the sickness Liam had last week turned out to be nothing more than another viral flu. he was tested for UTI which came back negative and was clear of any other infections (including ear, which he's yet to have - knock on wood!). he is feeling much better and the fever is gone.
as for CHEO... urg...
the gastroenteritis specialist appointment was approximately 8 months to get in to, since there are only 4 doctors with the qualifications in CHEO. she noticed 3 things about Liam:
1. he has a skin condition called Derma-something-or-other-your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine. ever since Liam was born he's had extreme skin reactions to anything and everything. for example, if he rubs his face against the edge of a plastic toy truck he will have an immediate reaction in the form of a red streak or raised bumps. this skin condition is what causes him to appear to have allergic reactions to anything, even a dog licking him will cause his skin to redden and inflame. this condition isn't something that is ever going to go away. nor will he outgrow it or become desensitized to it. there is no treatment and there are no side-effects; he does not feel pain or itching associated with the reaction. there is nothing we can do about it. but knowing that it has a name (which mommy can't remember or pronounce) makes us feel better.
2. the first thing the specialist noticed was that his belly is a bit distended. think Ethiopian style baby bellies that are bloated from disease. she believes - because it was impossible to physically examine his stomach/intestines because he freaked out and screamed - that he is not voiding his bowels properly. she showed me a chart with various pictures of 'poop styles' (funny i know, right?) and had me pick the 2 that i see most frequently. these poops i picked both fall into the range of 'constipation poop'. this isn't really a surprise since Liam had a lot of constipation when he was under 6 months old (remember the constipated from breast milk saga? yeah. don't tell me they can't get constipated from breast milk because this specialist confirmed it). after his allergy testing she will probably perform an endoscopy (??) to see what is going on 'up in there'. in the meantime we have to really push the fiber rich foods which is a bit of a challenge because...
3. a lot of fiber rich foods have whole grains in them, which the body can't digest and absorb water which allows the poop to be softer as it passes through the gastro tract. liam can't eat whole grains. for the longest time we thought he had celiac disease (which runs in my family) because every time he ate something with wheat he would have a full-body reaction wherein he broke out in monstrous hives (head to toe). for the last 8 or 9 months Liam has been on a strict celiac diet. the specialist has referred us to an Allergist where he will be tested for the highly allergic foods such as wheat, gluten, eggs, nuts, shell fish, etc. the specialist suspects that Liam is one of the very few, completely and totally allergic to wheat kids she's seen. the specialist believes that when it comes time to test for celiac we won't be able to because having Liam eat 2 pieces of toast per day for 3 weeks would be torture on his system. the specialist believes that we are doing the right thing keeping him on the celiac diet and that we should continue to do so until after we see the Allergist.
i left this appointment feeling knowledgeable and confused. we learned new things about liam's condition (whatever that is) and, essentially, we got some answers (the knowledge part). but the answers we received raised more questions such as 'what the heck is really going on with liam's skin/tummy/digestive track??' (the confused part). she left me with the following words of advice (of which i am paraphrasing obviously...):
"i know you came in here today expecting to see an Allergist and got me instead. i know that we told you a lot of information and raised a lot of questions without actually giving you useful information or answering any of your original questions. after you see the Allergist you will come back to see me. if need be, we'll run the tests on the digestive tract to find out what - if anything - is wrong and how we can fix it. i am very confident that in time Liam will outgrow the allergy to wheat. in the meantime, stay the course you're on because he's obviously thriving with his height in the 95th percentile and his weight in the 85th."
there you have it! we know more, we know less, we know something, we know nothing
as for CHEO... urg...
the gastroenteritis specialist appointment was approximately 8 months to get in to, since there are only 4 doctors with the qualifications in CHEO. she noticed 3 things about Liam:
1. he has a skin condition called Derma-something-or-other-your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine. ever since Liam was born he's had extreme skin reactions to anything and everything. for example, if he rubs his face against the edge of a plastic toy truck he will have an immediate reaction in the form of a red streak or raised bumps. this skin condition is what causes him to appear to have allergic reactions to anything, even a dog licking him will cause his skin to redden and inflame. this condition isn't something that is ever going to go away. nor will he outgrow it or become desensitized to it. there is no treatment and there are no side-effects; he does not feel pain or itching associated with the reaction. there is nothing we can do about it. but knowing that it has a name (which mommy can't remember or pronounce) makes us feel better.
2. the first thing the specialist noticed was that his belly is a bit distended. think Ethiopian style baby bellies that are bloated from disease. she believes - because it was impossible to physically examine his stomach/intestines because he freaked out and screamed - that he is not voiding his bowels properly. she showed me a chart with various pictures of 'poop styles' (funny i know, right?) and had me pick the 2 that i see most frequently. these poops i picked both fall into the range of 'constipation poop'. this isn't really a surprise since Liam had a lot of constipation when he was under 6 months old (remember the constipated from breast milk saga? yeah. don't tell me they can't get constipated from breast milk because this specialist confirmed it). after his allergy testing she will probably perform an endoscopy (??) to see what is going on 'up in there'. in the meantime we have to really push the fiber rich foods which is a bit of a challenge because...
3. a lot of fiber rich foods have whole grains in them, which the body can't digest and absorb water which allows the poop to be softer as it passes through the gastro tract. liam can't eat whole grains. for the longest time we thought he had celiac disease (which runs in my family) because every time he ate something with wheat he would have a full-body reaction wherein he broke out in monstrous hives (head to toe). for the last 8 or 9 months Liam has been on a strict celiac diet. the specialist has referred us to an Allergist where he will be tested for the highly allergic foods such as wheat, gluten, eggs, nuts, shell fish, etc. the specialist suspects that Liam is one of the very few, completely and totally allergic to wheat kids she's seen. the specialist believes that when it comes time to test for celiac we won't be able to because having Liam eat 2 pieces of toast per day for 3 weeks would be torture on his system. the specialist believes that we are doing the right thing keeping him on the celiac diet and that we should continue to do so until after we see the Allergist.
i left this appointment feeling knowledgeable and confused. we learned new things about liam's condition (whatever that is) and, essentially, we got some answers (the knowledge part). but the answers we received raised more questions such as 'what the heck is really going on with liam's skin/tummy/digestive track??' (the confused part). she left me with the following words of advice (of which i am paraphrasing obviously...):
"i know you came in here today expecting to see an Allergist and got me instead. i know that we told you a lot of information and raised a lot of questions without actually giving you useful information or answering any of your original questions. after you see the Allergist you will come back to see me. if need be, we'll run the tests on the digestive tract to find out what - if anything - is wrong and how we can fix it. i am very confident that in time Liam will outgrow the allergy to wheat. in the meantime, stay the course you're on because he's obviously thriving with his height in the 95th percentile and his weight in the 85th."
there you have it! we know more, we know less, we know something, we know nothing
3 fabulous comments, click to add yours!:
Ahh yes, welcome to the wild world of medicine.
What I've learned through the many trials of dealing with our son and his various issues, is that you have to go with your instinct. You are his mom, and you know him best. Just keep on top of it, and make sure you understand what is going on. Ask LOTS of questions, don't let the doctors push you around or make you feel that you're taking up too much of their time, and keep pushing for answers, especially if you just know there's something else going on, but you may not know what. Because if there's one thing I know for sure it's that you know your son better than anyone.
Isn't CHEO great?! :o)
you're right, i do feel pushed around when i go to these consultations. even the specialist was surprised i had no clue i was there to see her and not an allergist.
Dermatitis? ;)
I'm glad to know that you got a few answers, and it's not bad to get a few more questions, as long as you have people on the case!!!
Will Liam eat pears and prunes?? They're good for ye olde bowels - I have to make sure Gwen gets them everyday so she poops now she's eating solids.
What did she say about the formula? Did she tell you to keep it up or ditch it - or did she talk about it at all?
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