To update from the post below, the baby has been sick with two separate bugs since. Only this time, he was given the germs by his big brother who is in kindergarten and the week of Thanksgiving nearly his whole class was absent. So I wasn't surprised the baby caught his bug, being in the same house and all. But, it was another round of antibiotics for the baby when the big brother doesn't need them.
So the baby is now 19 months old. He has been given his 13th round of antibiotics. BAD! BAD BAD BAD!!! He is unable to fight off bugs and germs on his own since he literally does not have an immune system. We were supposed to get his 2nd big round of blood tests done today to test for those vaccine titers and sensitivities, and to pin point the auto immune things, (or rule that out), but funny thing is... he HAS to be "healthy" and off medication in order to be tested. And he spiked yet another fever this week.
He finished his last round of antibiotics 8 days ago. 8 days was our record. Before this week, 7 days has been the longest period of time he has gone fever free and sickness free off of antibiotics. Well, I was pumped to reach 8! Until he woke up coughing and spiked another temp at 3 pm, on day 8. I waited a day, but decided to take him in. Yesterday I met another new doctor from the new office we are going to. Let me say - this sweet woman was kind and with such a great bedside manner that I had a total breakdown and began weeping in front of her. THAT WAS A FIRST for me. Usually its only the baby that cries in the doctors offices. She looked him over, heard my story, reviewed the results from the previous blood tests, read the reports from the immunologist, and then read the report from the ENT who (2 weeks ago) refuses to believe that there are any issues with his ears.
**For those of you who study these kid problems... the latest is that doctors OVER diagnose things as ear infections, and most ear swelling, redness, bacteria, etc... are stemming from an underlying allergy to something. Most kids find out they have a dairy allergy affecting their ears. Our baby's food and environmental allergy panels have come back normal... hence the idea that he is truly allergic to the preservatives/additives in vaccines.**
So, 3 pediatricians, 1 pediatric allergist, 1 pediatric immunologist, and various urgent care doctors have been the ones writing the scripts for the numerous antibiotics - all saying that its ear infections or sinusitis. The last time I tried to go without meds, he had a temp of 104 for 12 days. That is dangerous for a baby.
So you are caught up to yesterday - when this new doc looks at me and says, "but his right ear has pus in it." She calls the ENT and he is in surgery but will see us as soon as he is out. In the meantime the pediatrician says, "if this baby is THIS miserable and sick and can't go off meds for longer than a week, than there is something bad in his body and we aren't getting it out. We NEED to figure this out. We NEED a sinus culture. I need the ENT to look at his ears today do a sinus culture so we can find out what he has living in him that we aren't treating correctly." Makes sense to me! Lets do it!!!!
So move ahead a few hours, my high fevered boy is hooked up to the machine at the ENT again. "There is nothing wrong mom." So he calls my pediatrician with me in the room and they literally get in to a fight. He wants to wait for the baby to become SICKER with darker green colors, and then admit him to the hospital over the weekend for blood cultures and a sinus culture. I am told to leave, do NOT treat with any meds, no antibiotics yet, and call him when the fever reaches 104/105 and his snot is dark green. Fever of 102.5 and yellow doesn't count. And I also drive home crying, knowing that my precious, sick, now coughing and vomiting baby is going to suffer more and spend days in a hospital getting poked and prodded. So sad.
Until 7:30 PM when the pediatrician from the morning calls me at home and says this; "I can't imagine what this must be like for you as a mom. To listen to us fight like that. But he really pissed me off. I'm angry. I want you to get a 2nd opinion. And from the best pediatric ENT up at All Childrens. If HE calls me and says there is nothing wrong with this baby, than I will back off. But I really believe we can do a CT or X-ray of his sinus cavity and a get a sinus culture without admitting him. And why would ANY doctor want to put a baby with no immune system in to a hospital?" Right. RIGHT! OMG! I hadn't even thought that far ahead, yet. I was more upset about missing my 5 year old singing at church on Sunday!!
So...we are now waiting on the blood work since baby has to be "healthy". And the new ENT appointment was scheduled for next Thursday. We are TRYING to hold off on antibiotics for as long as possible, too.
So... Who do you think will be right? The specialist? Or the7 other docs? As a nurse, doctors fighting over treatment options never bothered me... But as a mama it is pretty unbelievable and pretty confusing! So far, this new pediatric office hasn't let me down, so I'm praying she is on to something!
