More on doctor's appointments for Aiden
Since we originally took Aiden to Dr. P (Pediatrician) for his snoring (see the post here) we have seen the ENT (see the post here) and he's been sick 2 or 3 more times.
The funny thing is the kid never slows down, NEVER. I took him in a couple of weeks after seeing the ENT because he had a rash on his neck and a slight fever. He wouldn't stop scratching the rash, so I called the doctor, went in to see Dr. P and he had strep throat. The same kid who ate Doritos for breakfast (not really, but he didn't complain about his throat hurting).
Then, we went back to Dr. N (ENT) for the 6 week follow up. She said, "Yep, he still has fluid on his ears, his tonsils are still red and enlarged, and I bet that his adenoids are enlarged too (you can't see those)" "So, he needs his tonsils and adenoids out and tubes in his ears, any questions?" I just stared at her and said, "UM YAH." Then I could only think of a couple of questions, like...
Are there any other options? - yes, wait and see if it gets better, while he continues to get sick and just treat the different illnesses as they come. He might grow out of it by the time he's 8 or 9.
What if we don't do the surgeries? - the chances are he will continue to get sick off and on like a normal kiddo, but might have increased sicknesses b/c of the enlarged adenoids and tonsils. Also, he could have speech problems because of the fluid in his ears or balance problems.
Any medications that could help the enlarged glands? Nope :)
Then, I think I went blank, I couldn't think of any more questions. We talked about how once the adenoids are removed the fluid in his ears might go down, because the enlarged adenoids could be blocking the Eustachian tubes and not allowing the fluid to drain.
So, the nurse came in and asked when I wanted to schedule his surgery. UMMMMMMM, deer in headlights look :) "I'd like to have the billing office call my insurance with the surgery codes and call me so that we will know what our portion of the surgeries will cost."
Then, I thought, that's my way out of making this decision. They are going to come back and say, "Your portion will be $10,000" and I'll have to tell the poor kid he's going to need speech tutorials. They called Robert last week and said that our portion will be a $100 hospital copay. Really? I guess that's kind of a sign.
Then, we thought, ok, Dr. N seemed kinda hasty about the whole thing. I mean this is our kid we are talking about and she just wants to cut him open. So, we will get a second opinion.
Well, Friday afternoon Aiden's school called, he had a fever of 101 and a runny eye. I took him home and gave him some Advil and he was running around like crazy :). The next morning he woke up and his eye was crusted over. Hum? Pink Eye? So, I called Dr. P's office (I love that they have sick appointments on Saturday) Took him in and no pink eye, just an eye goop from possible cold and another ear infection and possible strep throat again. (They didn't do a test, b/c they were going to put him on antibiotics again anyway) I talked to Dr. P about what the ENT had said, how we felt it was hasty and that we were going to get a second opinion. She said that 70% of the patients she sends to Dr. N come back and tell her that Dr. N said to wait and see what happens over the next 6 months or so. She's very conservative when it comes to surgery and if she seems hasty about it, it is because it really needs to happen. She then said that she believes that he needs all three surgeries also. Well, great!
So, I've been waiting a couple days to process all of this. I know it's not major, but what if something goes wrong? I'm the one signing off that they can do this. I know that's my job as a parent, but come on, can't we wait until he can decide he wants it done :) Nope we can't.
The recovery time on the surgeries is about 2 weeks. 1 week out of school and then another week in school but with restricted activities. No running, jumping, sports, heavy playing, etc. Yah right. He's a 3 year old. I asked Dr. N if she would take him for that 2 weeks or if we could have coma inducing drugs.
I've got a call into Dr. N about whether we should take his adenoids and tonsils out and wait a couple months on the tubes in his ears to see if taking out the adenoids helps the ear problem. And I have to get a couple of possible dates for the surgery and sit down with Robert to decide when he can stay home for a week to be with him. (I'm out of PTO at work, so no mommy)
So, that's where we are with him right now. Makes me really nervous, I'm a worry wort anyway. Everyone I talk to that has kiddos that had their tonsils/adenoids out and/or tubes in their ears say it's a great thing and their kiddo is 100% better. I think the absolute hardest part of it all is that he never seems sick, but I guess he's just used to the fluid in his ears and the soar throats. Poor Guy. He has circles under his eyes all the time and I wonder if that's because he doesn't sleep as well because of the snoring and such.
I'll keep you posted on what's going on with our sweet MM!
The funny thing is the kid never slows down, NEVER. I took him in a couple of weeks after seeing the ENT because he had a rash on his neck and a slight fever. He wouldn't stop scratching the rash, so I called the doctor, went in to see Dr. P and he had strep throat. The same kid who ate Doritos for breakfast (not really, but he didn't complain about his throat hurting).
Then, we went back to Dr. N (ENT) for the 6 week follow up. She said, "Yep, he still has fluid on his ears, his tonsils are still red and enlarged, and I bet that his adenoids are enlarged too (you can't see those)" "So, he needs his tonsils and adenoids out and tubes in his ears, any questions?" I just stared at her and said, "UM YAH." Then I could only think of a couple of questions, like...
Are there any other options? - yes, wait and see if it gets better, while he continues to get sick and just treat the different illnesses as they come. He might grow out of it by the time he's 8 or 9.
What if we don't do the surgeries? - the chances are he will continue to get sick off and on like a normal kiddo, but might have increased sicknesses b/c of the enlarged adenoids and tonsils. Also, he could have speech problems because of the fluid in his ears or balance problems.
Any medications that could help the enlarged glands? Nope :)
Then, I think I went blank, I couldn't think of any more questions. We talked about how once the adenoids are removed the fluid in his ears might go down, because the enlarged adenoids could be blocking the Eustachian tubes and not allowing the fluid to drain.
So, the nurse came in and asked when I wanted to schedule his surgery. UMMMMMMM, deer in headlights look :) "I'd like to have the billing office call my insurance with the surgery codes and call me so that we will know what our portion of the surgeries will cost."
Then, I thought, that's my way out of making this decision. They are going to come back and say, "Your portion will be $10,000" and I'll have to tell the poor kid he's going to need speech tutorials. They called Robert last week and said that our portion will be a $100 hospital copay. Really? I guess that's kind of a sign.
Then, we thought, ok, Dr. N seemed kinda hasty about the whole thing. I mean this is our kid we are talking about and she just wants to cut him open. So, we will get a second opinion.
Well, Friday afternoon Aiden's school called, he had a fever of 101 and a runny eye. I took him home and gave him some Advil and he was running around like crazy :). The next morning he woke up and his eye was crusted over. Hum? Pink Eye? So, I called Dr. P's office (I love that they have sick appointments on Saturday) Took him in and no pink eye, just an eye goop from possible cold and another ear infection and possible strep throat again. (They didn't do a test, b/c they were going to put him on antibiotics again anyway) I talked to Dr. P about what the ENT had said, how we felt it was hasty and that we were going to get a second opinion. She said that 70% of the patients she sends to Dr. N come back and tell her that Dr. N said to wait and see what happens over the next 6 months or so. She's very conservative when it comes to surgery and if she seems hasty about it, it is because it really needs to happen. She then said that she believes that he needs all three surgeries also. Well, great!
So, I've been waiting a couple days to process all of this. I know it's not major, but what if something goes wrong? I'm the one signing off that they can do this. I know that's my job as a parent, but come on, can't we wait until he can decide he wants it done :) Nope we can't.
The recovery time on the surgeries is about 2 weeks. 1 week out of school and then another week in school but with restricted activities. No running, jumping, sports, heavy playing, etc. Yah right. He's a 3 year old. I asked Dr. N if she would take him for that 2 weeks or if we could have coma inducing drugs.
I've got a call into Dr. N about whether we should take his adenoids and tonsils out and wait a couple months on the tubes in his ears to see if taking out the adenoids helps the ear problem. And I have to get a couple of possible dates for the surgery and sit down with Robert to decide when he can stay home for a week to be with him. (I'm out of PTO at work, so no mommy)
So, that's where we are with him right now. Makes me really nervous, I'm a worry wort anyway. Everyone I talk to that has kiddos that had their tonsils/adenoids out and/or tubes in their ears say it's a great thing and their kiddo is 100% better. I think the absolute hardest part of it all is that he never seems sick, but I guess he's just used to the fluid in his ears and the soar throats. Poor Guy. He has circles under his eyes all the time and I wonder if that's because he doesn't sleep as well because of the snoring and such.
I'll keep you posted on what's going on with our sweet MM!
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