No More Budesonide
The pediatrician has been urging us to put Colton on a Budesonide regimen since we began going there about 17 months ago. Although the trips to the ER have reduced to about once every other month, when the breathing attacks happen they are horrible. So, this Thanksgiving we finally agreed to try it.
We started him on two treatments daily, and it appeared to be going well with his breathing. And, miraculously he was behaving at daycare? Was it because he was feeling better? He wasn't biting! Awesome. But wait…
Our little boy who loves books could no longer sit through a couple pages. Even his favorite stories couldn't hold his attention. But his breathing was good. The deal with the doctor was that after he had been cough free for two weeks then we could take him off to see if the Budesonide was the reason he was breathing better.
Unfortunately that never happened. One reason is that a side-effect is coughing. And cough he did, although it wasn't a sick cough, it was something that woke him out of sleep. He also got dry mouth with the Budesonide and was drinking water like a camel running a marathon. He woke up in the middle of the night and yelled (in a little raspy voice), "Waaa waaa." I was getting perturbed. In my gut I knew the steroid was not the way to go. But we made the promise to the doctor. (I kinda wanted to just prove that medications are not always the best answer).
Then just as we were nearing the two-week mark, he got SICK. Not a little sick, A LOT SICK. The worst he'd ever been with his breathing. This time instead of taking him to the ER George brought him to the doctor where they administered all of the treatments he typically gets in the ER, except instead of costing me between $40 -70, it ran me more like $300!
The doctors said, we can't blame it on the Budesonide as we don't know how bad he would have been without being on it. Um. That's CRAP. He was worse than he ever was, he was out of it and on top of it - he was geeking out of his skin because he was all roided up.
George and I discussed it. He called the doctor to see the best way to wean him off the med. The nurse on the other line said, "You can just stop." (This is not what the doctor had told us prior.) But we liked that idea. That's what we did. It's now a few days past Christmas and Colton has a bit of a snot nose (started yesterday), but he's breathing fine (knock on wood). He hasn't been in daycare because of winter break, but has maintained health over the holidays. His attention is back at full-force. We're reading book after book, after book, after book. He's watching basketball and running and "biking" and playing basketball daily with Daddy with little to no wheezing.
So Budesonide - Good bye, good riddance. I'm thinking we may have to do the same to the doctor as I don't like his quick to medicate (I felt really pressured into it, and was given no alternative options).
Oh and we also figured out that Colton is better behaving at daycare because he's using his words so well now ;)
My favorite current vocabulary -
Noo Mi (snow man)
Saaaata
A-Chew (for sneeze)
Kank-U (thank you)
Un-uh Kee Kee (no cat)
Woo woo Ou-Sy
C-O-O-K-I-E
Gramma sent a three section stackable penguin cookie container.
Last night Colton found the largest section and the cookies inside.
Mommy promptly hid the penguin up on a high-table (hopefully out of sight).
Even if it was out of sight this morning, it wasn't out of mind. As George was serving the morning cereal, I had mentioned that Gramma sent the stackable penguin full of C-O-O-K-I-E-S and pointed to where it was (for George to see).
Colton pondered for a moment and then exclaimed, "Cookie!" (Cooo-Key)
Yes, he knows that the spelling of cookie also means cookie.
Lord Help Us!
Pa Pa
Colton has been sick again. This time we followed the doctors orders given the day before (11/27/13) Thanksgiving. We were told to give him Budesinide twice a day until his cough was gone. Unfortunately he got really sick again on Tuesday (12/10/13) - labored breathing, snot nose, cough... This is a continuing story for another post.
C stayed home from daycare Wednesday and Thursday. He went back today, but it was a little rough. There was some pushing and hitting (but no biting!).
He fussed in the car - a more common issue lately. Tonights complaining was more of a fake cry than on nights where he loses it all together.
We got home and he was excited to play with the book that Gramma Lele sent - a tractor book with a steering wheel, horn and several sounds. This was great because on Monday and Tuesday he threw a fit at the door because he wanted to stay out and play in the snow, so he stood his ground, had a fit and refused to take off his hat, boots, coat or mittens. Tonight he gladly went into the kitchen to read the tractor book. It was also the first day all week he ate well. He polished off some rice, mixed vegetables and a mini- "Meat" aka - Cheeseburger.
After an Albuterol treatment we went up for a bath, brush teeth and jammies. We read a couple books and went into the upstairs living room. I turned on Aladdin (we started it on Tuesday when he was sick) and he LOVED when prince Ali came to town - he danced and swayed with the song.
Then came the "first" of the day. He grabbed daddy's computer that was closed on the coffee table and started saying, "Pappa, Pappa!" I opened up the computer and he found mommy, Coltie and Daddy in the pictures but yelled, "Pappa, Pappa!" He wanted to call Grandpa on Skype.
We had been Skyping quite a bit recently, and I guess it's now part of his night time schedule. He was a little bratty during the actual call, but he was tired. He did end the call by saying bye bye to grandma and blowing her kiss