I know when you come to this blog, the first thing you hope to find is NOT a blog on my son's bowels however if you follow this blog, you also know, this is a huge part of our lives and thus, I must blog!
After 6 weeks of being in a comitted constipation plan ( Miralax, fiber, daily sits on the potty, journaling) we had a follow up visit with Dr. Hatch.
I love Dr. Hatch and was pleased to share with him the progress we've made since late September. Alaric has had very little to no constipation, he sits on the potty now with no fear, he's pooped on the potty once, and he's eating better overall.
Since our last visit, his blood test results showed he does NOT have Celiac's disease but does have a fairly significant Iron deficiency to which he is now on a suppliment.
In the past 6 weeks, he's only had 5 terrible bouts with stomach pain, complaints of tummy and bottom hurting, bent over, running around "fits". 5 might seem severe for you however we were dealing with numerous ones a week so we really felt excited about the change.
Dr. Hatch was impressed with the progress but still very concerned about the belly aches. His concern...originally we figured the aches were from constipation. Deal with the constipation, the aches go away. They've gotten better but have not subsided completed so we move on.
His recommendation, to begin a test trial on an acid blocker, Prevacid. For 2-4 weeks, Al will take this daily and we will monitor his progress. If he has NO stomach complaints, we will assume he has some reflux issues and we will continue the medication for 2 more months. After the 2 months, we will take him OFF the meds for 2-4 weeks to see if the symptoms return. If they do, we have a real diagnosis of acid relux.
If after the 2-4 weeks we have not seen improvement in his stomach/bottom complaints, we will move to a more invasive proceedure. He will undergo a sonogram on the belly and colon area and then be put under to do an endoscopy down his throat to see what is happening in his digestive track and a partial colonoscopy ( only the first 5 inches) to check nerve damage.
Dr. hatch actually offered the more severe proceedure as an option for right now instead of doing the acid blocker trial but I opted for the slow and steady approach for now.
My gut says that eventually, whether it be in the next few weeks or sometime later in 2010 we'll end up doing the endo/colonoscopy but my gut has been wrong before and I pray that along the way through Alaric's health journey, we discover how to make him the healthiest he can be....I feel like we are on the right track and we've made huge strides in the past 6 weeks!
Alaric was wonderful today- as soon as he had reassurance that he was not getting any "pokers" ( shots) he was great- all smiles!
Pray for us, Pray for Alaric! Thanks always for your love and concern!
3 comments:
I'm so glad to hear you're starting to see some improvement & relief for Alaric!
Glad to read that Alaric is getting better. Here's hoping you get this all sorted out.
One step at a time. You are doing the right thing in being proactive about this and taking charge of his health. Even if you do have to do the more invasive procedure, it will probably hurt you more than him. The doctors know what they are doing. I will say prayers.
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