Getting to the bottom of things
After 3 diapers with blood (small amounts) today I decided to just get the food allergy testing done and be done with the guessing. I think it's worth the $30 copay. Diet elimination can take weeks, months even!
I would not be surprised if he's not allergic to anything which would be great, but then we'll still have to figure out what the cause is. Bryan feels it's probably my blood from some nipple trauma since he's such a chomper. I don't see any cracks or bleeding but I guess maybe it could still be a possibility?
At first I called a recommended pediatric allergist who works at Johns Hopkins which is one of the top hospitals in the country. Good right? Well I guess since they are so top notch, they couldn't get me in until December 7th (not to mention ridiculous hold times and unnecessary transfers). So I went with a 2nd recommendation at a smaller office. The receptionist asked what the concern was and she put me on hold because she said she wanted to ask the doctor when he could see us. I thought that was weird because I really doubt she asks the doctor when he can see every single patient. She is the appointment scheduler after all. He was with a patient so they had to call me back. When she did she said "The doctor wants to see him at 11am tomorrow." Wow, pretty quick, that's a big difference from December 7th. But they just made it seem more urgent than I thought it was. Isn't that odd?
She said they probably won't do the skin test because of his age so they'll do bloodwork. Now I feel bad, I don't want them to have to hurt him to draw his blood especially the day before more needles for his immunization! But it'll be worth it if we can just get a concrete diagnosis.
I've been tracking my diet but not long enough to see a trend yet between diet and bloody stool. So hopefully they can give me some answers. I don't think taking care of this will alleviate his fussiness as I'm sure most of that is normal baby stuff. But I am hoping it will prevent him from having his bouts of painful fussiness like this morning which seems to correlate with the bloody stool.
Well wish us luck and results that are easy to manage!
I would not be surprised if he's not allergic to anything which would be great, but then we'll still have to figure out what the cause is. Bryan feels it's probably my blood from some nipple trauma since he's such a chomper. I don't see any cracks or bleeding but I guess maybe it could still be a possibility?
At first I called a recommended pediatric allergist who works at Johns Hopkins which is one of the top hospitals in the country. Good right? Well I guess since they are so top notch, they couldn't get me in until December 7th (not to mention ridiculous hold times and unnecessary transfers). So I went with a 2nd recommendation at a smaller office. The receptionist asked what the concern was and she put me on hold because she said she wanted to ask the doctor when he could see us. I thought that was weird because I really doubt she asks the doctor when he can see every single patient. She is the appointment scheduler after all. He was with a patient so they had to call me back. When she did she said "The doctor wants to see him at 11am tomorrow." Wow, pretty quick, that's a big difference from December 7th. But they just made it seem more urgent than I thought it was. Isn't that odd?
She said they probably won't do the skin test because of his age so they'll do bloodwork. Now I feel bad, I don't want them to have to hurt him to draw his blood especially the day before more needles for his immunization! But it'll be worth it if we can just get a concrete diagnosis.
I've been tracking my diet but not long enough to see a trend yet between diet and bloody stool. So hopefully they can give me some answers. I don't think taking care of this will alleviate his fussiness as I'm sure most of that is normal baby stuff. But I am hoping it will prevent him from having his bouts of painful fussiness like this morning which seems to correlate with the bloody stool.
Well wish us luck and results that are easy to manage!
posted by Mama C-ta at
8:26 PM
5 Comments:
I'm glad you're gonna get this all worked out. I know bloodwork is hard to watch... but oh so much faster than eliminatiing everything in your diet down to nothing but raw veggies. J knows you love him.. and the blood work doesn't count as child abuse. :) I'll be in the same boat with you today.. HIP is getting the entire work up for diabetes... and the only way to really figure it out is throught he tiny sized vein in his arm. YAY! I think I need Aunt Reet today. Hopefully J has a good set of veins. Good luck girl. I know this is hard.
I am so glad you are getting seen so quickly by the doctor! J won't remember the blood draw at all I PROMISE!
Keep us posted on the results
hugs to you and your little one...i so couldnt handle them taking blood from my boy...ugh...
hope this gets resolved soon...
peace...
good luck!
I haven't really read thru all your posts but the bloody stool sounds like my son when he was about a month old. I didn't nurse but the symptoms sure do sound the same. My son was gassy, cranky, and always had runny stool. He would blow up his diaper. When i did notice blood i took him to the ER right away and we came to the conclusion he was allergic to Milk/lactose intolerant. He was switched from soy formula to Nurtramigen formula and he did so wonderful after that. They thought by the time he turned one he might be able to handle milk, but unfortunatley he wasn't. He is very lactose intolerant now. He now gets gassy, puffy stomache, and the runs if he has milk or ice cream. I hope this can help some.
Your little guy is really handsome and congratulations.
Kim
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home