The Good News: Zach's cardiology checkup was great! He was 31.5 lbs, 39" tall, pulse ox 93, bp good, and echo good. Dr. R. said his heart looks great! His fenestration (a hole they made during surgery that acts as a "pop-off valve" ) is still open, so Dr. R. is putting in the request to Charleston for a heart cath in March. They will place a coil to close it and have a look around to make sure all is well.
The best part of the appointment was when Dr. R. said "We are going to stop the Lasix." Woo hoo!!! I am so glad to get rid of that. In case you don't know, Lasix is a diruetic. Diruetics and preschoolers do not go well together. Basically, when we give it to him, we have to stay home for the next 2 hours so he can go tee-tee every 15-20 minutes. Trying to get a 4 year old to stop playing every 15 minutes to go potty results in lots of complaints. Dealing with accidents during this 2 hour period has been frustrating. Hopefully, he will do well off of it and we can be lasix-free from now on!
The Bad News: We thought Zach was on the mend, but he spiked a fever again this afternoon. He also has a bit of a cough. Daddy promptly called and got an appointment at the pediatrician. They tested for strep (negative), flu (negative), AND pricked his finger (white count normal). Poor guy! They are culturing the blood and strep swab.
So, we are not sure what is going on. All I know is that this little bug that's causing him to feel so bad has overstayed its welcome. We have places to be and people to see and TURKEY to eat!
Hope your Thanksgiving is full of blessings!
Showing posts with label lasix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lasix. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Cardiology checkup
Zach's cardiology appointment went well today... except for the part about holding him down to remove... you guessed it --- THE BANDAID!!! The good news is that Dr. Raunikar said that we do not need to keep a bandaid on it anymore. Hallelujah!!!
He weighs 30.3 lbs, is 37.5 inches tall, good bp, good pulse ox at 90-92, EKG and echo looked good. He left him on the same doses of aspirin and enalipril and reduced his lasix to one time a day (Yay!!!). The poor kid gets a lot of exercise running back and forth to the potty after taking that lasix!
The doctor said he can start preschool when school starts but he cannot climb on the outdoor play equipment. I will have to check to see if they can accomodate him in that way. The other issue is that he is still on the fat-free diet until the end of the month, so we will have to provide all his food. You can imagine that this "hovering heart mom" is having a hard time with trusting that someone else will protect him from collisions, climbing, and fat-laden food. I also have to compile a list of symptoms for the preschool staff to look for in order to educate them about his condition. Fortunately, he will be at a preschool about 2 minutes away from my school.
Rebecca will be trying out for volleyball at her school next week. She loves the sport and is pretty good at it, so we are hopeful that she will make the team.
Speaking of school, I can't believe its almost here!!! I have been in my first-year-teacher class this week and will be officially starting next week. I am feeling overwhelmed and anxious but I am really excited to begin this new adventure! We welcome your prayers as we make these adjustments within our family.
He weighs 30.3 lbs, is 37.5 inches tall, good bp, good pulse ox at 90-92, EKG and echo looked good. He left him on the same doses of aspirin and enalipril and reduced his lasix to one time a day (Yay!!!). The poor kid gets a lot of exercise running back and forth to the potty after taking that lasix!
The doctor said he can start preschool when school starts but he cannot climb on the outdoor play equipment. I will have to check to see if they can accomodate him in that way. The other issue is that he is still on the fat-free diet until the end of the month, so we will have to provide all his food. You can imagine that this "hovering heart mom" is having a hard time with trusting that someone else will protect him from collisions, climbing, and fat-laden food. I also have to compile a list of symptoms for the preschool staff to look for in order to educate them about his condition. Fortunately, he will be at a preschool about 2 minutes away from my school.
Rebecca will be trying out for volleyball at her school next week. She loves the sport and is pretty good at it, so we are hopeful that she will make the team.
Speaking of school, I can't believe its almost here!!! I have been in my first-year-teacher class this week and will be officially starting next week. I am feeling overwhelmed and anxious but I am really excited to begin this new adventure! We welcome your prayers as we make these adjustments within our family.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Enalapril, Lasix, and Pull Ups
Zach had a follow up visit with the cardiologist this morning. If you'll remember, about 2 weeks ago, we told the dr that we had noticed that Zach had been breathing harder as he plays. We had another chest x-ray done and Dr. R. said it looked clearer (he saw pulmonary vascular congestion 2 weeks ago). Just in the past few days I have noticed that Zach's breathing has been a bit better, so maybe that was the cause.
We are still on Lasix 1x a day. That stuff sure does work quickly! We are diligent about going potty every 20-30 minutes for about 1.5 hours after he takes it and we wear a Pull Up just in case! So now, he is bumping us up from 2.0ml to 3.0ml of Enalapril 2x a day. That is a bigger increase than we have ever had before. He said that could increase tee-tee's too. Lovely. Anyone notice that a dosage increase of Enalapril affects behavior for a few days? We have seen that in the past.
The dr could have gone all day without making me realize that Zach's heart cath is a little over a month away. Yikes! In my mind, April seems like a year away. But I know it will be here before we know it! I am nervous --- it has been so long since we have had to have anything major done. Zach had the Glenn at 9 months and curcumcision at 16 months. Now that he is older, I an anxious about how he will deal with it all. This time, he will be very aware of everything that is going on. How will we prepare him? How have you prepared your Brave Hearts for procedures and surgeries? What worked and what didn't? Please post your ideas in comments.
More from the funny boy:
These boots are made for walking,
and that's just what they'll do.
One of these days
these boots are gonna walk all over you.
We are still on Lasix 1x a day. That stuff sure does work quickly! We are diligent about going potty every 20-30 minutes for about 1.5 hours after he takes it and we wear a Pull Up just in case! So now, he is bumping us up from 2.0ml to 3.0ml of Enalapril 2x a day. That is a bigger increase than we have ever had before. He said that could increase tee-tee's too. Lovely. Anyone notice that a dosage increase of Enalapril affects behavior for a few days? We have seen that in the past.
The dr could have gone all day without making me realize that Zach's heart cath is a little over a month away. Yikes! In my mind, April seems like a year away. But I know it will be here before we know it! I am nervous --- it has been so long since we have had to have anything major done. Zach had the Glenn at 9 months and curcumcision at 16 months. Now that he is older, I an anxious about how he will deal with it all. This time, he will be very aware of everything that is going on. How will we prepare him? How have you prepared your Brave Hearts for procedures and surgeries? What worked and what didn't? Please post your ideas in comments.
More from the funny boy:
and that's just what they'll do.
One of these days
these boots are gonna walk all over you.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Cardiology checkup
This morning, we had a checkup with Dr. Raunikar. He is so wonderful! He adores Zach and obviously loves what he does. He is very thorough and takes time to answer all our questions. We thank God for him!
If you'll recall, I talked to Dr. R. recently about Zach being out of breath, so we were a little anxious to see what this checkup would bring. Would Dr. R. see that Zach is getting "in trouble" --- that his heart function has decreased to the point that there needs to be an intervention (cath/surgery)? We have been members of this CHD family long enough to know that you must be prepared for unexpected news. It is all part of the journey, unfortunately.
I am so grateful that we are past the days of anxiety over these checkups. We still prepared Zach by talking about what they would be doing and since Zach loves to arrange "structions" in numbered lists, we told him he would have to:
Number 1: stand on the scale and see how much you weigh.
Number 2: let the nurse "hug" your arm to check your blood pressure.
Number 3: let the nurse wrap up your finger to check your oxygen saturation.
Number 4: lay down like a big boy and watch a movie while they take a look at your heart on the echo.
Number 5: talk to our buddy, Dr. Raunikar.
He was 30.1 lbs, up about 1/2 lb from his last visit not quite 2 months ago. His bp was good, heart rate was 112, and sats were 86-87. Dr. R. listened to his heart, lungs, felt his liver (an enlarged liver is a sign of heart failure), which was all normal. Zach happily chatted throughout the exam without a bit of fussing. Of course he giggled as Dr. R. pushed around on his belly to check his liver - lots of tickle-spots there!
He sent us across the hall for an echo and said that everything looks about the same as the last one. The med (enalapril) that Zach takes for his leaky valves is helping and he is increasing the dosage just a bit up to 2.0 ml 2xday.
He also sent us downstairs for a chest x-ray. We had not prepared Zach for this, so he was a bit anxious when we walked into radiology and he saw that huge machine. Daddy stayed right by his side though and he was just fine.
Dr. R saw some streakiness on the x-ray and said Zach may have some "vascular congestion" (I think that is what he called it). He is putting him on lasix for a while to see if he can "pee it off". Zach hasn't been on lasix since right after his last surgery. While he is potty trained, he does sometimes still have "ack-idents", so I am not looking forward to adding this. We plan on him wearing a pull-up for the first few days!
We go back for another chest x-ray on Feb. 23, so we'll see if his lungs look a little better and if his breathing improves. We are still on track for the heart cath April 6 and the Fontan sometime this summer.
It was a treat to see our friends who were there for their first checkup with Dr. R. They just got home from the hospital after Anna Grace's birth and first surgery. She is a cutie!
We are so thankful for Zach's continued progress, growth, and overall good health!
If you'll recall, I talked to Dr. R. recently about Zach being out of breath, so we were a little anxious to see what this checkup would bring. Would Dr. R. see that Zach is getting "in trouble" --- that his heart function has decreased to the point that there needs to be an intervention (cath/surgery)? We have been members of this CHD family long enough to know that you must be prepared for unexpected news. It is all part of the journey, unfortunately.
I am so grateful that we are past the days of anxiety over these checkups. We still prepared Zach by talking about what they would be doing and since Zach loves to arrange "structions" in numbered lists, we told him he would have to:
Number 1: stand on the scale and see how much you weigh.
Number 2: let the nurse "hug" your arm to check your blood pressure.
Number 3: let the nurse wrap up your finger to check your oxygen saturation.
Number 4: lay down like a big boy and watch a movie while they take a look at your heart on the echo.
Number 5: talk to our buddy, Dr. Raunikar.
He was 30.1 lbs, up about 1/2 lb from his last visit not quite 2 months ago. His bp was good, heart rate was 112, and sats were 86-87. Dr. R. listened to his heart, lungs, felt his liver (an enlarged liver is a sign of heart failure), which was all normal. Zach happily chatted throughout the exam without a bit of fussing. Of course he giggled as Dr. R. pushed around on his belly to check his liver - lots of tickle-spots there!
He sent us across the hall for an echo and said that everything looks about the same as the last one. The med (enalapril) that Zach takes for his leaky valves is helping and he is increasing the dosage just a bit up to 2.0 ml 2xday.
He also sent us downstairs for a chest x-ray. We had not prepared Zach for this, so he was a bit anxious when we walked into radiology and he saw that huge machine. Daddy stayed right by his side though and he was just fine.
Dr. R saw some streakiness on the x-ray and said Zach may have some "vascular congestion" (I think that is what he called it). He is putting him on lasix for a while to see if he can "pee it off". Zach hasn't been on lasix since right after his last surgery. While he is potty trained, he does sometimes still have "ack-idents", so I am not looking forward to adding this. We plan on him wearing a pull-up for the first few days!
We go back for another chest x-ray on Feb. 23, so we'll see if his lungs look a little better and if his breathing improves. We are still on track for the heart cath April 6 and the Fontan sometime this summer.
It was a treat to see our friends who were there for their first checkup with Dr. R. They just got home from the hospital after Anna Grace's birth and first surgery. She is a cutie!
We are so thankful for Zach's continued progress, growth, and overall good health!
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