Allergy Testing

Maddy was not suppose to see the allergist until October but last Thursday they called me saying that they had a last minute cancellation and wanted to know if I wanted to move Maddy's appointment to first thing the following morning. I jumped at the chance. I need to back up just a minute. When we found out that Maddy was indeed going to have testing done, we added dairy back. Most days it wasn't much but sometimes she'd get a lot. An odd thing started happening. When she had a lot of dairy like the day she had ice cream or the night we had alfredo, she had very loose stools. Some of those times, she complained her tummy hurt. Needless to say, I was very happy at the chance to move her appointment up by 2 1/2 months. The doctor asked me questions and then said that she was going to do a skin test. Maddy was such a big girl! She didn't even flinch with any of the pokes. A lolly pop then helped keep her mind off the fact that her back itched. Finally time was up and they shared the results. Maddy is not allergic to milk. However, the doctor believes that she may be lactose intolerant. She is now on lactaid milk and lactase supplements. Yesterday, Maddy surprised me. I had some lactase supplements for myself but they weren't they chewable kind. Maddy wanted some cheese so I thought I'd let her try swallowing a pill. Wouldn't you know, she swallowed it without a problem!?

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4 Year Endo Checkup

Sean had an endo check up last Friday. It went very well. Doc was very pleased with how Sean has grown..it's been 8 months since he saw him. Again, he's keeping up with the curve and that's the important thing. The doc suggested that we go ahead and redo the bone age scan to confirm that Sean's just fine, just on the small side. As long as the scan comes back saying he has normal growth potential, we're good and we won't go back for a year. Sean made me very proud. Last time he sat on my lap for the xray. Obviously, I couldn't do that this time. The tech and I got him sitting in the chair, hand in place and then we walked behind the safety area. Even after almost starting to cry and fighting them when they tried to weight and measure him, Sean sat there all by himself like a big boy, kept still and didn't even fuss. Crazy how they decide when and what to fight!

Today we got the results. His bone age is the same as his age. That's a good thing! Last time it was slightly older than his age. Doc says that what we want to see is Sean's bone age get a little younger than his real age...which it seems like it's doing. That will mean he has more growth potential and is possibly just a late bloomer. We go back in a year.



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Sean's GI Appointment

Today I took Sean to see a gastroenterologist (GI) for the first time. This was the next step in finding out if there's a medical reason for him being so small. After our experience with the endo, I was very pleased to find a doctor that was caring, had great bedside manners, and explained things well.

He pointed out that Sean did grow well between 18 and 30 months. He explained that that, along with Sean's lack of other symptoms, was why he wasn't very concerned. Like Sean's ped, he did agree that it's a good idea to look into causes...better now than later. BTW he did not grow but an ounce in the last 3 months, nothing in height. He explained 3 options and then left it to me want I wanted done.

Options from most invasive to least:
Option 1- we will not do for a long time, unless there are signs that show up saying we should. Option 1 would be putting him under general and putting an endoscope down his esophagus. He didn't explain this too much because I decided that we would wait after he described how it was done. Just putting him under general is risky. He himself thought it was too invasive at this point.

Option 2- we are waiting until after Sean's endo appointment in October to decide. Option 2 would be to redo the blood tests they did in May 2009. He says there's always a possibility that something could have changed. We'll wait to see if the endo orders blood tests and maybe have them done at the same time.

Option 3- we are doing. We will collect urine and stool samples.

Urine sample will be tested for sodium, potassium, and chloride. These electrolytes can give insight into how the kidneys are working.

Stool sample will be tested for several things.
Occult blood- blood could be in the stool for several reasons.
Reducing substances- this would point to malabsorption of sugars.
Qualitative fat- this would point to malabsorption of fat
PH- this would be lactose intolerance
Fecal elastase- this would point to problems pancreas or small bowel

The doctor also suggested that we go ahead and give him a pediasure everyday instead of just when he's not eating well. He said that while his calorie counts were good, some kids just need more. He did not say that this was the reason for Sean's size but just merely a suggestion as it can't hurt.

We go back Oct. 15th for a follow up.

Sean's test results from 7/13/10

I just got a call from the ped's nurse. Sweat test came back 100% normal.

Sean during the sweat test:


Bone age is slightly older. The nurse said it's ok but the endo will discuss it more with us. I'm so confused! The ped told me that we wanted his bone age to be younger. Older would indicate a problem. Sean's endo appointment isn't until Oct. 7th . I called to see if I could get an earlier appointment so that we could discuss the results....they don't have any earlier. :(

Sean's test results are in!

The last of Sean's test results came in today. Everything came out normal! It's a huge relief!! We're going back to the doctor in about a month for another weight check and the doctor wants us to go to a dietitian to make sure Sean's getting enough calories. I wasn't told to, but I'm going to go ahead and start keeping a log of what Sean eats and drinks...and how much he nurses.

I also wanted to share a few cute Sean moments. Last night he pointed at me and said "my mama" and then just a little while ago he pointed at Maddy and said "that my baby". *swoon*