Zinc & Laxatives

It has been a difficult three weeks. I know, this is nothing new. I spent a lot of time calling doctors' offices and exchanging emails with other Mommies - the previous one is frustrating. The secretaries promise to have the doctors call you back and you wait and you wait until you don't want to wait anymore and you pick up the phone the following day and go through the same conversation with the secretaries - it was beyond frustrating.

The emails with Mommies are far more reliable, the replies almost instantaneous and the notes are more personal and warm and with a wealth of useful information. Ladies, if you are reading this please know that I am very, very grateful to have known you. Courtney, Wendy, AnnaDawn, Erin - you are heaven-sent.

So the updates from the last 2 weeks:

• Still constipated. My suspected culprit is the new antibiotic, Bactrim, but he's been off of it for a week now and he is still constipated. We just started him on MiraLax with no result. I find it odd that he feels the urge to "go" almost every hour but produces only little pellets of stool. It's almost like diarrhea in it's frequency, but constipation in the stool's consistency. This has made Bambino more miserable than he already is. I made a mental note to call GI again on Monday regarding this.

• I called the Derm to let him know that Bambino is still itching a lot and hasn't been sleeping even after 10 days on Bactrim. He put him back on Fluticasone 0.05% (Cutivate), a topical steroid and ordered to increase bleach bath to 1x/day from twice a week. He also told me to soak him in the tub thrice a day but I haven't been doing this since his tushie is already raw and painful from too much "activity" and sitting on the tub is not a very pleasant experience these days. Diaper changes are extremely difficult.
  

• They started him on Zinc supplement two days ago. He's is to take it for 10 days and it's supposed to improve his appetite as well as correct his deficiency.

• We saw his Immunologist last Wednesday. He weighed in at 16lbs 15oz. We're one ounce away from the 17lb mark, yay!! We got his latest batch of lab results. The notable allergens are as follows:

1. cod fish - class 6 (the highest class there is.)
2. almond - class 2
3. black-eyed peas - class 3
4. pumpkin - class 2
5. rye - class 4
6. tuna fish - class 1 (borderline)

Interestingly, the results show that he is extremely allergic to cod fish and only slightly allergic to tuna; which is confusing because they are both saltwater fish. I've discussed the similarities and differences between these two fishes with my husband and mother-in-law, but I still can't figure out why they give him very different reactions. But like everything, these are all theoretical - he hasn't really eaten any kind of fish at all to know how he would actually react to them.

• He is still not eating. I was hoping to get a yes or no answer from the GI doc last week reagrding G-tube, but he wanted more information from Bambino's medical records. These doctors! Do they want to see my baby waste away before they do anything about it? They keep saying he is not malnourished. But his growth chart tells us he is stagnating! Even the Dietitian thinks a tube is what my baby needs right now.

I had an interesting email exchange with a Mom from San Diego who told me her kids got growth hormone shots and got excellent results. This possibility was brought up by our Pedia on his 18th month check. I intend to do my own research on the matter as well.