I've written that we are bringing both Michael and Eva Rose for an ENT appointment in one week. Eva Rose has an issue with fluid in her ears and we think Michael is having an issue with enlarged tonsils and/or adenoids. My first thought, when I heard about these issues, was what ever is recommended by the ENT is what we will do. There are so many things that this may be effecting, such as: sleep, hearing, breathing, speech and others. Tom on the other hand wanted to take a moer wait and see approach.
Tom had an appointment today with one of his specialists that he really thinks highly of and he mentioned the issues that we are dealing with in regards to the kids. This doctor said not to do anything right away. He thinks that there could be an issue with dairy and/or gluten. I find this interesting since I had a blood test this past summer that showed that I have an issue with gluten and dairy. This doctor recommended removing these food items from their diet for at least 2 weeks before we do anything. So, as of now, we are a gluten free dairy free house.
We will not be doing anything til we evaluate removing gluten and dairy from their diet. We are thinking that this may help with their diaper rashes also. I have been wanting to change my eating habits for some time now, but always find myself falling back on old eating patterns. Now that there may be a more serious issue than just my upset stomach, I am thinking that we will be more motivated to do teh right thing!
Anyone do a gluten free dairy free diet for kids?
Amy
Showing posts with label ENT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ENT. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Updates
On the medical front, we will be spending our morning of the 18th of this month at Children's Hospital Peabody. Our first appointment is for Eva Rose to evaluate the fluid in her ears. She has had fluid in her ears for the last 3 months that hasn't changed, if anything, it's gotten worse. Thankfully, we have not had any resulting ear infections. I am almost hoping that the doctor recommends tubes because, all the feedback that I have gotten about tubes has been very positive. I have heard so many people say that their child's speech has improved immensely after having tubes. I don't know if it will be our case, but the fact that it has made a huge difference in everyone that I have talked to makes me feel really positive about the outcome.
The next appointment is for Michael. I have had some concerns about his breathing at night and I have inally done something about it. For a little while, I thought that maybe I was hearing things, but now my mom and my husband have heard issues with Michaels's breathing. So, I contacted his doctor and he was seen. The doctor felt that it would be appropriate to have hime seen by an pediatric ENT. Given that he snores, he sleeps horrible and always has, is a mouth breather and breathes loudly, and I think may even have some issues with apnea, he is being evaluated for enlarged tonsils and adenoids. The doctor that examined him did notice that, even though it was in the middle of a gag, there was a lot of soft tissue around his tonsils and uvula with little airway. Michael was not cooperative with the exam at all. Again, I am almost hoping that there is an issue that can be fixed with surgery. I am hoping that for his sake and our family, that we can fix his sleep problem. I'm sure that some of it is behavioral, but until I get him medically cleared, I do not feel comfortable with doing CIO or another form of sleep training. If there is nothing wrong with his tonsils or adenoids, I will most likely ask for a sleep eval at Children's because Michael has not ever really slept through the night. We have had short periods where he has, but it has never lasted more than at the most a week. Also, if he has issues with his tonsils or adenoids and breathing, it may also contribute to his speech delay.
It is so amazing to me that 2 out of our 3 children may have an ENT issue. I have really only ever had swimmer's ear when it comes to ear infections and ENT issues and I don't think my husband was ever really prone to ear infections or other ENT issues. My dad did have major issues with his ears and 2 of my sisters have had tubes and one of them has had pretty severe ENT issues. My niece has also had enlarged tonsils and adenoids and had them removed when she was 5. I am just waiting for the shoe to drop and to find out that Thomas has some issue. I really shouldn't complain. These issues are not all that significant, although Michael's breathing could be. I really don't have sick kids. As horrible and scary as the RSV was, and I will probably always be traumatized from having my son rushed to Children's because he was declining so fast as well as watching my daughter on a vent for 6 days, we have been really lucky. I wouldn't wish RSV on anyone especially when they are so little, but I have, overall, really healthy kids. I just want to get to the bottom of these issues and have them finalized and hope that after all is said and done, my kids speech will explode, Michael's sleep will improve as well as his overall breathing, and we will all be healthy again!
Amy
The next appointment is for Michael. I have had some concerns about his breathing at night and I have inally done something about it. For a little while, I thought that maybe I was hearing things, but now my mom and my husband have heard issues with Michaels's breathing. So, I contacted his doctor and he was seen. The doctor felt that it would be appropriate to have hime seen by an pediatric ENT. Given that he snores, he sleeps horrible and always has, is a mouth breather and breathes loudly, and I think may even have some issues with apnea, he is being evaluated for enlarged tonsils and adenoids. The doctor that examined him did notice that, even though it was in the middle of a gag, there was a lot of soft tissue around his tonsils and uvula with little airway. Michael was not cooperative with the exam at all. Again, I am almost hoping that there is an issue that can be fixed with surgery. I am hoping that for his sake and our family, that we can fix his sleep problem. I'm sure that some of it is behavioral, but until I get him medically cleared, I do not feel comfortable with doing CIO or another form of sleep training. If there is nothing wrong with his tonsils or adenoids, I will most likely ask for a sleep eval at Children's because Michael has not ever really slept through the night. We have had short periods where he has, but it has never lasted more than at the most a week. Also, if he has issues with his tonsils or adenoids and breathing, it may also contribute to his speech delay.
It is so amazing to me that 2 out of our 3 children may have an ENT issue. I have really only ever had swimmer's ear when it comes to ear infections and ENT issues and I don't think my husband was ever really prone to ear infections or other ENT issues. My dad did have major issues with his ears and 2 of my sisters have had tubes and one of them has had pretty severe ENT issues. My niece has also had enlarged tonsils and adenoids and had them removed when she was 5. I am just waiting for the shoe to drop and to find out that Thomas has some issue. I really shouldn't complain. These issues are not all that significant, although Michael's breathing could be. I really don't have sick kids. As horrible and scary as the RSV was, and I will probably always be traumatized from having my son rushed to Children's because he was declining so fast as well as watching my daughter on a vent for 6 days, we have been really lucky. I wouldn't wish RSV on anyone especially when they are so little, but I have, overall, really healthy kids. I just want to get to the bottom of these issues and have them finalized and hope that after all is said and done, my kids speech will explode, Michael's sleep will improve as well as his overall breathing, and we will all be healthy again!
Amy
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Doctor Visits
In the almost three years that I have had children, except for a yeast issue with Michael right after the twins were born and RSV with the twins and then one related ER trip months later, we have only needed to see the doctor for well baby visits. I have felt extremely lucky that we have not had more illness requiring doctor visits. Now I feel that we are having pretty significant issues, though not serious, may be impacting my kids more than I ever realized.
Since all three kids have had a significant speech delay, we have had them evaluated by early intervention. EI recommended that they all have a hearing test to rule out that hearing loss is an issue for the speech delay. All three kids speech delay is unrelated to hearing loss. I've already written about having Eva Rose evaluated for fluid in her ears. Now, I am thinking that Michael may need to see an ENT. Michael has never been a good sleeper. He snores louder than an adult at times. My husband, my mother, and I have all heard what we think is apnea. I mentioned this to his EI worker, who is a speech therapist, and she said that if he is having sleep apnea issues, which could be related to his adenoids or his tonsils or both, that could be affecting his speech. She said that if she knew about this issue early, she would have recommended an ENT eval months ago. I had no idea that this could be related to his speech. We are seeing the doctor tomorrow and I hope that she agrees that we should see an ENT. I absolutely want to rule out that Michael's sleep issues and speech issues aren't related to adenoids or tonsils or both!
I new that his breathing could be having an impact on his sleeping, but I never even thought about it being related to his speech and it make so much sense that it could. His EI worker said that every time we talk, we need to stop breathing. She said in kids with breathing issues, as a means of survival, they don't talk as much. Where he is so young, he probably isn't able to verbalize the issue. He certainly also seems congested at times, even during the day, but there is no other evidence of a cold. Michael is certainly improving with his single words, but has not really put two words together. If breathing is an issue, then I can certainly see why he is speaking in only one word sentences. If anyone has any information about sleep apnea in kids or enlarged adenoids and tonsils and how it relates to sleep and speech, I would appreciate it being passed on.
Amy
Since all three kids have had a significant speech delay, we have had them evaluated by early intervention. EI recommended that they all have a hearing test to rule out that hearing loss is an issue for the speech delay. All three kids speech delay is unrelated to hearing loss. I've already written about having Eva Rose evaluated for fluid in her ears. Now, I am thinking that Michael may need to see an ENT. Michael has never been a good sleeper. He snores louder than an adult at times. My husband, my mother, and I have all heard what we think is apnea. I mentioned this to his EI worker, who is a speech therapist, and she said that if he is having sleep apnea issues, which could be related to his adenoids or his tonsils or both, that could be affecting his speech. She said that if she knew about this issue early, she would have recommended an ENT eval months ago. I had no idea that this could be related to his speech. We are seeing the doctor tomorrow and I hope that she agrees that we should see an ENT. I absolutely want to rule out that Michael's sleep issues and speech issues aren't related to adenoids or tonsils or both!
I new that his breathing could be having an impact on his sleeping, but I never even thought about it being related to his speech and it make so much sense that it could. His EI worker said that every time we talk, we need to stop breathing. She said in kids with breathing issues, as a means of survival, they don't talk as much. Where he is so young, he probably isn't able to verbalize the issue. He certainly also seems congested at times, even during the day, but there is no other evidence of a cold. Michael is certainly improving with his single words, but has not really put two words together. If breathing is an issue, then I can certainly see why he is speaking in only one word sentences. If anyone has any information about sleep apnea in kids or enlarged adenoids and tonsils and how it relates to sleep and speech, I would appreciate it being passed on.
Amy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)