Dissapointed after 18 month check-up - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

WhiskersOnKittens · 11-05-2008, 05:35 PM

Hi ladies,

I'm not sure if anybody can give me any words of wisdom, but if anything, I just need to vent.

My ds had his 18 month check up, and I left feeling very dissapointed, and somewhat upset. He sees just a family doctor that I've been going to for years, and I really, really like. He's very thourough with Liam, which I like, and he doesn't take any chances--if he's not sure about something, he sends him for a second opinion (usually to a specialist). Well today, he found that he has a bit of a heart murmur, which I'm not terribly concerned about because I know a lot of kids get them, and he said it sounds like it's not a bad one, but he just wants it checked out by someone who specializes in that field. So, there's another appointment--get his murmur checked out. Fine.

Then he said that his left testicle hasn't properly descended, and normally it should've by about a year, so he ordered an ultrasound to check for that. So I have to do some research on this, because I'm really not sure what could happen if it shows that the testicle has indeed, not decended properly... I have no idea what this means.

Then, I told him that he's been on whole milk for a few months now (he did have a slight allergy to it), and seemed to be doing fine, except that he's been having loose stools on a regular basis, and he seemed concerned that he's still got the allergy. I didn't know that loose stools were a symptom of allergy, because he never had that symptom before (he would get hives, and throw up, which he hasn't done now for ages). So now we will get a call from the pediatric allergist when they have an available appointment, which I assume won't be until January, since that's when we were supposed to see him next. And now I worry that he's still dealing with this darn allergy!
What a day...

Whiskers

LauraLu · 11-05-2008, 06:10 PM

Oh, I'm so sorry your poor little guy had to go through that stuff. That does sound like quite the day. I think I would just question the whole allergist thing if you personally think that Liam is doing fine on whole milk. If he seems to have adjusted to it, then why bother going through the testing? You can make the call not to do it. Just do what's best in your heart for your little boy.
Take Care!!!

doodlebugsmom · 11-05-2008, 11:33 PM

I'm sorry to hear about all of that. I hope the heart murmur is innocent and turns out to be nothing. Same with the undescended testicle. As for the milk, has he had you stop using milk while waiting to see the allergist? Symptoms to an allergic reaction can change and get more or less severe over time. Diarrhea, or any kind of GI distress, is a symptom of a food allergy. GI distress tends to indicate a less severe allergy than hives though, so it is a sign that he is outgrowing it but may need more time.
We've been avoiding milk for almost 16 months with DS. He's on hemp milk now and loves it. Good luck with your little one. I hope you get some answers soon.

WhiskersOnKittens · 11-05-2008, 11:47 PM

Thanks for the replies. I'm really hoping all this does turn out to be nothing... Like I said, I'm not overly concerned about the heart murmur, because he was fairly certain that it's very innocent, and I have faith in that. I'm still not sure what to think about the undecended testicle, but dh talked to his aunt tonight (who's a nurse) and told her about this appointment, and she didn't go into any detail, but said that the testicle isn't a big process, if he does need it "fixed" (I'm not sure what that means). But that makes me feel a little better about that as well.
It's this darn allergy, that I was thinking we'd kicked. He really likes milk, and milk products, and doesn't seem to have any other problems at all with it. He's growing great, and he's just a really healthy little boy in general, so it's really dissapointing to hear that he might still be affected by it.
Doodlebugsmom--thanks for telling me that the gi distress is less severe of an allergy than hives though, it does give me some relief that he IS in the process of outgrowing it. The doctor said just to reduce the amount of milk he drinks a day, but that we can continue to give it to him. He does drink quite a lot--about 24oz. per day, plus he really loves yogurt, so he has a bit of that everyday as well. He said that reducing his milk intake might really help with his stools. I'm not sure, but I've always thought the difference between diarreah and "loose stools" is that diarreah is just much more watery, and he's got none of that at all. Maybe 50% of his #2's are like when he wasn't on solids. And the other 50% are well formed, regular poops for an 18mo (I think!).
Hopefully we get into a couple of these appointments ASAP, so it's a bit of a weight off my chest!

Whiskers