Vasovagal Syncope or heart arrythmia?

Ok, so I am having a little fight with my doctor right now, it is worth blogging about to me and it all goes back to Tuesday when Megan passed out.

In the afternoon, I took her to the doctor, she diagnosed her with Vasovagal syncope. She said it is very common in this age group and adolescents. Megan was laying in a hot bathtub for about 20 minutes, she stood up, she fainted. She had the typical signs of fainting and everything made sense.

But at the end of the visit, our dr. mentioned she wanted to do an EKG on her to check her heart. At the time, I agreed to it. I didn't have any reason not to. I had an appointment made for Friday afternoon at Children's Hospital. But since I had from Tuesday to Friday, I had plenty of time to think about it, ask around, and get people's opinion on this.

I personally did not want to do it. It was at Children's and it would take up half my afternoon, I would have to pay for it and even our doctor sounded doubtful that it would show any results. Pretty much, the results will be normal, BUT LET'S CHECK ANYWAY. (seriously, anybody else tired of hearing these words in the medical field?)

So after talking to a couple of nurses and some other people about it this week, Matt and I decided against it. I called Children's Hospital and cancelled the appointment for Friday afternoon. Well, little did I know, that Children's Hospital would call my dr. and tell them that I cancelled it! I got a phone call about 11:30 from a nurse at my doctor's office asking me why I cancelled it and it is a really, really important test that I should call back right away and get rescheduled. Ugh!!!

So I call them back and I am not so happy. I said something like "My daughter fainted once after laying in the tub for twenty minutes, I'm not convinced that it is her heart. But if you want me to consider rescheduling it, please call me back and give me some more information on it." So about two hours later, she called me back and said the doctor really, really wants this done because she wants to check for a heart arrythmia and I need to call back and reschedule right away! (talk about the guilt trip!) I never did call her back.

Ok, so maybe I should do it, yes, I respect my doctor's opinion and all. I think she is a great doctor and I have never had any trouble with her before. Yes, she is thinking of my daughter's health. BUT I also think she is covering her butt! I think having an EKG after fainting is protocal, but I guess the problem I have with it is that are as follows:

1. Megan has only fainted once and it was after a bath- seriously, this is why she fainted!
2. She has NEVER had any trouble with her heart before.
3. What are the signs of a heart arrythmia? Taken off mayo.com
A fluttering in your chest
A racing heartbeat (tachycardia)
A slow heartbeat (bradycardia)
Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Lightheadedness
Dizziness
Fainting (syncope) or near fainting

She's never complained of these, ok, except for the fainting this week.

4. I get tired of wasting my time doing and paying for medical tests which are "just to make sure" when even the doctor said that it would probably come back fine. I would have to find a babysitter, freak Megan out by gettting her heart checked at Children's Hospital, pay for it, and take time out of school to do this.

Yes, if this was more serious, I wouldn't even doubt having her take the test. Seriously, if she was just walking along and fainted, I would definitely have it done. If she keeps passing out, yes, I will have the test done. I will not neglect her healthcare. But in this case, I don't think we are there yet.

I take Megan in again in two weeks for her 8 year checkup. I will talk to our doctor more about it then. What ever happened to be conservative in healthcare? What ever happened to letting the parents make the decision? Yes, I know I am not a doctor and I should just stop fighting about this and take her advice and maybe I will eventually, but I am not there yet.

I also don't want to ruin the relationship I have with my doctor, I've been going to her for over five years and she knows my kids well! I may say something like this when I talk to her in two weeks, " I respect your opinion greatly, but I am not ready to run off and get her an EKG after one faiting spell. If Megan continues to have fainting or dizzy spells, I will not hesitate and get her an EKG." I also want to ask her if Megan has ever exhibted signs of a heart arrythmia, what other symptoms did she have that day that would point her toward that diagnosis? Help me understand it better and let me make an informed decision.