Pediatrician making me feel crazy

I wanted to hear some opinions on this experience with my pediatrician.

I have a DD who is 4 and a half. She is a bit behind on her vaccines. I am in the process of having her caught up by Sept - when she will start Kindergarten.

She got the first dose of varicella on Saturday afternoon, 1/9/16. Last week she developed a nasty cold, but it's the winter and she goes to full time nursery school, so I didn't think much of it. Monday night she gets a red dot on her belly, and I don't think anything of that either. Tuesday night I go to put her in the shower and she now has 5 additional spots on her torso - two of which look like they could be a bit 'wet' and the original red dot is now larger and almost scabbing over. Her temp is 100. I start to think maybe this is chicken pox from the vaccine? She is acting fine, no signs of not feeling well, but she is scratching at two of the marks on her body.

I get an appointment for her Wed am. I explain everything to the Dr. and immediately he goes on the defensive. Before I even got DD's shirt off to show him the marks, he is already saying "this is not chicken pox. This is not caused by the shot." I shrug my shoulders and say ok, but doesn't this look an awful lot like chicken pox and how can we test to see if she has it or not? He says we can either culture one of the marks or do a blood draw. I ask for the blood draw (as it is definitive) and he leaves the room to confer with a colleague and when he returns, he tells me the practice refuses. They refused to "torture" my DD with blood work.

There was a lot of back and forth after that between me and Dr., but he basically said that I don't really need to confirm if this is an actual case or not. That the treatment plan wouldn't change. That it probably is some other type of virus and is just bad timing with the vaccine. "Such a tiny percentage of children get it in this scenario, and they never see it."

I left there feeling like a crazy person for wanting to know yes or no to whether or not DD currently has the chicken pox. Thoughts?

Pediatrician making me feel crazy

I would absolutely insist that they do it. Tell them that she is in a school setting g and they won't let her back unless an answer is known. If they won't do it, have him write a script so you can go to quest or another lab.

You could also bring her to pm pediatrics and ask them to do it.

Also, personally, I would be looking for a new dr.

Re: Pediatrician making me feel crazy

what? that is nuts! they refuse to take her blood? wth? I would consider switching practices & take her to PM Ped in the meantime.

Re: Pediatrician making me feel crazy

Pediatrician making me feel crazy

I'd be at a walk in place getting her tested and looking for a new practice too. Sorry to hear that.

Pediatrician making me feel crazy

It could be from the shot. A rash is normal for up to a month after the shot so you are still in the time frame.

Re: Pediatrician making me feel crazy

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Message edited 3/6/2016 9:21:40 PM.

Pediatrician making me feel crazy

I have seen on these boards a rash after chicken pox vaccine. No idea what people do as far as keeping kids home etc. The way the Dr acted would really bother me, shutting you down and why does he need to confer with a colleague over a blood test? Unless it was a PA, that seems weird to me. I do agree with not putting DC through a test if it doesn't change anything, but you gave him a reason for wanting to know, so unless you get blood tests very often, I would think they would do it for you.

Pediatrician making me feel crazy

This is a common reaction to the vaccine- my dd had a few spots and her pediatrician was not concerned he did not want to see her and just documented it in her chart. I was totally comfortable with that.

Re: Pediatrician making me feel crazy

My ped diagnosed my DD (then 15months) with a mild case of the chicken pox 10-14 days after the vaccination. She had a slight temp and the red bumps were from her left shoulder down to her wrist. You are not crazy.

Re: Pediatrician making me feel crazy

I agree that it's a common side effect from the shot, and probably nothing to worry about.

That being said, it sounds like the ped is blowing off your concerns. I wouldn't feel comfortable at that practice. On LI, there are so many peds, I'd find another one.

Pediatrician making me feel crazy

You are not nuts. You're concerned.

Your doctor sounds like an arrogant a**hole. I'd probably leave the practice. He "refuses." Sometimes they forget that they work for you. How about explain why you feel blood work is not necessary rather than REFUSE.

And his logic / argument is off....Because the shot doesn't cause chicken pox, it is not chicken pox? Can't it still be CP, just not caused by the vaccine???

Re: Pediatrician making me feel crazy

Message edited 1/29/2016 10:52:33 AM.

Pediatrician making me feel crazy

I think sometimes doctors get so defensive about immunizations that they don't want to acknowledge that anything is a reaction and not just a coincidence. That's jmo and I really don't mean it in a nasty way, it's really my experience with my own kids.

Re: Pediatrician making me feel crazy

Re: Pediatrician making me feel crazy

I would probably go to PM pediatrics just for peace of mind.

Re: Pediatrician making me feel crazy

Pediatrician making me feel crazy

Time to find a new ped! His attitude is disgusting.