Your thoughts on well-checks - are they necessary?

[BalanceSeeker]

I ask because we can save $100 in copays if we forego it.

 

In the past when we go, dc are weighed and measured. Doctor asks if their appetite is good. Check. They walk on their tippy toes and heels and they read from the eye chart. Then, the dreaded discussion about immunizations comes up. Once we agree to disagree on that, I walk out with exactly the same knowledge I had of my children when I was $35 richer (per kid).

 

Am I doing them a disservice? I've skipped well checks for a couple years and the only thing we've been to the pediatrician for in the last 3 years was a bad swimmers ear that I couldn't manage at home.

 

I feel I give them the best preventive care they could possibly have by the choices we make on a daily basis, and I don't know what else the Dr. could add to that, aside from telling me that dd3 is tall and dd2 is short.

 

I'm curious to know how many go every year or forget about it when you know your kids are healthy?

[stripe]

I would suggest that, whether you do skip some of these checks or not, you try to make room in your budget and schedule for a thorough evaluation with an eye doctor. There are some eye disorders that are easy to miss, and can be much easier to treat sooner rather than later, including just needing glasses. (My pediatrician seemed to have NOT covered this sufficiently, much to my great fury, that's why I bring this up.) Apparently around the age of 1 yr is even recommended, then around the age of 3, and then around 5 years. Who knew? Not I.

[Emmy]

I have kids the same ages as yours and I skipped them last year. My kids are rarely sick so we haven't seen the ped (except my youngest) in a couple years. I was pondering taking them this fall but I don't really see the point. Maybe you could go every 2 or 3 years?

[J'etudie]

.

[snickelfritz]

I don't know....I figure there's always the chance that there will be something that I don't notice, because I'm around them all of the time.

 

I know for our "sick" visits, the doctor really doesn't do a thorough check-over. They're usually just concerned with the symptoms that I've described.

 

Our well checks have the doctor talking with the child(helps me know if speech is on target), checking eyes, feeling around on the stomach and throat (hernias? goiters? normal lymph nodes? don't know what they're checking for :)) and talking more on developmental topics (potty training, riding bikes, etc....) Our doctor has no problem with homeschooling, so our talks on these matters are beneficial to me.

[Karen sn]

We don't do them here.

We did school physicals when dd attended Montessori for two and a half years because we had to.

I suppose if you have a really good doctor and your kid has some really rare disease that the doctor catches in the early stages and can manage it or fix it - then it would be worth it.

 

I just don't go along with all the scare tactics of how we need to go to keep our kids well.

I'm in your camp - I would rather use the money to buy healthier food and practice prevention.

I think my money is well spent on fatty acids and good reverse osmosis water.

I don't need someone to weigh and measure my kids to know they are growing.

 

If I lived in Alaska we would visit my doctor there because he was awesome and I think he could teach me tons about prevention and true healing and health. But to go and blow my hard earned money on Western Medicine...I don't think so.

 

Like the PKU test that is "so important you need to do it now" and we went to the doctor's office where we sat FOREVER and finally she did it - and then tells me that the results will not be in for a few weeks. Ummmmm.....so if there was a problem he'd already be brain damaged before we got the results?! What a crock! I try to be more like my old grandmother and give their scare tactics a grain of salt.

[patchfire]

I take them solely because we home/unassisted birth, don't vax, and homeschool. That way I have a relationship with a doctor to point to, should there ever be an issue.

[Tutor]

Once our kids each turned five, our last doctor put them on an every-other-year schedule. Since we've moved, my kids have not gone for a well-visit since August would be two years since any have been seen. I don't see annual check ups as necessary, but I think going once every two to three years is good to pick up on things I may miss or just to build some form of relationship with a doctor.

[Samiam]

They often feel like a waste of time, BUT I still take my children to their annual well-checks for a few simple reasons:

1. We hardly ever go in for sick visits, since the children are relatively healthy. But I do want them to have a Dr-patient relationship with the Ped IN CASE something ever comes up.

2. As a previous poster said about the baby with the heart issue, there is always a chance that something could be wrong that I don't realize, and wouldn't it be a shame if it wasn't caught/corrected simply because I didn't take them to the well-visit. I also know a mom, (older now, child is a adult) who didn't take her child to well-visits, and the child has a vision issue that probably could have been corrected if caught earlier on.

[blessdmommy]

I take them solely because we home/unassisted birth, don't vax, and homeschool. That way I have a relationship with a doctor to point to, should there ever be an issue.

 

I take ours for very similar reasons. I want that relationship with a doctor and since my kids are rarely ever ill enough for a doc. visit I take them in yearly. Coincidence but I just made their appointments today for next month. I like having that 2nd opinion that my kids are growing normally and are healthy. If they were in PS then the school nurse would be checking them out every year. Plus there are a few sports that require a checkup before participating.

[Colleen in NS]

I ask because we can save $100 in copays if we forego it.

 

In the past when we go, dc are weighed and measured. Doctor asks if their appetite is good. Check. They walk on their tippy toes and heels and they read from the eye chart. Then, the dreaded discussion about immunizations comes up. Once we agree to disagree on that, I walk out with exactly the same knowledge I had of my children when I was $35 richer (per kid).

 

Am I doing them a disservice? I've skipped well checks for a couple years and the only thing we've been to the pediatrician for in the last 3 years was a bad swimmers ear that I couldn't manage at home.

 

I feel I give them the best preventive care they could possibly have by the choices we make on a daily basis, and I don't know what else the Dr. could add to that, aside from telling me that dd3 is tall and dd2 is short.

 

I'm curious to know how many go every year or forget about it when you know your kids are healthy?

 

When my kids were babies, I took them for 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 month checkups. After that, it was on an as-needed basis for illness or injury-followup. I scrutinize them all the time, as most mothers probably do, and I can mostly tell when something is wrong enough that I can't handle it at home. I'd like to find some type of family medical book, too, so that I can just be aware of more things - sometimes I don't know what to do for something, and then I go to the doctor, but maybe a reference book could help me treat more things at home.

 

EDIT: hmm...that heart story has me thinking, though. I don't even know if my doctor sees kids on a yearly basis like that - I should ask her. although, we go for flu shots every year, so maybe she monitors them during that visit, I can't even remember!

Edited July 22, 2009 by Colleen in NS

[Pretty in Pink]

I take my children in annually for well-visits. Here's why:

 

1. They are really never sick, at least not sick enough to warrant a trip to the doctor's office.

 

2. The doctor may pick up on something that I miss (such as the PP mentioned with her friend's child).

 

3. I have a well-documented and regular history of taking my children to the physician so that, should this ever come into question, I can provide proof. We're homeschoolers that selectively vaccinate. I guess I just like having all of my little duckies in a row.

[Harriet Vane]

I have come to value well checks. Without them we would not have known about ds' heart condition or about his chronic anemia. ( Thankfully his heart healed by the time he was 5yo, but I was glad I knew about it both so that we could monitor it and so that we could specifically avoid stimulants that would make his condition worse or, God forbid, spark an emergency room event.)

 

The other reason I value well checks is because we chose an alternate vaccination schedule. We do not get all the recommended vaccines, and we get them on a much slower schedule, one at a time.

 

There was a time when dd was a little one (1yo??) and she was dreadfully ill. It was days and days of vomiting and diarrhea, and a horrid fever, and finally a mild seizure. I took her to the ER. It turned out dd was dehydrated--an IV helped enormously. There was a militant nurse there who was horrified at dd's lack of vaccination who questioned me closely (patronizingly) before requesting the hospital social worker. I was then interviewed by the hospital social worker. My dear doctor went to bat for me, bless him. One MAJOR factor in the social worker's decision NOT to refer me to DCFS was the fact that I had taken dd in for ALL the scheduled well-checks, even though she did not receive any vaccinations until later when she was 2yo. That demonstrated to the social worker that this was not medical neglect. I was very, very thankful and have always been very careful to maintain our well checks as a result.

[Janet in WA]

We didn't do annual well checks for our sons after they were beyond the preschool years.

[Dawn in Ohio]

I dislike check-ups, but still try to do them occasionally (but probably not as often as recommended).

 

My daughter's need for glasses was discovered by our doctor. My baby's 3 holes in her heart were first heard by our doctor at a well-baby appointment. My son's pyloric stenosis was caught very quickly because we had a record of his weight (from a well-baby check-up) and noticed when he started losing weight.

[PeterPan]

This book http://www.amazon.com/Take-Charge-Your-Childs-Health/dp/156924653X was very formative to my thoughts when I read it years ago. With my first dc I was much more afraid (of things people mentioned above) than this one. For the weight gain and height, you keep a log yourself and check it with online percentile calculators, no biggee. Try to find the charts meant for nursing babies if your dc nurses. For the heart defects, well the midwife checked that. And PKU and the other tests are required legally and done by the midwife. Took dd to the eye doctor at the age he recommended.

 

One doctor I visited while pregnant years ago was upfront and said he wouldn't even have you come in for all those checks if you weren't vaccinating. That's when I wised up. ;)

Edited July 22, 2009 by OhElizabeth

[keptwoman]

They are not standard here. I mean I could take them regularly, but kids as a rule don't do Well Checks past age 5. I agree with the PP who mentioned getting eyes tested, I think that's worthwhile at least every 2nd year.

[KidsHappen]

It is important to have a well established relationship with the dr. for CYA purposes. We didn't do regular yearly well checks though, no. My youngest two are going to PS this year though and are required to have a yearly physicals so they are both going tomorrow. :glare:

[TeenagerMom]

We do well child checkups annually. I'm not a medical expert and don't aspire to be one. I rarely take the kids in when they are sick unless I believe it is serious, so I do believe that we need to have an established rapport with our ped.

 

Also, our insurance won't pay for emergency room visits without a post visit referral from our pediatrician. I'd rather she know who my child is if/when those come across their desk.

 

I do think some things are unnecessary, like wanting to do a lipids panel on my underweight 6 yr old, so I just opt out of having the procedure done:).

[BalanceSeeker]

Thanks for your responses.

 

Many of you have mentioned maintaining a rapport and I agree - I need to pop back in the office to say 'hello' for that reason alone. They are also seen by an EENT annually for the tubes that I decided to place in lieu of chronic antibiotics for the bad genetics they got from their Daddy, not me :D. Also, good advice on the eye exams. I'd rather them be checked out by an ophthalmologist for that even though no overt problems exist.

Edited July 22, 2009 by BalanceSeeker

[JennC]

I also rarely take my children for any type of medical appointments. However, I was glad to have a relationship with our ped (retired now). Now we see a nurse practitioner - because she is closer to us and much cheaper. She does a very thorough exam and is more open to my opinions than the ped group. Maybe you could find a CNP for annual visits. I was just thinking about this a while back - my almost 6 year old has never seen a doc except for his 2 wk and a few more well baby checks (2 & 6 mos maybe). We had a home health nurse as part of a rural health program and he's always gotten his shots at the county - $14 ea vs. $200-300 per visit

[angela in ohio]

Our doctor just caught dd's scoliosis, something I never would have noticed, at her well-check. Because it was caught so early (we go every year, so it is new,) she will be able to do therapy and exercises which will help.

 

We never take them when they are sick (I don't like too many antibiotics, although our doctor is pretty light on them,) but we don't miss the yearly well-check for any of us.

[lynn]

It depends on the child. If he/she is generally healthy I don't think well child check ups are necessary. I bring 2 yearly because they play sports and need the physical forms signed and 1 has allergies. I usually bring my children regularly until they are teens.

Edited July 22, 2009 by lynn

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I would go so that you have a doctor when your children get sick. The relationship with a doctor may save you an emergency room visit in the future:)

 

If you do not go to well visits, your doctor may possibly drop you as patients, although I am not sure of this.

[snickelfritz]

If you do not go to well visits, your doctor may possibly drop you as patients, although I am not sure of this.

 

Although, in my experience, it wasn't specifically for not coming to well visits. It was for not coming in for a certain length of time.

 

My dh had skipped his yearly well check and hadn't been sick, so he hadn't been to see his doctor in a while(2 years was his guess.) He was dropped as an existing patient and his old doctor wasn't taking new patients, so he had to switch doctors.

 

My doctor has a 1-2 month wait to see new patients. So, obviously, you have to get established with her when you aren't sick.

 

With that said, I am spoiled. Our insurance tries to encourage well visits (duh...maybe keeping people healthy will keep costs lower in the long run?) and covers yearly well checks(standard well check schedule for babies) for the entire family at 100%. Everything else has the standard co-pay and deductible.

[Debbie in IL]

Just one thought - I'm thankful we have always done well-checks for our kids, esp for dd last year, when she was diagnosed w/ scoliosis. We would not have known otherwise, and things could have been much worse.

[The Girls' Mom]

After the age of 3, I don't really do annual visits. We are usually in the doc's office at least once a year for sickness (Kelsie goes more often because of allergies and asthma), and we have a good relationship with our doc. I did have them all get a physical this year because our umbrella required it. It was the first one they've had in YEARS.

[Desert Rat]

We do annual check ups because my kids are asthmatics and we need to keep a close eye on it. The doctor also requires a visit before dispensing refills on their asthma meds.

I would still go, even if we didn't have ongoing issues.

[Heather in OK]

We do not go. If they are sick or something suspicious comes up, I'll take them in. They are established with a doctor but that's about it.

[KristenS]

We don't do well checks now the kids are past the toddler stage, but I *do* want to maintain that doctor/patient relationship. We get sick so rarely (at least that we can't handle) that we don't often go in. (coincidentally about the same time we quit preschool.) And the last couple times we had an issue with my health, the nurse was able to handle it over the phone because I had the information she needed (and dates for her to confirm the last time it happened, in my records).

 

I was told that many insurances won't cover well-child checks after age 5? 6? Something like that. Which is frustrating.

 

I do mean to get my kids into an eye doctor sometime soon though, as I needed glasses at an early age so there's a chance they will. I haven't spotted any issues yet though.

 

A lot to think about in this thread. Thank you. I hadn't considered some of these things.

 

Our doctor's situation is unique, too, in that for a while he was so backlogged with patients we'd have a two-hour wait in the waiting room. (When you have anxiety attacks and two small children, that is NOT doable!) And now he is dealing with Chronic Fatigue and related conditions, so he's not always in the office when you need him. So I hate to add to his burden if I don't have to. But he's an excellent doctor, and always takes our concerns seriously, and knows when to refer to a specialist if it's out of his league. (Like Ted's asthma... so when Ted gets a bad cold, we end up going through the pulmonologist anyway instead of our family doc.) I hope he never retires ... he's a great doctor and would be just about impossible to replace. I had never thought about keeping up lots of records on the kids in case he does have to eventually quit, though.

[I talk to the trees]

I do take dd in for annual check-ups. I like knowing that there is an office full of medical professionals that could attest to the physical/psychological health of my child if ever the need arises. (Not that we live in fear. I just prefer to err on the side of caution.) Also, dd loves the nurses at the ped.'s office, and would talk their ears off if permitted to do so. :D

 

-Robin

[Lovedtodeath]

If I lived in Alaska we would visit my doctor there because he was awesome and I think he could teach me tons about prevention and true healing and health. But to go and blow my hard earned money on Western Medicine...I don't think so.

:thumbup1:

[i.love.lucy]

We still go to them, my dd (9) has one on Friday. I am thinking though that I might be able to skip it for her for a while after this one - although those puberty years are coming. I should probably save the copay and take her into the opthalmologist as suggested.

 

My son was a preemie and my doc took a special interest in him. Like the pp said, he takes our concerns seriously and never fails to refer us to a specialist. Because he was a preemie and always examined very carefully, the doc one time noticed a spot on his chest that he thought might be a "tertiary nipple" and I was like WHOA! I think it may have actually been a scar spot from where his sensors were in the NICU, but anyways apparently this condition is a marker for cardiac and kidney problems in preemies so off he sent us to a cardiologist and nephrologist. Cardio turned out fine, but nephrology found calcifications in his kidneys that we could then track via ultrasound and treat to make sure they didn't form into stones.

 

This son also seems to be developing asthma and the doc has worked with us to develop a plan for meds when it flares up. He's also being seen by a pediatric endocrinologist to track his growth carefully as he is barely on the height chart and not on the weight charts. When you see several specialists it's really nice to have that one doc overseeing the big picture.

 

I just like having that relationship. Just like with my own health, it's nice to have that professional I can talk to when concerns come up. Maybe I'm needy too, but I do puff up a little when he brags on how great my kids are!:tongue_smilie::lol:

 

All that to say I may consider going to an every-other-year schedule with dd. But for ds I will keep taking him every year and in between as needed.

[stripe]

Well, frankly, I am really not sure anyone at my doctor's office could "testify" about my kids, other than relying on their notes or the fact that the kids had an appt on such and such a date. I had a confrontation of sorts with a nurse practitioner at an appt for my older son after an ignorant comment, and then she made a borderline racist statement when my younger child was a newborn (and also felt she needed to gesture while talking for things like "drinking"), but she clearly did not remember me, even from a phone conversation with me earlier in the week. So I am not sure anyone there remembers much of anything.

[phathui5]

I take them solely because we home/unassisted birth, don't vax, and homeschool. That way I have a relationship with a doctor to point to, should there ever be an issue.

 

This is part of why we do them. But also because I want them to be comfortable with the idea of going to the doctor should they ever need to.

[Rainbows]

With the older kids we did them when they were little, but not so much once they hit school age. With the younger we do them occasionally. They tend not to go to the Dr often for illnesses so I like to get them in there at least once a year. They do go to the allergist once or twice a year though.

[Dobela]

I did skip some of ours until we started needing referrals for other things. Here the policy is that you can't have referrals or prescriptions for therapies unless there has been a well child check up. And without those, our insurance won't pay for therapies. If it wasn't for that, I likely wouldn't go. I have found that for general concerns the well child visits are the best time for those. They are scheduled to last longer and the dr is more relaxed.

[eternalknot]

We don't do well-checks. I don't think they are "necessary" but I do think they are worthwhile for those who feel more comfortable having that relationship or just extra set of eyes/input on a child.

 

We're fortunate to have medical professionals in the family, though.

[5knights3maidens]

We haven't done well-checks in a long time. We do yearly physical IF it is the year required (we have to hand it in with an affadavit), and we do routine eye exams. Also, I don't take the kids in when they are sick unless they have been sick for 5 days or a high fever.

[WishboneDawn]

I admit we don't do well visits but I might reconsider this. One more thing, besides what others have mentioned, is that they give your doctor a baseline, a record of what's normal for your child that they can consult if there's a question about their health.