The most wonderful paediatrician

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.

Your GP sounds like a bit of a tool.
I hope boytwin will be properly cared for now :hug:

:hug: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...

That is great news, I hope you find some answers soon (and maybe a new GP)

Oh wow, what a great paed, and it should be for the GP to suggest the referral, not the patient! Good on you T, yay on your Paed! Hoping for answers :crossfingers:

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.

That's fantastic to hear. :)

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

thats great news. It just takes one person to open their eyes.Its annoying how much effort ect you have had to go through to get some decent help

:hug: I would cry too. I hope this means you can help your DS3 stay well.

:hug: 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.

YAY for a pead on the ball!

And kick in the shins to your GP's office. You don't need a signed consent if it's been requested by someone THEY refered you too.

Hope boytwin gets everything sorted soon! :hug:

I love a good Paed!! They can make all the difference in the world to your little one's :)

I hope you get some answers for boytwin, very soon, :hug:

DD1 has two, one at the WCH and the other is a Private Paed, who is also DD2's Paed. He is brilliant, a little old school, but brilliant :D

That's awesome news Trav. I think your sigh of relief is so big that it's causing a beautiful breeze up here that is drying my clothes.

Thanks everyone

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.

BTW Traveller all GPs bulk bill under 16s (or at least Im 99% sure)

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.

Once you find a good one hang on forever. Ive had the same dr since I was 5 :lol: Hes great with the kids and I dont even want to imagine him retiring.

Yeah, I thought that was standard too.

I guess that is one of the biggest drawbacks of moving around so much, I have only ever had a GP for a few years max. Would be great to find a good one I could stick with.

I think they bulk bill for health car / concession card holders? Although having said that, in the clinic we go to, all the docs bar 1 bulk-bill kids.

I have asked a couple of local people and have some GP's to phone tomorrow. Hopefully someone will have space for my wee family :D

just to clarify on the bulkbilling thing. They don't HAVE to. But HIC (Health Insurance Commission) gives them a financial incentive to bulk bill under 16's and health care card holders. It isn't much though, less than $10. So whilst MOST GP's will bulk bill that demographic, not all do. If they don't, ask if they can bill medicare direct and you just pay the difference as many can now do this. HTH

MG

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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.

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Would you be able to share the name of this paediatrician? I am looking for one who knows a lot about allergies and/or reflux. Thanks!