New update on Reagan

We went for allergy testing on Thursday and guess what? She has allergies! I'm the most ecstatic mom in the world to find out her child has allergies..because at last I know why my poor child has been sick for the last six months.

She was tested for 40 allergens and reacted to almost every one except the foods (thank goodness!). Her allergist says that she is probably allergic to much more but at the moment he wasn't going to continue testing her because she is so young, she will probably develop more allergies the older she gets, and for now, the fact that she has allergies, is enough for him, so he can begin to treat them.

Currently our treatment plan includes two medications for her allergies, an additional one if she becomes sick, one medication for her asthma, an additional one if she gets worse with that and treating her environment.

At the moment, we are working on a plan to keep the cats. We are planning on buying gates to contain them to the non-carpeted area of the house. We are getting our ducts cleaned (tomorrow), carpet cleaning, major dusting and we have gotten rid of all our commercial cleaners (almost all) and have switched to dye and frangrance free detergent and fabric softeners. We can't have candles; I can't wear perfume or scented deoderant and we can't use nice smelly lotions, shampoos, soaps and conditioners--everything has to be hypoallergenic.

We're in the process of purchasing a steammop so we can clean without chemicals, a hepa air cleaner for her room and some 'healthy' cleaning products--like electrostatic mitts for dusting instead of using Pledge; and baking soda and vinegar instead of Clorox and Windex.

We're also working on making her room a safe haven for any episodes..a 'clean' room for her to go to when she has an attack. This includes encasing everything from dust mites and even keeping the majority of her books contained in tupperware containers--as ink is a major source of allergies for most people and it also attracts A LOT of dust! Who knew??!

It's a process that is taking some time, but we're working towards making our home a little better for Reagan to breathe and live in. Any suggestions related to making our home more of a safe place for her are welcome!

Some new news....

Yesterday I took Reagan to a new doctor. He's an allergist, an immunologist and a former pediatrician. To make a very long story short, he diagnosed her with mild asthma and believes that she does have allergies and it is not an immune problem. This from reviewing her test results from her pediatrician.

She also has an ear infection (which she either didn't have or her pediatrician didn't catch on Tuesday). So our game plan for now is as follows:

Continue with albuterol and pulmocort breathing treatments 2xs daily. (He doubled her intake of pulmocort).
Take azrithromycin for 5 days to clear up the infection.
Take allegra twice a day.
Take singulair once a day.
Take tylenol and advil as needed for the pain while the infection lasts.

In two weeks we will go back to Dr. T (as I'll refer to him, her regular pediatrician is Dr. D) for allergy testing. Four days prior to the testing, I am to remove her from the allegra and singulair so that it will not skew the results.

The allergy tests this time will be skin/scratch tests. Once we receive those results, we will move forward with working on her environment/treatment or if the tests are negative we will move forward with continued immune testing.

Today she is already so much better just after a little of the allergy medicine and the antibiotic.

We also are going to wait on the CT scan and x-rays and immune blood work at this time. We still have a follow-up/well baby check up in a couple of weeks with Dr. D.

On other news, Josh and I have decided to forgo adoption at this point in our lives. I'm working to get healthier and we plan to meet with my doctor to get her opinions on another pregnancy and making sure that I will be well monitored if we go that route (I'm assuming this will be a high-risk pregnancy).

So that's it on the home front for now. Please continue to pray for Reagan. Love to all!

More on Reagan...

Well last night was absolutely awful. She didn't go back down to sleep until 3 a.m. and woke up at 7 a.m. I spent the majority of the night yelling at her and this morning she woke up with a slight fever. So not only am I completely stressed out at this point, I feel like the world's worst mother and that I should be lined up in front of a firing squad and shot.

In addition to the CT scan, her doctor also wants some x-rays of her tissues in her neck..not sure if I mentioned that earlier. At this point, I have decided to veto the CT scan (temporarily) in favor of having a specialist see her. We have an appointment at 1:30 today with an allergist/immunologist, who is going to evaluate her and possibly run some tests.

HOWEVER, and here is the kicker, because she's on antihistimines and other medications, they CANNOT do allergy testing because it can give a false negative. Interesting...because when we did the allergy testing a month or so back, she was on the same medicine....AND we got a negative. I'm guessing it was a false negative.

So perhaps all of the last two months of agony and sickness could have been avoided. I'm really hoping we get some answers soon. Reagan is coughing so much that she has red spots around her eyes from the strain and her nose is a continual river. I just want my baby to feel better. Please keep praying for her.

New Reagan update

At our doctor appointment yesterday, her pediatrician decided he wants to have a CT scan done on her sinuses, as well as some x-rays on her neck tissues. We also decided against putting her on anymore medication--oral steriods and antibiotics included.

Opps...she just woke up..will continue later

Update on Reagan

Today I took Reagan to her umpteenth doctor's appointment this year (already!). She now has a sinus infection and is on Albuterol, Pulmicort, Prednisolon, some kind of nasal spray and a very agressive antibiotic that I can't recall the name of at the moment. Joy! Dr. "D" (as I'll call him) has also decided we should run allergy tests on Reagan. So, as soon as she's feeling up to snuff (exactly where that expression came from I have NO idea), she'll be having bloodwork done.

If the bloodwork turns up something, then he'll do a scratch skin allergy test when she's a few months older. The reason for waiting a few months is because allergy tests are really inconclusive at this age and the closer to two we are, the more accurate they will be.

A sidenote: Many babies that have reflux are susceptible to allergies and the same with eczema...Reagan has had both reflux and eczema. And preemies are more susceptiable to everything it appears. So please keep Reagan in your thoughts and prayers.

She's a tough cookie though...I swear, no matter how sick or how badly she's feeling, she always has the biggest grin and a ready laugh for you. I love my baby!