OT -- Doctors -- Little RANT!!

Soo.... I've been having these ear infections. On and off for about a year now.
They usually go away on their own, after a week or so of semi-deafness,
draining gunk (TMI...) and varying amounts of pain. This last one was dragging
on for a few weeks, so I went back to my doc, (I'd been in for a few in the
past, and gotten antibiotics, which hadn't done much. The treated infections
seem to have eventually just gone away on their own as well.) SHe peeked in my
ears, said that they looked awful, full of gunk, wrote me scrips for ear drops
and Augmentin, and made me a referral to the ENT, in hopes of figuring out WHY
I keep getting these things.

So.... today I go to the ENT. (In the meantime, par for the course, 7 days of
Cipro drops and 10 days of oral antibiotics had done nothing; I'm still half
deaf and draining crud from my ears.) The ENT looks in my ears. For about one
second each. Says he can't see anything. Says he'll need to write me
prescriptions for ear drops and oral antibiotics, and then, once my ears are
clear and he can see, we can talk more. *I* say I just did antibiotics and ear
drops. He says I need different ones. He writes me two scrips, tells me to come
back in two weeks, and is gone. Didn't ask me a single question about my
symptoms or history.

Surely my GP coulda done that? (And would've charged me a LOT less for the
privalege!)




Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)

What a pain! I have had several external ear infections,

Actually, the speculation (which makes sense to me, based on my symptoms) is
that I have both external and otitis media, and at least one ear drum is
perfed, so lots of the drainage I'm getting is actually from effusion in the
middle ear.

1. It can help if they get a culture from your ear

Makes sense to me ... and is kinda what I THOUGHT he'd do, before just blindly
putting me on another drug.

2. If the ear is really blocked they can put a wick (piece of string
basically) in your ear to get the drops to the infection.

My GP has done that in the past. It did help. ENT didn't suggest it, just
prescribed a longer course of stronger Cipro drops and a stern warning to keep
my ears dry when I wash my hair.

3. Both ENTs I had said that oral anti-biotics are often pretty useless and
one prescibed them just in case and the other not at all.

Again, because they think there's probably a middle ear infection going on,
they're doing the oral stuff too. (Two weeks of Cipro this time! Seems like a
real elephant gun for something that is causing me little pain and no fever.)

The GP I first saw about it when my son
was two weeks old gave me drops and told me I would have to give up
breastfeeding. I was devastated,

Yeah, the package insert on the Cipro drops say you can't bf while using them.
Bull****, of course.




Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)

Naomi Pardue wrote:He writes me two scrips, tells me to come

back in two weeks, and is gone. Didn't ask me a single question about my
symptoms or history.

Surely my GP coulda done that? (And would've charged me a LOT less for the
privalege!)

:-p~~~~~~~~~~
Find another ENT. There are all kinds of things that can be going on that
antibiotics won't do
anything or little for (chronic mastoiditis, benign growths etc.........)

Good Luck and feel better soon!

Karen

OSPAM (Naomi Pardue) wrote in message ...

Surely my GP coulda done that? (And would've charged me a LOT less for the
privalege!)

Just to point out, there's at least two possibilities:
1. This is the sort of problem where detailed history doesn't give him
the info he needs, and he really needs a clear view of your ear to see
what's going on.
2. He's doing a crappy job.

At first pass that sounds to me like an issue where history would
matter, but there are medical issues that are pretty visual. Either
way, sounds like his bedside manner could use some work.

Kate
and the Bug, June 8 2003

"Naomi Pardue" wrote in message
...
What a pain! I have had several external ear infections,

Actually, the speculation (which makes sense to me, based on my symptoms)
is
that I have both external and otitis media, and at least one ear drum is
perfed, so lots of the drainage I'm getting is actually from effusion in
the
middle ear.

1. It can help if they get a culture from your ear

Makes sense to me ... and is kinda what I THOUGHT he'd do, before just
blindly
putting me on another drug.

2. If the ear is really blocked they can put a wick (piece of string
basically) in your ear to get the drops to the infection.

My GP has done that in the past. It did help. ENT didn't suggest it, just
prescribed a longer course of stronger Cipro drops and a stern warning to
keep
my ears dry when I wash my hair.

I find that helps to prevent them but you are way past that by the sounds of
thigs!


3. Both ENTs I had said that oral anti-biotics are often pretty useless
and
one prescibed them just in case and the other not at all.

Again, because they think there's probably a middle ear infection going
on,
they're doing the oral stuff too. (Two weeks of Cipro this time! Seems
like a
real elephant gun for something that is causing me little pain and no
fever.)

That makes sense if it's middle ear as well.



The GP I first saw about it when my son
was two weeks old gave me drops and told me I would have to give up
breastfeeding. I was devastated,

Yeah, the package insert on the Cipro drops say you can't bf while using
them.
Bull****, of course.


Over cautious as usual. God it would have to be sooooo toxic to be absorbed
into your bloodstream from one or two drops, then be further diluted in your
milk and then into the baby's bloodstream. If it was that toxic I wouldn't
want to use it breastfeeding or not!

HOpe that ear clears up soon

Judy





Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to
e-mail
reply.)

Naomi Pardue wrote:

Soo.... I've been having these ear infections. On and off for about a year now.
They usually go away on their own, after a week or so of semi-deafness,
draining gunk (TMI...) and varying amounts of pain. This last one was dragging
on for a few weeks, so I went back to my doc, (I'd been in for a few in the
past, and gotten antibiotics, which hadn't done much. The treated infections
seem to have eventually just gone away on their own as well.) SHe peeked in my
ears, said that they looked awful, full of gunk, wrote me scrips for ear drops
and Augmentin, and made me a referral to the ENT, in hopes of figuring out WHY
I keep getting these things.

So.... today I go to the ENT. (In the meantime, par for the course, 7 days of
Cipro drops and 10 days of oral antibiotics had done nothing; I'm still half
deaf and draining crud from my ears.) The ENT looks in my ears. For about one
second each. Says he can't see anything. Says he'll need to write me
prescriptions for ear drops and oral antibiotics, and then, once my ears are
clear and he can see, we can talk more. *I* say I just did antibiotics and ear
drops. He says I need different ones. He writes me two scrips, tells me to come
back in two weeks, and is gone. Didn't ask me a single question about my
symptoms or history.

Sorry about your ear troubles. I know exactly what you are going through.

After my first daughter was born, I had recurrent ear infections. Finally, my
eardrum burst and I got a referral to an ENT. The ENT put some sort of scope (long
thin flexible lighted tube) in my nose and down to my throat and found cysts
blocking my eustation tubes. After surgery to remove the cysts, my ear problems
have cleared up.

Perhaps an exploration with this type of scope might benefit you?

Nancy

I commiserate. I have had a slew of health problems in my life, so I
have seen this again and again. Some doctors (not all) want to just
breeze in and breeze out of the exam room in such a short time, not
asking questions, not hardly trying to diagnose. It's very
frustrating.

KC
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OSPAM (Naomi Pardue) wrote in message ...
Soo.... I've been having these ear infections. On and off for about a year now.
They usually go away on their own, after a week or so of semi-deafness,
draining gunk (TMI...) and varying amounts of pain. This last one was dragging
on for a few weeks, so I went back to my doc, (I'd been in for a few in the
past, and gotten antibiotics, which hadn't done much. The treated infections
seem to have eventually just gone away on their own as well.) SHe peeked in my
ears, said that they looked awful, full of gunk, wrote me scrips for ear drops
and Augmentin, and made me a referral to the ENT, in hopes of figuring out WHY
I keep getting these things.

So.... today I go to the ENT. (In the meantime, par for the course, 7 days of
Cipro drops and 10 days of oral antibiotics had done nothing; I'm still half
deaf and draining crud from my ears.) The ENT looks in my ears. For about one
second each. Says he can't see anything. Says he'll need to write me
prescriptions for ear drops and oral antibiotics, and then, once my ears are
clear and he can see, we can talk more. *I* say I just did antibiotics and ear
drops. He says I need different ones. He writes me two scrips, tells me to come
back in two weeks, and is gone. Didn't ask me a single question about my
symptoms or history.

Surely my GP coulda done that? (And would've charged me a LOT less for the
privalege!)




Naomi
CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator

(either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail
reply.)