I am putting this in here as it is not really a woo hoo as such, but I really wanted to share. Boytwin has been ill on and off since he had sepsis aged 10 days. He has had multiple chest infections, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, etc. Eventually we were told he was refluxing, then aspirating, causing frequent lung infections. He seemed to get every infection going, and after a hypospadias operation aged 15 months got a horrendous wound infection requiring really strong antibiotics.
When we came to Australia we hoped it was all over as he seemed to have grown out of the reflux, but he has been ill so much since we came back, with ear, eye and chest infections. He has grommets and as soon as one came out he got an infection. He has had so many prescriptions for abx and to top it all is now covered in red, raised eczema. My GP just treats each infection and skin irritation and sends us away, so I asked to be referred to a paediatrician.
The appointment was today. My ****wit of a GP had condensed boytwin's entire medical history (including all his volumes of notes brought from Scotland) into one sentence for his paediatrician - history of pneumonia. So I had to spend half an hour filling her in on everything from birth onwards. She was so lovely, and when I was halfway through she just looked at me and said "and why has nobody ever referred this child to an immunologist?" which had me rather embarrassingly burst into tears.
She has told me how to treat his eczema properly, and is referring him to an immunologist and for allergy testing. She is also chasing up the GP for all his notes and x-ray results but agrees with me that it sounds like something is up. I am so relieved. Back in 2 weeks.
hun wat a horrible thing to have to watch ur poor baby be so sick all the time and for u to be in a state of worry constantly..!! thank goodness someone is actually pulling their finger out now better late than never but still!!! as for the GP i would smack them upside the head!!
time to find a better GP that will treat him as a patient not as a number in their weekly statistics!!
i hope u are feeling a sense of relief now n pray that something is done about ur lil ones problems...
The GP's office have just phoned me to say they have no signed consent for his notes to be sent though, so that is why they have not been done to date. Off to sign consent after lunch, then I can also see what they are sending and make sure it is the full shebang.
I would love to get a new GP but this one is local and bulk bills children, and with 4 kids that is a major factor. I am much happier now though, he can deal with the normal every day health stuff (and he is happy to support my decision to partially vaccinate and on a delayed schedule) and the paediatrician can deal with the rest.
Do you have any eczema tips you want to share? We're struggling with it the last few weeks, it's really flared up and I have no idea what is causing it or how best to treat it.
According to the paed, I should not be afraid to use the steroid cream. So bath him once a day in a warm bath with no soap or cleansers, then smother him top to toe in the cream. She says that after 3 - 4 days the eczema should be gone, and then use a normal moisturiser. Apparently what most parents do (and I am guilty of this) is use the steroid cream sparingly for fear of thinning out the cream, and stopping use before 4 days meaning it is never properly fixed, and just comes back. Worth a try anyway!
ETA he is also being sent for food allergy testing, to see if that is what is causing his skin to flair up
Thanks. that is exactly me, I hate to use the steroid cream so I use a tiny bit if it's really bad. I'll give your method a go. Was thinking of getting some allergy testing done too. Will talk to gp tomorrow. I hate seeing them scratching and uncomfortable, she scratched her torso until it bled last night. Thanks a million for the tips. x
Yay that is great hun - must be so great to finally feel like someone is going to help. Good to hear on the cream too, with the warm weather both of ours have flared up and I am always worried about the steroid cream.
I have seen the notes that the GP is faxing over and it is the complete set of notes, including reports from his Scottish paediatrician, so hopefully she will have all she needs when I see her in a fortnight. I actually feel really drained now, it's just so good that someone listened to me and took my concerns seriously. I really thought all his health issues were over when he was 15 months but since arriving in Australia they have all reared up again and I am just over fighting to get him the help he needs. I really think this doc is going to support me supporting him.
my old GP charged everyone I think, I seem to remember vaccinations being the only free appointments. Hence why we didn't go back to him when we came back with 4 kids. It's good to know most bulk bill though, will make finding a new one a bit easier.
Reply With Quote
Registered User
The most wonderful paediatrician
Bookmarks