My life: 6/19/2010

Another update on the family-

We are still without income down here - have been since March. It is really becoming stressful as I still don't know how to find assistance and the jobs just aren't there.

Hubby has had quite a few interviews, but no call backs and that surprised us as he has as very nice looking resume. Hopefully something will come through soon, though, as our savings is completely gone now and we are now behind on bills and feeling the pinch.

Robbie has been doing pretty well - finally starting to come into his own - he is much more social when we are out at playgroups and storytimes.

Michaela has also been doing well, until 4 days ago when she developed a slight fever (99.1). She had been tugging on ears a bit, so I took her to the pediatrician who said that she looked okay with the exception of a red throat - but it didn't look bad enough to treat, and her fever was staying below 100. He told me that if her fever reached 101.5 to call - anytime. He also told me that if her fever was that high he also wanted me to fill a prescription for antibiotics (he gave it to me to hold onto in case I needed to).That night it did hit 101.5 and then went up to 102.3. I called the on-call doctor and she told me to give her motrin and tylenol and not worry about it, but follow up with our doctor the next day.

Around 10pm that night I needed to give her another dose of the Motrin and I checked her temp then and it was 102 still. I gave her the dose. At around 11pm she seemed hotter to me...we were laying in bed and I went and got the thermometer and checked her temp again - 105.4! I was shocked, and checked again - same exact reading. So I got up and dressed and took her to the ER where they pretty much said I just needed to continue to give her the medicine and not worry about it.

The next day she was still running a fever, so I took he to the pediatrician, but the office was closed so I had to wait until the next day (which was Friday). So I took her in Friday morning. The pediatrician was upset that the ER hadn't done any other testing when her fever was so high, and he checked her again. He said her throat now looked infected and he wanted her on the antibiotics. He also wrote me a script for a higher dose of Motrin for the high fevers.

Last night we gave the first dose of Amoxicilian and she broke out in a prickly rash shortly after - I called the on call - twice this time because the first time I didn't get a call back. The same lady doctor and she told me that it wasn't an allergy and to keep giving it. It is still really scary as it covered most of her body and it looks really painful/itchy. She has been super fussy since last night and seems really uncomfortable. I am really praying that she is better soon.

Now to top it all off, I had to go to an urgent care a few weeks ago because I had an ear ache and my left knee was really hurting. I went there because I didn't have a doctor yet. I had some blood tests done to check for R.A. (which my mother has) and the test came back negative for that but positive for hyperthyroidism. I was told that I needed to see an endocrinologist. I tried to find one, but I couldn't see one without a referral from a primary care doctor. So finally Friday I was able to see a doctor and get a referral (the actually referral will take a few weeks). He told me that based on the blood work that was done (and the test was only partially done - they need to test for some other hormones) plus what I look like, he is pretty sure I have Graves Disease. I have been looking over they symptoms and they seem to fit pretty well. Thank God that I had that blood test though - as I would have mistaken most of the symptoms for other things - Anxiety - racing heart - heat intolerant - brittle hair - weight loss- all of these symptoms I am experiencing but I figured the first two were due to my anxiety disorder which causes both, the heat intolerance I figured was because it is hot here in FL, and the brittle hair I figured was complicated by a few different factors. 1. I swim in a pool. 2. I had a baby 8 months ago and my hair seems to be good for around 6+ months after and then it is a mess. 3. I color my hair frequently. The weight loss I was hoping was just because I was eating the right things after the baby was born and the breastfeeding.

So now I am waiting for my referral and to find out what it is exactly (Graves Disease or something else) and then figure out treatment. From what I understand there are a few different options, including surgery to remove the thyroid.

Hope everyone in Gather Land is doing well - sorry that I don't get around here much these days, but with what has been going on, I am lucky to get anytime to myself lately.