Playing Doctor
This is Hollywood after all so I suppose having a celebrity pediatrician is par for the course. Okay, he's the father of a celebrity. An infamous celebrity (a rarer breed than your garden variety celebrity which are plentiful around here). And what I discovered today when I brought Sweetpea in for her initial visit was that he is really a very nice man. A very fine doctor actually. I feel really lucky to have found him.
I switched to Dr. Fleiss because his practice in a homey Craftsman house is right around the corner from us and because I was tired of the bum's rush I felt I was getting every time we went to our other pediatrician. Pediatrician #1 was a serviceable professional, but she relied too much on the sugar-free suckers she gave out to compensate for her distant and methodical demeanor. Doesn't work on kids. They have an innate sense of what's genuine and what ain't. Sweetpea screamed bloody murder every time she came near her so I got to wondering if that was why the good doctor had those suckers, which proceeded her through the door at the end of an outstreched hand.
After Sweetpea was given iron drops for a slight anemic condition despite my protestations that there must be dietary solutions less radical I decided it was time for a change. I'd heard a lot about Dr. Fleiss - he's well-known in the medical community for a holistic approach to healthcare and outspoken views on circumcision (not a concern for Sweetpea). He is also the author of several books and articles which I'd read with great interest. Mostly, I'd tired of having my questions to the other pediatrician elicit a blank look or a doc-talk answer meant to awe and deflect. She also was in the habit of poo-pooing anything that wasn't in the Physician's Desk Reference and was in and out of the examining room faster than a NASCAR pit crew.
The first thing I discovered when Sweetpea and I joined the other waiting families in the converted bungalow was that kids don't have to cry when they visit the doctor. Everyone who saw us was kind, gentle, and patient. Very Patient. The nurse-practitioner reminded us of the kindly vet Gina on Sesame Street, which pleased Sweetpea greatly since she loves Sesame Street. She let my daughter try out all the little medical instruments she used, and talked in a gentle, sing-song voice that nearly put me to sleep. Sweetpea thought her delightful and and for the first time ever she actually asked to have her ears examined. I was verklempt at this point (kind of like crying but not quite). Soon Sweetpea was chatty and relaxed and kept clapping with delight every time she let the nurse do something like listen to her heart or feel her tummy.
The nurse gave me some good-tasting chewable flax-seed oil capsules for Sweetpea to help her flush the last of the cold she'd had out of her system and then the famous Dr. Fleiss entered for a look-see. He was older than I'd realized - probably in his mid-seventies, and a little frail. But he had a warm demeanor, and Sweetpea took to him instantly. I admit I was a little distracted by how much his daughter, Heidi (AKA convicted-madame-to-the-stars and soon to be proud owner of Heidi's Stud Farm in Nevada), resembled him, but soon I was was more interested in the copy of Sweetpea's medical chart supplied by Pediatrician #1. He sat next to me and we went through the information together, something no doctor has ever done with me before. I discovered a lot - the first being that I had been lied to by Sweetpea's pediatrician. Strong language, yes, but irrefutably true. You see, I had resisted her advice when Sweetpea had first come to her to re-immunize her despite full records from her orphanage. I had heard that another baby from our group had been tested to see if the records were accurate, and they were. So rather than re-immunize I'd asked that Sweetpea have her blood tested as well. The test is for 'titres' which are levels of antibodies to specific diseases (what happens when you are given an immunization). It was a painful and traumatic procedure but I felt it was worth it given that I felt sure Mimi would be spared the rounds of dozens of shots.
I was told later that the results showed no antibodies, which meant that she had to go through the round of shots again and catch up to other children her age. Sweetpea came to hate those visits and as often as not, she would get a fever reaction and be up all night (as were we), sometimes miserable and cranky for days.
In looking through her records, specifically the blood tests ordered that day, Dr. Fleiss showed me there were, in fact, no tests ordered or results for titres. I couldn't believe it. They'd tested for every bloody thing on earth, including HIV, Mediterranean Flu, and a bunch of exotic viruses (all negative) but no titres!!! Excuse me but the whole point of those blood tests had been for titres. Titres! Need I repeat myself? Okay....TITRES!!!! What that meant was my pediatrician had gotten her way, by hook or by crook as my grandmother used to say, and played me for a fool.
Then Dr. Fleiss looked at Sweetpea's chart and asked me why I thought she was anemic. Surely, I said, the results of the finger stick they'd done a month ago were in her chart? No. Apparently not. Dr. Fleiss looked at Mimi's face, palpated her fingernails, examined her gums, her eyes, and discussed her energy level (which is very active and engaged). "Not anemic" he said.
And what about the dozen or so shots the other pediatrician said were due? "Your daughter has had all the shots she needs, according to her current records," said the kind and wise Dr. Fleiss. We didn't need to mention the fact that she had come to us fully immunized anyway, something I know we would have confirmed had the pediatrician respected my wishes and not played games with me.
Dr. Fleiss, who is also a MPH (Master of Public Health) as well as an M.D. is my new hero. And my daughter's new friend. She gave him a heartfelt hug and kiss when he left to see to other patients and I honestly wanted to give him one too.
Tips for treating anemia without iron supplements:
Since iron supplements often don't work well, are hard on the stomach, and can stain children's teeth, there are very good dietary solutions to borderline anemia, which many children and women of child-bearing age have if they are not eating everything on the recommended daily food pyramid. Google will provide plenty of websites with lists of foods and how to avoid combining them with calcium (like milk or yogurt) which inhibits iron absorption. A very good way to get significant portion of your daily iron is in a teaspoon of Blackstrap molassas (tablespoon for adults). It's very good alone or mixed into a cup of tea. Cooking in iron pots or using an iron skillet also provides extra iron.
Movie Recommendations for This Week:
Shop Girl
Prime
I switched to Dr. Fleiss because his practice in a homey Craftsman house is right around the corner from us and because I was tired of the bum's rush I felt I was getting every time we went to our other pediatrician. Pediatrician #1 was a serviceable professional, but she relied too much on the sugar-free suckers she gave out to compensate for her distant and methodical demeanor. Doesn't work on kids. They have an innate sense of what's genuine and what ain't. Sweetpea screamed bloody murder every time she came near her so I got to wondering if that was why the good doctor had those suckers, which proceeded her through the door at the end of an outstreched hand.
After Sweetpea was given iron drops for a slight anemic condition despite my protestations that there must be dietary solutions less radical I decided it was time for a change. I'd heard a lot about Dr. Fleiss - he's well-known in the medical community for a holistic approach to healthcare and outspoken views on circumcision (not a concern for Sweetpea). He is also the author of several books and articles which I'd read with great interest. Mostly, I'd tired of having my questions to the other pediatrician elicit a blank look or a doc-talk answer meant to awe and deflect. She also was in the habit of poo-pooing anything that wasn't in the Physician's Desk Reference and was in and out of the examining room faster than a NASCAR pit crew.
The first thing I discovered when Sweetpea and I joined the other waiting families in the converted bungalow was that kids don't have to cry when they visit the doctor. Everyone who saw us was kind, gentle, and patient. Very Patient. The nurse-practitioner reminded us of the kindly vet Gina on Sesame Street, which pleased Sweetpea greatly since she loves Sesame Street. She let my daughter try out all the little medical instruments she used, and talked in a gentle, sing-song voice that nearly put me to sleep. Sweetpea thought her delightful and and for the first time ever she actually asked to have her ears examined. I was verklempt at this point (kind of like crying but not quite). Soon Sweetpea was chatty and relaxed and kept clapping with delight every time she let the nurse do something like listen to her heart or feel her tummy.
The nurse gave me some good-tasting chewable flax-seed oil capsules for Sweetpea to help her flush the last of the cold she'd had out of her system and then the famous Dr. Fleiss entered for a look-see. He was older than I'd realized - probably in his mid-seventies, and a little frail. But he had a warm demeanor, and Sweetpea took to him instantly. I admit I was a little distracted by how much his daughter, Heidi (AKA convicted-madame-to-the-stars and soon to be proud owner of Heidi's Stud Farm in Nevada), resembled him, but soon I was was more interested in the copy of Sweetpea's medical chart supplied by Pediatrician #1. He sat next to me and we went through the information together, something no doctor has ever done with me before. I discovered a lot - the first being that I had been lied to by Sweetpea's pediatrician. Strong language, yes, but irrefutably true. You see, I had resisted her advice when Sweetpea had first come to her to re-immunize her despite full records from her orphanage. I had heard that another baby from our group had been tested to see if the records were accurate, and they were. So rather than re-immunize I'd asked that Sweetpea have her blood tested as well. The test is for 'titres' which are levels of antibodies to specific diseases (what happens when you are given an immunization). It was a painful and traumatic procedure but I felt it was worth it given that I felt sure Mimi would be spared the rounds of dozens of shots.
I was told later that the results showed no antibodies, which meant that she had to go through the round of shots again and catch up to other children her age. Sweetpea came to hate those visits and as often as not, she would get a fever reaction and be up all night (as were we), sometimes miserable and cranky for days.
In looking through her records, specifically the blood tests ordered that day, Dr. Fleiss showed me there were, in fact, no tests ordered or results for titres. I couldn't believe it. They'd tested for every bloody thing on earth, including HIV, Mediterranean Flu, and a bunch of exotic viruses (all negative) but no titres!!! Excuse me but the whole point of those blood tests had been for titres. Titres! Need I repeat myself? Okay....TITRES!!!! What that meant was my pediatrician had gotten her way, by hook or by crook as my grandmother used to say, and played me for a fool.
Then Dr. Fleiss looked at Sweetpea's chart and asked me why I thought she was anemic. Surely, I said, the results of the finger stick they'd done a month ago were in her chart? No. Apparently not. Dr. Fleiss looked at Mimi's face, palpated her fingernails, examined her gums, her eyes, and discussed her energy level (which is very active and engaged). "Not anemic" he said.
And what about the dozen or so shots the other pediatrician said were due? "Your daughter has had all the shots she needs, according to her current records," said the kind and wise Dr. Fleiss. We didn't need to mention the fact that she had come to us fully immunized anyway, something I know we would have confirmed had the pediatrician respected my wishes and not played games with me.
Dr. Fleiss, who is also a MPH (Master of Public Health) as well as an M.D. is my new hero. And my daughter's new friend. She gave him a heartfelt hug and kiss when he left to see to other patients and I honestly wanted to give him one too.
Tips for treating anemia without iron supplements:
Since iron supplements often don't work well, are hard on the stomach, and can stain children's teeth, there are very good dietary solutions to borderline anemia, which many children and women of child-bearing age have if they are not eating everything on the recommended daily food pyramid. Google will provide plenty of websites with lists of foods and how to avoid combining them with calcium (like milk or yogurt) which inhibits iron absorption. A very good way to get significant portion of your daily iron is in a teaspoon of Blackstrap molassas (tablespoon for adults). It's very good alone or mixed into a cup of tea. Cooking in iron pots or using an iron skillet also provides extra iron.
Movie Recommendations for This Week:
Shop Girl
Prime
posted by vallie at 2:34 PM
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