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Old 01-24-2007, 05:16 PM   #1  
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Question Dr office scales. How often are they calibrated?

I had 2 appts last week. I booked them on the same day and took the day off work. I went from 1 appt in the AM and of course they weighed me. Then I had lunch and went to the second one mid afternoon. I weighed 3-4 lbs less in the afternoon. Both these weights are more than my home scale which is new and digital.

Aren't they supposed to have them calibrated every so often? Oh, their scales are the ones with the weights at the top.
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Old 01-24-2007, 05:51 PM   #2  
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not often enough. Scales like what you talk about are easy to check too, set the weight to zero, dont put anything on it, it should balance.

They SHOULD have someone in office checking it routinely but they dont. Sad because if they are rezeroed regularly, that is the most accurate type of scale long term. Digital scales are nice because they rezero each time, but they are more prone to long term error.

Scary story with scale...when my daughter was born she was early and had a hard time nursing. She was born 6lb6oz and dropped down to 5'9 oz which is about as low as they wanted her to go. So I was at the lactation consultant on Monday- 5 days old- and she was 5'10. That night she GOT it. She finally woke up and realized she was hungry and nursed all night. We went into the pediatrician the next day and they weighed her and said. 6'10. I said NO way did she gain a pound in ONE day (average is 1/2-1 OUNCE per day). We took her off the scale and dh moved the weights to zero and the thing CLUNKED down. He rezeroed it himself and we put her back on and she was 6 lbs even.

The nurse was acting like there was no difference between 6lb and 6lb10 (uh yeah at 6 days old that is a HUGE difference). She even asked us "well which weight do you want me to put down"

We told the doc who rolled her eyes and groaned and said the nurses were supposed to check it and blah blah blah. I TOLD her that we had rezeroed it and it had changed 10 oz.

Well the doc never used her brain. The next day she had another baby in for his 2 week checkup. He had been weighed 7 days before on the scale that was off by 10 oz. Then he was weighed again on the fixed scale and it looked like he lost 6 oz that week. (When in reality he had gained 4 oz which is a good week). The doc freaked out and put the baby on formula instantly.

I discovered this because I happened to be at the Lactation consultant 3 days later with the heartbroken mom who is being told by the incompetent doc that her baby is starving to death on her milk. The LC is confused because they had done a wfw and the baby was eating plenty and they did a fat check and the milk was fine. So they are thinking some bizarre allergy or celiac's disease. They were in the process of getting approval to have the baby checked in to the hospital for a metabolic screen and a horde of tests. Meanwhile the mom is being put on a TED diet and freaking.

For some reason it just struck me to ask who her pediatrician was and I told them about the scale.

I have never seen a woman as pissed off as that LC. She put everything on hold and got the baby in every day for a week for a weight check and he was gaining just fine.

That pediatrician lost at least 2 customers that day.
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Old 01-24-2007, 06:04 PM   #3  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ennay View Post
The LC is confused because they had done a wfw and the baby was eating plenty and they did a fat check and the milk was fine. Meanwhile the mom is being put on a TED diet and freaking.
What an awful thing to have happen to both you and that woman. That would have been an expensive useless test! Expensive both financially and emotionally!

What are those things I highlighted above? I'm not familiar with those.
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Old 01-24-2007, 06:07 PM   #4  
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Ennay, that is truly an outrage! Boy do things work in mysterious ways with you having been at the lactation consultant and heard her. I have a weighted doctor type scale which is probably at least 30 years old. I inherited from my boss, and I've had it a good 7 years. I do have to rezero it every once in a while, but it is way more trustworthy than this cooky digital scale I had some years back.
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Old 01-24-2007, 07:09 PM   #5  
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whoops sorry cb. wfw is weigh(the baby)-feed-weigh - so you can see how much they take in a nursing session

TED is Total Elimination Diet. Its used to screen for allergies usually in yourself, but in this case for the baby. The mom eliminates ALL traces of the top allergens from her diet for 3 weeks. If the baby gets better then she can either stick with TED or add one at a time back in. Its an awful diet to live with for long. I cant remember the whole list but I know dairy, soy, wheat, nuts, fish, corn, tomatoes and citrus are all off limits for awhile. There are other foods depending on family history and symptoms.
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Old 01-24-2007, 07:54 PM   #6  
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"I cant remember the whole list but I know dairy, soy, wheat, nuts, fish, corn, tomatoes and citrus are all off limits for awhile."

...if you can't have dairy OR soy OR wheat, what the **** are you supposed to eat for three weeks? Potato bread and celery and rice cakes? Oy vey, that sounds terrible. All because of a messed-up scale, how horrid.

I don't pay attention to my weight at the Dr's office, seeing as they weigh you in the afternoon with clothes AND shoes on and stuff. No point.
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Old 01-24-2007, 08:41 PM   #7  
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and you think WHEAT is hard, try corn. corn syrup or corn starch is in almost everything.

I have a friend whose son is allergic to all 3 of them, oh and eggs too, thats another biggie--there are substitutes but it is hard.

chocolate - thats another one

organic poultry, rice milk, sweet potatoes, bananas and veggies...that was her diet for 10 months (non-dairy non soy formula is killer expensive too & not a great option for an allergy prone child) My friend was so sick of chicken when she weaned her son she hasnt had it since.

whoopsie cb, didnt mean to hijack your thread
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