what the docs say

Today was full of doctor visits.  Two follow-ups from last summer, one to figure out what's been wrong this weekend.  

Appointment #1, pediatrician.  Short version - what he has now/had this weekend is called herpangina, which is a form of hand, foot and mouth disease.  He has small blisters or open sores all over the back of his throat.  Hence, why he won't eat or drink ANYTHING.  It's viral.  Nothing we can do except treat his fever and offer him cold drinks.  Very contagious, very common in the summer.  It appears to be running rampant through daycare right now.  Good thing school's out for summer, or we'd be out of sick days! 

Appointment #2, ENT.  Micah had tubes put in last summer and has dealt with acid reflux since he was a baby, so this appointment was a 6 month re-check after our last visit in December to see how both the tubes and the reflux issue are doing.  It came at the right time, though, because he has been dealing with a chronic congestion problem.  His nose is so stuffed up that he cannot breathe through it when he's eating, he cannot breathe with a binky in, he snores at night and often wakes himself up, and NOTHING we have tried for the last 6-8 months has worked.  Saline drops, suction bulbs, decongestants, allergy medicines, they have all failed to give him any relief.  He has had 5 or 6 sinus infections already.  We just completed a 30-day run of Augmentin in hopes of clearing up any residual sinus infection he has, and that was also completely ineffective.  Nothing is working, so we are moving on to the next step.


His ENT and pediatrician both feel that he would benefit from having his adenoids taken out.  He is scheduled to have an adenoidectomy on Tuesday, June 22nd.  The ENT also plans to do an ear exam while he is under anesthesia.  One of his tubes has already come out and the other is on its way.  If there is any fluid in his ears the day of surgery, she will put another set of tubes in after his adenoids are out.  Hopefully this will be the solution because he sounds miserable, and we are at a loss as to what to do for him.  His ENT is very optimistic that this will really help, so we are "looking forward" to surgery day and some relief for Micah!

Appointment #3, urologist.  When I was pregnant with Micah, he had a small amount of fluid in his kidneys that we were told would "resolve itself" by birth.  It didn't, so he sees a urologist just to monitor him once a year or so.  It has never been a cause of significant concern, just something we keep an eye on.  He has had several ultrasounds of his kidneys and bladder since birth to monitor the fluid level, done at 6 months, a year, and now 21 months.  Last Friday's 21 month ultrasound, we were hoping, might be his last.  Today's visit with the doctor revealed that there is still a small amount of fluid in each kidney.  It doesn't affect him on a day to day basis, but because it is considered an "abnormal" ultrasound result, his urologist will repeat the ultrasound next June.  Clean bill of health other than that!