Dear Doctor #14: Is anybody listening?
Today’s Dear Doctor letter comes from Karen of Thrifty Mommy. Her husband has been through quite a lot of medical treatment lately and here’s what she’d like to tell their doctors.
Dear Doctor,
Why don’t you listen to us? We are living in these bodies everyday. We are also watching our kids grow and learn. We know when something isn’t quite right.
One of my first bad experiences was when I was about 17 years old. I kept having dizzy spells (not the blonde kind). My mom took me to the doctor and I remember that she looked in my right ear and then checked my heart, chest, and all that. She couldn’t find anything wrong, so she sent me home. I kept getting dizzy spells and they were getting worse and I was starting to feel pretty bad. My mom took me back to the doctor and this time the doctor ordered a pregnancy test. My mom was so mad!!!! Of course the test came back negative and the doctor even acted upset about it. So, she looked me over again and this time she checked my left ear. Can you believe she found an ear infection? Duh!!!
About 10 years ago my husband had to have hernia surgery because he has a hole in his stomach. The doctor should have retired a long time ago. We were promised a one inch incision with a few stitches. My husband received a 4 inch long jagged incision with 9 staples. He was in a lot of pain for about two weeks. Because of the first surgeon not doing the procedure correctly, my husband has had to have the surgery 2 more times. One of those surgeries was this past weekend. He is recovering right now.
Another issue I had was after my second child was born. He was spitting up everywhere. I had it in my hair, on my clothes, sheets, etc. He was crying for hours each day and I knew something was wrong. I think I took him to the doctor about 5 times in 3 weeks. Each time I kept having doctors tell me that he was fine, he was gaining weight, and that some babies just spit up more than others. I kept suggesting that it might be his formula and they didn’t think it was. Of course, it couldn’t be . . . how could Enfamil possibly be wrong for my child? (Sarcasm.) These doctors must get some pretty good kick backs for acting like it’s the only formula out there. Finally, I’d had enough. I switched his formula on my own, without telling the doctors. The change was immediate! He immediately quite spitting up and the crying gradually decreased over the next 4 days.
Then we moved to a new area and switched doctors. I’m not too thrilled with this doctor either. He was pretty upset when he found out that I had my son on Good Start formula. He said that stuff about Good Start having comfort proteins was “BS”. He said it was junk formula. As if!!! Good Start has iron, DHA & ARA, and it has to be way better than the stuff I drank as a baby. He insisted that I put my son back on Enfamil. My son was older so I decided to give it a try. He wasn’t spitting up, but the crying started again. So, I switched him back to Good Start, despite my doctor’s wishes. I sure do wish someone would tell me what kind of kick backs they’re getting from Enfamil. I could go on for another 10 minutes or so about this doctor, but I’ll spare you. I’ve yet to find another pediatrician that I want to switch to.
I did have one really good experience with a doctor. When I was pregnant with my first child I fell down in a parking lot. My good buddy Kelly was there for that one. It didn’t seem like I hurt myself, but the next morning I did not feel my baby move at all. I got scared and went in to see the doctor on call. He was not my regular doctor, but he was so nice. I just couldn’t get over it. He was encouraging and truly concerned. He wasn’t just faking it. My husband even liked him. The doctor even snuck me into the ultrasound room for a free ultrasound to make sure the baby was ok.
I know all doctors are not bad. It just seems like I’ve had more bad than good. I hope to run into some more nice and caring ones.
Karen
PS I forgot to mention that my daughter had a few pediatricians that I trusted. This was where we used to live, unfortunately.
Whew! I hope Karen feels better after venting. You might too. Email me your Dear Doctor letter!
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