gcvmom
Here we go again!
I really hope I haven't messed things up for difficult child 1.
He boogered up his elbow somehow over the past three weeks or so. Went to after-hours clinic because it swelled up like an orange on New Year's Eve. PA said it was bursitis (no xrays), to go home and ice it, take ibuprofen and rest it. Well ibuprofen is a no-no for people with Crohn's, so PA said an alternative would be an enteric coated aspirin (also a no-no according to the GI). Poor kid was so uncomfortable and so swollen I decided to risk it and gave him Advil gel caps for a couple days in a row.
Wednesday I had to pick him up early because he had diarrhea and missed half his classes. The cramping was bad enough to keep him home Thursday and Friday. We thought it was due to some Tony's Pizza he ate Tuesday night. He's sensitive to cumin, and some brands have this in the sauce, and then I thought I remembered that he'd had problems with that brand in the past.
The swelling in the elbow FINALLY started going down by the end of the week, but seemed slow to me, so we went in to the pediatrician on Friday. He took xrays to be sure there was nothing else going on (was surprised it was still that swollen -- plus now the forearm was starting to swell which I thought was weird). Bone and joint looked fine so just confirmed it was soft tissue injury. We asked about his GI issues, and doctor just said it could be a virus, that a lot of stuff was going around (no fever, though and no other symptoms).
He went back to school yesterday, but I had to pick him up by mid-morning again -- still diarrhea and cramping. And today he awake early but laying in bed clearly not feeling well, so I kept him home again. He did not eat much all day, and that actually seemed to help. He had immodium in the morning and then I probably did another stupid thing and gave him Pepto in the afternoon (it has aspirin-type product in it) and again this evening because he was hurting again. And nothing he's eaten is anything we can think would bother him!
And the elbow? Still looks funny on the tip, though better. But the forearm is still swollen, hot, and turning colors from the bruising -- and there looks like a new bruise a few inches from his wrist.
What the heck is going on? I'm wondering if he's hitting his arm while he's sleeping on window sill which is right above his bed...
And I'm worried I started a Crohn's flare with the pain medications I've been giving him...
He's missed so much class time and finals are in two weeks!!! And he's missed lacrosse (though I'm not so worried about that -- tryouts are next week but he's pretty much got a confirmed spot and coach already said he's not cutting anyone this year... and it doesn't hurt that I'm on the board of directors, )
He's got a GI appointment coming up on Monday, and we went for labs today, so I guess we'll get some help with the gut problems soon... It's all just weird.
The last time he had problems like this with his gut was a year ago and we found out was because of something he'd done to himself (some of you may remember THAT bit of craziness). So I flat out asked him this morning if he'd done anything to hurt himself again. He just laughed and said no mom, I'm not stupid like that anymore!
I've learned the hard way to never assume everything's ok and to take nothing for granted.
He boogered up his elbow somehow over the past three weeks or so. Went to after-hours clinic because it swelled up like an orange on New Year's Eve. PA said it was bursitis (no xrays), to go home and ice it, take ibuprofen and rest it. Well ibuprofen is a no-no for people with Crohn's, so PA said an alternative would be an enteric coated aspirin (also a no-no according to the GI). Poor kid was so uncomfortable and so swollen I decided to risk it and gave him Advil gel caps for a couple days in a row.
Wednesday I had to pick him up early because he had diarrhea and missed half his classes. The cramping was bad enough to keep him home Thursday and Friday. We thought it was due to some Tony's Pizza he ate Tuesday night. He's sensitive to cumin, and some brands have this in the sauce, and then I thought I remembered that he'd had problems with that brand in the past.
The swelling in the elbow FINALLY started going down by the end of the week, but seemed slow to me, so we went in to the pediatrician on Friday. He took xrays to be sure there was nothing else going on (was surprised it was still that swollen -- plus now the forearm was starting to swell which I thought was weird). Bone and joint looked fine so just confirmed it was soft tissue injury. We asked about his GI issues, and doctor just said it could be a virus, that a lot of stuff was going around (no fever, though and no other symptoms).
He went back to school yesterday, but I had to pick him up by mid-morning again -- still diarrhea and cramping. And today he awake early but laying in bed clearly not feeling well, so I kept him home again. He did not eat much all day, and that actually seemed to help. He had immodium in the morning and then I probably did another stupid thing and gave him Pepto in the afternoon (it has aspirin-type product in it) and again this evening because he was hurting again. And nothing he's eaten is anything we can think would bother him!
And the elbow? Still looks funny on the tip, though better. But the forearm is still swollen, hot, and turning colors from the bruising -- and there looks like a new bruise a few inches from his wrist.
What the heck is going on? I'm wondering if he's hitting his arm while he's sleeping on window sill which is right above his bed...
And I'm worried I started a Crohn's flare with the pain medications I've been giving him...
He's missed so much class time and finals are in two weeks!!! And he's missed lacrosse (though I'm not so worried about that -- tryouts are next week but he's pretty much got a confirmed spot and coach already said he's not cutting anyone this year... and it doesn't hurt that I'm on the board of directors, )
He's got a GI appointment coming up on Monday, and we went for labs today, so I guess we'll get some help with the gut problems soon... It's all just weird.
The last time he had problems like this with his gut was a year ago and we found out was because of something he'd done to himself (some of you may remember THAT bit of craziness). So I flat out asked him this morning if he'd done anything to hurt himself again. He just laughed and said no mom, I'm not stupid like that anymore!
I've learned the hard way to never assume everything's ok and to take nothing for granted.