"What to say to the dr you employ". | ADHD Information
A bit of advice about Dr's and changing meds
You have the final say. If the dr doesn't want to change the meds, fire them. The dr is employed by you, you pay for his services. If you are not satisfied, tell the dr. don't worry about hurting his feelings, they have too many patients to have an emotional investment w/ each patient. I'm not saying that the dr doesn't care, I'm just saying be very open and blunt. Don't let the dr make the decisions, you ask LOTS of questions. Bring every pill bottle that you son takes on a reg basis and a tablet to write in. Ask about EACH med. ask what it does and what it should do, what the side effects are, how long the side effects should last, what warning signs you should look for, and any drug interactions that might occur and with what drug. Make sure you ask all of the questions and look him in the eye. When the dr sees that you are going to take YOUR time w/ him and asking a million questions, the dr will be more eager to get the meds lined out. ask the dr "himself" how will you be able to contact him (not if you can, but HOW you can) if there is a problem w/ the meds. Tell the dr that you have seen too much heart ache and want your son back. That will let the dr know that you are willing to do any thing. Don't let the dr give you an answering service to call after hours. Tell the dr that you don't want to talk to some one that doesn't know you son's history. You make sure he gets the point. We have had a lot of new parents on here, so I thought this would be a good topic. I hope this helps. I know a lot of you probably do most of this, but these are just some of the things I do.
when my son was 2 they diagnosed him with "pre- ulcerative colitis" because he was having bowel problems and his older brother has chrones disease.
at about age 4 they did a scope on him and found eosinofilic colitis (my spelling is terrible) anyway, the eosinophils are due to a food allergy usually.
the GI doctor put him on an additional medication and sent us on our way.
I called the allergist, and asked for food testing to be done.
when i contacted the GI doctor 4 months later to tell him that my son was Asymptomatic - completely cured - because of diet restrictions - he went bulistic!!!!
HE didnt tell me to call the allergist, he didnt order further testing, he didnt say it was food allergies.....and he refused to see my son anymore if I continued with that mode of treatment - never mind that my son was not showing any more symptoms - or taking any medications....never mind that we took away 6 irritating foods and he was cured...noooooooooooo...
needless to say - I told that doctor where he could stuff his scope and moved on.
My son's had no further problems with these issues and he's on a regular diet to this day.
we do have some "holding" of bowel movements sometimes, but with the right schedule, we take care of that at home with no problems.
doctors that loose sight of why they have jobs need to be put in their place once in a while. Stay informed, and dont ever let the doctors push YOU around!!!
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I'm glad we never felt we had to stay with anybody that wasn't doing him any good. Unfortunaely, hub and I made one seriously bad judgment call and trusted a doctor who diagnosed him wrong. It's very tough.
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i like that statement! I have never felt obligated to stay with a dr. I think a lot of people feel that when they go to a dr, they are obligated for the rest of their lives w/ the same one.
[QUOTE=OlderMom]
"I'm not sure what's wrong." (The doctor doesn't know what's wrong or what to do--we moved on)
"Let's try THIS med since THAT med didn't work, although I'm not sure what I'm medicating..." (In other words, let's just pick a random pill and see what works...not happening...not to my kid)
"He's reacting badly to the med? Let's just up the dose a bit..." (To me this runs contrary to logic. If a kid is spazzing on 18 mgs. of Concerta, why will he not spazz out worse on 54?)
"Your six year old has Conduct Disorder" (not supposed to be diagnosed until 18--doctor hasn't a clue. This would usually be a therapist talking)
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I've gotten some of those too, funny to laugh about it now, but it wasn't then. Risperdal for Dylan - "oh, he's having severe mania on .25 mg. once a day? Okay, well, let's up it, .50 mg. twice a day". Idiot. That lasted one whole week.
Did someone really tell you he was CD at 6?? (not that I think you're lying, but sheesh).
Good rules. I've fired 6 in 6 years 
No, about the Conduct Disorder. I borrowed that from a friend who heard that about her autistic son who acts out!
In addition, the doctor has to convince YOU as the parent that the final diagnosis he makes is an accurate one as well as a med change or change in protocal in with regard to treamentYes. I agree completely. We pay the docs a lot, and in some cases our insurance companies pay them more. [QUOTE=crazymama]Yes. I agree completely. We pay the docs a lot, and in some cases our insurance companies pay them more. [/QUOTE]
i second that!!!!!!!!
bumpThere are good and bad and mediocre doctors. My personal favorite types are Psyschiatrists (with the MD) and NeuroPsychs. They have the most education. I don't give any doctor a song and dance. I tell them the facts, the child's family history (my son is adopted--we don't know a whole lot) and my concerns. If my child isn't better within six months, no matter how kind the doctor is, I look elsewhere. That's how we finally got our diagnosis. If a doctor is incompetent, and, yes, they exist, since diagnosis is not an exact science, we try to find one who keeps up with the latest and helps our child. Red flags from doctors that we have personally heard:
"I'm not sure what's wrong." (The doctor doesn't know what's wrong or what to do--we moved on)
"Let's try THIS med since THAT med didn't work, although I'm not sure what I'm medicating..." (In other words, let's just pick a random pill and see what works...not happening...not to my kid)
"Let ME be the doctor." (Not interested in parental observation and feedback. Big ego)
"I can't beieve what you're telling me." (Not believing parent. What can I say? If they don't believe you, how can they help you?)
"There's nothing I can do for THESE kids" (meaning kids like my son, who he mistakenly felt had fetal alcohol syndrome)
"It's bipolar. He can't have autism. He can walk from one room to the other and not rage." (Big red flag that the guy hasn't a clue about autism and, to find out if he has it, we'll have to look elsewhere)
"He's reacting badly to the med? Let's just up the dose a bit..." (To me this runs contrary to logic. If a kid is spazzing on 18 mgs. of Concerta, why will he not spazz out worse on 54?)
"I think YOU'RE the problem. It's YOUR PARENTING." (Now I know I'm not the perfect parent, but I also knew this had nothing to do with that fact
"Your six year old has Conduct Disorder" (not supposed to be diagnosed until 18--doctor hasn't a clue. This would usually be a therapist talking)
I think, in our years from my son's second to eleventh birthday, we've probably heard it all I'm glad we never felt we had to stay with anybody that wasn't doing him any good. Unfortunaely, hub and I made one seriously bad judgment call and trusted a doctor who diagnosed him wrong. It's very tough.
