with him, and the guy was wearing the UCONN lab coat -- which made me feel right at home seeing I saw so many of them for the 5 weeks I was at Dempsey! Anyway, we had to wait forever to get in to see the doctor -- Sam and Ben entertained all the old people in the waiting room for a while, until Ben decided to challenge Sam to a duel (I was in line with Sam at the check-in and Ben was sitting across the room with Roy -- and started SCREECHING at Sam -- it caused quite the scene). Anyway, the doctor checked Sam's ears and he doesn't currently have an infection (not a surprise seeing he's taking so many antibiotics), and then they did a hearing test on him to see if he has fluid in his inner ear, which is our concern -- the pediatrician was worried that he had residual fluid that would cause hearing loss and delay his speech -- two problems we don't need seeing he's already "behind the 8 ball" b/c he was a preemie. Anyway, his hearing was great and showed no signs of fluid -- so then we met with the ENT again to discuss options. Because he doesn't have a current infection and no fluid, the recommendation at this point is not to put in tubes (which is a relief, I can't imagine putting the baby under anesthesia ...). The ENT doctor was very condescending, though -- he recommended either doing nothing and waiting until Sam gets his next ear infection and then making a decision after that, or putting Sam on a low dose of an antibiotic for 30 days to see if he gets another infection. Well -- I told him I'm uncomfortable leaving Sam on antibiotics unnecessarily for 30 days, especially because it gives him diarrhea and an upset stomach (amoxicillin doesn't work for him, so he has to take really powerful stuff). I told him I worry about creating a "super bug" that is antibiotic resistant from the over-prescribing of antibiotics. He looked at me like I was some stupid kid who had been reading too many liberal parenting magazines and told me that Sam can't become antibiotic immune and that superbugs can't be created through low-dose antibiotics, only through high doses. Well -- whatever, told him I'm not putting my kid on drugs that he doesn't need to take. Roy agreed with me, which I knew he would because we talked about it last night. So -- the plan at this point is to wait and see if Sam gets another ear infection. If he does, we'll put him on antibiotics for 10 days, and then try the 30 day low-dose to see if that staves off another infection. If not, he'll get the tubes. If he gets another infection, though, I will suggest we go to a different ENT because I'm not comfortable with my child's doctor treating me like I'm an idiot. Some of these crusty old men doctors really irritate me, I'm not some stupid kid making ignorant decisions about the care of my children!!
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6 comments:
I had a thought.. Are you using the fastest flow nipples on Sam's bottles?? I heard somewhere that if babies suck too hard on the bottle they can promote ear infections.. You probably already thought of this but I figured I would tell you anyway.
Oh and I would totaly get a new doctor! I'm with you 100% on that one..
poor baby... I couldn't imagine. I think he could get immune to the antibotics so you are not crazy. Doc is crazy...he probably hasn't updated his creds since the 50s.
Erin,
You are NOT a stupid kid but the doctor sure sounds like an old coot who needs to get with the times! I would get a new younger Doctor! Always trust your own "mother" instincts. They are the best!
I'm sorry it was so frustrating. And so sorry there was no clear answer. ugh.
You are absolutely right. Overuse of antibiotics will set up resistance. Get yourself to a good health food store and consult with a knowledgeable person about antioxidant vitamins, colloidal silver drops and aloe vera juice. A good sourse for quality aloe juice is www.kaire.com .
Peggy
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