Heard back on the pathology reports from last week's endoscopy and colonoscopy: no inflammation and no celiac disease. Which is great news!
An MRI on Jack's lower back is scheduled for Friday to rule out any pinched nerves or tethered cord. Next week, we'll meet with the GI doctor again to go over the MRI results and talk about going to a colon motility specialist (someone who will oversee and assist with getting Jack's colon back to a normal diameter).
There does not appear to be a short easy fix to all of this. *sigh* And the GI doctor said that there's not much we can do to help with Jack's pain. Which is incredibly disappointing and frustrating. I'm going to try and assimilate Jack back into his regular routine (mother's day out, church, etc), but he is very hesitant. He's quite aware of the screaming and yelling he lets out when he's having a pain episode.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Scoping Out the Possibilities
We finally have some answers on why Jack's been hurting. Well, sort of. Science isn't an exact science, is it?
Jack had an endoscopy and colonoscopy done this morning. [sidenote: the prep for these tests was NOT fun] The doctor said that there are no abnormalities or obstructions. Which is good news!
IT'S ABOUT TO GET GRAPHIC: QUIT READING NOW IF POO TALK MAKES YOU QUEASY
The doctor did say, however, that as soon as Jack was knocked out for the procedures, he let go of so much urine and stool that they probably cleaned up a quart. Wow. All that has been sitting inside Jack for a long time. No wonder he was in dire straits with gas pain!
We're not sure how all this began. Jack could have been acting like a "bonehead" (the doctor's term, not mine) and decided to hold his stool, which is the likely culprit. Or, his sensory integration issues could mean that the nerves in his intestines and colon weren't transmitting to his brain correctly and subsequently, the muscles in those organs weren't working properly to expel the stool out of his body. Regardless of how this all started, this problem remains: his colon is dilated way out of whack (from storing stool in it).
Next steps?
Jack had an endoscopy and colonoscopy done this morning. [sidenote: the prep for these tests was NOT fun] The doctor said that there are no abnormalities or obstructions. Which is good news!
IT'S ABOUT TO GET GRAPHIC: QUIT READING NOW IF POO TALK MAKES YOU QUEASY
The doctor did say, however, that as soon as Jack was knocked out for the procedures, he let go of so much urine and stool that they probably cleaned up a quart. Wow. All that has been sitting inside Jack for a long time. No wonder he was in dire straits with gas pain!
We're not sure how all this began. Jack could have been acting like a "bonehead" (the doctor's term, not mine) and decided to hold his stool, which is the likely culprit. Or, his sensory integration issues could mean that the nerves in his intestines and colon weren't transmitting to his brain correctly and subsequently, the muscles in those organs weren't working properly to expel the stool out of his body. Regardless of how this all started, this problem remains: his colon is dilated way out of whack (from storing stool in it).
Next steps?
- possibly doing an MRI on his lower back to make sure there isn't a pinched nerve or something similar that is causing his intestines and colon muscles to function properly.
- seeing a colon mobility specialist (? i think i got that name right) regarding getting his colon back to normal size and elasticity
- seeing a neurologist again regarding his brain's ability to communicate with the nerves in his intestines & colon.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Jack Update
We finally heard back from the GI doctor's office. And the tests done this week on poo samples didn't confirm anything and didn't rule out anything. So the doctor wants to do three more tests.
Monday morning.
We have to go through friday, saturday and sunday with Jack screaming in agony. Yuck. Thankfully it's not a constant pain. But the episodes can happen pretty frequently... and when you're child is screaming and yelling in pain, one time is one time too many.
I will update with more info as we know it.
Monday morning.
We have to go through friday, saturday and sunday with Jack screaming in agony. Yuck. Thankfully it's not a constant pain. But the episodes can happen pretty frequently... and when you're child is screaming and yelling in pain, one time is one time too many.
I will update with more info as we know it.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Happenings
I've been off the blogging grid for a while. So sorry! Things have been a little hectic around here, to say the least.
HOUSE
Tomorrow we close on our old house. It's bittersweet; we really like that house, and we love the little town we were in. But at the same time, we really like our new house and we're so much closer to church now.
We finally got all of our furniture moved over too. We had left 90% of our furniture at the old house to stage it. So even though we've been in our new digs for well over a month, no. We're not settled! But it gets a little better everyday. We're getting furniture slowly moved into place. We're slowly unpacking boxes. But there's still a lot to sell (mainly Mom's stuff). Let's just say it will be a while before we host any dinner parties.
TRAVEL
Scott was able to book a roundtrip flight to NYC for under $200 and thus was able to visit his brother last weekend. It was Scott's first time in the city, and he had a great time. He got to see quite a bit on his trip: ground zero, wall street (and the NYSE), central park, madison avenue, battery park, grand central station, times square, and Greenwich village. Scott had a good time, but we were sure glad to have him home!
JACK JACK
Our poor little guy. He's been through the wringer over the past several weeks. The drama started months ago, but it didn't get intense until the last 3 weeks. Jack has struggled with constipation for a year and a half. So months ago when he started straining quite a bit, we chalked it up to being plugged up. The episodes began to get more frequent, and then he started to really struggle. Over the last three weeks, Jack has started yelling and screaming in agony as the episodes continue. I took him to a GI doctor that dismissed it as Jack 'holding' it and fighting the sensation his body was communicating.
On a Sunday night, after he had been screaming quite a bit, we took Jack to the ER. Thankfully they took an xray of his tummy, and much to our surprise, he was empty. No blockage. Instead, Jack was FULL of gas. They discharged us and told us to give him Mylicon.
That medicine didn't work, on the screaming and writhing continued. At the second trip to the GI doctor, it was suggested that we take some stool samples and have some tests run. Why yes. Harvesting poop from my middle son was exactly as lovely and enjoyable as you're imagining right now.
A preliminary conversation with the nurse at the GI office suggests that Jack does not have Celiac Disease (where the body is essentially allergic to gluten). But there is definitely some inflammation in there... due to what? We dont' know yet. I'll talk to the doctor in the morning.
In the meantime, until we find out what is causing all of this gas buildup in our little guy, there's not much we can do for Jack. The Mylicon didn't put a dent in the pain. It feels pretty horrible to be helpless to stop your child's intense pain.
So that sums up what's been going on in our household over the past several weeks. Never a dull moment at our circus.
HOUSE
Tomorrow we close on our old house. It's bittersweet; we really like that house, and we love the little town we were in. But at the same time, we really like our new house and we're so much closer to church now.
We finally got all of our furniture moved over too. We had left 90% of our furniture at the old house to stage it. So even though we've been in our new digs for well over a month, no. We're not settled! But it gets a little better everyday. We're getting furniture slowly moved into place. We're slowly unpacking boxes. But there's still a lot to sell (mainly Mom's stuff). Let's just say it will be a while before we host any dinner parties.
TRAVEL
Scott was able to book a roundtrip flight to NYC for under $200 and thus was able to visit his brother last weekend. It was Scott's first time in the city, and he had a great time. He got to see quite a bit on his trip: ground zero, wall street (and the NYSE), central park, madison avenue, battery park, grand central station, times square, and Greenwich village. Scott had a good time, but we were sure glad to have him home!
JACK JACK
Our poor little guy. He's been through the wringer over the past several weeks. The drama started months ago, but it didn't get intense until the last 3 weeks. Jack has struggled with constipation for a year and a half. So months ago when he started straining quite a bit, we chalked it up to being plugged up. The episodes began to get more frequent, and then he started to really struggle. Over the last three weeks, Jack has started yelling and screaming in agony as the episodes continue. I took him to a GI doctor that dismissed it as Jack 'holding' it and fighting the sensation his body was communicating.
On a Sunday night, after he had been screaming quite a bit, we took Jack to the ER. Thankfully they took an xray of his tummy, and much to our surprise, he was empty. No blockage. Instead, Jack was FULL of gas. They discharged us and told us to give him Mylicon.
That medicine didn't work, on the screaming and writhing continued. At the second trip to the GI doctor, it was suggested that we take some stool samples and have some tests run. Why yes. Harvesting poop from my middle son was exactly as lovely and enjoyable as you're imagining right now.
A preliminary conversation with the nurse at the GI office suggests that Jack does not have Celiac Disease (where the body is essentially allergic to gluten). But there is definitely some inflammation in there... due to what? We dont' know yet. I'll talk to the doctor in the morning.
In the meantime, until we find out what is causing all of this gas buildup in our little guy, there's not much we can do for Jack. The Mylicon didn't put a dent in the pain. It feels pretty horrible to be helpless to stop your child's intense pain.
So that sums up what's been going on in our household over the past several weeks. Never a dull moment at our circus.
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