Up all night.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Been up all night with my son Justin . Went to the doc wednesday ,determined he had strep throat , put him on Amoxicillin twice a day for ten days. 2 days later he was far worse took him to emergency room, doc there got his very high fever down and told us to continue his Amoxiccillin --give it time to do its job. Now here we are two more days past and he still has very high fever and chills. I swear these damn doctors treat me like I am an idiot. All this has happened with his doctors before ,many times over and each time I was correct the first antibiotic prescribed was ineffective but each time I had to go thru hell proving it to them and he suffered for many extra days each time! 6 years and dozens of times but the same damn group of docs still treat ME like I am crazy even after my having been proven right EVERY DAMN INSTANCE WHEN I TOLD THEM THE PRESCRIBED ANTIBIOTIC WASN'T WORKING.
Good God can't they read his medical chart or is it never noted that each time the presription change I demanded proved to absolutely correct!
I am pissed enough now to stomp some damn azzes! Will call the med number here this morning to raise hell with them.
After what we have been through with my son for 6 years now I feel like a doctor myself. I'VE ONLY HAD TO DO A FEW TONS OF MEDICAL RESEARCH ON A COUPLE DOZEN ILLNESSES BECAUSE THE PEDIATRIC GROUP OF DOCTORS HERE ARE APPARENTLY TO DAMN CALLOUS OR ELSE JUST SLOW LEARNERS.
The GD morons should know that I know my son and stay on top of his health problems far better than any human on earth.
Told these dumbasses two days ago the amoxicillin wasn't working but he has to suffer two more days to prove it to them again!
God thing for those dumbasses that I've calmed down a TAD IN MY OLD AGE OR ELSE I'D ALREADY STOMPED SOME DAMN ASSES THERE.

NOW MAYBE THEY WILL SWITCH TO CEPHALEXIN LIKE I SUGGESTED BACK ON FRIDAY!
Everytime I've told them which antibiotic to switch too and everytime it was the correct choice. Good God how ffing dumb are doctors these days!??? -Tyr

[Gaffer]

Because they are doctors they feel they are superior to you. Not all are that way but you seem to have a excessively large bunch there by you. Good luck with the little one, time to go make demands.

[jimnyc]

I'm sorry to here the news, Tyr. I hope the little guy gets better soon! Memorial Day or not, if he's still hurting, I would go to a hospital in another town or another doctor and maybe get a second opinion. Sometimes antibiotics do need time to get working. I had an ear infection that was KILLING me. They prescribed antibiotics but it took about 3 days to rid me of the pain. They should have given me something for the pain as well, at least until the other meds took effect.

High fever, chills, sweats... Maybe keep him in an air conditioned room, then spoil him with lots of fluids and ice creams to help with the fever and heat? I'm no doctor of course, but man does it suck to help our kids when we don't fully understand the problem and can't fix ourselves.

[Jeff]

I have found when ya only have two days of the meds left the illness is usually gone by then , the last couple of days is just to keep it away, I live in GA and unless we travel to Athens or Atlanta man the hospitals are about like going to a witch Doctor and yes they all feel like they are something special , last time I was in Royston my wife was actually admitted and I had problems with a male nurse at one point I was walking down the hall and he was tryin to make fun of me due to Tattoos and a northern accent all due to me questioning him( and in a nice way I was concerned for my wife) , needless to say when he got pulled up and over the counter and after everyone of them found out why I did so we were treated like gold but ya shouldn't have to get nasty with these people they get paid well, Now my personal Doc is a Indian and honestly he is great he had to be certified in his country and have a specialty ( he is also a cardiologist ) and then when moving here he had to re take all the exams ( I know this because of teasing him enough and telling him to learn english or go home , yes he is a very nice guy that put up with a lot from me ) but what makes him so good is he will answer all questions and take the time to listen and yes has even changed his mind after listening

Good luck to your little one I sure hope he gets to feeling better real soon

[Kathianne]

Strep throat can be very serious. If within 48 hours there isn't a noticeable improvement, the likelihood of the anti-biotic prescribed working is nearly 0. The infection is immune to that anti-biotic.

I've not had the doctors problem you all are describing, thank God.

I am a believer in letting the body fight disease to begin with. I didn't have a problem with my kids running a temp of 101, spiking even to 103 and placing them in tepid water to lower. Of course would use fever reducers, but if the temp kept spiking, I'd get them to doctor, fast. My daughter would get ear infections, that would always result in amoxicillan. Other than that, can't remember my kids on any anti-biotics until middle school age. I came down with strep, then all the kids did. We all went on a 10 day dosage of I think Seclor. All seemed fine, then a few days later, I got it again. Onto another AB, went away. Week later, came back. Onto another AB, but the doc wanted the dog tested for the strep. Yep, dog was a carrier. I'd always been strep susceptible. Dog went on AB too. My folks took me to FL for 10 days after the last bout, I had to have all sorts of tests for my heart. As I said, strep can be dangerous.

In spite of my efforts to keep the kids off ABs as much as possible, the oldest son is AB resistant. He got a sinus infection in high school and it took 3 different AB attempts to finally knock it out. The docs were about to admit and use IV ABs. That was close to 10 years ago, I think he was one of the canaries about the problems we're seeing today with AB resistant strains.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Thanks guys.
Appreciate all the replies!!!
Called the med emergency after hours number. Got to talk to a different doctor, he advised giving it one more day. If no better by then call back..
SOS, I most certainly will be cursing a doc by Monday morning. Justin fever under control now and no chills now because we are alternating his fever meds every 4 to 6 hours around the clock.. Children Motrin every 6 , Acetaminophen every 4 hours.

We had a great doctor but she retired and moved away . She was like 69 and retired because of the coming obamacare crap. Said she was too old to have to put up with such lunacy. Her words not mine.-Tyr

[Abbey Marie]

Tyr, when our daughter was younger and got sick with various illnesses like strep, etc., she always ran a high fever for 5 days. Day 6 the fever would finally break. It was like clockwork. At first we were very concerned, and would go back to the doctor. The doctor would usually say stay with the antibiotics. After a while, we just learned to live with it.

Your results may vary.

Hope this information can help. Good luck!

[WiccanLiberal]

Just checking in. Kids run much higher fevers than adults do and the alternating fever reducers work well. So do tepid baths and showers. The fever is actually a good thing in a way as it is the body making itself inhospitable for the germs. And yes, antibiotics can take more time to work. The important thing, no matter what antibiotic he's taking, is to make sure he takes all of it since incomplete courses of the drug only kill off the weaker bugs and let the stronger ones survive. The result is increasing drug resistance. Hope he is doing better and gets plenty of popsicles for the sore throat.

[Kathianne]

I'll say both Abbey's and WL's replies take me aback. Even when antibiotics didn't eventually 'knock out' the infection, they diminished the pain, fever, and pretty much made the kid or myself feel much better, within 48 hours. Always finish the prescribed regime, usually 10 days. Why so many do not follow through the entire regime, they feel well by day 3.

If it's 'not working' as well as it should, with strep the sore throat will be better, but not gone. The fever may come back now and then. After the 10th days dosage, the whole thing was back within 72 hours or so. Resistant to the the antibiotic, but while taking it, do feel better if not totally well.

As I said, I agree with WL that the best course is to try and let the fever kill the germs, it helps build a stronger immune system. Due to my own hearing, the one time I would get my kids to the doc was with pulling on ear or ear aches. Repeated ear infections can cause hearing loss.

Even without antibiotics though, rarely were my kids running high fevers for 5-6 days. 103 is not life-threatening, 104-105 can quickly be so.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Tyr, when our daughter was younger and got sick with various illnesses like strep, etc., she always ran a high fever for 5 days. Day 6 the fever would finally break. It was like clockwork. At first we were very concerned, and would go back to the doctor. The doctor would usually say stay with the antibiotics. After a while, we just learned to live with it.

Your results may vary.

Hope this information can help. Good luck!

Thanks, his fever was 105.9 the day we took him to the emergency room. Now it pretty much never gets higher than 103.5, usually much lower due to the antifever meds. Monday will be the 5th day. So I'll wait to see if it does the trick by afternoon.
I have this feeling that this strain of strep isnt treatable with Amoxicillin.

Yes we ALWAYS give the entire prescription, giving all treatment unless stopped to be put on a different one then we do a complete run on the new one. Justin has an immune system that is weak due to his many problems from early-low weight birth and his mother's health issue are likely at play as well. She gets lots of colds/flu's etc. Her being from the Philippines she has little to no immunity on several things we have around here plus she has a thyroid disease--Hasimoto Thyrioditis . Justin does not have that but he has been thru the mill over these 6 years.. 6 long years that have aged me 20 it seems..
Me I was tough as nails as a kid. Had to be because a doctor visit was only a remedy if absolute life and death was at play when I was a kid. We got treated by mom and dad's home remedies and a damn nasty tasting medicine called Nash's Chill Tonic. Man that was the worst crap I 've ever tasted in my life. Have to admit it did do miracles on several things .

[Abbey Marie]

One more thing- my husband, with no seizure history, had his one and only seizure from taking a stronger antibiotic- in this case Leviquin for bronchitis. Just saying if you can get away with the "lesser" types, I'd recommend it. They can have side effects no one ever tells you about.

[Kathianne]

One more thing- my husband, with no seizure history, had his one and only seizure from taking a stronger antibiotic- in this case Leviquin for bronchitis. Just saying if you can get away with the "lesser" types, I'd recommend it. They can have side effects no one ever tells you about.

I agree. Always start with the least powerful. However, once begun the germs begin their natural progression to developing an immunity to them. All the more reason that one should never, ever take antibiotics until the body shows that it cannot fight the invading bacteria. Then make all out war.

[BillyBob]

Strep can last the good part of a week even with antibiotics. It can be pretty miserable if the infection is bad enough. I had it when I was a teenager and that was, hands down, the sickest I have ever been in my life. This morning's hangover was a close second. Oy!

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Update on Justin's Strep problem. Last Friday went back to see the doc. Doc agreed that I was correct. He was put on A new prescription and it has done the trick! Hell, within two days after starting on it the improvement was massive!!!
Now we just have to continue the meds for the full ten days. So far my record for being correct about meds prescribed for my son has been 100%... Amazing what a lot of google research and love for a child can accomplish.... More parents should be more into the treatment the docs order, after all its their child...And no I don't mean try to be the doc but I do mean speak up when they see clearly something is not working out as planned. Docs are not God, they make mistakes.

The doc took no offense to my giving him all the info I'd gathered and he agreed the script was not working. I was not arrogant, rude or hostile about it but by God I was --FIRM.... MY CHILD, NOBODY ON EARTH KNOWS HIM BETTER OR CARES MORE FOR HIM! Yes, I am very fiercely protective! -TYR

[Drummond]

Update on Justin's Strep problem. Last Friday went back to see the doc. Doc agreed that I was correct. He was put on A new prescription and it has done the trick! Hell, within two days after starting on it the improvement was massive!!!
Now we just have to continue the meds for the full ten days. So far my record for being correct about meds prescribed for my son has been 100%... Amazing what a lot of google research and love for a child can accomplish.... More parents should be more into the treatment the docs order, after all its their child...And no I don't mean try to be the doc but I do mean speak up when they see clearly something is not working out as planned. Docs are not God, they make mistakes.

The doc took no offense to my giving him all the info I'd gathered and he agreed the script was not working. I was not arrogant, rude or hostile about it but by God I was --FIRM.... MY CHILD, NOBODY ON EARTH KNOWS HIM BETTER OR CARES MORE FOR HIM! Yes, I am very fiercely protective! -TYR

Very happy to learn that this is all working out, Tyr.

This must be one time when you're thankful you don't live in the UK. Our doctors invariably act like tin gods ... understandable, since, as they're part of our NHS, they lack accountability to the general public. That's not to say that there aren't official avenues one can take to make one's mark in any dispute, or difference of opinion. Just that they're unlikely to get anywhere.

Just one of a catalogue of extreme examples of 'civilised healthcare' ... 'in action' ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9945717/Mid-Staffs-nurse-ignored-pleas-of-dying-patient-tribunal-hears.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9975385/NHS-heads-must-be-accountable-for-Mid-Staffs-scandal-expert.html