No More Poop!

This is an unfortunate topic to discuss, but I want to be able to refer to it later if necessary.

 

James has suffered from chronic diarrhea for months. Just before turning a year old, he had awful poops 6-8 times a day when we transitioned to cow's milk. We switched to soy milk and he had brief relief. Then he suddenly cut six teeth within a two week time frame. Teething is always accompanied with diarrhea for James. Just as it was tapering off, our whole family contracted a stomach virus. He actually ended up with two rounds of the bug. Even after all the vomiting had stopped and our finally was virus free, James still required constant diaper changes. It got to the point where his diaper rash was so severe that he was bleeding and screaming. We couldn't let him air out because his diarrhea was so severe. We used disposable diapers and Desitin, but it made no difference.

 

Last Tuesday I took James to the doctor. He was in a constant state of discomfort and screamed most of the car ride.

 

The doctor diagnosed/prescribed the following:

• Nystatin cream 3 times a day for diaper (yeast infection)
• Aquafor/Mylanta diaper rash cream
• Use probiotic (empty Culturelle capsule into applesauce or other soft food)
• Collect a stool sample to test for bacteria

Tuesday happened to be a parent night at Jesse's school, which meant he wasn't going to be home until 8:30. I had the stressful task of collecting the stool sample and transporting it to the hospital lab. The collection part was much more pleasant than the loading everyone into the van, driving 30 minutes in rush hour traffic, parking in a parking deck, unloading four kids, and taking everyone into the hospital to drop off the specimen.

We did not find out the results until Friday afternoon. The test came back negative for bacteria. After consulting with a GI, our pediatrician felt confident that James had an overgrowth of flora in the gut due to problems with teething, vaccinations, milk allergies, and stomach virus. She prescribed a medicine that would "reset the gut". The medicine had to be made at a compound pharmacy, which meant another trip to a specific pharmacy on Friday evening to pick up the medicine.

It has been a week since I took James to the doctor and his happy, silly demeanor has finally returned and his digestion has returned to normal! 

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Though James is better, Madeline has been waking in the middle of the night screaming and also refusing naps the past two days. Yesterday she was able to nap on my chest.

This morning she was completely inconsolable. Therapy was a waste of time. She was crying (the ugly, hyperventilating, snotty, big cry) for hours. I tried rocking with her in the recliner, laying down with her, standing and swaying, giving her milk, etc. Nothing worked. Tylenol and Ibuprofen made little difference. She had a fever of 100, runny nose, and seemed to be in genuine pain. (This was well beyond her tantrum cries.) I felt bad for her, but then I became irrationally frustrated that I could not make her stop crying.

 

I made an online appointment at the FastMed right by the house for 1:30. I drove straight there after I picked Jackson up from preschool. They confirmed my suspicion of an ear infection. (Both James and Amelia have had ear infections before, but this is Maddie's first.)  She should be her normal self after 24 hours of antibiotics.

The trio have their 15 month well check coming up, which will include flu shots (which is a guaranteed fever and fussing for James). I'm really hoping we can have a break from any medical issues for several months.