It Better Be Worth It

Tomorrow, I have to take Abby to the allergist and it better be worth it. For those of you who have kids who have had to go to the allergist, you know the anxiety I am feeling. Abby is being tested for allergies (again) and this involves a blood draw and a whole bunch of pricks on her back to try to determine what is causing her asthma. We went through this last year and it was one of the hardest things to watch, because it's pretty painful for her. Why are we doing it again?

From the beginning. . . . when Abby was three months old, she coughed all night for three straight nights. I'm talking all night, every 30 to 60 seconds. But during the day she was fine and didn't cough at all. I took her to the doctor who accused me of being and overreactive mother. After firing him on the spot from being our pediatrician, he went on to tell me that this could be the beginning of an asthma issue for her.

A few years went by and she never had any signs of wheezing or trouble breathing, just this crazy cough. I knew that she was getting a cold because she would be up the night before the runny nose hit coughing every 30 to 90 seconds. I just thought she didn't handle colds well.

Then she had trouble breathing when we had wildfires in California. And she couldn't run or play without coughing uncontrollably. She would cough during the day and I couldn't take her out anywhere because all the other moms looked at me like I was inflicting this sick kid all over theirs. She just coughed and coughed and coughed.

My new pediatrician diagnosed her with asthma and got her started on inhalers. They worked a little bit . . . they helped decrease the coughing, but never got rid of it. So I am supposed to fill her with these medicines every day and not fully prevent these asthma symptoms. Last Spring, she saw an allergist in CA, but she tested negative for everything, although the doctor told me that #1 she refused to diagnose Abby with asthma because she was so young and #2 many kids that young might have allergies, but don't test positive for them.

So now we are a year out and the inhalers aren't helping at all. She's had 5 episodes of uncontrollable coughing since October and I am hoping that tomorrow's appointment will give us some answers. Her new pediatrician here in NY took one look at her and said that she definitely looks like "an allergy kid." She thinks that we are treating the asthma, but it's not helping because she has underlying allergies that aren't being treated.

I hate the idea of taking her to the doctor to have them prick her back many times and have to hold her down in order to do so. I don't really want to subject her to this, but I want to get her asthma under control because it's not getting better, in fact, it's getting worse.

It better be worth it.