Ignorant Doctor

[curiousgeorge]

Wow, I just had the MOST frustrating appt with a ped my DS sees for growth issues. I had had DS tested for celiac (TTG) and somehow he was sent a copy from the hospital. Not sure why/how. He said it was normal. I told him I was celiac and he not in so many words told me I was delusional. He asked about gut symptoms and It old him I had very little despite a VERY positive test. He also pretty much told me that celiac is totally over diagnosed and far too many people are on a gluten-free diet than need to be. He went on about how difficult the diet is, and I said, well its not really, and he said "well it is unless you cheat". I am MAD. I do not cheat and my little DS is on a very VERY gluten light diet because my house is gluten free.

I am beyond mad at this ignorance. This guy is not a schmuck, he's HIGHLY respected in his field but obvioulsy CONPLETELY ignorant. I mean what about the 30% of kids that are seronegative?

Has ANYONE come up against this?

[mimommy]

I think far too many of us have had our share of difficult and/or ignorant medical professionals. Unfortunately the responsibility then lies in your hands to both advocate for your child through diligent research and to keep looking until you find the right doctor. To me, choosing a doctor is a lot like choosing a spouse; not a relationship to be entered into lightly, especially where my child is concerned. Not to sound cavalier, but if this doctor doesn't 'get it' you can try to educate them (good luck) or move on. I know how hard it is to find a doctor for your child. Their health and well being is in this person's hands, but they have to be able to communicate with YOU, the parent.

Good luck

p.s. my story about second opinions is this--one ped. GI said the biopsy showed no villi damage, but gave a diagnosis of acid reflux. I took the same biopsy to another doctor who found sub-total villis atrophy, and no signs at all of reflux disease. Therein lies the virtue of shopping around and following your inner wisdom--a parent's instincts are FAR better than doctor's believe them to be.

p.s.s. Not all doctors are arrogant jerks.

[curiousgeorge]

Not to defend him but he is a growth doc and not a GI.

Very obvioulsy my little DS is reacting to the gluten-free diet. He has gone from being under the growth curve to being between 5th and 10th percentile. Growth doc said tihs was very good but felt it was conincidental.

I'm not chasing a dx for DS given I'm gluten-free and the house is. It still really made me mad to be second guessed about my dx.

[sugarsue]

Interesting, seems to me a growth doc should be very well versed in celiac since it affects children's growth so much.

I can only imagine how annoyed and frustrated you were when he questioned your diagnosis! I am glad you will be such a wonderful and educated advocate for your son!

[curiousgeorge]

Well, that is exactly what I thought. He emphatically stated he did not have celiac so I could stop worrying about that. Totally wrong information. Are not kids of celiacs suppose to be tested on a regular basis. Sheesh.

[The Kids Folks]

I would say move on. Find another doctor. Its tough, we just went through it. Our last ped was more interested in treating the symptoms. When I told her that we decided to go gluten free - she said that the diet was a killer! Great support from a doctor who thought nothing wrong or difficult in giving my kiddos numerous medications to treat the symptoms, even though the medication were causing some of the symptoms.

DS (age 7) was slowly growing in her opinion - to me he was not. He continued to fall on the growth curve each year until he stopped well under the 3rd percentile! We've been gluten-free for almost 6 months. His symptoms have disappeared! Growth is slowly starting to return!

I asked around and found a peds that is willing to listen and understands the "instinct" thing. The clinics and the doctors are willing to schedule "interviews". I so recommend this!! If a doctor isn't willing to meet with you before I would continue looking. You can get a pretty good feel of peds views in an interview and the amount of time that she/he is willing to take with you!

I just scheduled a physical with the new peds and will let you know how things go with a doctor who listens and understands and is not quick to medicate!!

[curiousgeorge]

Our family doc is fine so we're good there. We only see this guy once a year so I have a while to decide what to do. Its interesting because he is a little short thing himself so it almost seems like he gets defensive over the growth stuff. Its not as easy as just calling around I'm afraid. We're in canada and you have to work the system to even get in to see a guy like this. sigh. I'll as our family doc if there is someone else.

[hannahp57]

I agree about finding a new doctor. when i started getting sick i was 16. my doctor was convinced i had an abusive boyfriend and this was "my cry for help." i explained to him that i didnt even date. i liked to eat and didnt want to stop eating. it took 4 months of arguing about this and he finally showed up one day with a printout of the gluten free diet safe/unsafe list but refused to give me any formal test for diagnosis. i still haven't had a formal diagnosis. just an amzing recovery after being gluten free for three years.

i would find a new doctor. possibly a GI specialist

[ptkds]

Interesting, seems to me a growth doc should be very well versed in celiac since it affects children's growth so much.

I can only imagine how annoyed and frustrated you were when he questioned your diagnosis! I am glad you will be such a wonderful and educated advocate for your son!

If a growth doctor promoted celiac, he wouldn't be able to give his high-dollar treatments with growth hormones! That is why he doesn't think that many kids have celiac. He likes his fancy house and huge paycheck!