I am just curious how everyone views their relationship with their pediatrician.  Do you agree with everything he or she says?  And....if you don't is it o.k. to politely disagree and not follow their recommendations and still keep seeing them as a doctor or should you look for a new physician? 

What's your views on how a patient/doctor relationship should work?  Do you believe that as a parent ultimately you have the finally say even if it is not inline with the doctors?

 I thought our pediatrican was more conservative than she actually is.  It seems like everytime we turn around she wants to refer them to specialist (on what my DH and I think are minor to non issues).  Would you just keep these minor issues to yourself knowing what her response will be or would you bring them up, let her suggest a specialist and then decline?  Is this a good doctor/patient relationship?  Has anyone else had similiar issues?

I love my children's DR. he is a family dr. so I see him too.  There are two relationships that you need to have clear open dialect with, when it come to your DC, the DR. and their teacher.

Ask why they need the test, what are the issues, go home and research it yourself.  It doesn't hurt to get a second opinion if you are unsure what to do.  If you don't feel comfortable at all with that DR. change!!!!  

ADD ON:  Remeber though sometimes the smallest thing could be an sign of a much bigger problem.  When my son had some speech delays I waited to see- turns out he had a learning disability not just a speech delay.  The speech was just the first indicator.  

When my DD had some speech- I was on it making sure everything was okay, I didn't wait for nothing!

I am very open with my kids Dr.  I listen to him and he listens to me, than we find a even balance of his suggestions and mine.  Also he says I'm the mom so what I say goes and he is just there to help me.

Just because they have a M.D. doesn't mean they know whats best for your child.  However just because we are the moms doesn't mean that we have all the answers either.  We have to work together with our Dr's to find out what works the best for our children.  What works for me and mine may not be what works for others.  If you ever question something your Dr is saying tell them and than research it for yourself.  Just because you don't see their point doesn't mean they are right or wrong, just means you need to be informed for yourself.  Several times I have told my Dr. I need to get more info myself and that I would let him know my decision.

Just let them know you are the parent and you are willing to have them help you with your children, but only help not tell you what you have to do .

I really love our clinic and I like the 2 pediatricians there.  We did butt heads for a while with Timothy.  Pretty much from the beginning, feeding was a HUGE struggle with him.  He would go completely stiff, scream inconsolably, and throw up pretty much everything he ate.  After talking to several family members who had kids with acid reflux, then doing some research on my own, that really seemed to fit.  We had been told that putting their kids on medication made a HUGE difference and that all of the sudden their child was a completely different (and happy!) child.  We actually battled for several weeks on this.  The dr told us to just keep him elevated, etc (which we had been doing since we took him home from the hospital and it wasn't working) and he said that we didn't need to look at using medication unless he started losing weight from not keeping enough food down.  This was very hard for me, since I am an EXTREMELY conflict-avoidant person, but I stood my ground and said that is a bunch of ****!  I said that I don't know any doctor that makes an adult with acid reflux wait on medicine until it becomes so severe that their health is suffering.  Finally, the dr agreed to have Timothy try Zantac, and what do ya know, it worked!  He only needed to be on it for less than a year before it resolved itself.  But the point is that even after all of that, I am still able to have a good relationship with the dr because I feel like I can communicate openly and tell him if I disagree.  If you don't feel comfortable around the dr for whatever reason, then you might want to look elsewhere.  But yeah, you are your child's best advocate and the more info you have, the better you can work with the dr to give your kids the best possible care.

"I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.  For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth." -Psalm 57:9-11. 

 

glitter-graphics.com ...

We don't have a pediatrican.  We see a Family Practice doctor.  We love him!!  He is great with the kids and the big people too!  He is very knowledgeable, but not afraid to sy we need to see a specialist. 

We have a great line of communication.  I used to work for him, so that helps, too. 

I agree with the advice my pediatrician gives me 99% of the time but I do research on my own and take other methods too.  sometimes its a tough call whether or not to take a step on your own without the guidance of the doc. 

i think it is important to have a ped that you can trust and is open to new things. we love our ped and will continue using her even though her office is all the way on the other side of town. when we called her for some other issue she heard simon crying over the phone and he threw up while we were on the phone with her too she instantly said acid reflux and sent a rx to the pharmacy for us to pick up, it was a huge relief to us since everyone else we asked about the nonstop crying said it was normal hes a baby. she noticed his torticollis and had us do exercises for it and when that didnt work she sent us for a eval with a physical therapist. when the physical therapist recommened a eval with cranial tech for the shape of simons head she was open minded enough to give us the refferal even though she had never had one of her patients banded before. while simon was banded and after he was done she was very impressed with the improvement and prolly recommened it to other patients in the future. she has always been on top of everything and if we have brought up any concerns she was more than happy to talk to us about them.

I was only Blessed to have special one on one Dr Pt relationships  w my kids Peds  for first five yrs .. That included KKs specialists ... and GP Ped ENT  lol... After Sammi's first Bday we left to join Military  Clinics  which was you got who was available and that was often VERY trying!!   They seldom listened to history , and were always in a hurry  and when my KK had 105 fever  , chicken pox and HORIBLE shin stap she needed hospilization in quarentine on IV meds again .. But military Drs actually took one look at he an  ordered us to get the contagious kid outa there !! I was SO WORRIED and Scared !! Gary even actually tried to get aggressive to get them to keep her .. but  wound up doing civilian thing   recieving minimal care as couldnt pay hosp   and stuck in system .. That my friends was SCARY ...  However   I say if you are blessed to have  a choice of your kids own  clinics .Drs   GO FOR IT  Its Invaluable ..

We are lucky to have one of the most fabulous pediatricians. She tends to be pretty conservative with the prescription of medication and really into a lot of alternative ideas. I was really skeptical at first, but I have given her methods and referrals a chance and I can't believe the results we've seen.

Where she isn't conservative is on running tests, which I appreciate. She'll look and say, no it's not strep, so I'm not giving antibiotics, but I will take a culture just to be positive and if need be she will write the prescription, but she's never been wrong with us.

I've never been in the position to question her, thank goodness, so if it ever happens we'll see.

Either way, you're the mom you should never do something you're uncomfortable with and your doc, upon questioning should always be forthcoming with as much detail as you want. 

I don't agree with everything my pediatrician has to say; however, I feel very comfortable discussing the topics with him and that is the most important thing for me.  He also does not get defensive and is clear that what he is stating his is recommendation - most of the time I follow because he explains very well and the topics are usually very minor.

He allows for the discussion to take place in a dialog and not a demanding / making me feel bad sort of way. 

Our only issue with him was that he is very quiet and not that over the top bubbly kind of doctor - both DH & I are very jovial people and when he didn't match that it took us back at first.  However, he always treats our son well, gives us great advice, and the office is great so that the end of the day if he is not chipper - who cares, he is good doctor for our child.

Bottom line, you need to feel comfortable to discuss and to not agree.  If the doctor doesn't support that type of realtionship, I would find another.