Monday, March 23, 2009

ENT

Finn had an appt. with an ENT this morning because of the results of his hearing eval. a couple weeks ago. Our appt. was at 10:00 a.m. and we were not seen until 11:10 a.m., no kidding. I was seething by the time the doc finally came into the room, but he ended up being so nice and no-nonsense, that I ended up not ripping him a new one as I had meticulously planned during the last 15 minutes of waiting for him.

So, he said yes, Finn has fluid in both ears. He said he's got a double ear infection and a sinus infection as well (hmmm, maybe this has something to do with why he no longer sleeps at night??). He said that fluid in the middle ears is common with Ds, and although it is common for babies/children with Ds to need tubes in their ears, it's not a given. There is a protocol: give a round of antibiotics; recheck; if fluid remains; give another round of antibiotics; if fluid still remains, then proceed with tubes. So he's on an antibiotic for the next 10 days and we are supposed to go back to our regular pediatrician for a recheck in a couple of weeks.

Michael was able to meet me at the doctor's office, as he was right in the same medical complex for his radiation. It was nice to have him there, as I usually handle the kids' various dr. appt.'s on my own, and it gets tiresome.

I, of course, feel terrible that Finn has probably had an ear infection and sinus infection for god only knows how long - it seems like he's been congested forever - certainly it's never completely cleared up since he had RSV back in January. Anyway, I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that the antibiotics help the little guy so we can all start getting some sleep around here!

12 comments:

Lis said...

EI's are the worst. Tanner was so relieved when he got his tubes. Although hopefully the antibiotics will clear Finn right up!

Crittle said...

I hope this is just what Finn needs.

And don't you just hate when a good doctor ruins a well-planned rant? Except you don't?

Elyse said...

I hope Mr. Finn feels better soon :) Hopefully his ears will heal and the sinus infection will go away now! Maybe he will start sleeping through the night now too!
~Elyse~

Wendy P said...

Hope Finn feels better fast and that everyone gets some well-deserved rest soon.

JaybirdNWA said...

Lisa, I hope that the antibiotics do the trick and he doesn't have to get tubes, although having tubes may be the cure all. Two of our kids had to have tubes and I can remember it made the difference between night and day.

heather said...

I honestly thought that Finn has probably had an ear infection with all the sleep problems and fussiness/crankiness. It is just so common for kids with Ds (and for my 1 year old without Ds--every time she has a cold I have to take her in because she can't get stuffy without getting double ear infections) to get ear infections with each cold. I just wanted to warn you to make sure your ped can SEE his eardrums. The peds pretend like they can see them because they don't want to look dumb but most peds don't have a small enough attachment on the otoscope to see the eardrum. The ENT is the only I trusted with that until Morgan was 2. It got to the point that the on call peds just gave us antibiotics because she had symptoms because they weren't able to see them. If your ped can't see them then take him back to the ENT. And a long wait is common with pediatric ENTs. We usually wait 2-3 hours for hours and I am always ready to shoot someone by the time they call us back into the examing room and make us wait for another 30 minutes! Good luck and I hope you notice a huge improvement with the antibiotics!

The Sanchez Family said...

Oh gosh! I'm pretty sure Joaquin has the very same thing. He has green colored snot and has been crying through the night for three nights....but this would be the THIRD round of antibiotics since January!!! I guess I better go see the doctor again...thanks for sharing this. And....Joaquin HAS tubes!!! Never had an infection before the tubes...darn it!

Laurie said...

I hope Finn is feeling better asap! ((Hugs))

Jen said...

I bet it will make a difference. Evan was diagnosed with one two weeks ago, and once he started on the antibiotic, he was like a different child. Eating and sleeping SO much better.

Even though he did just have an ear infection, he actually doesn't get them very often. I don't think he even had one last year. He had a few his first year. He does NOT have tubes, so the doc was right...it's not a given.

Hope you get some sleep soon. And Finn too!

Tausha said...

Poor little guy but don't be down on yourself that you didn't know. I hear it's hard to tell with any baby if they have an ear infection, etc. It's a crap shoot to know what is going on sometimes. I hope he gets feeling better soon and you get some sleep!! You are an amazing Mother.

Carla said...

Aw, Lisa, I hope Finn's ears and sinuses clear up soon! Poor little guy! You know, although he has been congested and not sleeping well since January that doesn't mean he has had the infections the whole time. Jasper was at the Dr. last Monday and his ears were perfectly clear...then on Thursday at the ER he had an ear infection. It can happen fast. Thinking of you!

Anonymous said...

Mine was really helped by the tubes too. More for hearing than for infections and they do help her drain. The adenoids out helped the most though for no colds. This year she's only had one bad cold and a very much briefer period of the snots! We see an ENT every six months and have an audiology eval at the same time. Our ENT is so good and we really have trust there. Heather is completely right about the peds being totally unable to see the eardrums until they get alot older- not the right equipment. And PS- tubes do fall out, sometimes very quickly so post tube ear infections sometimes mean they are no longer there.