Still in the Dark

Once again we're at a loss. Samantha's home indefinitely, coughing constantly, and her play is really restricted. If she gets overly excited or starts jumping around she coughs hard--think of a smoker's cough. The breathing treatments help minimally, so the brain isn't registering that part. We're going to have to start her on some heavy-duty cough medicine with codeine. Personally, I have a bad relationship with codeine. I'm not sure how she'll handle it, but hopefully better than I do. The doctor just needs to get her to stop coughing or the situation will get worse.

He suspects that the cough is worsening from the reflux. But we still haven't been able to find the reflux culprit. We are waiting for her to get better so that she can have blood tests completed which tests for food allergies. The doctor stopped short of asking for an elimination diet, but we need to start somewhere. I've been suspect of the breakfast cereal she likes, which contains a lot of corn. She's had an intolerance to corn since she was little, but never diagnosed with an allergy. Corn, however, is in everything. It may come down to me making our cereal if that is the case. But we also have to restrict milk and soy, which doesn't leave much else. She likes Chocolate Almond milk, but not the regular kind.

If the cough doesn't cease she'll have either an overnight stay at the hospital with a scope down her throat or another barium swallow with a video to watch her cough/reflux so we can see how much is ending up in the lungs. The doctor also said that we have to eliminate oils from her diet while she's coughing--a small amount aspirated could cause inflammation in the lungs for a month or longer.

To say this is depressing is redundant. We're confined to home, that means mommy too, and Alyssa is very upset, feeling very left out.

So you'd think I'd figure this asthma thing out, but I haven't. Al worked in Samantha's class this morning, but he called after two hours because she couldn't breathe. I had to go get her--Al couldn't leave or they'd have to call all the parents to pick up the kids first. She was coughing every time she inhaled, which means the oxygen level diminishes over time. So I drove home and hooked her up the nebulizer. But then I get confused. We have five different breathing treatments at home and we typically give three when this happens, but I can't remember what we give when. To top it off, she has a terrible burn in her chest (acid reflux) when she coughs. Sometimes it burns so much she cries, which makes everything worse.

So I'm on the phone with the doctor again, trying to get this all sorted out. What to give when and how much, etc.

We were just a the doctor's office yesterday for a well check regarding her November breathing problems. Oh they joy of winter.

Actually, we're kind of enjoying this winter storm. We've probably had two to three inches of rain since Sunday. It poured for several straight hours this morning. I was pretty wet trying to get Alyssa to daycare. Wednesday's storm looks to be the worst thus far. The NWS has increased their wind estimate to 50-70 MPH. Fun, fun as long as no one is killed or hurt.