Sydney is 6 Weeks Old
Thursday November 24, 2005
And unfortunately, she's constipated. After having several days of red-faced pushing and crying and not a poop in sight, Kimber went to see the doctor. Her regular pediatrician wasn't in and Kimber was not happy with how she was treated by the doctor on call. Rest assured, she's got another appointment scheduled with her regular doctor on Monday to get things straightened out.
I've had times like these with several doctors and even a midwife, where I was made to feel like a fool for being concerned about my child's health. Twice, those turned out to be life-or-death situations that landed us in the hospital and my quick action and acute awareness were essential in getting him treated. So, I really feel for you there, Kimber. Stick to your guns. It's your baby!
What about you? Have you ever had a doctor or other health care professional treat you as if you didn't have cause to be concerned about your child's health and well-being?
Comments
Hi!
I just wanted to comment on doctors (or anybody)not knowing your baby like you do. When you have that “gut” feeling there is something wrong, stick to your guns so to speak and put your foot down! Make sure the doctor does what you want or demnad.
My youngest of four children was so cranky from day one.All he did was scream and clench his fists,then shake.I made ano appt. with the doctor and he said nothing was wrong just he was collicky…YEAH RIGHT! Finally,after six months of pure hell a different doctor was willing to see him. I explained what was going and she asked me since I am in the med. feild what I thought it was. I told her my feelings and thoughts..first thought,GERD.She agreed,and put him on Zantac.We also had the option of traveling two hours (for tests) to be for sure but,I said no I will try the meds. Amazingly enough,my son on the second night (of being on Zantac) slept for twelve hours!!
Second experience: Same son (Cannon) was now at 15 months old and after traveling back home from my sisters four hrs. away he slept the whole time.I knew he must be getting sick as he did not normally sleep that long. My hubby being in Canada on a trip was due home on Tuesday evening. It was now,Monday morning..getting the other children ready for school,I went upstairs to get Cannon who was sleeping.When I approached his room,I smelled a foul smell and now that “gut” feeling kicked in,I knew I was right on our way home he was coming down with something.When I got to his crib he was covered in diarrhea! I then,had to put him in the bath and clean him up.He had no fever,just at this moment had diarrhea. I never heard or smelled anything during the night because our bedroom is downstairs.So,now feeling like a horrible mom,I was so concerned for my son! I took the older children to school and called the doctors as soon as I walked in the door. While talking to the nurse,the baby starts projectile vomiting.Of course,then they tell me bring him in right away! I get there and our regular doctor says oh there is nothing wrong with him it is viral keep doing whta your doing and call me in three days if he is not better.I was outraged!! I asked for blood work to be done along with a stool culture,he says it is not needed.Meanwhile,Cannon was lethargic,and vomiting in a zip-lock bag that I brought.I just wanted to scream at the doctor!!
I later took him to the Emergency room where he was admitted.The attending doctor told me that if I had waited the three days we would have lost him.He was so dehydrated,that when they put the IV in he did not even flinch! Cannon ended up having multiple tests done and conclusion to his illness was Rotovirus! He had Ct scans done,x-rays and later was transported to a bigger facility (two hours away)with specialists on the team. They decided that he needed feeding tubes in order to keep him strong.Hubby also came home early and was by our side the whole time.Cannon is now three and is quite the little man.Oh,and the doctor that saw him over the course of his first year and a half is NO longer allowed to go near any of my kids!! They say rotovirus is very common and babies die from the dehydration that the virus causes.
So,in conclusion to my “story” and a little message to all you Mom’s(and Dad’s) out there:
Listen to your instinct!! Mom’s know best!! Do NOT let any doctor tell you differently that there is nothing wrong when you feel there is.Do research and demand further tests!! It saved my son’s life by going for further treatment.
My son is 8 months old and has been dealing with constipations since birth. The doctor’s think that I am some paroniod mother who needs to let my son poop on his own. My doctor does not understand the severity of my son’s constipation. We have been giving him juice since he has been 3wks old. Nothing works. Finally my peditrician sugguested given him milk of magnesia to help and that is not making it any better.
You have to trust your instincts and make sure that you are heard. Switch doctors until you find the right one. Your doctor should be compassionate and listen to every word.
The last straw was my son had been sick and coughing for weeks on end. I had taken him to the doctor and was told cold nothing I could do but treat the symptoms. A week goes by and nothing changes. Take him back and he has pnemonia. Very frustrating.
Hi,
When my baby was this age, she started to feel bad, with cough and colic.
I went 3 times to the doctor. Fortunately, on the third time, there was another doctor attending. But, at the 2 time, the doctor said:
Please MOM, get some good sense. Don’t you see that your baby is Ok?
Didn’t you read on the book that I indicated that what is happening is normal.
(Good to remind myself that in another opportunity that I cited his book, he said that I was reading and searching too much).
She is our first baby, English is not at all our first language and we are NEW in the US completely alone, with no help at all, in addition to our despair.
These doctors treat us like retard. I end up not knowing if his disdain was a reflection of some a sort of foreigner phobia, whatsoever, or b/c we struggle with English so he was pissy, whatever.
When my baby was older, it happened again in another state, and despite to the fact that she had a cold and temperature close to 100F, another pediatrician asked me to create to myself some good sense and intelligence.
What a despair.
From birth my daughter cried, coughed and gaged everytime she was fed. The peadiatrician that was taking care of her at the time did an x-ray when she was 3 days old and found that she had a “post infection of the lung”. He said that she had a mucus build up in her throat and prescribed antibiotics and saline drops. He saw her weekly for three weeks and although she continuously dropped weight, he said that it was normal and that we should not worry to much about it. My husband and I were getting more and more worried as the situation kept getting worse rather then better. When I went to my gynae for my post delivery check up I mentioned my daughters symptoms to him and he referred me to another peadiatrician. WE were fortunate in that we managed to get an appointment with the second peadiatrician immediately (because we mentioned my gynae’s name). Within 15 minutes of meeeting Dr Straughan he diagnosed my daughter with TOF (Tracheo Oesophageal Fistula). This is a congenital defect where the trachea (air pipe) and the oesophageas (food pipe) were connected. So, everytime we fed my daughter, instead of the food going into her stomach it was actually going into her lung. Dr Straughan immediately took her off all oral feeds and she was fed via a naso gastric tube (tube in the nose going directly into the stomach. She was not allowed to sleep flat down but rather in a sitting position to avoid reflux. A peadiatric surgeon was called in to access her and it was discovered that she had a constriction of the oesophageas as well. My daughter spent three months in hospital and was operated on every week for 7 weeks to have the constriction rectified. Because she was so small everytime they put a scope down her throat, it stretched the oesophageas and inturn compressed the fistula to such an extent that it could not be found. After 2 months of trying to find the fustula through traditional methods a professor from the local medical school was called in to access her situation. After much debate it was decided that they would do “exploratory” surgery. The professor said to Dad and I that he would firstly go in with a scope to try and find the fistula, if that failed then he would make an incision in her neck and try to find it that way. If that failed the their last option would be to “open up her chest”. As a parent hearing the words exploratory surgery and open her chest were the worst possible thing that we could have heard. We were first time parents who could not conceive naturally and our daughter was concieved via invitro fertilisation. The IVF process was very traumatising and to now have to face, after 2 months of hospitalisation, the thought of exploratory surgery was just to traumatising to explain. After 3 hours of surgery, the professors were able to find and fix the fistula with a tiny incision in her neck.
My baby is 7 months old today and is the healthiest baby ever. She has recovered fully from the surgery, is able to eat normally and is thriving. Had I stuck with her first peadiatrician, my child would in all likelyhood not be with us today! I will forever be indebted to Dr Straughan and all the professors from the Wits Medical School who fought alongside my husband and I to save my childs life.
My son was FINALLY diagnosed with AUTISM. We also have feeding issues. He gags easily and does not want eat table foods. Everything has to be pureed and taken from a bottle. He gets sick constantly and dehydrates quickly. I am cosidering a feeding tube so that I can get the meds and nutrition in him that he needs. Has anyone BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT? Please let me know. Thanks!