Remember....

Remember when I said I was breaking up with our pediatrician?  Well, he has managed to creep his way back into our lives and officially freak me out.  Funny how they always manage to do that to you!?  They must teach some bullshit class in med school called "make parents feel like shit for thinking for themselves," or "how to make new parents shit their pants."

Whatever.

We get a call from Dr. Richter last night saying he has consulted a number of other pediatricians in the area about Joe's squeak.  I was actually kind of surprised because he told us he was going to do this at Joe's last well child appointment which was on August 4th and it's now mid September.  So I thought he had totally disregarded us.  Apparently not; Dr. Richter has a new theory. 

Esophageal Diverticulum.

What this is is basically an open pocket in your esophagus.  This pocket collects fluid and food and makes it difficult to breath or makes it irritated and swollen which in turn creates a squeaking noise in your throat.  This pocket can also cause regurgitation and choking issues. 

Hmmm...ok...fine.  But while googling the crap out of this I noticed a few red flags.  1.  This is VERY rare in infants and is usually found in middle aged and older people.  Its something that develops as opposed to being something you are born with.  2.  There are a kabillion other symptoms associated with this condition that have no relevance to Joe, like chronic coughing, weight loss, chest pain, halitosis (weird), pneumonia and a bunch of other things.  I get that Joe's diet isn't too advanced yet so this condition might not have had a proper chance of developing these symptoms, but still. 

To diagnose this Joey would have to drink a barium solution and have his throat x-rayed to see if there are any glowing pockets.  Right there there are 2 things I am sketched out about.  Some solution that makes your insides glow and an x-ray straight to his tiny baby throat. 

Then what?

If he does in fact have this, the most sought after treatment is surgery.  Guess how I feel about that!

So what to do....I already feel like shit for questioning this man's 3rd attempt at a diagnosis, when I absolutely should not.  I don't really think this is what he has...wouldn't the Dr. at Childrens have been able to see a pocket in his FREAKING ESOPHAGUS when he shoved the camera down this throat?!  Is having glowy insides and radiation straight to your throat worth a diagnosis?  A diagnosis that might further make me feel like shit because I will absolutely NOT want him to have surgery....

I wish he could tell me what he wants to do...