Just wanted to encourage everyone to ask, then re-ask, then get the printed test results!
Our son, who has tested positive with strong results since a baby needed to be tested again. We have recently moved to a new state and I didn't have an allergist. I spoke with one office that wouldn't only test for peanuts which I wanted. They insisted on a full battery of scratch tests. I know he's not allergic to soy, other nuts, milk, etc. from previous testing. After more frustration at not finding a cooperative allergist close by, I spoke with our ped. He offered a RAST (we'd only had experience with scratch testing) We decided to get our younger son tested as well, just to know.
I called for the results a week or so after they said they'd call me (another frustration) and the lady told me that both my boys tested negative for the allergy. I was shocked! My first reaction was elation, actually! We wouldn't have to worry and check everything anymore. My second reaction was doubt. I asked if it could be a false negative, given our previous results. She said I'd have to talk to the dr. He called me back the next day and I explained my hesitation, and he suggested scratch testing, which has to be done at an allergist, apparently. Luckily, we were headed back to our home state for a visit and I was able to get my ds in for a test there. The allergist there told me to bring a copy of the RAST results from the ped. office. When I went to the ped's office to pick them up, I noticed right away (once I was in my car) that the results were a very high positive number for the pa son!!! I was so shocked I had trouble breathing for a minute! She had misread them to me over the phone! I went immediately back into the office and spoke to the dr. about what had happened. To think what I could've done to my child, had I just trusted what that lady said! I was extremely upset that such a mistake had been made! What if this had been my son's first testing and I had no epipen available after trusting these results??
I learned a big lesson -- always ask for a printed copy of the results and always double question results that don't seem right! I hope that dr. went on a head-hunt after I left his office and that this type of thing never happens to anyone else!!
Sorry this was so long, but I needed to get this out!
Has anyone else had similar cases?
2Boymom,
I just wanted to say how sorry I am that this happened to you. You must have been so disappointed. That nurse should really be careful, because like you said, if a parent was new to pa and believed the results, then fed peanuts to their child, the results could have been disasterous. Again, I am sorry for the probable disappointment. I know that when my son has been re-tested, although his levels are really high and I realize that he is not likely to outgrow, it is hard not to have hope that he will be one of the ones to outgrow.
Take care,
Naturemom
[This message has been edited by Naturemom (edited October 07, 2004).]