Is My Pediatrician Giving Too Much Medicine and Can Anyone Recommend a New One

Hi. I don't live near you so I can't recommend a new doc but definitely find a new one! It's smart to be cautious about over-medicating a child. The body's way of fighting illness is a fever so medication isn't always needed. My son is sick right now. When his fever goes above 101, I give him Tylenol every 4 hrs (as needed). Otherwise, he just gets jello, fluids & bed rest. My sister-in-law alternates between Tylenol & Motrin for her boys- I'm not comfortable with that approach. There was a study done in 2006 with children 3 yrs & younger- it showed a benefit in alternating every 4 hrs for those little ones- but you MUST keep track of what was given & when- otherwise it can cause serious health consequences. Also, I've read that some kids have bad reactions to Motrin. So, I stick with Tylenol- it gets the job done with no safety concerns. Claritin & Benedryl are both antihistimines as you know- so it doesn't seem to make sense to take both. Did the doc give you good reasons why they should be taken together? Your pharmacist sounds more reasonable & your instincts are right to find a new doctor. Good luck!

Hi, T.--

trust your mama instincts. In my life, I haven't always followed my intuition, but I can tell you from experience that my instincts were never wrong. Medical school can be rigorous, but, just like the fact that there is a top 10% to each graduating class, there is also a bottom 10%. Your pediatrician may be among the bottom or maybe he is getting senile -- who knows? In any case, this is your one child and you don't have to follow his dictates when it doesn't fit your situation. Get another doctor asap. Best of luck to you!

T.,

I don't want to add fuel to the fire here, but just wanted to share: Sometimes antibiotics can cause hives. This happened to a child I care for and was a surprise as she had previously taken this antibiotic before. You never stated if you did start the course of antibiotics, but this incident did come to mind.

I agree with previous posters: trust your instincts and get yourself a new person who isn't so cavalier in regard to medicating. Of course your son's fever needs to be managed, but this doctor doesn't sound thoughtful about his recommendations-- He sounds like someone who works for a pharmeceutical company. I'm not trying to scare you, but over-dosing a child on Tylenol can cause very serious harm to the liver and even death and this doctor could have severely injured your son by not checking his dosage charts before prescribing. If you have any doubts about my statement, check out "aceteminophen" online.

Like other posters, I've also had extremely good experiences with naturopaths.

My very best wishes for your son's speedy recovery and a quick resolution to your hunt for a competent doctor.

First of all, alternating Tylenol and Motrin is a very effective way to treat a fever. For some reason, alternating them works WAY better than either one alone. I have always been advised to alternate every 4 hours, so I agree that every 3 hours may be a bit agressive. I also agree with you that antibiotics for a fever is crazy. No doctor should be so quick to prescribe antibiotics unless there is some cronic medical problem that would make an infection risky. I have never heard of alternating Benedryl and Claritin. I know that Benedryl is pretty safe and is difficult to overdose, but again, this seems way agressive for a simple rash.
I advise that you find a new pediatrician, not because there is necessarily something wrong with yours, but it is important that you find one that has the same philosophy as you when it comes to medical care. Otherwise, you are going to encounter this problem again and again. Interview doctors and ask them questions about how they prescribe meds.

I will recommend my pediatrician to you, he is fantastic! It is John Lasseter at the Kaiser Orchards offices. Good Luck to you!

I don't normally chime in - but my heart just sank reading your post. Last year my 6yr old had a high fever, head to toe rash, bumps on his tounge, and sick to his stomach. I got the go around and he was in and out of the hospital for two weeks. When you say hives - what does it look like? Basically my son had "Kawasaki Disease" google it. Also get a new Dr. - and follow your motherly instinct. I guarantee you it is NOT wrong. Dr.s or not god and perfect - they do make mistakes. If you find that your son has symptoms of the Kawasaki Disease after googling it...PLEASE let me know and I can help. Best of luck, Rebecca

We love our ped, Dr deRenne, at Evergreen Pediatrics in Vancouver.

I don't know of any but I'd get a new one there are tons of good ones.

Hey T.,

Don't know your childs sx other than you said he had a high unexplained fever for several days. A woman I know just had her child diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome and his symptoms started out with a high fever and rash. Just one thing to consider. On the other hand, kids get fevers all the time. Fevers are a natural way the body fights infection. I actually don't give my child any fever reducers unless the fever is very high or he's not feeling well. Yes, I would be cautious about a dr. who wanted to treat an undiagnosed fever with antibiotics- most fevers are caused by virus' anyway and can't be treated by antibiotics. We already have a HUGE overuse of antibiotics and this is one of the main reasons we have so many 'superbugs' out there. Good luck!

A.

Terri - That would make me nervous also. We go to Dr. Valerie Weiss at the 87th St. Vancouver Clinic ###-###-####) and really like her.

Get a new Dr. immediately! I live in Portland, so I don't have any recommendations for your area, but talk to some of your son's friends' moms and see who they use locally. You are not overreacting!!!! This is especially true if both the pharmacist and nurse advised you that there were too many meds being prescribed. My mother-in-law likes to say, "You know what they call the person who graduated last in his class in Med school? ....... Doctor"

I will say that I have been told to alternate Tylenol & Motrin for high fever before and have done so (worked like a charm), but that was only because using only the Tylenol wasn't bringing the fever down. The hives very well could be an allergic reaction to either the Tylenol or Motrin. Is this the first time giving him one of those medicines? That idea needs to be addressed with a competent doctor. I was told by my doctor after my son had an allergic reaction to a medication that many times the first reaction when they're younger isn't that severe, but if they ever take the medication again, that the second reaction can be much worse. ie. what they do with testing food allergies of waiting a few weeks and trying it again to make sure that the food was the allergen is NOT a good idea with medication allergies.

I really like Dr. Thompson at Evergreen Pediatric ###-###-####.

That sounds crazy. You have every reason to be concerned. First of all, did your son develop hives only after receiving the Motrin and Tylenol? Perhaps he is having a reaction to the medications and then to layer more meds on top of this? What explanation did your doc give for the hives? I just did a quick search on line for high fever presenting with hives and there are some illnesses that have those dual symptoms. Seek immediate care elsewhere. I live in Portland so don't have any recommendations for Vancouver but I hope some other moms will.

Um. I am personally horrified by the medications and amounts suggested here. If the nurse and the pharmacist both called "foul" ... it's time to find another doctor. And after you are safely ensconced with a new doctor, report those things to the state board, I am fairly sure they qualify as malpractice. Keep a written record of the nurse call, see if you can get a statement from the pharmacist or at least show the prescription and then what the pharmacist wrote for you to do.

I'm especially amazed that the doctor was telling you to use so many medicines at once ... and all of them 'suppresant' medicines, that make the symptoms go away but aren't treating the causes (unless he is randomly lucky that the cause will be treated by the antibiotic he chose).

I suggest looking into naturopathy, if you are at all open to it. Pop a question to the Mamasource boards here asking for a good pediatric or family naturopath in Vancouver; you should get two or three recs.

I hope you have also poked around on WebMD or Googled some stuff, to see if the hives(/rash) and the fever, in that timing, suggest any specific causes for concern.

I hope the fever is abating. God bless.