. . . for the Worst Mother of the Year award. Anna checked out just fine yesterday at her doctor's appointment, but I have now come to realize that the sole reason she was so fussy had to be the Lord's prodding so that I would make an appointment, and while I made one for her, I would also make one for Jonathan. You may recall that back here, in the beginning of August , I posted about how Jonathan had been bleeding when he pooped. Well, it got a bit better for awhile, but then we started traveling every weekend, and so he simply wasn't as regular, so he started bleeding and complaining again. After White Sulphur Springs it was worse than it has ever been, so I was going to try to get an appointment this week or next, but it was certainly not a priority. I am so not confident of the Fairfax Clinic's competence, and it takes at least 35 minutes to get there, and so . . . I kept putting it off. But after Anna's bad day on Wednesday, I decided I might as well call at 6:00 Thursday morning and try to get 2 appointments, which I did.
When the doctor examined Jonathan, she found 3 big fissures, which she swabbed for strep. She said that they would never heal on their own, since everything was so swollen, and any time he had the least hard bit of poop, they would just open again. She put him on antibiotics even before the strep test came back (it was positive, by the way), and a stool softener. We also have bactoban ointment and a hydrocortisone cream for the swelling to put on the area. Poor boy! I can't believe he's been so normal and chipper this whole time! So this was a lesson to me that the Fairfax Clinic is not always completely incompetent. I really liked this doctor, who we have not had before, and I will definitely be asking for her again. I feel so badly that I didn't take him in right away. I was so afraid it would just be a huge waste of time, and they wouldn't be able to do anything for him. So it took Anna and her nursing issues to force me to take him in, and I'm so thankful for them.
3 comments:
Well, certainly you are being too hard on yourself. It's sad that you, thru repeat experiences, had no confidence in the clinic's staff. That makes me sad.
Poor Jonathan. Such a trooper. Anna doing any better?
♥Pam
Oh yeah, Anna's fine! She was fine on Thursday too! Jonathan's poor bum is already looking a thousand times better, and the colase is working, so nothing new is stressing him. Praise the Lord! : )
That's good to hear. On both ends....teeeheheee.
Sorry. ;0]
BTW, so you don't have to EVER drive to get a script filled, Colace is docusate sodium which you can get a bottle of 100 for about 3 bucks at the local drugstore or grocery store. Just look for 'Stool Softener' but make sure it's not a combo drug that has a laxative in it.
Truly, docusate is one of the few really and truly safe meds out there.
Pardon me while I teach, I am sure you know about the various functions of the intestine but as a refresher, the small intestines job is to make a liquid mess of the food we take in, in order to extract all nutriative value. The job of the large intestine is to recycle the water that our body uses in the small intestine and make a solid stool. If you are dehydrated or take any meds that do that too you, your body will extract all the water it can in order to keep you functioning. Sometimes your body goes too far. Hence, constipation, rock hard stools etc. Colace or stool softener just insists that your body keep some water in the stool, thereby keeping it...soft and easy to pass.
So, if someone is having a difficult time with rock poop or can't bear down for instance, I tell them to take a stool softener after every meal until their stool begins to lose shape in the toilet bowl. Then back off to one a day. You can't OD on stool softener except to have liquid stools which of course most people panic about and think they are having diarrhea. It's just a liquid stool.
I bet you knew this already!!
Oh well, just call me a nurse. I'm used to it.
♥Pam
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