Test Results!

Wow, I never expect test results early! I got a call from the dr at Children's Hospital yesterday. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of dealing with a complicated diamond trade in at work, and missed the call. So then we played phone tag for the rest of the day.



Good news - it does not appear that anything remarkably scary is going on. Happy, Happy, joy, joy! The dr said the G has two separate, non-related things going on, causing her mysterious skin issues, that occurred simultaneously. One is actually a form of hives. The other is a non traditional form of psoriasis. Viewed together, they either 1)resembled something very scary or 2) something that didn't really have distinct features of any one issue. Both were caused by......are you ready for this? Her strep infection back in late May.

Strep apparently can be a trigger for causing psoriasis in people who have had no previous indication or family history of this disease. Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disease. G was dx'd with Strep, put on antibiotics AND prednisone because she also had hives - the hives were the reason we took her to the ER initially. Bad call on treatment on the dr's part, apparently - the body is dealing with strep and you are weakening the body's immune response at the same time. I was told that the preferred way of dealing with this would have been to first use 2 different antihistimines, 1 taken in the am and 1 in the pm. Prednisone should have been used only if there was no response to the antihistimines or if we had a life threatening reaction. Also, they really dosed her with too much prednisone - they didn't take into account her low body weight of only 36 pounds.

The hives are, in part, actually an extension of the SAME hives from late May. Hives can, in some cases, go on for up to 2 months from the same reaction. Especially when prednisone is added to the mix. Her hives were never sufficiently or adequately treated. Then, the one steriod cream that we have been using on her skin for the "eczema" was also causing her skin to react, and aggrevating the skin reaction.

This is what I've feared with G for the past two years - issues actually caused by drs. Especially the dr here in our hometown, who make instant, snap decisions based on only the most common issue they can think of. And don't listen to us one iota. We've been through 2 dr's for the kids - one was a family care dr, our current one is a pediatrician. It is just not feasible to drive to Milwaukee for everyday, routine care. But to think that this current issue and G's misery was CAUSED by something that was supposed to help her......

So, we are to immediately cease with any of the creams that the dr prescribed for her non-existant eczema (ok, I'm sure you can sense a bit of bitterness there....).

She is to take Claritin in the AM, and a stronger, prescription antihistimine at night (it is supposed to make her sleepy - it seemed to jazz her up last night, actually....). We are to continue both antihistimines for a full 2 weeks AFTER we see the last bit of the uticaria.

G has two new creams for her skin. One is a actually form of Vitamin D3. We use these to try and get the autoimmune reaction to settle down on her skin. When we got back to Children's in October to see the specialist we see for her asthma/breathing issues, we are now to also make an appt as well for the dermatology clinic so that they can follow her. One thing that is concerning them (and us) is that G is reporting joint pain since the strep infection. Psoriasis can trigger Psoriatic arthritis (which is completely different that rhumatiod arthritis) and be quite serious. So we need to report any worsening of this condition and any swelling immediately. I still can't believe that this was all triggered by the strep.......

We are now down to 8 medications.

G, as usual, takes everything in stride, even making jokes about us having the opportunity to see the rare, "elusive spotted, G"