on allergies and childen (or my child, anyway)

oh, my son.  i don't think i have ever gone into details about ian's allergies.  we have known since ian was about 3 months old that he has eczema- which is something we are still dealing with.  when he was about 7 months old- i had my first suspicions that ian may have an allergy to milk- a suspicion that was confirmed when he was maybe 18 months old (we found out then he's also allergic to eggs).  since that time we have seen an allergist once or twice a year and have been the proud owners of countless prescription and over-the-counter skin creams that are applied from head to toe.  we carry an epi-pen.  i consider myself an "expert" on eczema...


so, let me share a little bit about allergies, etc.  i can best sum this up by telling you exactly what our allergist told us- think about a triangle- on the three corners are eczema, allergies and asthma.  they are all related.  if you have 1- you most likely have all 3- they just may not all be showing.  we're definitely lucky when it comes to allergies, but it still stinks. 

so another part of this is that ian catches every little bug under the sun.  his immune system is just more susceptible to these things.  we can't even set foot inside of our gym without him catching something.  so thanks to all the parents out there who bring their sick children to the gym.  eff you.

because of this, ian has some kind of bug since november- NOVEMBER.  that's about 6 months of runny noses, sneezes, and a hacking cough.  we have missed more time at daycare (and we only go once a week) than every other child at daycare combined.  when ian initially got sick he was sick for six straight weeks without relent.  after 6 weeks, we finally broke down and called the pediatrician (something we don't do often b\c of our wonderful insurance) and we were told ian had a slight ear infection.  we were given a prescription of amoxicillian and told about the wonders of zarbees.  this totally knocked things out- for a bit.

so- easter week.  ian had been sick... again... and this time he had been sick for at least 2 weeks.  the last straw was when they called me at work to pick him up from daycare.  i called the pediatrician's office again.  ian had another slight ear infection and was having bronchio-spasms.  we were given another prescription for amoxicillian along with a prescription for albuterol to be given through 
an aero-chamber.

we were told to watch after the first dosage of albuterol for shaky hands b\c it can make you jittery.  well, we didn't have anything like that with ian- so we would give 2 doses as prescribed.  things took a turn on friday...  ian had not napped friday (nor had he napped thursday)- but what set us off was when we got him up friday and gave him his inhaler dosage- not even 5 minutes later he was running circles around our house, yelling, screaming and punching the air.   he would get hysterical when when we would tell him no- or even worse, he would be really sassy with us- and not the normal sassy more of a "you hush your mouth" to us sassy.  yikes.

after consulting facebook (a reputable source) we heard that this was pretty much the "norm" from friends who have children on albuterol, nurse friends and pharmacist friends.  we decided then that we would discontinue the albuterol.  it was still 2 more days until it all seemed to be worked out of ian's system.  ian finally seemed back to normal when we woke up on monday morning- but, oh, the real fun had yet to begin...

we continued our amoxicillian dosage, but kept noticing that his skin seemed dry and a little bumpy- by friday he was covered in hives.  we weren't sure what to do, so we took him to the pharmacy and the pharmacist said it looked like he was developing an allergic reaction and to discontinue immediately. saturday, i called the ped- and they couldn't see him until monday.  we had planned a trip to dave's aunt & uncle's house- and as we were traveling there, his skin continued to get worse.  he had fun playing- but he was constantly itching.

that night was awful- we tried to put ian in our bed- but he refuses- he wanted his own bed.  it was almost impossible for me to sleep b\c i could hear him thrashing around and itching.  i ended up going in the room and sleeping in his bed so i could try to keep him from scratching- it was nearly impossible as he was really angry any time i would try to stop him.  between that and his fever- he was so hot that i was burning up just being next to him... it was miserable.  the next morning i put him in the tub- a lukewarm bath with the bath soak we use... but he was so hot from his fever that he was freezing in the bath.  i ended up taking ian to urgent care b\c he was so miserable. at urgent care, they gave us a dose and prescription of prednisone.  by the end of the day, almost all of his hives had cleared up, and by the end of the 7 day prescription, his skin looked the best it had ever looked. 

so two thursdays ago i took ian back to the dr. for his follow-up to the above appointment.  i shared my concerns about albuterol and how it had made ian act like a crazed maniac.  ian had started coughing again a couple days before we went in- and we were definitely needing the inhaler again, but i had been avoiding it.  the pediatrician was able to help give me a few solutions on giving him the albuterol and keeping him calm- lo and behold, they worked!  i also told the dr. about the hideous reaction to amoxicillian.  we won't be taking that again...  during the exam, we found out ian had ANOTHER ear infection.  now we get another follow-up appointment to this follow-up appointment...  unfortunately, he doesn't have enough diagnosed infections for tubes, so we were prescribed a new antibiotic.  guess what?  not all antibiotics are the same.  amoxicillian is only $4 at my pharmacy (free at meijer.  you're welcome), but our replacement antibiotic- over $60.  the hell?!?!  so, we did our 10 days on the replacement- which ran out saturday and guess what we have now?  raging side effects...  he has been miserable for the last week- so miserable that last night he woke up screaming in pain.  we spent about 30 minutes trying to get him calm- as he was inconsolable.  finally he fell asleep in our bed and we ended up keeping him in there b\c dave fell asleep and i wasn't going to attempt carrying back into his room on my own.  when you're pregnant and you have to share your bed with a 3 yo and your husband- you might as well sleep on the floor.

even if this was happening... at least they got bed space..

giving dave the business...

so, today, ian is still having issues- i finally called the nurse, and they've recommended the b.r.a.t. diet and some probiotics to straighten him out (since he can't have yogurt).

lawd.  i hope this baby girl is healthy as a horse...  i'm about to shun modern medicine...

fml or how i reached my insurance deductible by february for the second year in a row

boo.

if you have been reading this blog since i was pregnant, then you know about our insurance ordeal(s).  if not, let me (quickly) explain.

in september 2009, my happiness in having my first baby was turned to fear when i learned that my husband's company (which i hate with every fiber of my being) was "revamping" their insurance plans.  this meant that on january 1, 2010, we would be covered by a new plan, with a new, much higher deductible.  our deductible which was once $300, would now be $2,000, $3,000 or $4,000 (and after that only 80% of costs would be paid until you hit your max- which is double your deductible).  the only things that would be paid would be "preventative care."  so in essence, they want their employees to be healthier, go to their dr's for preventative appointments in order to avoid other appts and to cut down on unnecessary er visits when you could wait to see your dr. in the morning.  what they failed to realize is that emergencies happen, and that PEOPLE HAVE BABIES.  this company did not care that i would only be pregnant 3 weeks (not even) of 2010.  my condition was not "pre-existing."  in other words, i, a perfectly healthy woman was being punished for having a baby.  we tried to deliver early, ian's lungs weren't healthy enough, we had to wait, we got slapped with $4000+ worth of bills and we are STILL paying for the birth of my son 13 months after his birth.

dave & i will probably not have another baby while he is working for this company.  sad, isn't it.

so, january 20, 2011- my son's 1st birthday.  we go to play group and have a good time.  monday, january 24, ian starts coughing.  i learn from another mother that her son was diagnosed w\ rsv over the weekend.  rsv takes 4-6 days to show up- explaining why this baby wasn't sick until the weekend and why ian wasn't sick until monday.  at this time ian also appears to have all 4 of his top front teeth coming in.  yay.  we're also on the brink of a wonder week.  joy.

saturday, january 29th ian throws up after nursing from coughing so much- it's the 2nd time it's happened that week.  we are able to get him in to see the pediatrician, who almost writes us off after we explain ian's "symptoms" until i finally get ian to drink water from his sippy- which causes him to cough.  the dr. doesn't say one way or another whether ian has rsv, but his cough is consistent, he has a runny nose and he has lost 5 oz.  we go home irritated.

wednesday, february 2nd.  dave & i are watching a movie when all the sudden ian wakes up screaming in terror- we usually give him a few minutes- and we did, but the screaming doesn't subside.  i go in and pick him up, but he's still screaming, i rock him, i walk with him, we turn the light on in the room- still screaming.  i take him into our room, lay him on  our bed, try to sit him on the floor to crawl, give him to dave- he was still inconsolable.  i sent my friend a text b\c i was so worried, and she called me back- the screaming was terrible- her husband could hear him.  i talked to her for a few minutes, and then called my mil.  we finally decided to page the pediatrician's office- the pediatrician was SO RUDE (there are 8 dr's at our practice and thank God this wasn't my dr.).  he told us that we should take ian to the er because "he couldn't help me over the phone" (ass).  this was our worst fear- do we wait and see if he gets better & risk something bad happening b\c we are afraid to take him to the er b\c of the cost or do we take him and know that we're going to get slapped with a bill that could range up to $6000 (i call this fear-mongering, husband's company calls this "insurance.")

so we bundle our screaming kid in his snowsuit (please remember we had a BLIZZARD that had just ended 8 hours before this) and drive as slooowly as possible on the awful roads to a hospital i'm not familiar with (the hospital i delivered at was just too far to go to).  it's almost midnight.  ian is calm for the car ride.  we get him checked in, they take his temp (no temp), weigh him (he's now lost 8 oz) and ask us some questions, then we go into our er room.  the nurse comes in and asks questions, we tell him about the possible rsv, the blood that's been in the diaper for 3 months, etc.  ian goes back & forth the entire night between screaming in terror/tiredness/anger/confusion and laughing or being calm.  he wants nothing to do with me, and only sleeps in small spurts when dave is holding him.

tests performed at hospital:  catheter for urinalysis, rsv test, breathing treatment, chest x-rays, iv and blood draws (had to leave the room for that one), ultrasound, and abdominal x-rays.  everything comes back negative except for "inflammation" in the blood work, which gets us admittance to the regular hospital (around 6 am).  ian is asleep on dave, so i drive home, grab snacks, extra clothes/diapers and fight morning traffic back to the hospital.  we're in our room (which they don't have a crib for) and waiting on the ped.  we finally see the ped who goes over all the inconclusive tests- and says that maybe ian just had gas (i will refrain from punching anyone in the face at this time).  we're told to monitor is intake & outtake for a few hours, and they'll let us know when we can leave.  finally after sitting in a hospital room all effing day doing nothing- we get discharged around 2:30 (and ian is asleep).  so we wait until he wakes up, we get his iv out, and we go.  we have no answers, and now we have no money.  awesome.  we also got to visit the pediatrician again on friday the 11th for blisters in the diaper area- we got the honor of seeing the dr. for a full 3 minutes for him to tell me to keep doing what i'm doing for it, and that maybe the concentration of his urine is what caused the blisters.  grrrrrrrrrrrr.

so thank you to everyone who asked about ian during these last 3 weeks.  i wish i could say i knew what was going on with him that night- or during these last 3 weeks.  he's currently doing really well- happy and smiling and laughing- he's being himself.  me- i'm recovering.  i was pretty depressed during that time- it was worse than anytime after i had given birth to him.  it was hard.  we're glad to all be back to normal.  now, to win the lottery and pay off those medical bills!

a couple photos to remember this by...

ian in the hospital crib- which looks like a cage.  and finally asleep after being discharged.

you know what's not fun?

teething. 

ian has 3-4 teeth coming in (2 top teeth have already broken through)!  want to put a cherry on top of the teething experience? 

get sick (not you- that would make it worse- baby).

ian has rsv (he got it on his birthday- symptoms take 4-6 days to show).  a baby in our group apparently had gotten it and was at group that thursday- their symptoms didn't show until the weekend, which is when they got their diagnosis.  he started coughing last monday and that was accompanied by a runny nose and feeling warm (although thermometer shows no fever).   saturday morning he coughed so much while nursing that he threw up everything he had just drank (poor, wasted milk).  that was enough for me, and we took him to the pediatrician (ever been on a saturday- holy s- when we arrived, there was 1 other child, but 5-6 came in- but when we left, there were 30 people in the waiting room!)  we saw our ped who seemed skeptical about whether he had rsv- and of course, ian hadn't coughed the entire time the doc was in the room.  i had to make something happen though- so i let ian drink water out of his sippy, and sure enough, the coughing began.  he did have the cough associated w\ rsv and 5 oz of weight loss.  right now, we just have to ride it out, as you  have to with most baby things.  that's that.  we're still sick.  we've missed a baby group outing, group itself and a swim class (that has been paid for- grr).  i'm not sure we'll make it out to anything this week either.  just hope my boy is better soon!

and on a final note.  we're supposed to have a blizzard.  projected 3-6" snow tonight (monday) with up to 20" starting on tuesday in the afternoon.  lovely.  can this southerner survive her first blizzard (ok, 2nd, i was around during the blizzard of '93) in the midwest.  photos to come, if i care to get out in it, or if it even happens.  i will probably be holed up with my margs either way!  people are making this out to be the snowpocalypse.  seriously. 

any tips for dealing with a sick witta guy (or girl)?