Can Dr T do anything without new bloodwork?

[MJMama]

Our DD 6 years old has been on Zith 1x a day for the past year. This time of year is her very worst

time....she has been doing well on the 1x a day and when she'd have a flare up we'd go to 2x per day

and things would be fine again. But, now this same time of year she is really having a rough time

even with the 2x per day dose. We say Dr. T last July but since the initial blood work we just cannot

get blood drawn again. She goes absolutely crazy and it's physically impossible for us to hold her

down long enough for a draw. We've tried 3x for over an hour each time.

 

I feel like another trip to see Dr. T is in order and we are lucky that he is fairly close to where

we live, but then I'm thinking what is he going to be able to do without updated blood work?

 

Yesterday and today I pick her up after school at 3 and she is sobbing, out of control, saying we

love her sister more, etc. I giver her the second dose of Zith and a snack and probiotic and she sleeps

for about 2 hours. When she wakes up, she is fine and says she is sorry for how she behaved....This is after

sleeping from 8pm to 6:30 am.....I was at the Dr for a physical for our other daughter so I had the Dr.

check all of our throats and we're all fine....

 

We're getting to the point of thinking of having her sedated so that we can get the blood work but

she did not react to the general anesthesia she had last year for some dental work so I'm worried about

how she will react.

 

Oye! Spring is my favorite season but it's slowing losing it's joy!!! Any suggestions regarding the

blood work or if Dr. T might be able to do anything without it?

 

Thanks to all for your help! Kathy

[cobbiemommy]

I know that my son tanked this spring and Dr. B said it was related to allergies. I can't imagine how you would get her allergy tested if you cannot get a blood sample.

 

Sending good thoughts your way.

[airial95]

One thing I noticed about your post is that you said you gave her her zith and the probiotic at the same time? My understanding is that you should space the abx and probiotic a few hours apart from each other. If you're giving them at the same time, maybe it's diminishing the effectiveness of the zith?

[mdmom]

I copied this from another one of my posts. Hope this is helpful. I totally get the needle fear thing. During my son's first blood-draw 5 adults had to hold him down at a well-respected hospital. He was only 8 at the time. It was traumatic for everyone. Then we eventually worked with a behavioral psychologist who trained us how to get him through fearful things....

EMLA cream and REWARDS. I actually used to think it was bribing and not good parenting until I worked with a behavioral psychologist who suggested it.

 

Have her choose something ahead of time that she really wants and assign a point value to it. Give her points for each part of the process that she has success with. I usually make the points look like money and print them from the computer, but I've also used multiples of something small (pennies, Legos, beads, marbles, stickers). If you use multiples of something, have her hold a cup and fill it with her "points." Things to reward her for:

 

Getting in the car calmly to go to the appt.

Getting out of the car at the dr.'s office

Walking into the office

Staying calm in the waiting area

Walking back to the waiting area

Sitting on the exam table

 

You get the idea?

 

Give her more points for the harder things and less points for the easier thing. Immediately cash in the points for her reward (you can even purchase the reward ahead of time so that she can "buy" it with her points).

 

My son is now 14 and doesn't even require a reward for getting stuck. I won't lie to you...this is a process...but it will get easier.

 

Hope this helps.

[MJMama]

Some good points. I "used to know" not to give the probiotic with the rx but since we were only doing the rx in the am

and the probiotic in the pm, I guess I forgot about it. She is getting them within half an hour of each other in the evening

so I will switch that up to make sure she's getting the full impact of both. Thanks for the refresher!

 

Regarding the blood draw, we did try and give her a special incentive and she really really did want the treat (going to

build a bear) so it was extra sad to watch her not be able to do it, at the end she was just sobbing and sobbing....I like

the idea of incremental rewards though since she seems to actually get the most upset with the elastic thing they put on

her arm...then it just goes down from there. Last time I was like "OK I can SEE her blood pumping through her arm...do you

really need to put the elastic on there?!" But it's their procedure. She has been complaining about taking the medicine

especially 2x per day and we are trying to explain that if she can do the blood work then maybe we can find a medicine that

will work better for her....she listens but I can tell she's not sold yet. I'll try and put together some step by step

incentives. I feel good about that...Thanks!!

 

We'll see how she does today and I guess if she needs a 2 hour nap each afternoon I'll just let her nap....

 

Thanks to all for your input! Kathy

[airial95]

It's the elastic thing that freaks my kids out too...every time. My 4 year old is always great, cooperative, chatty with the techs...until they trip to put that darn elastic thing on.

 

Now - that's what we talk the most about on our way there - as a way to prepare him for it...doesn't work though. I might have to try the incremental rewards too!