How honest with doctor should we be?

[Groundhog]

Dd starts school next month for the first time and we need to do the school-required checkup. We do not vax at all, though we did the first two rounds as a baby.

It's been a year and a half since she last went to the doctor and that doctor (Dr. A) has since left the practice. We plan to see the other doc (Dr. B) in the practice for this checkup.

When we saw Dr. A, we told her of our concerns about vaxing and while she disagreed with our choice, she respected that we had made an informed decision and left it up to us. I assume all of this is in our record.

We will be meeting with Dr. B soon before the checkup, since we have never met her and want to make sure she is OK with our not vaxing (if not, we'll find another doc).

The issue is that we plan to claim a religious exemption at dd's school, since our state doesn't allow philosophical exemptions. I have no qualms about this, as I am religiously opposed to vaxing my child. But, when we saw Dr. A we never mentioned any religious motivation for not vaxing.

Should we talk to Dr. B about why we REALLY don't vax or should we just go in and state that we will be claiming a religious exemption and leave it at that? I would like to have a good relationship with this doctor, just in case of emergency or something we can't handle at home.

I don't anticipate any problems with dd's school as I know there is at least one other unvaxed kid there, but I also want to CMA as much as possible.

Any thoughts?

[Katana]

I'd tell the doctor I wasn't vaxing for relgious reasons, only if asked why, and leave it at that. If he/she doesn't ask for a specific reason, don't offer anything.

Also, if you're in the same practice, it should be on your records that you've refused vaxing in the past . Hopefully, he/she will just note that you're not vaxing, ask if you want to start, and leave it at that.

Good luck.

[Sara29]

Even if the doctor did ask for specifics I would recommend not discussing them.Mandatory vaccination laws are for school,and you need not provide an exemption for your doctor.Just attach your religious exemption.When I took in dd's health forms for headstart and the preschool daycare across the street I just put a big N/A through the immunization section,and wrote (see attached exemption letter) which ofcourse I had not attached at that time since it is for the school not the doctor.

sara

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

good luck. i kwum about wanting to have a good relationship with ped in case you feel unable to handle somethign at hoime.

[Groundhog]

Thanks, all of you for taking the time to respond!

So it sounds like my best bet is to share as little information as possible. I guess in a perfect world, I could share what I know and the doctor would change her mind and we'd all live happily ever after. I suppose in this instance the best I can hope for is to live peacefully with our choice without interference from any officials or authority figures.

I'll call tomorrow to make the appointment...

Thanks again!

[Groundhog]

Well, Dr. B doesn't have time to do "interview appointments" anymore, unless you're pregnant and wanting to become a new patient. I could schedule a 15 minute appointment, but I'd have to pay for it. I think not.

I went ahead and scheduled an appointment for the check up, but it's the second week of dd's school and I think that's probably a bad idea.

We're getting in touch with a holistic MD we saw a few years ago and hopefully we can get in to see her soon. She is actively anti-vax, so no worries there. She's half an hour away, and doesn't have local hospital privileges or backup when she's out of the office, so we're kind of stuck with someone local for those sorts of things, though we haven't needed them yet.

Sigh. Why can't this be easy?