Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Pediatric GI

Samantha had her pediatric GI appointment this morning.

I was super stressed out.  She didn't sleep at all this morning, so I was less than eager about getting out of bed and showering.  Kaitlyn didn't want to wake up and I was trying to wait until the last possible moment to get Samantha dressed since I knew she had no desire to wake up and get out of bed, I mean, off the floor.

When I was still running on time, Kaitlyn hit a glass off the counter and it shattered.  Well.  That was fun.  Then, I was still arriving to the location 10 minutes before her appointment, and discovered that I parked in the wrong parking garage and had a 1/4 mile walk to get to the right office.  Samantha was asleep and I didn't bother using a stroller because I wanted her to wake up.  I was so sore.  And tired.  And ready to throw in the towel.  We got there about 8 minutes late.  We were seen 15 minutes after getting there, when I was on page 6 of 8 on the questionnaire.

We met with a really great nurse and then the Nurse Practitioner that we were scheduled with.  I totally understand that NPs can be just as amazing as doctor's.  And she has been in this particular type of medicine longer than I've been alive.  But, if I'm waiting 3+ months for an appointment, why not make it for the doctor?

Anywho, we went over all the same stuff.  Her diet.  They wanted to know her average diet for a week.  Down to ounces of each food she ate.  Well, had I of known that, I would have kept a list.  But, since I didn't, I guessed.  I mean, does anyone know the exact quantity of food their child eats on a daily basis going back a week?  If so, please tell me how you do it!

She has three possible explanations.  The first is she is just plain stubborn and is holding it because in her mind, it hurts to poo.  This is the explanation that I think makes the most sense. 

Possibility number 2 is that she has a protein allergy.  Possible, but I haven't noticed any difference when I omit dairy or meat for weeks at a time.  So, in my mind, I find it unlikely.

Possibility number 3 is she is experiencing a pre-cursor to Crohn's disease.  But, she doesn't have any other symptoms to indicate that as a possibility.  So, I think that was just a silly thing to throw out there that really shouldn't have been.  It served no purpose.

Rather than doing any testing at all to discover if either of those options are actual possibilities, she wants to increase the stool softener and add in a laxative for a few weeks.  We'll see how it goes.


2 comments:

R.A.Gudino said...

From a fellow mom who has a son with eating issues, it seems like they would have told you what to bring in advance (questionaire, food list, etc) if you had to wait 3 months! I've just started reading your blog, so I'm not really familiar with Samantha's issues, but I hope you find the answers you're looking for. Just out of curiosity, is she a picky eater?

Denise said...

You would think! Instead, she just concentrated on the fact that we didn't have recent x-rays done.

Since she was 8 months old, she has suffered from constipation. We've changed, her diet, had a disempaction, several "clean outs", had her on 2 cups of miralax a day for nearly a year, and she's still constipated.

She is a picky eater, but, it's hard to know how much of it is because she's having a tummy ache and just rejecting all food for the day, or just being picky. We've gotten her to eat more veggies, and she will eat any and all fruit all day long.