Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Update on Daughter's Illness

*Note*  My daughter's pediatrician is not the type of doctor that jumps up and immediately thinks something is wrong if there is not evidence.  She does not perform tests or medicate unless she feels it is warranted.

 

That all being said, yesterday was a tad bit worrisome, but I am better today.  I am not the type of parent who automatically thinks something really bad is happening.  I am more the type of parent that people look at say, "Why can't she be more sympathetic?".  From the time my children were little I tried to make sure my hubby and I didn't make a big deal about injuries, whether minor or major.  Because of this my children tend to handle injuries and illness pretty well. 

This incident has scared me and I would be lying if I stated otherwise.  I hate making a big deal about a possible illness, but this just has me baffled.

We re-visited the doctor yesterday and blood was drawn.  Because my daughter Chels already has an autoimmune disorder (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) she is use to having her blood drawn. 

Her symptoms

Painful muscles (leg and arms), swollen and stiff joints (fingers, toes, knees and neck), a few hot joints, severe headaches, no fever, no other signs of illness. 

The pain has been so bad at times she cried for a couple of hours almost straight.  Symptoms are at the worst in the morning, but last all throughout the day.  She has had some other symptoms over the last six months that haven't made any sense, so hopefully all of this will shed some light on that too.

What the Doctor Says:

While we don't want to think the worst, her pediatrician has recommended for Chels to see a pediatric rheumatologist for possible Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis.  The pediatrician is also having her blood tested for a varied list of viruses that can invade the body, but are not necessarily looked for in a typical office visit.  Chels's pediatrician has recommended I give her high doses of anti-inflammatory medication such as Advil (she gave us a prescription for 800mg) and she has to take an antacid so the ibuprofen doesn't affect her stomach.

 

Where We Currently Stand:

Chels seems to be able to handle the swelling and stiffness a bit better with constant ingestion of ibuprofen.  She is still having issues, they are just lessened with use of the medication.

We have received the results for some of the blood work, but nothing conclusive.  Her CBC panel seems to be within normal ranges (so far), but her white cell count in on the low side of normal.  The doctor told me that we really need to wait until all of the results come in so that it can be looked at as a whole.  Ugh, I hate the waiting game.

Hopefully I will have more news tomorrow.

 

7 comments:

Courtney said...

I stumbled on to your blog and by all the symptoms before I read what a possibility may be I thought lupus. My mother and I both have lupus and that is how it started. Good luck and I'll be sure to come back to see what happened.

Laura said...

Thank you for stopping by Courtney. Unfortunately with her other symptoms that I really didn't get into, I am also leaning towards lupus, but trying to keep an open mind. I wish those darn tests would come back...like right now..hehe. :)

Courtney said...

I'll keep her in my prayers for you. I will also inform my mother. She will pray too and can offer some sort of support I'm sure because we went through this when I was 17.

Laura said...

Thank you so much. She did pretty good again today except her hands were really bothering her. Then all of a sudden her leg started hurting her so bad she couldn't walk. She said it felt like someone was stabbing her in her thigh. I just feel so bad for her. I wish I could take all the pain away. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Laura,
I just wanted to say your daughter is in my prayers too. Try not to panic, ( I know it's so hard to wait for test results!!!) Did they run an ANA panel on her? They really tough thing about autoimmune diseases, and Lupus especially, is they are so hard to diagnose. I suffer from a few autoimmune diseases and it was a crazy 2 years trying to get a definitive diagnosis, still going through that to this day.
My thoughts and prayers are with you guys, good luck
Michelle

Laura said...

I know the doctor did an ANA test on her, but not sure if that is the same as a 'panel'?

She is doing a bit better today. She is still having some morning stiffness but the pain isn't like it was. I know that other 'episodes'(unexplained back pain and unexplained pain around the kidneys with no abnormal tests) she's had in the past last for about a month or two. This just has me so confused and I don't think anything will be answered until we can see the rheumatologists. More waiting! :)

Mom Knows Everything said...

I hope everything comes out okay and they are able to help your daughter. Thanks for visiting my blog and I'll be back.