Progress

so in a nutshell...the pediatric asthma/allergist specialist and her posse said that
* grant may very well NOT have asthma
* grant may very well NOT have allergies
* grant may very well "just" have a weakened immune system
* they didnt recommend a blood allergy test based on the fact that he recently had the scratch test and that allergy testing is full of errors including false positives.

they still gave us an asthma action planned with green, yellow and red levels. each level has a myriad of medications to administer. they also gave us 8 prescriptions! we didnt fill them yet...sittin on them.

it was great to hear all the things that i really wanted to hear. they were the first to NOT label him with asthma which is WONDERFUL.

now im on the hunt for immunity boosting foods (too bad they didnt hand that out with their prescription template with 20 drugs on it that they give to everyone who walks through the door!) any suggestions would be appreciated!

Dave and i decided to try a control study...where we dont rush to meds when he comes down with a cough (even though that is on every level of the asthma plan). Lucky us...the chance came just days after the dr visit. See...after 10 months of breathing treatments using xopenex and then pulmicort if needed...we are not really sure they are helping. They certainly dont give the quick relief the drs expect with such medication. So in order to get a "normal" turn around time for old granto....we went cold turkey. Even though it was a bit scary at first...IM SO EXCITED to report that he is doing GREAT. Of course this was probably just a very slight cold...but as usual for grant it landed heavy in the lungs...but within 5 nights he had stopped coughing (at night)...and today he has barely coughed so i can see that he is healing on his own and in the same or maybe even shorter amount of time than it woudl have taken with LOTS and LOTS of drugs! Hallelujah! So this is very exciting for us. Might i also add that the 11.5 month old that had it first at day care...did get treated with xopenex and pulmicort (they prescribe these for upper respiratory stuff all the time anymore! its crazy)...and is at the same place grant is...getting better, barely coughing. He had it a couple days before grant too....so basically...grant is maybe even ahead of him healing wise. WHOA. Hows that for suppressed immuity?

So yes we will still fall back on drugs...but im thrilled to say its not a way of life anymore.

Elisa or Rast?

Oh my....i have yet to make the decision on which allergy testing method to have done on grant. if i was the kind of mom who just went to a traditional doc and let them make all the decisions....i wouldnt have to think twice. but fortunately...i have enough since not to treat doctors like they are gods...and realize that i need to be an active part in my and my families health care.

From what i understand to be true, i am leaning towards the ELISA test bc it is more comprehensive, testing for over 340 environmental and food allergies, as well as testing for delayed reaction! and that is key, bc grant doesnt seem to have immediate reactions to things. Rast on the other hand tests for immediate reactions of fewer things. Rast is however more covered on my insurance (pays half after deductible...which lucky me is already met. That will prolly cost us about $175 out of pocket. Elisa is not covered through insurance, as it is a newer test that doesnt have full mainstream credibility, and will cost around $400 out of pocket.I have to go through the naturopath dr to get this test (although there is one traditional dr in the kc area who does it)

if you are intrigued by the elisa please check out this short comparison article

Our appointment at Children's Mercy allergy/asthma clinic is set for next tuesday (8/28). we scheduled it over a month ago (it takes that long to get in!). I was hoping that the naturopath would have us heading in the right direction by now...but he wanted to investigate with the elisa first...and i havent returned bc i needed to figure out funding and make sure i agreed with the process (i dont automatically trust alternative medicine either). so long story short...i need to decide by tuesday if i want the rast (which is what they will do at children's mercy) or the elisa...or both? Is that so wrong? Thats alot of blood to take. Maybe we could do rast first and see if that gives us answers that improve grants quality of life. If it doesnt we can move in with 4 bills and go up a notch. UGH.

And the final juggernaut is that allergy testing if very full of errors and false positives etc. the whole thing is sorta of scam. it works for some...but most find it less than accurate. i know people who have done 3 different allergy tests...with different reactions in each. its crazy!even we had questionable results with the skin testing (remember bananas and beef?). which hasnt helped him overall. however...for parents who are desperate to help their kids....we will try most anything (within reason). maybe we will be one of those families that has luck with the rast! its worth a shot at least.

being a parent is soo tres grey - why cant things be black and white? grrrr

meet me in st loui loui

im the mama of a 1 year old...wierd! he is such a kid now! i peeked out the window this fine evening to see him watering the new ornamental grasses with his dad...he was actually holding the hose..directing it at the grass...it was so cute! didnt get a digital pic of it...was lucky to grab the video cam...anyhoo...he is learning and changing and growing right before our eyes!

words he says: bubble, no, ya, all done, door (doh), mom (mama or mom), dad (dada or dad), baby (beeee), grandma (nana), neal (nene), dog (daugh).

words he understands (a quickie, not complete list i am sure): hi, bye, ride, bite, down, up, dog, door, come here, food, listen, dance, fan, sleep/bed, walk, milk, drink, no, mom, dad, grandma, grandma neals, baby, ball, catch, go get it (i think), grant, look, water, home, ouch, yuck, bath, diaper

im sure there is more but i am in a bit of a hurry see because i am packing for a trip to st louis to visit the fam. grant and i are taking the amtrak tomorrow even at 4:30 and should arrive somewhere abouts 10:30. daddy cant come bc he is working both sat and sun but has plans to enjoy the bachelor type ambience with lots of reclining, game playing, movie watching and otherwise relaxing. we shall miss poppy.

the pic is of grant enjoying the pot..in fact peeing in pot..although not the best pot to pee in ...actually a pan...but you get the idea. he truly yearns to fit inside the pan even though it pains him so. another trend is to bend over to bite on things including food, balls & basically any toy..its pretty cute. he is just exploring his world in every way he can think of!

this week has included his first large black & blue swollen knot on the head (the size of a quarter) that he got at day care...falling onto her hope chest (i cant imagine his injury if it hadnt had rounded corners), itchy red scrotum due to moms grassy assy pic....lord have mercy!, bum rash due to half sour pickles i believe grrrrr....and more than a handful of mr mistys (breathing treatments) due to "hay fever" a.k.a seasonal allergies.the kid does amazingly well considering the hurdles he must jump. for now we are avoiding goats milk(to see if he improves without it...although i must say as of right now it doesnt seem to be the culprit).

next post....wednesday of next week! unless i find an innocent st louis pc to victimize.
peace out

TGIF!

oh how i love fridays...oh how i love fridaaaaaaaaaaaays..oh how i love fridays...because freedom is so close (to the tune of "oh how i love jesus"...of course)

of course im always in a state of freedom...bc ultimately i choose every step i make, every decision i take..on and on...etc etc...but the weekend is especially free and delicious..even when that freedom includes painting a house, going to lawrence for my kid's chiropractor appt, picking up a freecycle coffee pot, planting my vegetable garden, getting my dogs stiches taken out & maybe even getting the oil changed. sounds fun huh? it is actually bc im all about family...and that requires some maintenance. oh the joys of adulthood. sometimes i would rather be stubbing my toe on the sidewalk.



hopefully we can have another pool party with miss vivian and sarah again soon (pic)...although it has turned cool this week...luckily we were able to sneak it in while it was stil hot hot! those kids do have a good time together...even though they generally act smug and ...like to poke each others eyes out.




grant is doing great. guess the daily dose of singulair is really helping his allergies stay at bay...and that is keeping the respiratory response at bay...which is GREAT..we sure dont miss Mr. Misty (nebulizer treatments).

Have a great weekend!

Bananabeef

Life is spectacular in its never ending twists and turns.......a journey of discovery that continues on and on....beyond what we understand...and how fun it is to wonder about the unknown...and to revel in what we are experiencing right this moment....this day...this week...this year..this life. can you tell im kinda high on life? its not always this way...but i am a bit zapped in the present.

soooo...little bear grant (i tend to call him bear more than anything lately) has been an exceptional specimen as usual. he travelled with mama to the big city that is home to our family...st louis...on the train. ahhh does he love the choo choo. we had perfect trips..even arriving early....met delightful folks on both routes...even meeting new friends and exchanging contacts. grant was the star of the show...playing peek a boo around the seats with ladies acting silly back. by the end of each train he had been walked about by staff and passengers alike. he sure does make them smile.

st louis was wonderful. we had a very nice visit with my parents and brother, sister in law, niece and even 2 cousins and 3 aunts! they all poured on the love and grant just soaked it up like the love sponge he is. it was like he was on stage...bc he was just a social butterfly. he loves it when its all about grant...and when isnt it?:)

coming back to work was hard. grant and i had become so in tune ...being together every second of the trip...for over 3 days...and we didnt want it to end. sending him off to day care was a tear jerker...and i know he felt the same way bc he was grumpy on monday. sometimes i want to be a stay at home mom SOOO very badly. i try to figure a way to make it happen...but come up short each time. sure we could sell the house and rent a tiny apartment...but what about insurance? thats the kicker. my employer pays $10,000 a year for our family insurance! Can you believe it? rediculous.

took bear to the dr this morning...a pediatric immunologist at KU med center. it was a pretty good visit actually. it takes a month and a half to get in there...so we had been anticipating the outcome for quite some time. I was suprised when they decided to do allergy testing..since i had heard its not done on babies. The results were even more suprising....bananas and beef...they said it was a strange combo indeed. The good news is we can easily avoid those..and see if it helps! Pretty exciting stuff. Of course im not considering the test to be the end all...but its interesting in the very least...and who knows it may just be the answers we were looking for! They did say that allergens can cause gerd too...and asthma of course...and exema...everything being connected. Im excited about grant outgrowing all this stuff too! Little man has been through so much already.

I am so thankful to be so blessed.

Thanks for visiting our blog!