Allergy Adventures

To Singulair or Not To Singulair, That is the Question

2010-04-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

Singulair is a tricky drug. Medicating your child is never an easy decision. Choosing a medication with suspected side-effects is an even harder decision. But when Logan was so sick in December and January we decided to try Singulair again.

As soon as he started to take it, you could see it was helping control his allergies. You could see the positive results. Look, we're helping him! Go us! Pollaks-1, Allergies-0. Woo-hoo!

Then the nightmares start again. Slowly. One nightmare every two weeks, one nightmare every week, 2 nightmares a week, the frequency rises. Logan starts to feel afraid to go to sleep, afraid he'll have a bad dream.

Unacceptable! We take him off Singulair again, right before Spring. No more nightmares, but the allergy control is removed. Spring arrives with terrible environmental allergies. He coughs, he sneezes, he wears visible shiners red and black. He wakes up coughing and in a trance depending on the morning and can't stop coughing without a dose of Zyrtec. We turn once again to an allergy medication.

We're desperate. We want to "fix" him. We want to help him feel better, help him live life to his full potential. We try and try and never know if we're getting it right. It's not easy, but we know it could be worse. We know he's OK, not so sick we can't keep him at home. He's not in the hospital. He goes to school (although he has missed 14 days if I'm counting correctly), he plays with friends, he gets to Karate (most of the time) and he's smart, funny, creative, and really good-looking (I may be biased).

I look forward to summer, putting the days of pollen behind us and possibly moving to the desert someday. Colorado Springs looks just lovely :)

Learned Helplessness

2010-01-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

January has been tough around here. Really tough. We rang in the New Year with bronchitis and an ear infection. Two weeks later we still had wheezing and a suspected sinus infection. Over three weeks later and we are trying to eliminate terrible nose congestion. After my hands felt the rattling in his chest after an emotional outburst this morning, we will visit the pediatrician on Friday to rule out walking pneumonia as advised by the pulmonogist's nurse.

The most frustrating and worrisome part of having such a severely allergic son is feeling helpless. I hate giving him meds. I hate running him to doctors. I hate how sick he's been and how much school and karate he's missed. I hate how thin he looks again. I don't know how to "fix" him.

I wish I knew what was right. I feel so ambivalent about giving him medicine. All the doctors tell me not to stop the medicine. That's a big mistake. Don't stop if he "seems" better. But how do I know the medicine won't hurt him? How do I know the consequences of giving him medicine won't appear years from now? I don't. I have to trust his doctors because I am not a doctor. It's like trusting your mechanic when you bring in your car, but there's so much more to lose when they're fixing your son.

I try to remember I feel like this every winter. That he's sick every winter and we feel like we're hibernating and then things get better in the Spring. Except for the pollen. Damn pollen.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-29T05:38:00.001-08:00

We got through Christmas! We didn't have to cancel plans! In fact, everyone in the house was sick prior to Christmas except for Logan. He's been sick on and off throughout November and December, but managed to keep it together through Christmas.

Of course, he's sick now. I will cancel plans we tentatively made for today (he had a low grade fever last night), but that's not unusual for us. I may have to cancel plans for tomorrow as well, but I do try to remain optimistic. At least I'm trying to this winter.

He did almost throw-up at a friend's birthday party as he choked on his post-nasal drip, and we passed on the mucus producing ice-cream cake in favor a cupcake I packed just in case, but we managed. We adjust. We work with what we've got.

I wish you all a happy and allergy free New Year!

October sucks!

2009-10-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

I have never looked forward to winter before, but I am this year. Our son, Logan, has had the worst seasonal allergies ever. He ended up with a sinus infection and respiratory issues all at the same time. After 5 days of Orapred, he seems better but a cough still lingers and rouses my suspicion. I was handed a script for antibiotic if Logan was not "better". But what defines better? Can he still have a cough? He still looks tired, but he does feel better than he did. He's never going to feel great, but I worry that the sinus infection is still there, slowly building it's strength.

So we'll visit the ENT next week and find out once and for all if his sinuses are okay again. But I have never looked forward to bare trees more than I have this year. I really is time to move to the desert.

Here's the Pinata!

2009-10-15T19:26:00.001-07:00

A video documenting our Logan-safe piñata experience

Singulair

2009-10-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

We gave in. We got him singulair. We decided we didn't want our son to take it, but after he had what I term an "allergy fever" on Saturday night we gave in. When he gets an allergy fever, his ears turn red, his gets a fever, and then he throws up. This happened three times in May when spring arrived in all it's glory. We just need to get through the autumnal seasonal change, and then maybe we can stop taking it by November/December.

It's such a hard decision, putting your kids on medications. I don't want to give him anything, and I give him far less than our doctors advise, but it's just too hard to watch him suffer so much.

So we'll try singulair, and hope he's ok with it. However, I'm still undecided on this year's flu shot.

Stupid Pumpkin Farm

2009-10-10T10:46:00.001-07:00

My son went to a pumpkin farm for a field trip this past Thursday. Seemed like an okay thing to do, what could happen? That night he couldn't stop coughing. He managed to sleep though the night and woke up coughing his head off. I gave him his inhaler, some nose drops and he seemed to clear up quite a bit so I sent him to school. The school class me around 11:30 AM and tells me he's having trouble breathing. "Okay, give him his inhaler and I'll be right there." I race over and he's still coughing but breathing better. Good...The nurse thinks he should see our doctor. Okay, call the doctor, tell them what's going on, they say, "Come in right away!" Okay, go to the doctor. Finally see the doctor and the verdict? POST-NASAL DRIP. That's right, not a cold, not the flu, not asthma. Just severe allergies and post-nasal drip. After using preventative inhalers last night and nose drops he didn't cough at all this morning. NOT ONE COUGH!

Stupid Pumpkin Farm. Now what do I do? Next year I say, "Sorry son, can't pick a pumpkin. You can't handle it?" I don't want to do that! I though we'd go apple picking this weekend. We are soooo not going apple picking. We'll just have to avoid nature until the seasonal change ends. What else is new?

Post-Nasalfest 2009

2009-10-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

So he wasn't "sick" as far as I could tell. I kept him home one day, but his cough just seems generated by a wicked post-nasal drip. He sounds like he has consumption on and off, but we're alright. Everyone in the house has had a post-nasal experience this past week. I've had an annoying frequent scratchy throat thing that seems to hate when I attempt to sleep. Our daughter sounds super stuffy, but seems generally fine. Even my husband has dabbled in the post-nasal realm. Those weeds are really out to get us this season.

Oh well, good nite all *hack* *cough*

Is it a Cold? Is it Allergies? You Decide!

2009-09-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

My son's nose is running. He made a nose bubble. Never a good sign. But since we all feel pretty awful from our allergies, and the weed pollen count was extremely high today, I'm trying to remain hopeful. But the hacking cough that started around 7PM is not comforting. He may be sick, again, for the third time is less than a month. This kid is going to miss a lot of school, which I kind've knew, but I think I may be investigated by child services by November if he can't build up his immune system soon.

Cloudy with a Chance of Anaphylactic Shock

2009-09-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

I took my son to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs this weekend. Amazing 3D, he's loving it. Then a character has a peanut allergy. Ok, we relate to this character, great. Then the character faces a peanut-laden obstacle. My son starts to get scared, tells me he can't watch, wants to leave. I tell him it's all going to be ok, the character is fine. Then the character establishes contact with the peanut obstacle and swells up like a frightened puffer fish. Now he's really freaked out. I keep repeating "Everyone is fine. She's fine. Everything is fine."

The character receives her shot, I assume an Epipen, and she deflates- whew! "See, everything's fine. She took her shot, she's ok." Now we all feel better. But that was my son's first exposure to what might happen if he has an allergic reaction to peanuts. He thought he would blow up like that. I explained that he wouldn't swell up like that, that he's ok and he seemed relieved. But it was sad that a silly funny movie turned into a bit of a horror movie for him. If we ever buy that one, we are definitely skipping the peanut scene.

The Croup

2009-09-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well, we seemed to be doing better last week. My son seemed to be adjusting to his school schedule and we were hanging in there. Then he started coughing a lot on Friday nite. Hmmm. Maybe it was from petting the dog, his great-grandmother's perfume, the olives he ate. We couldn't pinpoint the cause.

Then he woke up the next morning with a barking croup cough. We know this cough. He couldn't stop coughing and couldn't breathe. I called the pediatrician and they advised me to administer the orapred. He took it and continued to cough. Finally one good steam and some albuterol calmed it down a bit.

But he was sick all day, threw up a bunch of times, and I slept in his room that nite. Listening to him struggle to breathe comfortably made it a rough nite, but we got through it.

He is much better now but I kept him home today as he's still coughing quite a bit. He probably could have gone to school, but hearing him cough every 5 seconds is not helping the learning process.

We'll try again tomorrow.

Peanut-Free Pinata

2009-09-15T19:48:00.001-07:00

I forgot to mention we did get our own pinata. I used my father's 71 birthday as my excuse and filled a pinata with peanut/tree nut free candy and toys. Watching my family, especially my father, whack the pinata was hysterical. But the best part was watching Logan smile.

Sigh

2009-09-15T19:37:00.001-07:00

Today was ok, but Logan does not feel well. His earlobes are red (they always turn red when he's having an allergy flare-up.) He can't stop rubbing his nose (gross) and his shiners are almost purple. He's irritable and cries more easily. He's basically a mess.

I know the environmentals are pretty bad outside, but maybe it's his classroom? A new room all day his body hasn't adjusted to? Schools are dusty, no matter how clean a teacher may be.

Or maybe it is simply fatigue from a new rigorous schedule and his burdened immune system can't keep up.

My fear is there is no answer and frankly, I am currently out of ideas. Sigh.

Strangers with Marshmallow Recipes

2009-09-13T20:08:00.001-07:00

I met an amazing woman at the grocery store today. She was looking for healthy sandwich bread and I directed her to the new bread with no artificial additives or preservatives I found. We then began discussing the evils or corn syrup which then led to her son and the Feingold diet. Her son is grown now with children of his own, but she believes the Feingold Diet saved his life. For those of you unfamiliar with this diet, it eliminates artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and salicylates found in healthy foods such as apples, berries, grapes, citrus, etc. She said her hyperactive, depressed, suicidal thought having 6 year old became an unbelievably well adjusted person on this diet. It was an amazing story. She stuck strictly to the diet for 4 years before introducing any offending foods.
I've heard the Feingold diet can help children with allergies and the irritability that comes with them. My son is sometimes hyperactive, but not depressed or suicidal (whew!) But I hesitate taking anything else from him. His diet is already limited by his food allergies- do I take away berries and apples too? He really likes them, and they could potentially be making him feel worse. I'm not sure what's right or wrong. But I do know the amazing woman I met has a homemade marshmallow recipe and I am definitely gonna try to make some. Then I can buy preservative free crisped rice and go to town!

Worried

2009-09-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

I'm worried. I'm worried Logan's allergies are bad this week and he's going to have a hard time keeping it together in school. I want to believe it'll go fine, and Mondays usually do. But I worry about Thursday and Friday and how bad he may feel by then. I worry I won't find a solution and it will be a rough year. Or maybe his allergies will calm down a bit and things will go more smoothly. I want to think positive thoughts and I hope I can. And I hope he has a good week.

We Can't Eat Here Again

2009-09-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

We went out with my family to a local italian restaurant. It's a very nice place, but our son seems to have some bizarre allergic reaction to the place. The second he walks in he cannot stop rubbing his nose. Then when we sit down his head starts to hurt. He gets weird and tired. He wants to lay down on the bench. This is the second time this has happened in this restaurant. We did go there another time with no issues, but we sat in a different area with no benches. Maybe it's the benches. Maybe it's the cleaners they use. Maybe it's the carpeting. Maybe...but I give up. We are not going back there.

Taking It's Toll

2009-09-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

The long days in kindergarten are taking their toll on our son. By Friday he was exhausted, over-emotional and a bit difficult. His teacher did thankfully recognize he was very tired and related his unusual behavior to his fatigue. But how do I give him more energy? How do I take away the sinus headaches that have been returning this week? I did the only thing I can do at the moment, thanked her for her communication and understanding and expressed I will do whatever is in my power to help him adjust. But I feel powerless.

First Day of School

2009-09-10T19:04:00.001-07:00

My son's first day of school was fine, except for the unknown rash I noticed on his leg before I dressed him. I asked him, "What is this rash? Does it itch?" He said, "A little." I rubbed in some cortizone cream and sent him off. If I was not so desensitized I would have panicked, rushed him to the doctor. But after so many allergy experiences I instead sent him off to school and told him if it became too itchy or hurt to tell his teacher and I would take him home.

There was no phone call, and it cleared up later in the day, but I still don't know what caused it and probably never will.

Damn Pinata

2009-09-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

We went to a very nice birthday party this weekend. My son was having a great time until pinata time. As the children quickly gathered their treats my son scanned the ground strewn with candy he recognized he could not eat. I picked up one piece only to read it wasn't safe. He began to cry. We recovered, found one type of candy he could eat and gathered what we could, but the experience was tainted by then. As it almost always will be. I guess I better go get a pinata.

Allergies on Vacation

2009-09-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

Our family went for a short vacation to Sesame Place, just for a few days. The hotel was great, but had wall-to-wall carpeting (never allergy friendly). Each morning as my son woke, his eyes were more puffy. Each day he was more tired and irritable. By the last day he was exhausted. His two year old sister was fine, but it took so much out of him. It reminded me that he is really not like other kids and I have to respect his limits. Short vacations are best.

After some research I also found out some hotels are offering allergen-free rooms. There do not seem to be too many yet, but a website lists hotels and locations that offer these rooms www.pureroom.com.

Allergy Adventures

2009-09-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

Our son is a highly allergic little 5 year old boy. Environmentals, pets, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts, he's allergic to it all. It totally sucks. We will most likely never have a furry pet (we currently have fish) and he will never experience the joy of a Friendly's Reese's Peanut Butter cup sundae. People say he may grow out of it and I wish that for him every day of my life.