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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Asthma?

Well, all the docs are fairly certain Izzy has a virus. No positive test results yet, but we may never know which virus. She is on 1 liter of oxygen now, down from 2 liters yesterday. She seems to be tolerating it well, but we'll have to wait for a sound sleep. Last night, we were down to 1 liter and she kept desatting to the mid-80s when she was sound, sound asleep, so we had to go back up to 1.5 liters. We've been suctioning her really well though and they have increased the number of breathing treatments, which seems to be helping. Unfortunately, she is still wheezing.

The wheezing led Dr. Doshi to prescribe steroids to open her up. Which led to further questions from him, such as "has she used steroids before?" I answered, "many times." He started connecting more dots and is now treating Izzy as an asthmatic. She will be starting Singulair tonight. We have plenty of practice with that since Xavier was on it for a very long time and Phin was on it for months. Last night, as I laid listening to Izzy's troubled breathing, I suspected this diagnosis was coming (just not quite so soon). When I told Dale, he sounded like he was expecting it too. We knew Izzy's lungs were her weak point and I don't know if it runs in families, but it is definitely in ours. All four of my parents' grandkids have had breathing problems at some point, with Xavier being our special breather.
We are starting with Singulair, hoping it will work to keep her lungs healthy on a continuous basis so that when something like a cold comes along she is better able to handle it. We will move from there. I do think this means we are going to be visiting Dr. Doshi more frequently now though, no more every 6 months.

Izzy will be here at least another day and perhaps through the weekend. She needs to get over this virus enough to breath on her own without oxygen. She is definitely looking good now, but she gets gunky as she sleeps. The best thing will be if she has a good night tonight and wakes up as happy as she is now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

She is eating okay for Izzy. Taking about 2 ounces of liquid at a feeding and eating some solids as well. If only she'd be like a regular kid who likes sweet stuff, so she'd take juice or chocolate milk. I never followed up on that earlier post. None of the hypo-allergenic toddler formula and juices were to Izzy's liking. She will only drink her regular formula. I finally gave her the chocolate hypo-allergenic formula, thinking I've started a chocoholic at a young age. Boy was I wrong. She gagged on it and almost vomited when I gave it to her in bottle form and when I mixed it with cereal. No, Izzy's favorite food at this point is spinach! No, Mom, don't give me sweet fruit, I want spinach.

Thanks for the continued support.

Mel

8 Message(s)


Posted Jun 12, 2009 6:01pm
Praying the new treatment help her little lungs...I am suprised my little missy doesn't have astham considering all my boys do. So I know all about asthma. Always in our thoughts and prayers.
God bless you all,
The Pollard Family
cp: ourgift

Posted Jun 12, 2009 12:49pm
Hopefully the new treatment will help Izzy. I know you didn't expect the diagnosis to possibly be asthma but if that is what it is hopefully they will be able to treat her so you guys can get off the roller coaster of breathing issues. It just might require tinkering with some different meds for her.
Always in our many thoughts and prayers,
Stefenie, Ryan, Wyatt and Logan Jacks
cp: Loganbear

Posted Jun 11, 2009 9:22pm
Our prayers go out to you and your family. You may not know us but we feel like we know you...the Lisa family is one of our heart friends and has shared your story with us... we have come to love and support our heart friends through each of our tough times with our daughters. Take comfort in the kind words and prayers of friends new and old...we will continue to be sending you big, big hugs via carepages.

Posted Jun 11, 2009 9:03pm
I've been catching up with my carepage friends, and just read your latest updates. You remind me soooo much of myself. When Vaitor would get sick, I would do more research to find out more of what we were up against. I guess it's to find hope, or be prepared for the worse. I've realized it's all in God's hands. Vaitor has alot of problems with sinus, bronchotis, and allergies. I still worry when he looks so blue because of the difficulty to breathe from these added conditions. He is on Singular, symbicort w/spacer, Xopenex as needed nebu, and at times does the steroid (which does wonders). Hang in there. I always thought after surgeries we were on the home stretch, but never suspected there would be many hurdles to cross getting there. Glad to have carepages so we don't all feel so alone. God Bless you all !!!! Always in our prayers!!!! cp: littlemanvaitor

Posted Jun 11, 2009 6:27pm
all our best to you!!! our prayers are with you!!

Posted Jun 11, 2009 5:22pm
Katie's pulmonologist has also suspected asthma, but I think he's a little hesitant with that diagnosis (no family history is the big reason). Still, having her on the daily pulmicort seems to help, especially with her sats. It seems like when we stop treatment to test the waters, about four weeks later, she starts having more blue episodes again. Her cardiologist said it takes a few weeks for the stuff to start working, and a few weeks to stop working, too.
Hope y'all get some better answers soon, and Izzy heads home soon!
kerri testement
cp: katietestement

Posted Jun 11, 2009 4:20pm
She and Katie have so much in common. The only things Katie's ever seemed to half way like to eat were green peas and broccoli and chicken baby food. Once in a while now she will nibble on a chocolate chip cookie. She will not drink ANYTHING but water. Thank God for whoever invented the G-tube! Hopefully one day they will both eat --REALLY eat. Hope you and Izzy get a good night's sleep.
MoMo Connie
cp: katietestement

Posted Jun 11, 2009 3:49pm
Ha! I can't believe spinach is Izzy's fave! My 3 year old is similar in that she will only eat healthy food but she will eat fruits as well as vegetables. If you try to give her a chicken finger she says to take the paper off (breading). Oh well, most people have the other battle. Asthma is not fun but it can be kept under control. I hope Izzy feels better soon and can go home! My prayers are for all of you.

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