Don't Get "Taken" by a Dr's Recommendation

Once upon a time, around 12 years ago, I had two kids.  A one year old, and a 3 week old.  One day my newborn was taking a nap up in my room, and I could hear him fussing as he woke up, so I went up to get him, assuming that I would just be changing his diaper and feeding him as usual.  Instead, as I walked up to the bed to pick him up, I saw that there were several reddish-brown spots on the blanket he had been lying on.  One was maybe 2 inches across, the rest were just little tiny spots, almost splatters.  I was confused, and it took me a few seconds to realize that what I was looking at was blood that my baby boy had spit up in his sleep.

I immediately panicked, and called my husband at work, crying and generally freaking out so much that he didn't really know what I was saying.  He eventually concluded that I needed him to come home right now and take us to the ER.

We spent a very tense and long morning in the ER, concluding with a consultation with a Pediatric Gastroenterologist (sounds impressive, no?).  He tested the spots on the blanket (which I'd brought with us) and agreed that they were blood, prescribed Zantac, and scheduled an appointment for us to visit him in his office a week later.

At that appointment, he explained to me that what my baby had was a fairly severe case of acid reflux.  This sounded really scary to me.  He also said that the next step was to do a sedated lower GI scope.  I didn't really understand why, but if this specialist, who I felt indebted to for pretty much saving my baby's life (not really, but it sure seemed like it then to a sleep-deprived and overwhelmed relatively new mama) said it needed to be done, it would be done.

The scope was another traumatic event in itself... and then I got the bill.  Nearly $3,000.  Did I mention we didn't have health insurance?

Fast-Forward several years.

I have another 3 week old, this time my fifth child.  I notice that he's been spitting up more than usual, and seems pretty uncomfortable after he eats.  I buy a bottle of liquid antacid, and give him a quarter teaspoon.  Yes, just as I suspected.  He immediately calms down and spits up less.  A quick phone call to our pediatrician and a prescription for Prevacid, which by now was our favorite acid reflux medication for babies (and we've tried quite a few as this baby is our fourth child to have acid reflux, which doesn't scare me at all anymore btw) had been called in to our local pharmacy.  Oh, and did I mention we once again didn't have health insurance?

But this time, no ER trip, no GI scope, no $3,000.  Still got the prescription.

So what's the difference?  Offhand, I'd say it's primarily me.  The first time, I allowed myself to be at the mercy of a medical professional and his recommendations.  I accepted them without question, even when I didn't understand them.  And I spent years paying off that GI scope.  The last time, I was more informed, knew what to ask for, and who to ask for it.
The health and medical care of your child is a very personal choice which can have serious long term consequences, so I am in no way recommending that you avoid medical care when you feel it is needed. But please remember that medical care is a business. Doctors get paid to treat you. Now I'm not saying they recommend unnecessary medical procedures just to pad their pockets (although some of them surely do). But even the best doctor has to watch is back for malpractice lawsuits, which means he or she may order a lot of extra tests "just to be safe."

Remember your families medical care is your own choice (at least until the government completely takes it over). So make sure you are actually choosing the care you get, and not just blindly accepting whatever the doctor tells you  you should do.

Kate