Big disappointment with the gastro

[Anonymous]

I was able to get Austin in to see the pediatric gastro last Friday. I was very excited and hopeful since I love my pediatrician and trusted his referral. Boy was I incredibly disappointed with the whole appointment. After driving almost 2 hours to get there, I had to sit and wait for him with a very fussy baby for 45 minutes past my appt. time. By the time he came in, you could tell he was rushed and seemed to rush through all my questions and concerns. Plus, I have spent the last three weeks, doing lots of research so I could be as informed as possible but he completely brushed off everything I presented from what I’ve learned here. He said that since my baby is still gaining weight and sleeping okay, that he really isn’t too concerned. He said there were a bunch of tests to do but we weren’t going to do any of them for Austin. Basically, I felt like he totally brushed us off and I ended up having to hold back my tears. He upped his Zantac from 1.2 ml to 1.4 ml, which I thought was crazy because I don’t need to see a specialist, at who knows how much $, for him to do that. He said we could try prevacid but he wants to give the zantac some time to work. Well, Friday night was a disaster, even with the new dose. Saturday I had decided to try and transition Austin onto Nutrigimen, to see if that would make a difference. Well, Saturday afternoon, Sunday, and this afternoon have been incredible, so now I am wondering if it is a protein allergy versus relux or both. He is sucking down bottles with no crying, continuous stops, or back arching. I really don’t think the Zantac had much to do with it because it has never been very helpful (maybe 50% relief for such a short time). I have read there tends to be honeymoon periods with new formula, so I am expecting to see the fussiness/discomfort come back but maybe I will be surprised. I don’t even want to call this guy back for the prevacid but I don’t know if my pediatrician will prescribe PPI’s. That will be my next question for him. Sorry for the novel, I had to vent. I was so upset after that appointment. I know my little guy is suffering and I want the best thing for him!!!!!

[Anonymous]

I forgot to add, if anyone has a great ped gastro in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, I would love the info.

[Anonymous]

Gee…I’m sorry things didn’t go well with the GI. I guess on the bright side at least he said he’d allow you to try Prevacid. Hopefully you’d only have to call and ask for a script.

That’s great that he’s doing better on Nutramigen. I hope it continues and that there’s no honeymoon period. Some babies do very well on the hypo formulas! I think it’s possible that the combination of higher Zantac dose and the hypo formula could be doing the trick for him. If the relief does not last you could ask to try Prevacid.

Good luck.

Did you check the Looking for a Gi link? Here it is.

https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=660

[Anonymous]

If you want to make the trek up to Milwaukee, our pedi GI has Gabby on 30mg of prevacid and said she’s had plenty of infants on higher dosages. Let me know.

[Anonymous]

There was a GI doc recommended by Dr. Phillips in Chicago, which means that she’ll give high doses of PPI if needed. You can scroll through Laura’s intro, or I’ll try to find the link for you.

Sorry your appointmnet was such a bust- sounds like most of our appointments! The disappointment of waiting so long to have nothing done each time was awful.

[Anonymous]

Here’s a copy of Dr. Phillips’ recommendation. Sorry I know nothing about US geography to know if this is near you or not.

Joined: 01 February 2005 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 763	Posted: 08 February 2006 at 5:23pm
	I am passing on Dr Jeffrey Phillips’ recommendation for Ped GI Dr Barbara Kirschner at the University of Chicago. She is quite well informed, is now familiar with Zegerid and is willing to treat infant reflux aggressively. If you have experience with Dr Kirschner, either good or bad, please post your comments.
	Joel Reflux Solutions

[hellbennt]

Kathy & everyone else who hasn’t posted their GI recommendations and ‘non’-recommendations, please do so here:

Looking for a GI?:

https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=660

[Anonymous]

Katie,

I’m so so sorry your appointment was such a let down. I understand completely. We had to go through three peds to get one that took me seriously and was willing to treat Kate’s reflux aggressively with a decent doseof prevacid which turned out not to work anyway but she’s been very proactive. Man, why do doctors have such ego sometimes? For us, whenever I would bring in research or have SOMETHING to say, our previous docs would roll their eyes and forget telling them you got your information on the internet! They laughed at me and said ” yeah, you have to be careful about what you read on the web you know.” LIKE I DON’T KNOW THAT!!!! Anyway, I hope someone here can help reccommend a good G.I for you. We were really blessed with ours so I hope you find one that’s good. Reflux is hard enough without stupid doctors making things more complicated and hard. Here’s a BIG from me to you and I hope things get better ASAP!!! We’re here for you. You are not alone in this!

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for the referrals. I will definitely try University of Chicago, as it is just as much of a drive as I took to the horrible appointment!!! Even if that doctor offered to prescribe prevacid, I wouldn’t want to work with him any further to fight for the appropriate dosage. So far, the nutramigen has been making a huge difference. I have had tons of smiles and he is eating like crazy. I don’t know if it is just that or the combination with the zantac. Keep your fingers crossed that it continues to help. I already called and let my pediatrician know about the disappointing visit with the specialist. Thank you all so much for your support and feedback. It has truly helped to know there is a place I can turn to, as no one else really understands what we’ve been going through. Sometimes I feel like my husband doesn’t even fully get it, since he is only with him such a short portion of the day!!!

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