Pediatrician with expertise in upper respiratory conditions
We're looking for a new pediatrician at Kaiser Berkeley for my 3yo daughter, someone specifically with expertise in upper respiratory conditions (asthma or other). Has anyone had success in finding a pediatrician at this location that's really great at getting to the bottom of mysterious upper respiratory conditions in toddlers? Apparently it's not easy to diagnose at this age, as they can't test for asthma until 5yo, but the approaches we've been utilizing with my 3yo and her current doc aren't helping as much as we'd like. The only ped docs with openings at this location are Daniel Junge and Rebecca Chasnovitz. I'm open to either of them if they're experts on this issue, or to go on waitlist for others you've loved (none of the KP pediatrician bios really mention specialty areas so it's hard to know). TIA!
Parent Replies
In my opinion (and full disclaimer, I'm a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner), you can do no better than Jennifer Tenney, MD. She used to be Kaiser Oakland, but made the move over to the new Berkeley campus. I understand if her panel is full - she's so excellent that she may not have room for more patients. But she is all the things you want in a Pediatrician - smart, kind, really thoughtful about her care plans, a great educator to parents and a friendly, warm, skilled provider to the kids. If she has a waitlist, definitely get on it. We moved farther away than I would ideally like to be for a pediatrician, but I'm loathe to let her go, so I'll make the drive for well-child checks.
We are not Kaiser patient’s but have the most amazing asthma specialist. He was originally trained as a pediatrician and is a complete sweetheart! When my sons were toddlers they were both hospitalized in side by side cots for double pneumonia for 4 days. Our Oakland ped never check in with us. I have asthma and can recognize respiratory distress from a mile away. A pediatric ER doc once asked if I was a doctor. Ha! Four kids later and I can still recognize respiratory distress, but not an ear infection. A year later we moved to Orind and changed pediatrician’s she recommended we see Dr. Matt Lodewick in Berkeley or San Ramon. Matt Lodewick has saved my second born numerous times, as well as kept him out of the hospital. Every winter was stressful. We’d have to do round the clock nebulizer treatments and spent many times in the back of an ambulance being transported to the ER and then being admitted. Back then, Matt Lodewick gave us his home number. We were to call no matter what time of night. His goal was to keep our son out of the hospital so he could be seen the next day by Matt. Matt is so great. When my second son was 5, he had trouble focusing on the appt, which Matt noticed. He spent the time empathetic ally and patiently asking my son what was going on. Turns out, all the windows had kicked in his fear of heights. Matt dropped everything and gave him a tour of the building, pointing out the load bearing walls, all the safety infrastructure, etc. and finally, Matt said he would protect my son at all cost. My son settled in and we continued our visit. We’ve had many visits like this. My suggestion is if you feel your specialist isn’t the right fit, to find another one. Empathy and patience matters.
Oh, our second born son was diagnosed with asthma after his hospitalization at 7 months. It was really apparent to this asthmatic mom. Drs agreed.
totally unsolicited advice (sorry), but i had 2 years of upper respiratory issues as a 3-5 year old. i was dragged from doctor to doctor without any clear diagnosis. finally, some random doc suggested going off dairy - very strict: no whey, no butter. my parents obliged (35 years ago), and the symptoms disappeared. i stayed off dairy for 2 years and then titrated back on successfully.
When my son had breathing troubles and recurring croup at 3-4 years old our Kaiser pediatrician referred us to pediatric pulmonary at Oakland Kaiser. It is a department and Dr Wen, the pediatric pulmonologist, is wonderful! He really helped us out.