Heading to Dr.Jones on Monday for our follow up

[Teri]

We are heading to New Haven on Monday for a follow up appointment with Dr.Jones. First just wondering what to expect at the follow up.? Dd7 has only had IGenex labs run once at Dr.B's and that was almost 1.5 years ago. She has had nearly monthly labs for Dr.B in the last 8 months or so but no specific Lyme testing. She was positive for Bartonella and Lyme not CDC standards but according to Dr.s B & J. She did have a deer tic bite 3 months prior to IGenex testing and had already been on abx for PANDAS for months prior to the bite. Following the Igenex testing she was put on a combo of abx which is where we have been since 10/12.

 

Trying to mentally (and financially) prepare for the appointment. We generally run labs down here close to home to ahead of Dr. B's appointments because it causes a lot of anxiety for Dd.

 

Also can anyone recommend a place to stay and any kid friendly activities in the New Haven area?

 

TIA

 

Teri

[Hopeny]

I'm not sure how far The maritime aquarium is but we love that place . Good luck with your visit

[Teri]

Thanks hopeny! Actually we have been there after a Dr.B appt .... And we also loved it! We last saw Dr.jones in March and we ventured up to the Mystic Aquarium. Appreciate your response!

[philamom]

Hi Teri. It looks like well be missing you by a few weeks - our appt is next month. We stayed at Premiere Hotel and Suites once. Not bad- each unit has its own kitchen. They have a lot of board games in large lobby area. Also offer free continental breakfast if I remember correctly. Outdoor swimming pool- of course that's of no help now.

Sometimes we add a night at NYC, or stay at the doubletree near Dr. B's office.

 

Good Luck!

btw- Dr. J will be turning 85 this March. amazing he still wants to stay in practice - god bless him.

Edited January 16, 2014 by philamom

[philamom]

He would have no problem writing a lab script to have done at home (if less anxiety), but he will probably need to run the Igenex WB at his office, so it may be easier to have it done all at once. He usually runs bartonella through Quest (Nicholas lab) or Igenex - at least in our case. You can ask them to use Emla cream, if it helps with the anxiety at all.

[Teri]

Thx Philamom for your responses.

Not sure what we are going to do but want to try to have a little fun/ adventure before the appointment. I believe they will run probably Quest & IGenex at the appointment - the office called this morning. The cream will be a bonus so to speak as she has never had it before. And she has had nearly monthly blood work for the last 9 months or so. I am not going to tell her until we get to the appointment as it will cause unnecessary stress for her .... And then all of us! The appointment time is 4 pm on Monday and then we have to return home that night. :-0. Not looking forward to that aspect of it.

 

We have stayed at that Double Tree near Dr. B and also at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich. For the most part we do Dr. B appts - up& back in one day. It's not easy but it's cost effective.

 

Quick question about Dr. Jones office and the blood draws. Please tell me that they send them to Quest & IGenex for you.? When Dr. B ran her IGenex we had to ship them ourselves. It was a big pain as we were traveling.

 

Hope you have a good Philamom!

[philamom]

They will send it out for you. Request a copy of the results be mailed to you. Will save you a phone call later.

 

When my daughter was to sick to travel, we would need to stay over. Now that she is doing better, we tend to make it a daily trip. We take Amtrak up and back, and just grab a taxi to his office (5-10 min drive). It beats the crazy traffic around NYC. No offense New Yorkers

 

Next month, we will stay at the doubletree to see Dr B the next morning.

[Teri]

Ok thanks for the advice regarding the bloodwork ! We will do that!

The traffic is brutal to Dr.B's! For morning appointments we will leave our house (just across the 95 bridge from Bucks Co. In NJ) at 5-6 am to beat rush hour traffic. We eat breakfast once we get up in Darien. Might just have to consider the train one day - is it Amtrak? Our next appt for Dr. B is at the end of Feb and she will get some allergy testing done as well. :-0. Dreading that but it has been about 4 years since she was last tested and she is allergic to many, many things including foods & meds. She had been in a nearly 2 month flair despite labs improving steadily over the last 7 months. Dr. B wants to look more closely at her immune system I guess.

[philamom]

Yes, Amtrak. It takes about 1.5 hrs to Dr. B and around 2 hours to Dr. J. Cost little more, but a lot less stressful Taxis are right there, both at New Haven, and Stamford. If you are staying at the Doubletree, you can arrange a pick up/drop off service, free of charge. Just need to tip the driver.

 

It once took us 8 hrs to get to Dr. J's office with one pee break. bumper to bumper. And then to find out that my daughter lost a small stuffed animal during the stop. We called the office and Dr. J got on the phone and told us to drive back and find the stuffy. My daughter had major hoarding issues back then. We ended up getting to his office around 7 pm on a Friday, and a staff worker stayed behind to assist with the appointment.

Edited January 16, 2014 by philamom

[lfran]

Quest and labcorp won't usually draw for igenex but hospital labs will and they will also do quest or labcorp as well. Just call around to see if they will do it and be aware of shipping issues re timing for igenex if you do it yourself. You may need their kit but if you call and get their instructions the local lab may have all the necessary tubes.