Dr. Mike

We decided to take Tyler to the wonderful Dr. Mike to get a 2nd opinion on Tyler's whole reflux situation. Although we (sort-of) have answers and information from Dr. S, Tyler's current pediatrician, I just didn't feel 100% with what we were hearing from her. My gut feeling was telling me to get another doctor's opinion.

While we were out in Lake Havasu, Tyler had 2 or 3 pretty good screaming fits and we could hear gurgling so we assumed it was his reflux acting up. Dr. S told us that reflux usually peaks between 4-5 months because babies at this age are much more active with rolling over, etc. Which makes sense. Well, over the last 3 weeks, Tyler's reflux has definitely gotten worse- we have about 2-3 nights a week of screaming. Although the screaming lasts a MUCH shorter time than when we first found out about the reflux, it's still heartbreaking to hear him scream and know he's in pain.

While we were still at Grandpa's house, I called to get an appointment with Dr. Mike. We got right in and on Tuesday morning, we took Tyler in. What a huge weight lifted off our shoulders and I felt like I could sigh a big sigh of relief when we walked out of his office. He's simply the best!

Overall, Dr. Mike agrees with everything Dr. S has told us...the reflux is just a waiting game; it should get better around 6 months when Tyler sits up on his own; increasing the Prevacid medication isn't a good idea; reflux should be gone by age 1, and a few other points he agreed with.

On the other hand, Dr. Mike said Tyler's hiatal hernia is very common in babies and even more common in adults. Dr. S said she VERY rarely sees these in babies and will have to consult with a GI specialist to see what to do about it. Weird. And, Dr. S (and the advice nurse at CHOC) told us to give Tyler larger, less frequent feeding, whereas Dr. Mike told us the opposite: smaller, more frequent feeding. He then drew a diagram and explained why- totally makes sense.

So, a huge, long story short: We decided to stick with Dr. S until Tyler is either 1 or 2 years old...then switch to Dr. Mike. Because of insurance reasons, we'd have to pay 3X's the amount per doctor visit at Dr. Mike's than we will at Dr. S. Once Tyler's well checks are less frequent, we're going to switch to Dr. Mike and just pay the extra $ the few times we visit. I'm sure if Dr. Mike thought Dr. S's ideas of Tyler's reflux were totally crazy and he didn't agree with her, then we'd probably be switching now.

We feel much better about everything and we now trust that time is our friend with Tyler's reflux.

Wow..I didn't realize I wrote that much!!

Just because pictures are always fun, here's a picture of Tyler on our way back from Havasu- he fell asleep with his vibrating star teether in his mouth..so cute!