Monday, September 8, 2008

Time goes by so slowly...

Way back on August 8th we took Bobcat in for a follow-up appointment at his endo's office. That day the visit was with an LPN, and not the dr. for some reason (we weren't told when they made the appointment for us a few month previous to it)... and that was when they had Bobcat's blood tested for anti-bodies associated with Celiac Disease. Now we were quite skeptical, the only thing they were going on for ordering this test was the fact the HGH stimulus testing all came back normal and they have no real reason they could find for him being so small.

The only reason I even agreed to have the test run that day was because it was in the same building and we just had to go downstairs (I didn't have to make a whole new appointment or anything). So we did it and then waited for 2 weeks for the results.

The few places we looked online did mention stunted growth, but also listed a slew of other symptoms he's never had and we convinced ourselves that they (the endo's office) were grasping at straws for some sort of diagnosis... God forbid he be a little short in his life.

At the two week mark we got his results... the antibodies were there (in a high volume) which meant that there was a strong chance he has celiac disease. Next step was setting up an appointment to see a pediatric GI... and that's where we spent our morning today. As of right now we still don't have a firm diagnosis, that will come after Thursday when he has to have an intestinal biopsy done! This scared the bu-jeezes out of me, the information I read online indicated that the child has to be semi-awake and be able to follow simple instructions for this procedure... THANKFULLY THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH THIS GI!!! Praise God! So they will sedate him, perform the outpatient procedure and we wait a week for those results.

Wait, wait, wait...

I've braced myself that this is Celiac, and that our lives are about to change. I figure if I get my head wrapped around this, come full diagnosis I will have a better handle on it... and if it comes back negative... well great, we just return to normal, no harm no foul. Plus if it is positive then we need to have the other two tested, it's a genetic disorder and most likely one or both of them will also have it (no matter what their results come back as, the house will be gluten-free, but they will need a LABEL on their records for a bunch of other reasons instead of just assuming that they are).

Thinking positively... we've caught it fairly early, and if this is what it is, and we change our diet now... he should see improvement in height/weight within 6 months!!! That's incredible. Not to mention by being pro-active about this we lessen the chances for colon cancer among many other illnesses associated with going untreated! And supposedly this will also help with allergy irritations, and maybe even Bubba's asthma (wouldn't that be something).

So little Bobcat could go from being labeled idiopathic short stature to celiac disease... at least he doesn't need shots?!

2 comments:

Charlotte (WaltzingM) said...

You will not be waiting alone! Prayers for him and you until we hear the news!

Elizabeth said...

I echo Charlotte. We will be praying for your family. Please keep me posted. That is wonderful news that you should see improvement!