Please help...

[grneydgirl]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum as of today. I am a fast track BSN student about to begin my actual nursing courses this fall with my heart set on working NICU if I go through with this. I have a dilemma that is making me completely insane and I would so greatly appreciate any and all opinions to help me get through it - good and bad :)

Here goes - I began college in 2001 as a visual communications student because I have always loved art and design. I met my fiancee and he is a science geek and suddenly he convinced me to have no fear of all the science courses out there and this opened a whole new world of possibilities for me. I changed my major to humanities and continued on unclear of what I wanted. Then I got pregnant with my daughter who had a Congenital Diaphragm Hernia and when she was born we spent lots of time in the NICU at Morgan Stanley in Manhattan. I fell in love with the nurses who took care of her, they gave me so much relief after a bedrested pregnancy and so many complications and tons of stress. I then decided to seriously think about nursing school.

Here's the dingy - my fiancee the science geek, is, well, a chiropractic student. I am losing my mind. He is very respectful of integrative care and MD's, after all, an amazing surgeon saved our daughter; but, he is incredibly strong minded regarding mis-use of medications and more than anything using drugs unnecessarily.

When my daughter was 3 months old, we rushed to get her in to the "best" pediatric GI doc in the city because of her reflux issues after the CDH. I finally get her there and the guy rips off her diaper, pokes his finger up her ass as she screams her brains out, barely says a word to me then writes her a scrip for of all things - PREVACID! He THEN proceeds to order a barium xray or whatever it is called to evaluate the reflux. This guy had zero justification for prescribing her this drug especially considering he hadn't even seen the XRAY that he ordered yet which came back as only MILD reflux. Prevacid is not even approved for use in infants...Who the hell is he to use my daughter as an experiment or anyone else's child for that matter? My daughter came down with hallucinations and headaches from the Prevacid and we took her off of it right away, then we used natural remedies including an AMBY bed and she got better quickly though she did have a challenging apnea.

This is what makes me so angry and I do not know if I can handle dealing with doctors like this giving me orders every day and I guess why I am reaching out to you all.

Is this something I am going to deal with a lot in the NICU? The battle at home is enough between me and my fiancee, though he does respect what I am doing, he just hates to see me become a worry wart and I do admit we live a very happy holistic lifestyle.

Oh god, where does this put me as a future nurse? Also, are docs gonna treat me like crap because my husband is a DC? So many issues... I am trying right now to decide if I should just follow my heart from when I was young and finish my art degree or if nursing really is for me...

Thanks everyone, sincerely-

grneydgirl

[nicunana]

Hi grneydgirl,

In our NICU, we have found that Prevacid has provided MAJOR relief to our GER babies and made a significant difference in the quality of their lives. It has also helped to prevent some of the oral aversion that may develop as a result of all those unhappy experiences related to feeding.

I'm sorry that the Dr you saw had such poor interpersonal skills. It's especially frightening to new parents to see their little ones hurt. No matter how old they are, it's never easy.

I can't help but wonder, how could you tell she was hallucinating at 3 months?

I've often wondered what's going on in their little minds, but could never figure out how to tell.

As for pursuing nursing, that is something that only you can decide, but I can assure you that no one will think less of your husband because he is a D.C.

I personally have gone to a chiropractor, as have many of my coworkers (Nurses have notoriously bad backs!) & I love how much better I feel after an adjustment. I respect him for the professional that he is, just like I respect the internist that helps me manage my other medical problems with appropriate medication.

Good luck to you.

[grneydgirl]

Hi,

Thanks so much. We watched her on the Prevacid for about two weeks. It was strange, she was a very content and calm baby and when we gave it to her she would bulge her eyes as if she was staring freaked out at something and burst into crying fits. Our pediatrician chopped it up to headaches and some sort of hallucinations or something. It never really made sense to me as what can a 3 month old imagine or be afraid of not yet having much of a vivid sense of the world as it is?! Prevacid has been really successful I know, I just feel like any doc should tell a parent that the drug is not approved for the age group and give them a choice. She was not on a feeding tube or losing weight, just throwing up a lot and with the knowledge I have now, she really wasn't even much of a candidate for it. That is what is hard for me, I feel so torn!

[stnurse2008]

That is a hard one, I don't think there will be a problem with your fiance being a chiropractor, I love mine they do a world of good. I do not want to sound judgemental or cruel but I think you might have more of a problem with the doctors and the way they or other professionals act than they will with you. If you want to do it I say go for it. But also keeping in mind that the meds and following doctors orders (to and extent) are all part of it. You are in a tough situation and I hope it all works out for you :). Good Luck!!!

[MA Nurse]

Hi,

Thanks so much. We watched her on the Prevacid for about two weeks. It was strange, she was a very content and calm baby and when we gave it to her she would bulge her eyes as if she was staring freaked out at something and burst into crying fits. Our pediatrician chopped it up to headaches and some sort of hallucinations or something. It never really made sense to me as what can a 3 month old imagine or be afraid of not yet having much of a vivid sense of the world as it is?! Prevacid has been really successful I know, I just feel like any doc should tell a parent that the drug is not approved for the age group and give them a choice. She was not on a feeding tube or losing weight, just throwing up a lot and with the knowledge I have now, she really wasn't even much of a candidate for it. That is what is hard for me, I feel so torn!

I find it odd a Dr. telling you a 3 month old is having hallucinations and headaches! It sounds like she just didn't like taking the medicine. You can't have such quick side-effects right when you are giving the med.

Sometimes one rude doctor can make you have a bad opinion about the medical field. If his bedside manner was better, maybe the Prevacid wouldn't have been an issue.

We use Zantac and Reglan for reflux in our unit.

If you become a nurse, you don't have to tell people exactly what your fiancee does.

Good luck