to be annoyed that GP has prescribed antibiotics after THREE days?

[brownmouse]

DD14 has tonsilitis - was very poorly two days ago but much on the mend now. She says she is now fine but just has a sore throat.

Her dad (exH) came and took her to the GP today and she has returned with a prescription for antibiotics. I am so gutted as she used to have a poor immune system and has done so well to fight this on her own.

I rang the GP to check if we could wait another day or two before giving them, and he said that she could develop an abcess overnight and die in the night, and he wouldn't take responsibility for it. He always prescribes for tonsilitis.

WTAF? I am so cross. She hasn't had a chance to fight this herself.

AIBU? I really hate this sort of over-prescribing and I feel as though I've just been talked to by the GP in a really inappropriate way.

Your GP actually said this?!

I'm my opinion you aren't at all unreasonable, I never take antibiotics and always recover just fine, obviously I would take them if absolutely necessary but luckily my GP agrees that the majority of the time for an otherwise healthy person, antibiotics are usually unnecessary.

Tonsillitis can be nasty but if she is on the mend you could always wait a few days before starting ABs if she gets worse or keeps not improving. Or is she with her dad who will follow doctors orders?

Doctors do have to warn you about the potential dangers of not following their advice but there's a way to do it without being an arse and it doesn't sound like this particular doctor is good at it!

Presumably the Gp felt that upon examination there was enough to suggest it was bacterial and that antibitoics would help?

Why did she go to the GP if she is feeling much better anyway?

If no longer immunosuppressed and healthy then it is difficult to understand the rationale but its hard to say as an outsider. I can absolutely see why you would be angered by this though, on face value it does seem innapropriate especially when she is so much improved.

Her dad wanted her to go to the GP - I wouldn't have taken her. He wants her to take the a/bs of course, so she will take them.

I'm on the fence
This is before I knew I was immunosuppressed and just thought I was always ill by the way!
Tonsillitis for me was awful and never ever cleared on its own, and I would get antibiotics within 24/48hrs of starting it as I never had the viral type, it was always bacterial. I guess they've looked and maybe seen the pus/spots?

Do you have a medical degree and years of GP training?

This sort of thread is exactly why no-one in this country wants to be a GP anymore and you wait 4 weeks for a routine appointment.

Either she was ill enough to go to a GP, who gave you his professional opinion that she had bacterial tonsillitis and needed antibiotics. When you then told him that she wasn't goign to have them he then, again , gave his opinion that that wasnt a good idea and that worst case scenario she could become very unwell.

Or she wasn't unwell at all and in which case why did she need to see a GP aqnyway.

No-one is forcing you to give them to her. If you are convinced you are right and the GP is wrong, then wait a few days.

Yes, yabu.

She went to see a GP who has prescribed what they feel is best, based on their medical knowledge.

If you think GPs are BU for taking action and prescribing medication then it was an absolute waste of an appointment.

Surely the gp with vast medical knowledge felt they were needed

I am mainly annoyed that I thought she was fine and neither she nor I wanted her to go to gp, but exh took her for a/bs and then just got them.

She will take them as she heard the go conversation and obviously doesn't want to die in the night. Ffs.

I really cannot see a GP prescribing unnecessarily nowadays.
If you think your layman theories beat several years at medical school and ongoing training then go for your life.

But you and your DH need to stop undermining each other and making separate parenting decisions.

Your DD is also 14 and can make her own decision about taking them. She went to the doctor, I'm sure your DH couldn't have physically made her do that.

Oh it's an ex.
Ok that tells me all I need to know.

2 seconds on Google or 6 years of medical training ?
I doubt very much that they would have prescribed them if they were not needed.

I know someone who ended up in hospital with tonsillitis unable to swallow even water. If the gp has actually examined your daughter and prescribed antibiotics I would definitely get her to take them.

sounds like you're more annoyed at your exh for 'undermining' you
and sounds like he was right
She should take the antibiotics

Then your problem is with the ex not the GP. The GP did his job,saw your daughter,decided it's bacterial,gave medicine for it and advice with worst case scenario if she doesn't take them. I don't think antibiotics are prescribed willy nilly, I actually had to "fight" for them a few times and was very annoyed at the "honey,lemon and paracetamol" when i was spitting my lungs out.

Do you have medical training?

If not, YABU.

It's nearly impossible to get antibiotics these days unless it's absolutely necessary. So the GP obviously felt it was necessary.

My GPs have NEVER prescribed antibiotics unless he/she believes they are warranted. They are qualified doctors, they know the effects of taking antibiotics without good reason and it is their name on the prescription!

Tonsillitis can be very painful. I've had it a few times once I ended up being rushed into hospital that was back in the day when GPs did house visits.

I have this same thing about antibiotics my DS has needed them few times. One Drs says one thing and insists they needed as infection won't clear up itself. Another says different. Damed if do Damed if don't especially as DS has been in hospital few times both ways.

But surely her father must think she is unwell if he took her to GP, his opinion not count?

He said he always prescribes for tonsillitis. I am just frustrated that I have spent theee days looking after her, she is now feeling fine, and she now has to take a/bs. She has had so many prescribed in the past when she has clearly been unwell, which is obviously right, I just hate having to give them now when she seems fine.

(Normal GP usually says to give it a few more days or takes a swab first.)

However I do get that IABU. As I said she is going to take them anyway as she doesn't want to die in the night.

Did you review the Centor criteria? DS used to get prescriptions by phone within 30 minutes of us realising he wasn't just tired and cuddly and had a temperature of 39.9 - he was ticking all the right boxes for needing antibiotics and we and the GP knew he would improve within literally hours of starting antibiotics versus days of misery and ending up still with tonislitis

I like this mug.

I have had antibiotics prescribed unnecessarily. My daughter had a persistent cough, and we were worried it was asthma, she was coughing all night for weeks. On the advice of a doctor friend, I took her to get checked out, and the doctor said it was probably viral, but they would give me a prescription for antibiotics in case it didn't clear up. She wasn't at all unwell, just had a nasty night time cough (turned out to be a dust mite allergy). I said we didn't need the prescription, but he gave it anyway. I never filled it out, obviously.