A New Dose (Finally!)

Before I start on today's update, I would like to take a moment to comment on how absolutely amazing Dr. M. is!  Sunday night, Sean had an apparent reaction to something and had a rash around his mouth.  I texted the picture to Dr. M. who responded immediately that he was in an area without data but that he would look at the picture later that evening and give me his input.  He asked how his belly had been doing since his previous reaction where I administered epinephrine, and he responded later that night with his opinion on the rash in my picture.  I don't know any other doctors who are so incredibly accessible that they will text with me on a Sunday night on the long Labor Day weekend about my concerns.  It just does not happen!  This is a man who truly cares about his patients, and I could not be more grateful!

After being stuck at the previous dose for about a month, Sean finally went back to Dr. M's office today for a dose increase.  I wasn't able to go with him because I had my own appointment today (more on that later).  At Sean's last appointment, we were in the room with another peanut OIT patient, "T", as well as T's dad.  Today, Sean was there at the same time as "T" again and made good buddies with his mom, "M".  He apparently told her all about how to play Candy Crush Saga on daddy's phone, and he said she smiled at him.  He even gave her a hug and a kiss before they left the office!  It is so funny because he is actually quite shy and quiet around people he doesn't know well.  He is only four years old, but he has a strong intuition and can sense a person's character.  "M" must be awesome if she won Sean's affection in one short hour!  "T" is much further ahead of Sean in the OIT program.  Today he dosed up to 6 whole peanuts (twice a day!).  To compare, Sean's new dose is the equivalent of 4.1mg of peanut protein.  Six whole peanuts contain 1,500mg of peanut protein!  You can see that we have a long road ahead of us in order to make it up to 8 peanuts.  I just desperately hope that we make it there!  Right now, he is on such a small dose that I can't even fathom a day where he can eat an entire peanut, let alone multiple whole peanuts!  

I notice that during this treatment, Sean's ears have been red a lot.  My husband thinks it's normal and that it is because he has reddish hair and fair skin.  I get nervous that it isn't normal because for one thing it is much more common now that he is on OIT and is exposed to his allergen on a regular basis.  I also worry because other allergy moms in my online groups have mentioned that red ears are often the first sign of a reaction in their children.  I suppose I will ask Dr. M. his opinion.

As for my appointment, I was meeting with a new doctor about possible Lyme disease.  Ugh.  I wish I knew what was wrong with me.  He's going to treat me with antibiotics as if I have Lyme disease, and gave me orders for around a dozen more tests.  None of the tests for Lyme disease are perfect and I just desperately want some answers as to why my body (my nervous system in particular) has declared mutiny against me over the past 4 months.  So if you happen to send positive thoughts, prayers, well-wishes, vibes, etc. to Sean for his peanut OIT, please send some for me as well.