Thursday, October 2, 2008

Allergist

It would be an understatement to say the allergist was a jerk. By the end of the appointment I came to the conclusion that he really is a good allergist but has very little people skills. It would also be an understatement to say I cry easily, and with that being said the allergist made me cry because he was so rude. I m very sensitive when it comes to my children and them having exczema. I have always done everything that doctors tell me and Mike and I try hard to make sure neither of them are itchy. Last week when I took Evan to the dermatologist he said I was doing everything I could and Evan's skin looked good and breakouts are normal for kids with eczema. Well according to our allergist today (apparently he is the best person in the world, his feelings not mine) that guy was wrong. So who do I believe. I have had so many opinions by so many professionals and I'm just frustrated. I have dealt with exczema for more than 4 years and heard a lot of new information today. Not to say the doctor was wrong or crazy and I know everything because I know I don't, but why after 4 years do I hear information contradicting everything I have heard for the last 4 years. Apparently the only thing I am doing right is using All free and clear laundry detergent. I quit using Dove soap about a month ago because I felt like it was drying out the boys' skin. Well Dr. Smarty pants thought that was stupid since its a moisturizer. I have been told by our current pediatrician ( and I really hope she reads this only because I know he would have gotten her all fired up) that I need to use Eucerin cream on them twice a day. I think this lotion has really helped however, Dr. Know-it-all says it can make excezma worse and I should quit using it. He says I need to use plain Vaseline, which I am fine with because it is MUCH cheaper than the other.
This Dr. was just making me feel like everything I have been told is wrong, and that is very frustrating to a parent that wants nothing more than to do what is right for her kiddos.
Dr. Perfect was very disgusted with the blood allergy test results from our Dr. because he says the Lab they use does a different kind of test and its (of course) much better than the lab my Dr. uses. So they are just going to run another blood allergy test and after he explained all of this to me it really did make sense, and I was glad Carter did not have to have the pokey skin test. He was saved from any poking today, and when we go tomorrow to the oncologist they will draw his blood for this test when they put in an IV. That was the best thing that Dr. said all day.
Oh yeah and I almost forgot to tell you about the milk issue. Apparently if a child is truly allergic to cow's milk (OK so is the Dr. trying to call me a liar) he would also be allergic to goat's milk because it is virtually the same. I'm sorry the last time I checked cow's and goat's were two totally different animals. So Dr. Crazy thinks we should switch from our free goat's milk to not free soy milk. Which honestly if it is better for my baby than I don't really care how much it cost but if this is just his educated guess then yes I have a problem with it.
Sorry for the long boring post, but as you can tell this guy frustratd me.
I wasn't too nervous about tomorrow until today so please be praying that everything will go smooth and we won't be surprised by any bad news. Thank you all for your support.

3 comments:

T said...

I hear you and I understand. I think that Allergist use to be in Wichita Kansas because I'm pretty sure I went to see him about 15 years ago. I have suffered from exczema my entire life (40 years) and my oldest son has it too. I have several prescriptions that help when it gets bad but I figured out over the years that no matter what the doctor says, if something works just go with it. It seems to be a delicate balance of keeping your skin from getting too wet or too dry. I will send you the name of the stuff I use (sorry, it's at home). It works pretty good. I talked to my doctor about doing blood allergy tests on my 2 youngest (ages 1 and 3) after reading your blog and he said it was unreliable but I am having them do it any way. We did some preliminary skin tests on my 3 year old and he was supposed to sit still for 20 minutes and not touch anything with his arms. You can just imagine how well that went. They said he wasn't allergic to anything but he has been on Zyrtec for 2 years because his nose always runs. He is allergic to something and so is my 1 year old. Hang in there. I'll be praying for you.

Anonymous said...

Just wondering how the milk issue is going? Both my girls were allergic to milk protein, not milk sugar(lactose), among many other foods. Many kids who are allergic to milk protein are also allergic to soy protein, because the two are so similar. My girls got so sick when I tried them on it. I kept a journal of everything my kids ate and at what times, and then noted when they started showing signs of a reaction. My doctor told me that is much more accurate than testing. So my kids never had to go through testing. Luckily, after years of no exposure, they did outgrow every allergy except to apples.
Just hoping that the soy experience is going alright.

Anonymous said...

Hi, This is an old post, so I'm not sure if you'll read this comment, but I just wanted to throw in a few thoughts that might help! Our daughter suffered with severe exczema as a baby! We were told that Dr. Smarty pants' theory of vaseline was an old wives' tale and it will actually make dry skin worse because it clogs the pores and doesn't allow the skin to breathe. We used a prescription form of eucerin cream 3 times a day, which contained a low dosage of steroid. I wish I could remember the name of the steroid but it's been several years. Anyway this worked wonders for her and eventually she grew out of it. We also had to discontinue use of most detergents (All free and clear being the exception) and ALL fabric softners. She also had to wear all cotton clothes that came directly in contact with her skin because other materials would only aggravate the condition.
Don't let the rude doctor get you down! Sounds like He isn't as smart as he thinks he is! :)