Choosing A Pediatrician & Vaccines

[Guest cassidy]

I'm at the point where I need to pick a pediatrician and I'm not sure what to do.

I found a holistic one who is an MD and I really like the idea of that. His website talks about parents making choices about what they want for their kids. He is a breastfeeding expert (if a man really can be) and an autism expert. I have read autistic kids may respond to a gluten-free diet, so I would think he would know a little something about gluten-free living. The only issue is that he doesn't take insurance. We have a really high out of network deductible and then the insurance company only pays a low percent, so it would be expensive, they charge $180/half hour. If money wasn't an issue, I would definitely go here.

I know plenty of mom's that can recommend a normal MD but none of them have sick kids so I just wonder if my baby has celiac if the doctor will be good enough. Also, I feel like antibiotics are overprescribed and I don't just want someone to treat the symptoms, so I may be a "difficult" parent if my child is sick because I will ask a lot of questions and have a viewpoint on many things. It took me 28 years to be diagnosed and I went to countless doctors, so I guess I don't have much faith in mainstream doctors.

So, I was thinking of scheduling a visit with the holistic doctor and getting the latest info on what I can do to keep my baby healthy and then going to the regular in-network MD for his normal vaccines. If he seems to have celiac symptoms, which would be down the road since I will breastfeed and be gluten-free and probably not introduce gluten until he is one year, at least I would have someone to turn to. I just don't feel comfortable giving a baby vitamins or probiotics without talking to an expert, but I know how much they have helped me, so I don't want the regular MD to tell me kids just don't need things like that, if there is anything I can do to pump up his digestive tract or lessen the chance of other food allergies (I have plenty of them).

Also, I think people have posted here that they developed celiac after receiving a vaccine. Could that be a trigger in babies? It makes me nervous to give him all of those shots. Has anyone done research on this? If you have never had gluten in your life can you still have some sort of stress that triggers celiac? I realize that you have to have gluten to have symptoms but I'm wondering if it can be triggered before you have ever had gluten?

Any advice?

[MySuicidalTurtle]

My brother and I were both sick from infancy. Not everyone has a trigger. If a person goes their whole life or even a few months without gluten they will have a reaction to eating it just as a person who does not eat meat would have if they started eating animals. Good luck finding a doctor for your son, Cassidy.

[kbtoyssni]

Hard decision. You could always try a few doctors that are covered by your insurance and see how you like them. I try to pick ones that are younger. They tend to be more open to new ideas. I quiz my doctors a lot and am always asking them to do different tests and the younger ones are very receptive to my ideas. I figure that if I don't like what my doctor says, I don't have to listen to them. I can change at any point, so if I had a doc who insisted on antibiotics that I didn't want, I'd say no.

You could also ask the holistic doctor if he will lower his rates for you since insurance doesn't cover it.

My celiac was triggered by the flu at age 23.

[shayesmom]

I was at a seminar a couple of months ago and the speaker (from an internationally known hospital) did address the issue of vaccines triggering celiac disease. In short...YES. It can happen. Stress is an environmental trigger for Celiac. And being vaccinated can induce stress. Also, for those who have symptoms seemingly from birth....both pregancy and childbirth can be "triggers". So a baby could have celiac disease triggered just by being born. The situation is a bit of a catch 22. You can avoid all the potential triggers that you can find....and it could still be activated by something that is completely beyond your control. It's hard to find a healthy balance in this as paranoia is ingrained each time you read food labels.

As for a holistic doctor vs. an MD. We have both. We ended up firing 3 pediatricians before finally going back to my old PCP who may not know much about food allergies and Celiac, but he is definitely willing to help me in ways that I am comfortable with. We don't have a formal celiac disease diagnosis and to be honest....haven't really needed one. DD was diagnosed with "probable form of Celiac" strictly through dietary response. Our PCP has given us medical excuses for the school in order to keep my dd safe. No big deal there.

I had to see one of the other physicians in his practice for my dd's bladder infection a few weeks back. When I asked about trying probiotics and cranberry juice as opposed to antibiotics...he was all for it. Couldn't give me a dosage per se....but he felt that it was a reasonable and rational approach in our situation (the infection was mild and caught very early). He also wrote me a back-up prescription "just in case". I ended up scrapping the cranberry juice (too much fructose) after about a week and went with a D-Mannose supplement instead. Two doses into the D-Mannose and dosing with probiotics 4 x per day....dd's infection cleared up completely. It was amazing.

I don't see any reason why you couldn't find a happy medium between the two areas of medicine. And these days, you can even take courses on herbology to help manage minor family aches and pains using plants you grow at home. Simple things like catmint tea and apple cider vinegar in a bath full of water can do wonders for bringing down fevers and are safer to use than many OTC meds. Yes, there is an art to it and yes, you have to educate yourself. If you're going this route....you need to research thoroughly or get assistance from someone who understands what is being used. But it can be done and you don't have to do it all on your own all at once. Life is about learning. If you're truly interested in alternative forms of healing....start reading up on it, consult with your holistic doctor and/or MD and start off one step at a time.

As for your concerns of being a "difficult" parent to deal with when it comes to regular MDs.....hey! This is your child we're talking about! You need to have an open line of communication with your doctor. You should be comfortable with asking questions even if they don't necessarily fall into the mainstream categories. A good doctor will inspire trust. A bad one will have you so tied up in knots that you'll avoid going in until it's absolutely necessary and possibly a bit later than optimal for getting well quickly. That is not an ideal situation to be in. You are paying your doctor to help you....not to keep you "in line" or to maintain status quo. If you're feeling like a number...it's time to go elsewhere.

Good luck with whoever you decide to go with!

[mouth]

I'm at the point where I need to pick a pediatrician and I'm not sure what to do.

I found a holistic one who is an MD and I really like the idea of that. His website talks about parents making choices about what they want for their kids. He is a breastfeeding expert (if a man really can be) and an autism expert. I have read autistic kids may respond to a gluten-free diet, so I would think he would know a little something about gluten-free living. The only issue is that he doesn't take insurance. We have a really high out of network deductible and then the insurance company only pays a low percent, so it would be expensive, they charge $180/half hour. If money wasn't an issue, I would definitely go here.

I know plenty of mom's that can recommend a normal MD but none of them have sick kids so I just wonder if my baby has celiac if the doctor will be good enough. Also, I feel like antibiotics are overprescribed and I don't just want someone to treat the symptoms, so I may be a "difficult" parent if my child is sick because I will ask a lot of questions and have a viewpoint on many things. It took me 28 years to be diagnosed and I went to countless doctors, so I guess I don't have much faith in mainstream doctors.

So, I was thinking of scheduling a visit with the holistic doctor and getting the latest info on what I can do to keep my baby healthy and then going to the regular in-network MD for his normal vaccines. If he seems to have celiac symptoms, which would be down the road since I will breastfeed and be gluten-free and probably not introduce gluten until he is one year, at least I would have someone to turn to. I just don't feel comfortable giving a baby vitamins or probiotics without talking to an expert, but I know how much they have helped me, so I don't want the regular MD to tell me kids just don't need things like that, if there is anything I can do to pump up his digestive tract or lessen the chance of other food allergies (I have plenty of them).

Also, I think people have posted here that they developed celiac after receiving a vaccine. Could that be a trigger in babies? It makes me nervous to give him all of those shots. Has anyone done research on this? If you have never had gluten in your life can you still have some sort of stress that triggers celiac? I realize that you have to have gluten to have symptoms but I'm wondering if it can be triggered before you have ever had gluten?

Any advice?

How about going to your state Department of Health? Or maybe is there a childrens hospital where you are? What state? LYnn