what do you do when your child is sick and needs a doctor?

That's a shame what your doctor did to you, but I'm glad you got him seen anyways. I've never had a problem getting my child into the doctor when needed, but our problem is that we owe our pediatrician some money. Actually, it was copays and added fees our insurance wouldn't pay. They didn't tell us we owed any money until it had gotten up to $400. So now anytime I want to bring them in I have to pay our copays and fees as well as an extra payment for our past due balance. As you can imagine that is difficult to afford. There was a time a few months ago I went to see my doctor about an earache. They thought there was a tear in my eardrum, so referred me to a specialist. They called the specialist, and the specialist was going to schedule the appointment and get back to me. A couple weeks later I got a letter in the mail saying that my appointment was for 2 months out! By the time I got this letter my earache had gone away! I called and yelled at the receptionist, but she didn't seem to care. I ended up cancelling the appointment.

Yeah, I know how it is. Fortunatly the pediatricion my children have now will usually try to get them in that same day or the next. If he can't fit my children in he will advise me to take them to the ER. If he says that I have to go over a couple of towns to take them to an ER that has a special children's unit, because the local ER has put my children on hold over less serious issues. Once when my son was 2 months old I took him to the regular ER because he had a fever of 105 degrees F. I rushed him in, they gave him some tylonal and made me wait for 6 hours in a tiny waiting room because my children were bothers the old people that were there for sprained wrists. I was pissed! Finally I asked them how much longer I was going to have to wait. (by this time my son was crying and coughing up a storm!) And they said at the rate they were going it would be another 6 hours and the next morning before he got seen. I had enough. I made them hand over the tylonal, signed my son out of the ER (they had processed him as a patient, just not had a doctor check him out yet) and went home for a very sleepless night. My oldest had to stay home from school the next day because we were up so late at the ER I knew it wouldn't be fair to send a dog tired child to school! The next morning I got up and called my pediatrition and told him what happened. He was like 'can you be here in 5 minutes?' I said 'watch me!' I threw the children in the car and rushed to his office. My 2 month old had pre pnemonia and was able to get on antibiotics right then. Thank goodness my doctor saw him when he did. And that ER is the one that grates my nerves the most!

Well if I couldnt get one I'd either talk him to a walkin clinic, or the emergency room. Usually I call Ask A Nurse and they'll tell me by the symptoms how soon he should be seen and then I'll decide from that point. =) Hope he feels better! =)

Usually if the receptionist knows the child is sick and needs to be seen it has been my experience that they make room for him to be seen. If they don't I make tracks for another doctor whoose office policies are such they show me they have some compassion and should be in the business of taking care of our youth. Those that do have my child's back as it were. Those that don't need to be thrown out of the mix.

Generally our office will squeeze them in if it is during appointment hours, even if not with his doctor they will schedule with another doctor if it is that serious. We also have an urgent care in our clinic that is open until 8pm and sees all walk ins. Then there is the emergency room, a bit more costly, but for a sick child I've done that. Poor little guy though. I hope he has a speedy recovery! Namaste-Anora

ethansmommy06 I can relate to your frustrations, especially since he really needed to get in asap, glad you were able to find another doctor near by without having to use the emergency room. I hope your little guy is feeling better soon. Good job mommie on being persistent they are our babies and there is no price tag on their health. 2yolysempowering

Hi ethansmommy I understand your feelings.It is really very paining to note that you can't get the doctors appointment when you are really in need of it. In our country there is no such problem.There are plenty of doctors and specialist doctors are available.So there are many corporate hospitals,government hospitals,private clinics etc..As there are more doctors and private clinics,there is no problem to get a doctor.No prior appointment is necessary when you go to a doctor in his private clinic. Wish your son a quick recovery. Happy mylotting

I was lucky enough to have a pediatrician who made exceptions for sickness. I'd call and they would say bring 'em in. We usually got seen within the hour. The bad side of it was you had to take whatever doctor could see you. There's this one Dr. Tickles (seriously, that was her name) who is the most unpleasant person I have ever met. She's rude to the parents and acts like she knows your kid better than you do. Can't stand her. My son's pediatrician is Dr. Wise and he's almost kid size himself but he's gentle and genuinely takes an interest in not only your child but issues you may have as a parent.

Not at all difficult to make an appointment with a doctor in my city. We have severala general hospitals. They open 24 hours. Why didn't you try to take him to the public hospital? Isn't it possible?

We used to have that issue with our Pediatrician. His office felt like maintaining well baby check up and stuff was more important than seeing a sick child. His office was walk in type deal for sick babies, and had to be there at 8 am, and you may be seen with in the first hour or you could sit all day long and still not be seen. That is not how you handle business. We stopped using their office after the first time this happened to us, so we found us a family doctor for our family, and he handles everything from minor cuts, colds to serious things. Best Change we made!