Friday, November 11, 2011
Night terrors, bug bites, and other Friday night fun
It's not quite 11pm and the count of night terror episodes is already up to two for the night. We've been waiting for a night like this since Isaac started a round of Amoxicillin earlier this week for a rogue bug bite. Rogue meaning that it had the start of cellulitis. Bad reactions to bug bites are a fun thing he inherited from me. Aren't genetics grand? Amoxicillin seems like a pretty low-key medication. I mean it's one of the few prescriptions that pharmacies hand out for free. They even flavor it and slap some red dye in it to make it more kid friendly, and for most kids it's probably just fine. But for a kid with a funky gut it's both helpful and harmful. Being on Amoxicillin means that Isaac cannot take his daily dose of probiotics that help keep his gut yeast under control. I've been trying to be good about giving him more fat and protein to help with this during this time, but it's pretty inevitable that about half way through a round of Amoxicillin the yeast monster rears it's ugly head and the red dye catches up with him which results in a night of my little boy screaming, crying, and rolling around his bed off and on in his sleep. We've learned that it's near impossible and not helpful to wake him during these night terror episodes. I have to say that I have a really hard time seeing him like that- it makes me want to cry. Luckily, Andrew is in tune with the sensory side of Isaac's issues and comes to the rescue right when I feel pretty helpless. Tonight he tried applying pressure (kind of like joint compressions- for those with OTs) to Isaac's back and torso and calmly shhhhhh-ing him repeatedly. After a few minutes of this Isaac eased back into quiet sleep. It's nights like these when I wish we had a weighted blanket. Instead I laid my rice pack on his back for some consistent pressure/weight. It's like battening down the hatches before a storm- except there are no Johnny Depp looking pirates around to swab my floors. That would make this Friday night a little more fun.
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It has always infuriated me that amoxicillin has red dye in it! I have argued with many pharmacists about it. It is just ridiculous, oh a fun color will help the kids take the icky medicine, oh little poompkin needs that extra flavor. Honestly, the kids are sick! The last thing they need is extra dyes in and artificial additives in their medicine. Medicine makes you feel better, you only take it when you are sick and it isn't supposed to taste good. I have always preferred the unflavored meds to any colored or flavored ones. Last thing I want is my daughter to think it is delicious and decide to drink the whole thing, where does that lead us. (Not like I am leaving my daughter with any medicine, but if you have kids, you know the crazy things they are capable of). If anything, it is not how the medicine tastes, it is how it is administered that makes a difference. We learned that from the nurses at the ER. When they were so vicious at giving my daughter medicine that, she wouldn't even let us come near her with the medicine for days after that. It didn't matter what color or flavor it was (p.s. it was actually the same amoxicillin you have).
ReplyDeleteI am so so sorry Libby, good luck getting him feeling better. It is so great you know what you can supplement his diet with to help him get through this. In the meantime, I wish we could figure out another way to get that medicine less toxic. What are the options for people who are allergic to red dye, like myself, and why aren't those options more widely available. It is a free medicine after all.
Tiffany, yes it seems that we still have a ways to go as far as allergy friendly meds and food go.
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