Today I had to take Katelynn in for a check-up with her pediatric nephrologist. They tested her urine and it showed the amount of protein to be 2+, rather than 3+ like it was on Tuesday. (If you know what that means tell me, 'cause I don't exactly know what that means. Heidi-- Mrs. Lab Woman-- do you?)
So, the doc said she seems to be turning the corner. We have to keep giving her the steroids twice a day, and she has to go in for a check-up once a week until her urine no longer shows traces of protein in it. (Yippee skippy!) We also have to watch for fevers, trouble breathing, increased swelling, white lesions on her tongue (yeast growth caused by the steroids), and anything else suspicious.
Also, we have to be careful that she doesn't come in contact with chicken pox, because prednisone+chicken pox=bad news. When I told the doctor that she hasn't had her chicken pox vaccine, he about peed his pants. I told him that she had a really bad allergic reaction to her last two rounds of vaccines and ended up in the hospital for a week, so we have not done any more vaccinations since then. Guess we have to see about getting a chicken pox vaccine after she's off her prednisone. We'll see. I need to do more research on it. Some doctors don't like this about us, but we are not their typical patients who think everything coming out of their mouths is gospel. We question things, do our own research, challenge their suggestions, etc. So, we may be a pain in the gluteus maximus sometimes, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do! That was a totally random tangent, but oh well.
Katleynn will still be a bit puffy for a while, but that's okay. What I'm not looking forward to is the side affects from the steroids, specifically the moodiness. Last time she was on Prednisone she would have these crazy fits of rage, then 2 seconds later be happy as a little clam, then another 5 seconds after that she would be curled up in a ball with her blanket, talking about how 'her eyes are sad'. I'm not ready to handle teenagers yet! Give me 10 more years, please!
P.S.- Can I just say I have the most awesome friends?! (Yes, I'm talking to you!) Everyone has been calling me & texting me & leaving sweet messages on the blog, asking how they can help and sending prayers our way. I had 2 friends fighting over the honor of bringing me dinner last night (you know who you are!), and another friend watch Emma & Michael for several hours while I took Katelynn to her check-up today. You (if you are reading this blog I'm talking to you, by the way) rock my socks off!!
When I was pregnant, Ben wasn't sure about vaccines either. We have a very close friend who is a pediatrician, and we talked with him about things. (He's a fellow at a children's hospital, and has never been in private practice, so he's not a vaccine pusher...instead, he sees the ill effects in the ER.) He told us that the worst cases (including deaths) he had seen in kids were usually kids who were brought in with problems that could have been prevented had they been immunized. Once Ben heard that, he was convinced (he also was able to look at a lot of data, being a biostatistician).
ReplyDeleteWhen Julie was born prematurely, we weren't sure if they would want to adjust her vaccine schedule from normal as she developed slower. It turned out that she developed perfectly normally, so that was a non-issue, even though they wouldn't have changed it anyway. We however (even before she was born), decided to space the shots out more than in the traditional CDC schedule. We weren't going to skip any, we just wanted to take our time a little bit. And I'm frankly a little weirded out by the fact that there even is a chicken pox vaccine. It's weird to me to think that there is an immunization for a disease that I had as a child. And it really wasn't that bad. And I'm told I even had a pretty strong case. We decided to wait until we had to before giving Julie that one. Like, if she's about to start kindergarten and still hasn't had the disease, then we'll give her the vaccine (because we have to).
Anyway, long comment, but a few thoughts I had. I'm really glad that you guys were able to catch the nephritis (right?) early this time, and that things weren't as big a deal as before. I'm glad she's getting better.
I get so sad when I read about little Katelynn having to deal with these health problems. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Good luck trying to figure out what will be best for her!
ReplyDeleteGlad the numbers are going the right direction. 'Roids do suck - Haley is on them right now for a bad poison ivy reaction. Good thing she's such a mellow kid normally hahahahahahahahahahaha (actually, probably most people think she is a mellow kid - not so at home, I tell you, not so). Anyway, most of my kids have most of the vaccinations. I'm not a fan of the CP vaccine either - Josh and Sam haven't had it yet. Also preK requires the HepA statewide even though our area is not considered high risk and it's not required for the rest of the schools and that irks me. Finally, Sam has not had his MMR at all yet because when it came time I had very strong impressions that we should wait, so we are. I'll start reconsidering it as his 2nd birthday comes up here soon. He's also behind on some other thing too, but that's because they are rationing it.
ReplyDeleteLab Woman I am :). Have to be good for something. 2+ or 3+ protein is simply the amount detected on the dip stick. There is some complex chemistry in those little strips that I could detail if you want. A 24 hour gives a more specific quantity, but is not terribly fun to collect on a child. Her kidneys just aren't spilling as much protein and that is a good thing. We've dealt with the steroids a little with croup and I hear ya sister--talk about mood swings! Yikes, hang in there. Still praying for you guys.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad she's doing a little better. What a hard thing to go through, and so scary! I'll be thinking about you.
ReplyDeleteI've been quite interested in all the vaccine stuff myself. (Being anit-vaccine goes hand in hand with homebirth for a lot of people. I had my second baby at home and did lots of reading and looked into the vaccine stuff too while I was at it.) Anyway, my husband and I decided after our research that there's just not enough proof that vaccines cause many of the problems that anti-vaccine people are harping about. Obviously as you've found out they do cause allergic reactions and such in some people. But I tend to agree with this article: http://open.salon.com/blog/amytuteurmd/2009/02/13/bar_lowered_vaccine_rejectionists_still_couldnt_clear_it
The lady that wrote that article (hopefully that link works!) has written a lot of other stuff about vaccines and I tend to agree with her on it and she has had a lot of good studies and numbers that I could look at instead of merely anecdotal stories such as, "Well my son had his vaccine and ever since then his development has slowed!"
I do think it is something to be concerned about and educate yourself on, and good for you guys for looking into it yourselves! I hope whatever you decide works for your family and that nobody has to get any yucky illnesses anyway! ( :
Oh, I just looked at your old posts. Boy how hard all that must have been! I hope she can pull through this time! Is this something she will have to suffer with all her life or can anyone do anything about it? Maybe I'll have to do some research! You guys must be troopers to make it through all this.
ReplyDeleteWhat's not to love about a puffy Katelynn. Give her a love for me. Wish I could be there to help you if you needed.
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