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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

73 replies

brownmouse · 21/03/2017 19:02

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.

OP posts:
doublesnap · 21/03/2017 19:32

Are you medically qualified as much, or more than, the GP? If not, YABU.

Lunalovepud · 21/03/2017 19:33

Maybe DD isn't being as honest with you as she could be about her throat as she knows you are proud of her for getting through the last couple of days by herself and she doesn't want to feel like she has let you down?

Maybe she told her dad it was worse and that's why he took her to the GP?

Either way, taking the prescribed medication is surely the way forward... I have had tonsillitis that has gone from nothing to a hospital admission in less than 24 hours so it really can happen that quickly.

PegLegAntoine · 21/03/2017 19:33

Sounds very unprofessional of the GP to use those words though.

I think GPs must be damned either way as they get so many people complaining that they can't get ABs for a cold etc

rainbowtulips · 21/03/2017 19:34

Tonsillitis can come and go pretty frequently. Why not give it a big push to get rid of it properly?

I had it as a child about 5 times over 3 months and that was what led to removing them.

Just seems a bit of an odd thing to get so worked up about. Just because you looked after her without medical help for three days doesn't mean it was getting better. You said it yourself her throat was still sore. There was obviously still bacteria present and enough of it that the GP felt antibiotics were necessary.

Ecureuil · 21/03/2017 19:35

DH has tonsillitis last year that was getting better. Overnight he developed quinsy and was seriously ill (he nearly died).
I'd take the antibiotics.

Bumbumtaloo · 21/03/2017 19:37

As part of my old job I had to book emergency theatre slots for quinsy - abscess on the tonsils. We used to get approx 10 - 20 patients a week who had either not been to GP until it was too late and/or not taken the prescribed antibiotics.

Tbh if the GP has decided she needs antibiotics I wouldn't try to dissuade her from taking them.

leghoul · 21/03/2017 19:38

Clinical examination (centor criteria) can usually reveal whether it is most likely bacterial or viral. If they thought viral they wouldn't have prescribed. If he means he always prescribes when 3 or more centor criteria are met for bacterial infection then I don't think that is unreasonable. Her past history may be significant in this case also-you haven't put info about it.

Gunpowder · 21/03/2017 19:39

This is such a tricky one. A couple of times I've questioned whether DC really need prescribed AB's or if they can fight it with rest, water etc. One time the doctor said she was happy for me to wait 24 hours to see if there was improvement in DD (there was!) the other time the doctor was quite insistent that ABs were necessary and DC would become very poorly without them. (She took them, and that was absolutely the right treatment in retrospect.

YANBU to question the prescription. I don't think it's a waste of an appointment at all and it's ok to gently question doctors. IME the good ones are always happy to enter into dialogue about pros and cons of certain drugs and what the outcomes might be if the only treatment is rest and watchful waiting.

Hope your DD gets better quickly anyway.

Slightlyperturbedowlagain · 21/03/2017 19:40

There is a lot of evidence that it's impossible for even experienced clinicians to tell the difference between a viral infection and a bacterial infection without taking a swab, so it may well be viral especially if it is getting better on its own. And lots of GPs do still prescribe antibiotics unnecessarily especially if someone is laying it on thick about how bad it's been for ages. However now they've been prescribed it would be best to take them, but in future it can be helpful to try discussing with the dr in a bit more depth, e.g. 'is it likely to be a bacterial or viral infection? I'd prefer not to have antibiotics if it's not likely to help' usually works for me-though obviously I've no idea how you can get an ex to listen if they think they know best Hmm

Original poster
brownmouse · 21/03/2017 19:41

Our 'usual' GP only prescribes after a swab which is what I thought should would get today. She's had a few in the past and probably half the time it's been bacterial.

OP posts:
user1484578224 · 21/03/2017 19:43

throat may close up.....for gods sake forget your crappo relationship and give her the meds.

kali110 · 21/03/2017 19:45

Docs don't prescribe a/b frequently anymore, even for tonsillitis so he must have thought she needed them.
I used to get it frequently.
I would be fine and then suddenly go downhill very quickly.
I had a/b every month for nearly a year before they eventually took them out. It's horrible.
The sore throat i didn't mind, it was everything else!

Original poster
brownmouse · 21/03/2017 19:45

As I have said several times, she has already taken them.

OP posts:
lizzyj4 · 21/03/2017 19:49

I think you have to trust the GP's judgement on this. He/she is an expert and no doubt well aware of the dangers of over-prescribing, yet seems to have felt that your DD needed antibiotics. Bacterial infections can be very nasty and develop quickly. Even if the GP is just playing safe, I think you should do so too.

Miniwookie · 21/03/2017 19:52

Yab a bit u but so are all the posters saying bacterial must = ABs. Even bacterial infections are mostly self-limiting in an otherwise healthy person. Obviously really, because people didn't die every time they got a chest infection/tonsillitis/ear infection etc pre-anti bs.

SuperBeagle · 21/03/2017 19:54

I don't think your issue is with the antibiotics, but with the ex-husband.

SuperBeagle · 21/03/2017 19:55

Also, this reminds me of those parents who think that letting an ear infection clear up on its own is ideal. Meanwhile, their child's hearing is being permanently affected by that decision.

cansu · 21/03/2017 19:56

Sounds more like you disagree with your ex to be honest! GP probably has no time to get involved in your squabble. They saw the child and felt there was an infection requiring antibiotics. GPs are pretty strict in the prescription of these so I think she should probably follow the medical advice.

hollinhurst84 · 21/03/2017 20:02

Mini - I get that but I guess it's different in people. A colleague had tonsillitis and was at work with a slightly croaky voice and some paracetamol. I get tonsillitis and can't swallow my own spit, have to have liquid antibiotics, raging temperature, hallucinate, headache and am stuck in bed for days

Xmasbaby11 · 21/03/2017 20:07

I would trust gp judgement. And I'd be relieved she had been to see gp for a formal diagnosis.
But I am quite a cautious type.

JaneEyre70 · 21/03/2017 20:07

My cousin had it a few years ago, his wife was away with work so no one knew how ill he was....luckily a neighbour heard their dog barking so went in and my cousin was unconscious in bed with a quinsy. He ended up with multiple organ failure in intensive care, and very nearly died. If your GP has recommended them, then use them. Hope she's better soon.

GreenPeppers · 21/03/2017 20:14

I'm very surprised at your GP answers.
Every single time I went with tonsillitis to see the GP (either for myself or the DC) I had to fight tooth and nail for ABs. This was for a bacterial tonsillitis, where the recommended treatment, according the the NHS website IS antibiotics.
In each case, I was told to wait at least 7 days to see if it would resolve itself.

I've never come across a GP saying what your GP said.

Which makes me think. Either he really is talking crap and isn't following its own guidelines.
Or the health history of your dd means that she really needs them....

GreenPeppers · 21/03/2017 20:16

Just one thing, there are two type of tonsillitis.
Bacterial tonsillitis will usually lead to a fever, pain when opening the mouth, tonsils covered in pus and very swollen. That needs antibiotics.
Viral tonsillitis is basically a sore throat that is red. There is no pus, no swollen tonsils etc... that doesn't need antibiotics.

This also explains why some people can go to work and have just a bit of sore throats easily solved by paracetamol. And other people don't. It's not the same illness!!

WyfOfBathe · 21/03/2017 20:19

I don't think your issue is with the antibiotics, but with the ex-husband.
This.

Obviously by your "does she need to see the doctor" criteria, she's fine, but by her dad's criteria, she needed to see a doctor.

Some doctors are more prescription-happy than others, but I would always trust my GP unless I had a very good reason not to.

Tiptoethr0ughthetulips · 21/03/2017 20:20

I'm on the fence here. Definitely against the prescribing of antibiotics willy nilly, however I was hospitalised with quinsy once and it was horrible. I could not eat, drink and hardly breath. The pain was immense and I became so dehydrated I needed IVI of fluids and antibiotics. I was in a week, I'd seen GP's 4 times before being admitted.

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