Changing Practitioners
Posted on November 27, 2008 by Yael
I have no idea where time goes.
Having a life is not as simple as not having one, and I must admit- I find myself running around crazy, trying to fit everything in. Something always slips away, and lately it seems that CMNotes has been suffering more than anything else.
I’m sorry CMNotes, you’re not a bad blog or anything, and I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. It just happens, and I’m trying my best to be better.
Hopefully this will be a good beginning to mending our realtionship….
One good thing that happened is that we have a new practitioner for my boy.
I told you a while ago about the doubts I have with the practitioner we had. It’s not that I don’t trust the practitioner, as I think he is a very good practitioner. I think it was more a clash between what I needed as a parent of a child (first child, I guess that always makes a difference), and what the practitioner could offer me. There were times I really thought that the practitioner was a bit too odd, but for about 95% of the time, I felt he was helping Shahar a lot, and that was the main thing. Our personal disagreements on how a practitioner of children should be was minor compared to the help he was giving my boy.
But that changed.
The more I thought about it, the more I realize that I need someone to be available to me- in the clinic, on the phone. Not 24/7, and no, I don’t think he should stop his life and talk to me whenever Shahar had a sniffle. But he should have been more approachable. At least that’s what I felt I needed as a mother.
I also think that Shahar needed more treatments than what his practitioner thought.
The last session we had was really out there:
Shahar was having 3 very rough weeks, in which it seemed like he had everything- eye infection, a bad cough, fever, teething- you name it- he probably had it!
If you ask me, it started with the cough, no matter what we did it seemed that it was getting worse and worse, so went to the ER. They gave him steroids to stop the attack, but then we kept on giving him steroids because those were the doctors orders.
Bad move.
I feel that the extra steroids were the reason my boy had a very long attack, and had a very bad temper.
Then he had a number of days where he was quiet, and his eyes were kind of sad. He didn’t eat well and was very needy and clingy. Very different than what he usually is. It was really heart breaking to witness these changes of moods, and I had trouble accepting it all. Even after we long stopped with the steroids, their affect was still very evident in Shahar.
At some point I said- enough.
We went to the practitioner. I couldn’t go so my husband went with Shahar. When they came back, he started telling how the practitioner said that Shahar is not eating well because he has a difficulty in digesting, and he did this treatment, which he expects would work well, and by the following day, Shahar should get back to eating and will be better.
The following day arrived, and if you think he started eating- you’re wrong.
Shahar not only didn’t eat, he had a fever and felt even more misrable than before!
I know, I know, the practitioner is not God, and he is allowed to make mistakes.
I’m ok with mistakes. But expecting one thing and then a whole different thing happens?? I ask you- isn’t that a bit too much?
I expect he has a wonderful explanation, but I didn’t even bother, as I knew I am not going to go to him anymore. I just felt like he was doing this thing that is only clear to him, and I just spent a fair amount of money for nothing.
So we have a new practitioner, and I am very pleased with her.
First of all, she really helped Shahar get out of this 3 weeks of misery. Her treatments really did make a difference. One other thing that I liked about her is that she wanted to see Shahar twice a week and immediatly thought about the price and reduced it all on her own. There were two times in which we were there but she decided not to treat him and she didn’t charge us.
And- most important- both my husband and I feel we have someone to turn to when we need to.
She makes herself very available to her patients’ parents, and I think that is a very important thing when someone decides to treat children.
I have no doubt in my mind that parents can be a pain in the neck.
I know it’s true, because I know that sometimes I make a pain of myself, but only when I feel that this will get a reaction that will benefit my child’s health, and I only do it when my boy really needs it.
But if one decides to treat children- no matter what kind of medicine- one should make himself (or herself) availble to the children’s parents.
I know that I feel more involved in my child’s health this way, I know that I feel like I understand more and it’s not all a huge mystery.
I feel I can trust our new practitioner, and I feel that she really knows what she’s doing.
She also likes to educate the parents, and I think that is a very important factor.
Parents really should know that the health of their child is in their own hands- not in the hands of doctors and not in the hands of Chinese Medicine practitioners.
Parents can make all the difference in the world for their children- give them cloths, give them food, buy them toys… but I think one of the best thing they can provide for their children is good health.
When combining western medicine with Chinese medicine- they can give their children the best.
Over to you
What are your thoughts about treating children? What kind of a practitioner are you and why?
I would love to read your thoughts.
Tags: children, treatment of children
Categories: General notes, Personal notes, Practitioners notes, Students notes
This is a rather difficult question. Health care is both a right and a responsibility, but when it comes to children, the “responsibility” falls upon the parent/adult… who, in an ideal situation, has the best possible knowlege about health and wellbeing. In today’s society, this isn’t always the case. We rely upon others to inform us of the proper wellness instruction.
Children are truly at the mercy of our advice, and as parents, you try to make the best choices. My humble suggestion: go with your gut. Observe the reactions that medications have on your child, be mindful of the choices out there and learn what works, what doesn’t.
Some methods for treatment are shot-gun in nature (like steroids), in that, a simple point-and-shoot _can_ work, but can cause side effects like the ones you listed above. trial and error is part of that approach. Artful, insightful, directive medicine (regardless of methodology) is used like an arrow– direct, to the root, to the point of where the underlying dis-ease occurs. Side effect with this approach are kept at a minimum, if they occur at all.
Children are sensitive to methods that push aggressively, so it makes more sense to be as specific as possible with a treatment plan.
Being a practitioner of medicine (without a child) I can only offer limited advice, however, it sounds as though the second practitioner you cited has better experience with this situation. Again, follow your gut feelings. Go with methods that cause the least amount of disharmony and that directly treat the disease.
…and again, it’s best to focus on prevention, like immune boosting foods and rest to eliminate the need to see a doctor in the first place… but you already know that.
hope this helps,
kimberly ann
Hey,
Thank you for the wonderful comment!
Very wise, and I think has strong points.
I don’t think that every parent should be a doctor or pracititioner. I do think that people should ask questions, read on the Internet and try to understand what’s going on. I heard so many stories of people educationg themselves on a subject that they never learned before and they found very important information that helped them help their child or themselves.
We can only try to do so much, of course, and we don’t always have the right answers. But I rather decide something upon a bit of information than none at all.
Thank you again for your wonderful comment.
Yael