At what age do you stop taking your kid to the pediatrician?

[SW FL Dem]

My son is 14, 5'8" and 180 pounds. He's shaving at least once a week and his voice his changed. I don't want to know how much the rest of his body has changed. He's clearly entered puberty and is bigger and heavier than many adults. He's been taking adult dosages of meds for years. He needs a checkup but really doesn't want to go to his pediatrician. Last time we were there, he was humiliated to be sitting in the waiting room with babies and toddlers. He was also embarrassed to strip for his female doctor. Is it too early to send him to hubby's GP?

Edited to add that my son has only seen this pediatrician for a few years. If we still lived near the doctor who saw him for the first 10 years of his life, it wouldn't be an issue. There are no male doctors in the office.

[seemunkee]

1. My daughter still goes at 16

my son went when he was 17 just before heading off to college. Check with the your husbands doctor, they might not take him. Is there a male doctor in the pediatricians office?

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

2. Im 23 and I still ONLY want to go to my pediatrician

I hate Doctors, and I really like my pediatrician so he still makes exceptions for me hehehe. :P

and no, i dont care about the babies or the kiddy toys in the waiting room

[DainBramaged]

14. My daughter LOVES her pedia, and her pedia enjoys it when

she still comes in. Adult conversation. Makes exception too for her.

[Jamastiene]

20. I used to play with the toys even when I was 19 years old.

I had fun. The kids looked at me funny, but that didn't bother me. The kids my own age looked at me funny too. :evilgrin:

[underpants]

3. 18

then they go to a regular doctor because they are an adult.

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. About 13/14 for me.

I had the coolest Japanese pediatrician, Dr. Dyo.

I adored that man. He saw me through a brazillion bouts with tonsillitis and strep throat and the accompanying horrible penicillin shots in the butt.

Finally he told my mom they wre going to have to kick me out pretty soon, that it probably wouldn't be a good thing if I was still coming to him for penicillin shots in the butt at 40. But he did it with a big smile on his face.

[LeftyMom]

5. I had to go to the ped until I was 18 because my HMO requires it

Nothing more embarassing that waiting in the tiny chairs in the pediatrician's office for a pelvic and birth control consult. If he can't get in with hubby's GP, maybe you can get him an appointment with a family practice doc?

[XNASA]

6. Our 15 yo sees our GP now.

He's 6'2", weighs about 180 and has a beard.

We thought is might be best to change.

[Book Lover]

7. If he's shaving, I think he should be seeing a GP

Sounds like he grew up fast! Congratulations(?)

[kick-ass-bob]

8. my kids (10 and 4) go to a regular doctor now.

I hated pediatrician's offices, always crowded, billions of sick kids, long ass wait times - it is much calmer and nicer going to a Family Practitioner, and we have never been sorry.

[liberalitch]

9. Large animal vet.....

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. *lol*

[SW FL Dem]

10. Thanks all, I'll see if Hubby's Dr will see him

If not, I'll look for a family practice.

[China_cat]

11. If he's embarrassed to be at the pediatrician's

then it's time to change.

[skygazer]

13. Puberty

When a girl starts her period and a boy goes through the whole hair growing/voice changing, that's when it's time to see a GP. Because physically, they're NOT a child anymore.

[knitter4democracy]

15. Ask the GP's office for their policy.

My hubby's office's policy is no younger than 12, and that's only if they're at adult weights and all. It sounds like he's ready for an internist or FP.

My hubby's first week as a real internist (after residency and all), he did a pap and pelvic on a 15 y.o. and did about 5 sports physicals for high schoolers. Internists are trained for adults, and most are comfortable with teens, as they are often at adult weight (important for dosage) and have adult issues.

[GrumpyGreg]

16. You can tell when the child is ready---yours is,obviously.

I had five and they pretty much let me know when they were through and ready to move on.

One would still be going to him today if he(the doctor) was still alive. LOL

[Nikia]

17. Doctor's vary w/ this

Some doctor's see patients of all ages. Some see them after 12, some 15, some 18. Pediatricians see patients up to different ages as well. I started to go to a family practic doctor after my pediatrician, who had seen me as a baby, retired when I was still in elementary school. Call your husband's doctor about his policy on seeing teens.

[Jamastiene]

18. I was 21 before I quit going to my pediatrician

and I hated it the first couple of years. As a matter of fact, until I found my recent L.P.C. (I am sorry I don't know the right medical initials), I was miserable. He actually listens to me.

My pediatrician literally saved my life when I was a baby. He found out that I was born with a serious urinary problem. He operated on my when I was a baby and made it so I could pee without getting an infection. I am glad he did. I spent the first 5 years of my life on antibiotics. I know they say not to do that, but I ran a fever of 105 every time he tried to take me off of them. He finally did some math and found an antibiotic that seemed to be working and extended the dosage a couple of weeks. Finally, the infections went away. I almost died a bunch of times while he was studying my tests to see what was wrong and what would work. I miss him.

[LoZoccolo]

19. I'll tell you something about me switching doctors.

I used to have problems with low energy and my weight and stuff when I was a kid. When I was 15 my mom started taking me to her internist, and the first thing internists like to do is to give you a set of blood tests to make sure things are running OK. He found out that I had an underactive thyroid and put me on a synthetic thyroid hormone and things got better. I don't know if pediatricians normally do that or don't take these kinds of tests as a matter of course, but that's just something I remember where I benefited from an internist. Plus I was around your son's age and height and weight when I switched.

[hunter]

21. I think I was 25 when I last saw my pediatrician.

Then he retired.

I was part of a long term study which was one of the reason I kept seeing him, but mostly it was because he was a nice guy and a good doctor. And maybe I didn't want to explain to another doctor what I was about.

Years later I was talking to a new doctor with my wife, and the doctor's eyes lit all up, and he said "Hey! I read about you guys, most of you are infertile!"

My wife pretended to be surprised, and the poor doctor almost melted into the floor.

My kids and I now see a Family Practitioner. You might want to ask the pediatrician what she thinks. Maybe she can recommend someone.

[mwooldri]

22. I wouldn't know - my son has seen our family doctor.

We have a family doctor who sees everyone. He works in a mixed practice, some doctors only see adults, some only see children. Some like him, see everyone. He's board certified for pediatrics and family medicine, so it's not as if we're taking him to a doctor who specialises in adult medicine and who is doing children's medicine "on the side". I prefer the "general practitioner" approach, because if there are medical problems that arise in either me or my wife - our doctor will know about it, and he can watch for the same thing in my son (i.e prevention is better than cure).

So as such, my son will be seeing the same doctor as I do, as long as he is in practice and as long as my son wants to see him.