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Thursday, December 23, 2010

When to visit the Doctor!!!!

I think I am quite laid back as a parent in general when it came to new Mommyhood. I wasn't the type to call the doctor every other day or stress out over every little sound and noise she made her first few months.
We have lucked out as Katie has never really been sick other than a little cold here and there that makes her crabby and irritable. She never really even spiked a fever that was worth any concern.

So last week when she got a fever over 100 for the first time, and was a little cranky and clingy - I assume it was just the dreaded 2 year molars. So we gave her some Tylenol and let her watch a movie an called it a day.

Fast forward to this weekend, when she got another fever, and then started having trouble sleeping through the night. I still thought it was molars and didn't worry too much although I started looking up some symptoms just in case.

That's when I realized it wasn't molars. There was actually something wrong with her. She would spike a fever in the afternoon - not eat, refuse to pee, she woke up with AWFUL breath that we couldn't get to go away even with brushing her teeth and she wouldn't drink anything.

Then she said her back hurts. I figured she was copying me as I always have a heating pad due to her brother and the penthouse he's created in my belly - but then I read about Urinary Tract Infections and realized I totally missed it:(
Unfortunately I didn't figure it all out until night time when we were putting her down.

So I called the doctors after hour service and talked to her pediatrician who said we would have to just get a urine sample in the morning. Not something I was looking forward to.

That night as she woke up for almost 2 hours to hang out with Dave saying she was sick and being pitiful - I was convinced I had let Katie get like Kidney stones... I was up all night and couldn't wait to get her into the doc in the morning.

I even ran over to the docs office before she woke up to get a urine sample kit to ensure it wouldn't be a contaminated sample because I knew she wouldn't be cool with giving a sample at the doctors office.

To cut this short... this is what happened.

She woke up, I dealt with her awful dragon breath, got her hydrated a little and got her sample. (pretty easily too - I just put the cup in the bottom of her old potty and held it up for her - she didn't even pee on me!!!)

We go to the doctor, they check for strep (because of her breath) and UTI - AND NOTHING.
GRRRRR
The doctor doesn't know what it is. She says she is obviously fighting something - and it could be viral (new parents least favorite words to hear I'm learning, as that basically means we don't know what it is, so we'll call it a virus and since viruses can't really be treated, you just have to wait it out)

She did give us Antibiotics which is the first real medicine Katie has had to take. We wait to get the official lab results back on Monday, but the doc says she thinks that the antibiotics will kill whatever is in her system.

A few things I've learned from this:

A) It's not always "just teething"

B) Urine Sample collection kits are good to have at home just in case (I never thought anything close to that sentence would ever come out of my mouth!

C) My kid is a ROCKSTAR for only being a little cranky and whiny and wanting to hang out with Dave at night considering there is obviously something legitimately wrong with her.

D) My doctors office is pretty kick ass and I am glad that we chose one that was just one town over because it makes it SO Much easier for last minute emergency situations like this!


Anyone want to share a medial experience about their kid on here... good or bad??
Anything you've learned or wish you had known before???

Lucky for us, we got it taken care of just in time for the holidays!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

4 comments:

  1. poor Katie! We have been lucky enough to not have had any real sickness yet *knocking on wood* just little fevers with teething and colds so I don't really have any medical advice. hope she's feeling better though - I know the worry feeling and it's intense when it's your kid.

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  2. You are very lucky that Katie is only just now getting sick - Kayla's 1st and only ear infection was at 5 months old with antiiotics and all. However I think I may disagree with the theory of "it's not just teething"... I have spent (easily) over $100 on Dr. "sick" visits b/c I think "something else" is wrong with Kayla due to the slightly over 100* fever. She is up alot in the middle of the night, wanting to play or not know what she wants to do, she holds the back of her head, her neck and pulls on her ears (all signs of an ear infection but never has one)... she has horrible breath all the time (esp in the am - but I was told that this is due to the composition of their body changing)... she goes thru spurts where it hurts her to poop and others when its pure vinegar smelling diareha that makes me gag and the wipes cause her to scream in pain b/c the rash is so bad... Then there is the congestion factor... yellow goopy gross bugars... but still they say nothing is wrong. I have a friend who is a pediatric ER Dr. in California (she used to be out of NYC) and she said that teething is the #1 and most common reason (in the long run) parents bring their children to the Dr's in the 1st 28 months of their life. She also told me that I will probably NEVER find a Dr. that will call something a result of teething but rather they will always say its a VIRUS! So... Give her lots of TLC - even ice cream... but its probably teething... sorry.

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  3. I'm so happy to hear that someone else has experienced the yucky breath! I didn't realize it was a symptom of anything at all, sort of chalked it up to teething like the rest of the 'symptoms' (fever, diareha, etc.). We've brought B in a few times b/c of those things and we've left with the 'it's viral' diagnosis in hand. Usually I know that it is going to be something they can't help with but I think that this time it MIGHT be something else (like an ear infection) so I go. All in all I feel your frustration loud and clear. I'm glad to hear that you're on the mend. Have a wonderful Christmas!!

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  4. I thought it was JC's 2 year molars and come to find out it was a double ear infection so anitbiotics were given. JC isn't sick alot but constantly has a runny nose as he fights off what he comes in contact with. I swear we have stock in klenex. I am right there with you though. I have only brought JC in for a sick call twice. Once he wouldn't drink or eat so we discovered it was a mild case of strep and the second time was the ear infection. I figure 2x in 2 1/2 years is nothing.
    Good Luck with Katie

    Christine B

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