You work for me Doc!

[landmammaldolphin]

I had an interesting day yesterday. For the last couple of weeks I have been going back and forth with our family doctor about the use of a product called Emla Cream. My daughter was scheduled for her 6 month vaccinations yesterday and we wanted to try the Emla Cream where she would be receiving her injections. I checked the Emla website and they recommend it for infant vaccinations and I know quite a few parents who swear by it. Emla is a numbing cream that will numb the area where the baby gets an injection and I found a few studies that showed it worked very well with very few side effects, if any.
http://www.emla.com.au/3829375/Vaccination_Dosage/


The doctor had his PA call a few times and I discussed it with him and a nurse who were going to "relay" my concerns to the doctor. The couple of times I talked to the PA he said that they had never used it but didn't think it would work. They suggested using a pre-dosing of Children's Tylenol an hour before the injections to help with the pain and not the cream. What ticked me off about that, is they had never mentioned the Tylenol pre-dosing until I started asking about the Emla Cream. You would think they would at least let us know about the Tylenol thing ahead of time, but that's another story.



Well yesterday I spoke to the PA again after they denied a prescription for the Emla and asked him if there were any negatives other than "they didn't think it would work." He said no and asked me why I would want to use it on my child. I told him that after seeing her face and hear her scream when they stuck the needles in (4 of them btw and she started screaming when they poked her, not when the medicine went in) why wouldn't I want to at least try it? He said he would talk to the doctor again.



About 3:30 yesterday I got a call from the doctor and he left a message on our machine (I was out and walked in as he was hanging up). He said that he wouldn't write the prescription on the message so I called him back to ask why we couldn't at least try it since it would be on our dime anyway. I actually got a hold of him and he said he refused to prescribe it and then told me that "she won't remember it anyway" and that I was "only trying to get the cream to soothe myself and not for the benefit of my daughter." This set me off and I replied with "Listen Doc, you work for me." I know that set him off because he started yelling over the phone and started with the words, "now you listen to me." I cut him off with the loudest voice I could muster since I have a cold and said, "NO, YOU LISTEN RIGHT THE *BEEP* NOW. YOU CANCEL OUR *BEEP*ING APPOINTMENT AND WE'RE FINDING A NEW *BEEP*ING DOCTOR WHO KNOWS THE RIGHT WAY TO TREAT HIS CUSTOMERS!" and I hung up on him.



I'm sorry but if there are no side effects to the cream and it has been shown to help in the past, why not let us at least try it. It's not like he was paying for it or had to do anything different. Our request was simple and we stated it many times; let us at least try it once and see if it helps.



Needless to say, we have a new doctor now and I have filed quite a few complaints against him. When it comes to my daughter and I'm sure everyone else with children, I want to do everything to make sure they aren't in pain or hurting. I know that she needs the vaccines but why not do everything I can to make sure she is as comfortable as possible when having them?

[Biff]

You did the right thing.

Recently I had a discussion with our pediatrician WRT to the MMR shot which has been linked to autism. I told her that we were refusing the MMR shot and would seek a doctor who gave the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations at different times. She agreed to disagree and honored our wishes.

Now I still have to find a local doctor who buys into the MMR/autism link.

BTW, it sounds like you might want to look into it as well because it will be coming up for you in a couple of months.

[landmammaldolphin]

Actually we are Biff. I just got an e-mail this morning about Alternative vaccine schedules. I don't know where you're located but I'm going to be asking the same questions to our new pediatrician and I can let you know what she says. We don't see her until the end of November though.

[airhornahole]

I had to tell my doctor the same thing. "Hey, you are in the service industry. I am paying you for a service. Right now, you are doing very poorly at that. You might want to consider that next time a thought goes through your head."

He's nice and pie now and I have no issues with him.

[fistor!@#]

He's nice and pie now and I have no issues with him.

I imagine not. Pie is delicious.

[Biff]

Actually we are Biff. I just got an e-mail this morning about Alternative vaccine schedules. I don't know where you're located but I'm going to be asking the same questions to our new pediatrician and I can let you know what she says. We don't see her until the end of November though.

We're neighbors (of sorts) so please let me know what you find. Can you forward that e-mail to me? biffmayhem at yahoo dot com

[mainerliser]

I worked in a pediatrics office. I ran the lab there. I also drew blood on many children. I have seen parents use Emla on their children for blood draws. Although I have never seen a benefit in using it on the child, it does give the parents some relief. That being said, I think you're right that the Dr had no reason to refuse to let you try it! If you can not find a Dr that will get the cream for you, rest assured that she will not remember the pain. The pre-dosing with Tylenol is great!! Make sure you give it to her every 4 hours for the first day after as well!

[landmammaldolphin]

Thanks for the info mainerliser!


Biff, you have mail.

[airhornahole]

Has anyone had to have allergy testing done on a kid?

Now that is horrible. Dozens of small pokes on their back and depending on reactions to those, 3 or more shots in the arm.

My son had to do this. About 40 in the back and 10 in his arm. He was sobbing so bad by the end that I was almost in tears. He didn't stop crying until after we got home about 30 minutes later.

[fistor!@#]

Has anyone had to have allergy testing done on a kid?

Now that is horrible. Dozens of small pokes on their back and depending on reactions to those, 3 or more shots in the arm.

My son had to do this. About 40 in the back and 10 in his arm. He was sobbing so bad by the end that I was almost in tears. He didn't stop crying until after we got home about 30 minutes later.

Holy crap, that would be rough. My kid would be swimming in ice cream the second I got him home.

The worst thing I've ever seen concerning doctors v. kids was when my middle kid had to go to the eye doctor when she was just a baby. Since she was a premie, there was a danger of her developing or having some optic condition in which the nerves don't attach properly to the back of the eyeball. Both my wife and I were curious as to how the doctor was going to look at the back of her eyeball.

Turns out he jams a big Q-tip between the top of her eyeball and her eyesocket and pushes until he can see the eyeball rolls back far enough for him to see the back of it. I was Effing horrified.

Then he did the second one and I almost kicked his ass on principle.

[airhornahole]

My youngest had clogged tear ducts. It was causing infections. To open them up, as an infant mind you, he had to shove a thin, pointed javelin, for lack of a better term, through her tear duct from her eye to her nasal cavity breaking through the BONE that was causing the issue.

He advised the wife and I to wait outside. I ask, "In the hallway?". He replied, "No, outside by the street." We still heard her scream. However, to this day, no more infections, no eye problems. I have to say it hurt the wife and I on that day, but she has no recollection and is good to go.

[plungerhand]

My second daughter was born with bladder extrophy. (bladder was outside the body.) They had to break her hips in order to put it where it belongs. The stitches got infected, came open and her bladder popped out at home. This happened......twice.
So the third time they broke her hips and put her back together they used pins and traction. ( like the old timey days) Twice a day we ( my wife cleaned while I held her still), had to pick the scabs and clean the sight of the pins.

My daughter screamed bloody murder the whole time. That was 12 years ago and I can still hear it in my head.

[airhornahole]

Kids. The cause of most of my stress and keepers of my heart.

[Queenie]

You did the right thing.

Recently I had a discussion with our pediatrician WRT to the MMR shot which has been linked to autism. I told her that we were refusing the MMR shot and would seek a doctor who gave the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccinations at different times. She agreed to disagree and honored our wishes.

Now I still have to find a local doctor who buys into the MMR/autism link.

BTW, it sounds like you might want to look into it as well because it will be coming up for you in a couple of months.

I wished my sister had known about the MMR/autism link. I have 2 nephews who are now 14 years old. They were normal babies, had begun speaking, walking, potty training and then BAM, got their MMR and have suffered from autism ever since. They were 2 remaining triplets. They are extremely intellegent boys, but it is just a shame that she was not aware of this. They have developed extremely well, and are as sweet as can be. One of the local TV stations was going to do a story on them a while back. I'm not sure what happened, but it was never done for whatever reason.

WRT the Emla Cream, way to go LMD! There are plenty of doctors in this world, and to have one that wouldn't give you a prescription for no other reason than that he didn't want to and held the power to do so is complete and utter bullshit. Nobody knows whether or not it works on any or every child. I understand mainerliser's point, but not every child went to her clinic and to state that it does not work is impossible to say with absolute certainty (no offense mainerliser). Good luck with the boosters. I remember the scream of my children when they got (or get) a shot, it just kills my soul. Whether or not the child remembers it is moot when you consider the fact that we as parents will never forget it.

[Rock Monster]

shove a thin, pointed javelin... through her tear duct from her eye to her nasal cavity breaking through the BONE ...

My face hurts just from that description!

[landmammaldolphin]

I'm sitting here with a sore eye, a sore tear duct and my bladder hurts. Seriously, the injections are nothing compared to those things.

I had a friend who's infant son had to get a spinal tap. My friend is one of those guys who never shows emotion and he said he never cried at his own father's funeral but cried when his son got the spinal tap.

[landmammaldolphin]

Damndest thing....my mother watches our daughter on Tuesdays and Thursdays and just called me to tell me that they are discussing childhood vaccinations on the show called "The Doctors" today. She's going to call me back and let me know what they have to say about them. I'll post whatever I find out.

[landmammaldolphin]

Well she just called me back and said that they provided both sides of the argument but did the old CYA and said you have to consult your own pediatrician.

[Torque]

It's amazing to me that in the veterinary world, many vets and researchers have been pushing for years to not give multiple vaccines at the same time (except in certain cases) and NEVER give any other vaccine at the same time as the rabies vaccine, and yet in the human medicine community it's almost never questioned. While I haven't seen any research on the effectiveness of topical analgesics like Emla, your doctor should only have objected if he had reason to suspect an ingredient in it would interact or inhibit the vaccine or the application of the cream would somehow mess with sterilization attempt of the site.

[landmammaldolphin]

That's exactly my concern Torque. I asked a number of times if there would be any adverse side effects but he could give me none.

[Torque]

Unfortunately there are plenty of doctors that think the M.D. at the end of their name precludes them from ever having to learn anything new ever again. It's not hard to verify drug/chemical interactions on actual databases (not just by googling), as well as researching in the latest medical journals. It would have been nice to see him have made an attempt. You'll do better with another doc.

[Allyson]

Over the weekend I went to a dermatologist for the first time to see what he can possibly do about a nasty scar I have. Well I show up and he completely blows off my concern, and instead prepares to start removing my birthmarks to make sure I don't have skin cancer. Excuse me? I am Italian and as such was born with birthmarks just like everyone else in my lineage. None of them are large (in fact the largest is probably 3mm) or abnormal, they are just brown dots scattered on my skin. Are you telling me that everyone with birthmarks is immediately threated by skin cancer? Now I'm no doctor, but I've had these things my whole life and they look exactly the same as they did twenty years ago. I'll take my chances. I told him there was no way that he was going to remove all my birthmarks and stormed out.

[sunshyne]

I hate when you go to doctors for one thing and they totally ingnore that concern and instead focus on something that wasn't even bothering you to begin with. I had a good friend that went to the dr cause she felt really sick, and not flu sick. They told her she just had a sinus infection and the flu and sent her home. Well, she had a seizure and a stroke that next morning and when her husband took her to the hospital, she had meningitis that had gotten so bad that it cause a stroke, they only gave her 16 hours to live at that point. Luckily shes a fighter, and she made it through the night. she spent five months in the hospital in therapy. They said she would never walk, shes walking again, they said she would never see out of her left eye again, shes getting more vision in her eye. But if the doctor to begin with had just paid a little more attention, a little more time, instead of cycling in and out patients as quickly and numerously as possible, then maybe she would have gone to the hospital in time to save her from having the stroke. She was only 37 years old at the time.

I collapsed and was having majorly extreme pain when I was 15. the first doctor my mom took me to told her I was nuts and that the pain i was having was in my head. Needless to say my mom tore her a new one and we went to another doctor and ended up that i had encephyllitis (think West Nile). I was majorly sick and near death a couple times for three months. I remember my mom crying a lot, the worst was one time i was tired of hurting and just wanted to give up and stopped breathing, and I remember my mom shaking me and telling me to breathe. All that from a stupid mosquito bite.

[hotzester]

I wouldn't recommend Tylenol pre-dosing. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is a surprisingly dangerous medication if used too frequently. Acetaminophen toxicity is incredibly common, mainly because people think of it as "It's only Tylenol".

Truth is, acetaminophen overdosing can be DEVASTATING to the liver. Don't use it casually. It's a very potent drug, and it should be treated as you would any other.

[linzi]

Just wanted anyone with kids to see this thread at the top of the page and give it a glance. Make sure you get flu shots as well. The one year we skipped them for my 2 girls they came down with it. Insurance doesn't cover Tamaflu and it was $95 a dose x 2. The flu is NOTHING like a common cold and there is nothing worse than knowing you could have helped prevent it. Bottom line is to educate yourself and have a Dr. that supports you all the way.