Good news! (Finally)

Okay, so I have been too busy (and I'll admit it, lazy) to update my blog for the past few months. However, I didn't have anything I was very interested in talking about. Well, now I do.

My last post was about how sick Nicholas has been and how we couldn't figure out exactly what it was. The most likely thing we could think of, was lactose intolerance. Well, we were WRONG.

I finally managed to get in to see the Pediatric Gastroenterologist about his "issues". The doctor was certain after listening to only a few seconds worth of his history that he knew exactly what was wrong with him. I was flabbergasted! The doctor asked me a few key questions like, what time of day does he usually start acting sick? How long does it last? How high of a fever, if any, does he typically get? How often does this occur?

After a brief discussion regarding all of these points, he printed off some information from the internet and gave me a diagnosis.

CYCLIC VOMITTING SYNDROME

He told me that it is so common that 1 in 50 kids from age 7+ have it, or have had it. The most common ages are children 7 and up, but it has been seen in infants, young adults, adults, and seniors! Most people just assume that it is a stomach flu or something and just don't stress about it. They assume that they are just over stressed or maybe ate something bad. The key is the fact that it occurs on a regular basis, lasts for 1 to 4 days and the main symptoms are vomiting and a lack of energy. It can be accompanied by a low grade fever and diarhea. Such as was the case with Nicholas.

He put Nicholas on Cyproheptadine to control the vomitting reflex while he is sleeping. (besides it is a really strong antihistimine, so it knocks him out all night) He also prescribed a medicine to stop the vomitting if he has another episode. With these two medications, he should not have any more bad episodes, if he has any at all, they should be much less dramatic.

Well, for any of you who might like to read more about cyclic vomitting syndrome, please click on the link below.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cvs/index.htm

Lactose intolerance

We have suspected for a while now that Nicholas may be lactose intolerant. He was able to tolerate formula just fine, but for some reason, he started getting really sick in January. He would throw up after drinking milk. He also had a fever and diarhea so when I took him into the doctor we assumed it was some kind of stomach bug. Well, it lasted about 4 days and he was fine again. In February, he got sick again, but so did the other kids. It started with pink eye and then Devan got laryngitits... I spent so much time in the doctor office, that when Nicholas got sick again, it was easy to just say that the whole family is just having a rough month. So, his doctor stated that it may be necessary to see a GI doc if it doesn't clear up. Well, it did and it started again in March. I am getting concerned at this point, and I called the GI doctor that helped Devan when he was 2. He needed a referral from our regular doctor and was completely booked up until after April 10th well, I was not able to get in to see his regular doctor by then and of course he wasn't sick at that time.

Well, when he got sick again this last weekend for no apparent reason, I decided to get the next available appointment with this doctor to get the referral to the GI doctor just to get it checked out and tell someone (who may have an idea what I'm talking about) what has been going on. Well, I will have to update later as to when and if I can get in with the GI doc any time soon, and if so, what he says, but for now, here is a picture that shows how yucky Nicholas has been feeling.

Most recent project completion

Justin finally finished the Mustang. Well, not completely finished.... He still has to finish the transmission issue, but the car is running like none other, all the interior is in tact and has been painted back to the original black color it should be. The dent in the fender has been repaired, and the broken headlight has been replaced. As for the paint.....

Before...

After...


See it has black racing stripes... right?

Nope! They are black cherry red! When you look at them in the sunlight from straight on, they almost blend into the red of the car. They become translucent! It's pretty cool!

Now all we need to do, is detail the inside, fix the tranny and get it sold! Justin is concidering changing the tranny from the tired 4 speed auto to a more appealing 5 speed standard, and I have a girlfriend who's kids are looking for a way to earn money this summer and for $10.00 they will come over here and detail the inside. Not a bad deal really. It's not even all that dirty!

Well, here's to hoping we can sell it soon! ;)