She agreed it sounded like reflux...and put him back on his meds. She told Mike she would call in a new prescription for Prevacid, and that was that. I went to pick up the meds that night, but the Pharmacist told me the doctor had not written the script correctly, so she could not fill it. I must have looked a wreck because she apologized over and over. I asked her to please tell me what the correct dosage would be for Blip, so I could give him the meds I had left over at home...but she said she couldn't tell me. I thanked her and drove home...in tears. The thought of another night of screaming...another night of my baby suffering...I just couldn't take it.
Ugh.
On Thursday night, I gave the baby his old dosage...thinking it was better to at least get the meds started in his system since it can take up to two weeks for them to fully work. I returned to Walgreens on Friday, but wasn't able to get there until after 5pm. I should have made sure I was there before the doctor's office closed, but I didn't think the prescription would be a problem AGAIN. I was wrong. The Pharmacist said they had faxed it several times, but had not received anything back. I was livid. I thanked her...since it was not her fault...and left.
Then I called Mike and SCREAMED!!!! I was not mad AT Mike, but he's the one who had to hear me lose it...guess that's part of being married. I was so angry...and exhausted. At that point, it had been about 6-7 weeks of suffering at our house. HOURS of screaming at night...I didn't think I had it in me to lay on the floor next to the pack and play and sob while Blip screamed one more night.
I had to move him to the pack and play because he was hitting his head on the crib...causing him to hurt himself even more. The entire situation was unbearable...and I am by myself most nights to suffer alone with my screamer.
Mike called the doctor's office Saturday morning and got the prescription worked out, but we knew it was not correct as soon as I picked it up. The doctor had written the dosage the same as it was months ago...several pounds ago. I was so flippin' mad!! Mike called again first thing Monday morning...and the doctor doubled his dosage. She hadn't actually written out a new prescription, but simply renewed his old one. If that idiot was our Pediatrician...we would be finding a new office. Instead, we will stay with the doctor (or three) that we love there...and add that idiot to the list of doctors (she makes two) we will NOT being seeing again. Ever.
We decided we were done screwing around. I started calling Pediatric GI doctors for an appointment. I got a couple referrals from some friends, and I also read about a few doctors/groups on-line before I started calling. We wanted to see a doctor at Banner Thunderbird because we like the children's hospital and it's not as far a PCH. Not to mention, we aren't overly impressed with PCH, so to drive all that way would not be our first choice...and not knowing how involved or how often we would need to see the doctor made the group at PCH my second choice.
I called to get in with the doctor I liked best, but he was no longer accepting new patients. Ugh. I had the guy select another doctor from the same group, but the soonest I could get in with any doctor was February. What!? I made an appointment with a P.A. because I could get in with him/her in January. Next I tried the doctor I liked best from PCH. His first available was also January, so I made the appointment. I wasn't sure what we'd want to do- see the PA or drive to PCH to see a doctor. I started looking on-line again and came across another Pediatric GI doctor that was close to the house- Dr. Khurana. I was able to make an appointment for the next Monday...so I took it.
We met with Dr. Khurana on the 10th. We spent the entire night before up with the baby. It was awful. It was by far his worst night. The first two nights on Prevacid he did great, but the relief was short lived.
We went through our list of issues/concerns/symptoms, and he listened. When we were done, he checked out Blip for himself. We liked how he treated/touched/talked to Blip. That's a big deal to us. The first doctor we saw when Blip was sick at 3 weeks old seemed almost afraid to touch the baby. It made us uncomfortable. Even more so when Dr. J was so warm and loving with both him and us. We knew we needed a doctor(s) that interacted with the baby on a level that someone who loved him would.
He sat down and told us he was not 100% convinced we were dealing with reflux. He explained to us about a disease called Eosinophilic Esophagitis or EE for short. Blip's issues mirrored some of the issues involved with EE. He said some of the symptoms could be relieved short term with meds, but not permanently. One cause for EE is a food allergy, and the only way to diagnose EE would be by having an Endoscopy done and taking biopsies of Blip's esophagus. My heart sank, and when I looked at Mike...I knew his did too.
The doctor recommended we continue the Prevacid for one month prior to completing the endoscopy, but I told him that was not an option. I told him Blip had been suffering significantly for a minimum of eight LONG weeks...and that I was not willing to wait another four weeks. We continued to discuss the issues we were having, and he agreed we could do it sooner. He also added two meds to Blips regimen- Zantac at night and Maalox when needed. He left Blip's Prevacid prescription the same- 15 mg once a day on an empty stomach and 30 min prior to eating.
Sadly, the soonest we could schedule the endoscopy was nearly a month after our appointment. *sigh* We are scheduled for January 7th at 9am. I'm not thrilled about the wait, but I guess it's one more thing to get used to with socialized medicine starting to take place in this country. With millions of new patients...and zero new doctors...our wait times will be much, much worse than a few weeks. A friend of mine that was born and raised in Canada said to expect wait times of up to a year before even getting seen by a specialist...that's why Canadian's come here and pay cash for services. Oh well.
And I will leave it at that...
The wedge is perfect, but the sling she had was for a 3-7 pound baby, so that was a bit too small for my nearly 22 pound baby. To buy a new sling, it was about $80...which I would spend 100 times over to help Blip, but I wasn't even sure he would "like" it...and it wasn't returnable. I decided to check eBay to see if by chance there was one for sale on there in the right size. I got super lucky! There was ONE in the right size...and I actually WON the auction! I was so happy! I ended up paying less than $40 for the correct sling...and it's as good as new.
The first night we used the Tucker Sling Blip fussed for a few minutes and then fell asleep...for 12 hours! He was swaddled until he was about 7+ months old, so I actually think he likes the sling. Mike disagrees, but Mom knows best...AND he has slept 12 hours EVERY night in that thing. Just like our old baby. He even naps again! I am so in love with that stupid contraption. There has been NO screaming at bedtime! Bedtime is peaceful again...and we are all getting (some) sleep.
We are happy Blip seems so much more comfortable, but have decided to follow through with the Endoscopy. We need to make sure we know exactly what we are dealing with, so we can properly care for Blip. I do believe he simply has reflux, but we really need to know so we can work on whatever the real problem is instead of just masking it. He will have to be put under by an Anesthesiologist, so we are, of course, not thrilled about it, but we believe we are making the right decision. The Endoscopy should only take a few minutes, but we will be at the hospital for a few hours for the entire procedure to take place.
For now, we are happy to have some relief for Blip. His obvious discomfort was unbearable. Until about two weeks prior to meeting with the doctor, Blip had zero signs/symptoms his reflux was back. All of a sudden he had every sign, but he still isn't a puker. And that I'm thankful for.
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