Right after we got back from Cancun, the kids had an appointment with their regular pediatrician for their annual checkups.
Alex was pronounced fine and fit and healthy, but the doctor didn't like the sound of Penny's breathing. And the more she listened, the more she didn't like it.
Apparently, Penny isn't quite asthmatic, but she's on the edge of falling into that abyss. And thanks to the Ultimate Fun that is combining diabetes with steroids (in which by "ultimate" I mean "absolutely zero"), the doctor doesn't want to treat this state of pre-asthma with the usual steroid regimen unless it's the only option remaining. So Penny's now got this awesome machine for doing breathing treatments three or four times a day, and she's also taking Claritin. And she's got a follow-up appointment on Thursday so the doctor can evaluate whether the breathing treatments are getting the job done and decide if they need to continue. (For what it's worth, Penny's still sniffling a lot, but she's stopped continually clearing her throat, so I have to assume that's progress.)
As much as I loathe the notion, I suspect allergy shots will be recommended, if not on Thursday, then at some point in the future. I don't know if I'll agree to it, though. I've been through two courses of allergy shots -- once as a kid, and once just a few years ago -- and both times, it's been an incredible amount of hassle and expense for what turned out to be a very temporary easement (not even a full halt) of symptoms.
This probably shouldn't come as a surprise to me. Both Matt and I are allergy sufferers; it was all but inevitable that the kids would be, too.
Penny sure got screwed over on the whole inheritance lottery, didn't she? Poor kid.
1 comment:
I know people's experiences with allergy shots vary, and often varies by what specific allergens are involved. But for me - someone who spent most of her childhood having an antihistamine daily with breakfast - the fact that I now live mostly antihistamine free with two cats makes the allergy shots totally worth it. The only time I need an antihistamine is when the pollen count is especially high, or I'm doing heavy housecleaning, which kicks up both cat dander and dust mites (my two primary allergens). So it may at least be worth having Penny tested to see what you're battling against.
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