whats the funniest/stupidest thing a Doctor has said to you RE your child?????

[anniebear]

I was thinking today about one of Ellies eye appointments we had last year. Still find it unbelievable.

Just thought, between all of us we must have some funny/unbeliveable things that have been said to us by the 'professionals'!!

Anyway, the Dr needed to look into the back of Ellie's eye and poked and prodded, tried to prise open Ellies eyes (she was 2 and a half) and tried to shine a bright light into it.

Ellie ended up with a very red sore eye. The Dr had to go and get the Consultant who was very nice but when she couldn't get a look told me "you will have to blackmail her"

LOL LOL LOL I still find it so funny now. I just turned to her and said slowly "she has special needs and is very behind with her development" (she knew this already)

Then I went on to tell her that at only 2 and a half I couldn't even blackmail her twin NT Sister.

She just said we all have to use black mail with our children even if we don't want to. and to go home and get her used to her eye being touched!!!

So did I go home and prise Ellies eye open and Shine a bright torch in, oh and black mail her? I don't think so!!!!

How stupid, blackmail a child who was only 2, has special needs, and hardly had any understanding!!!

the last dr I saw was lovely- and did really listen. I don't think this thread was a dig at the profession jmb- just at some of the members of it (and some of these really are shocking). (and I'm sure a coffee room of drs moans about the parents- I know we did as teachers!)

whasername- that's awful- thank goodness you had your mum.

I don't think the whole profession is being rubbished and I personally thank god for the NHS and the lovely people I have in our lives that are there to support Lottie, me & DP. However we all have bad expereinces, as well as good, in and out of the medical profession and it does us good to vent now and then, I'm sure you'll agree. Overall I can't fault the medical professionals in our personal lives and am truly grateful to them all.

I could sit here and rubbish the LEA all day long, in general, however the individuals I've dealt with have been supportive and kind.

I could sit here and slag off the state of the London Underground, doesn't mean I have anything against individual train drivers!

I started this thread and I can 100% say that it wasn't to rubbish the profession.

Everybody we have seen in the last 3 years, bar the Eye clinic!! has been fantastic

I started the thread as I knew it would get a good response and some interesting stories.

OK, sulk over But now I know how the teachers on the education board feel sometimes!
Maybe somewhere there is a docsnet where doctors let off steam about awful patients..
eidsvold - yes, of course, that's the way I do it, just trying to make the point that sometimes you feel as it you can't win, however hard you try. If you ask for help you're found wanting for not being an expert in syndrome z, if you don't you're unthinking and arrogant.
But I don't want to start it all up again - I know most of you have had good experiences as well as bad, and as an educator, I know we are doing our best to turn out better doctors.
Just remember we're people too, and have feelings too!

absolutely JMB, our very wonderful consultant paed said to us, "you will become the expert in this syndrome, we expect to learn a lot about it from what you find out for us".
It is really nice to hear honesty and to feel that doctors are human, sometimes we forget they are people with feelings

What an interesting thread! not sure I should be here as have yet to find out if our number 2 (due ten weeks) will be SN - but my story is this. Managed to get dose of chicken pox (never had it as a child) at 18 weeks. Saw GP who was adament it couldn't possibly be Cpox as "no woman reaches 30 odd without having had it before" - took me ages to persuade him to give me a blood test - he finally agreed after I refused to leave the surgery until they took some blood - I then had to research what to do if test came back positive (which woud only indicate exposure at some time in my life, not the exact dates) and explain to him the procedure! I basically had to ring every medical contact i had and read academic texts to find out the score. Even when test came back positive he said no risk to baby as I got cpox after 12 weeks and the only risk was of miscarraige in first 12 weeks (completely wrong - its an equal risk up to 21 weeks) and I then had to lobby v. hard for a referral to a consultant to get proper advice - the GP just couldn't understand why i would be concerned. Then found out that there is a small (1-2%) but definite risk that baby has congenital varicella syndrome (symptoms -anything from blindness/deafness, limb abnormalities to brain damage fits and death - so all a bit vague). Won't know until baby is born. I don't mid GP's not knowing the answers - we can't expect them to know everything, but why can't they be taught to admit when something is outside their sphere of expertise and just refer you to a more appropriate source? I would have much more respect for someone who told me they had to go away and research a proper answer. And I agree that patient manner is just as important as medical knowledge. Ho Hum. All credit to the fetal medicine consultant though - who was fabulous.

Oh Noggermum, what a worry. And terrible to hear that you had such a fight on your hands with your GP. Hope everything goes well with the baby - I'll watch out for your birth announcement. Good luck and very best wishes. x

Noggermum - hope everything turns out fine. I had Chicken Pox at 26 weeks ( probably about the best time to get it in pregnancy if you really must!) and was very worried, but all was OK. I wish the same for you. Good luck!

Noggermum Im gobsmacked at what yor dr said. Im in my 30s and have never had cpox or mumps or measels or anything actually. I was disgustingly healthy as a child. I was very worried about contacting anything while preg. Hope it all works out well for you

Just remembered the other classic. DH took the elder ds's for their combined 3 year/18 month check. First the HV asked why I hadn't taken them. He explained I was at work. She asked at regular intervals throughout the check where I was...

Towards the end they got to the speech bit. She asked how many words X (the baby) said, & DH told her proudly "about 30". "Hmm. Why doesn't he speak as well as the other one?" "Because he's 2 years younger!" "oh. I thought they were twins! I've been testing them both on the 3 year check" Duh!!!

When ds3 failed his hearing test (as did ds1 and ds2) I wasn't bothered. Frankly, with the problems we have had with ds1, plus ds2 having hearing problems that are still waiting to be sorted (looks like he will have to start school first), I wasn't in the least surprised. The HV turned to me and said "You don't love your baby do you?"

Um, more than life itself enough for you?

I did complain and don't have to deal with her any more. She also helped push my sister into PND after a premmie baby with her sarky comments about how it didn't matter- what? Nearly dying (mother and baby)? 4 weeks in NICU? Medication (Mum) for the foreseeable future? Yeah that's OK then!

Punnet

Not anything like as severe as the others but on a humorous (ish) note, ds is long and lean like dh. When hv was stressing about his weight, I heard her ask the dr about what she should do, and he queried whether ds might be genetically disposed to be tall and slight. "I don't think so" said the hv at top of voice. "Have you seen his mother?"

And I'm only a size 14. Huh.

Noggermum - thoughts are with you xxx

After a day at the hospital with ds1 I think I can add a few more examples. Ds1 came down with a very sudden illness. His temperature rocketed and nothing would bring it down. He couldn't bear the light and was trying to be sick. I was advised to take him to A&E asap. The nurses were great with him but the doctor was impossible to get through to:

Me: He says that his head and stomach hurts. He doesn't usually feel much pain so when he says that something hurts then it really hurts.

Doctor: I don't think it's his appendix. If it was that then he'd be in a lot of pain by now.

Me: He doesn't usually feel pain so whatever this is must really be hurting him.

Doctor: No. A child would be in a lot of pain.

At this point I realised I was slowly losing the will to live.

Doctor: Can he understand me?

Me: Only if you keep the sentences simple.

Doctor (to ds1): Right, I'm going to start pushing down here and if it hurts you I want you to tell me.

Ds1 looks completely blank while the doctor pushes his stomach.

Me: I don't think he understood all that.

Doctor: He didn't say it hurt so there's no pain there.

Me: No. He just didn't understand what he was supposed to be doing.

Doctor: I'm going to push down on your stomach here and I want you to raise your arm when it hurts.

Another blank look from ds1.

Me: does that hurt?

Ds1: Yes.

Aaaaaarrrggghhh! I don't expect the doctor to have been an expert or even particularly knowledgeable about autism (although that would've been nice) but surely if a parent has explained the basics then they should take those on board?? The good news was that ds1's temperature and heart-rate finally came down enough for him to be transferred to the children's ward and the care of a lovely doctor who actually took the time to listen to both me and ds1.

CT, surely you know by now that doctors are always right and parents are always wrong?! I thought everyone knew that!!

Bloody hell CT.