Andrew and Madelyn

I never posted yesterday about Andrew's procedure. Andrew had an endoscopy yesterday morning that showed he had inflammation in his esophagus and lower stomach due to all the stomach acid he's had plus an larger opening of the espophagus. He's had acid reflux since he was born and finally after that last stomach virus and nine days of vomit from that boy, I called a pediatric GI doctor. Thankfully he's now on some better medicines and hopefully our days of vomiting (except when sick) are going to be less and less. He's restricted in diet now - no fast food, fried foods, spaghetti/tomato sauce, chocolate or caffeine (trust me, that boy doesn't need caffeine so I don't go out of my way to give him any).

Onto the princess of the house, finally we made it to the allergist. Instead of retyping I'll paste what I sent out to close family and friends.

Most everyone knows we have dealt with a runny, very snotty nose and congestion since the day we met Madelyn. This in turn has not only made her miserable but is the cause of some other issues we've been dealing with such as sleep disturbances. We had a few good weeks clear at the end of the summer last year and that was about it. She has been on numerous medications both prescription and OTC, tubes put in her ears, adenoids removed and a scope run up her nose to check the anatomy. I chose not to take the advice of the pediatrician and ENT doctor and called an allergist myself. Today she had the full skin test. I'm not very familiar with allergy tests but from what I understand is if there's a 3 or 4, she's allergic but the 4's are the biggest concern according to the doctor today. If anyone is familiar, I will take all the advice I can get that will help Madelyn. Madelyn definitely didn't like the tests but she was a trouper and was fine right after all the scratches.

Madelyn had 4's in -
Oak Tree (4+ in this one)
Poplar Tree
Sycamore Tree
Aspergillus (mold)
Bermuda grass
Dog
Peanut
Soybean
Tomato
Fish Mix (saltwater)

There's lots of three's (about 1 1/2 columns worth). I was definitely shocked about the peanut allergy. The doctor said the food allergies with a 4 is not a big concern most of the time but to watch portions and see what happens with them. I've given her peanut butter crackers and PB&J sandwiches for the past year. The soy also was interesting. After Madelyn came home from China we were told to switch to soy formula and then when she went off formula we went back and forth on all the different milks trying to see if the whole milk caused her digestive issues but all along it must have been the soy milk. It does have milk as a 3 but I wasn't told to avoid it today. We don't have a dog and never have had one in this house but the cat was a 3 which we did have before she came home. Thankfully house dust was a 2 (keeping a dust free home with four kids is almost impossible).

For now we are going to try Dallergy Rx in a higher dose and a new nasal spray before considering allergy shots. I also will be monitoring her diet more. If anyone has experience with this, please share secrets, advice, etc.

I feel like some days we live at Doctor's offices. Thankfully Nate and Logan have been well. I think we're on the upward slide though of getting over sicknesses, finding solutions to problems and everyone is going to be painfree and healthy and we can stay away from doctor's except for check-ups - hopefully, saying my prayers and crossing my fingers.