Anyone who knows me also knows that I deal with food allergies with my son. We went in for a check up last week and have gotten a new doctor. I find out that she wants to retest all of the food. This includes a blood test, patch test and scratch test. Ugh! It can't be true. My son has anxiety about the blood and scratch test as soon as he hears the words. I have anxiety because I have more to do the two weeks before school starts. But we are both happy to hear that an endoscopy is not needed this time around!
So we got the blood test done right away. I make an appointment to make sure we don't sit in the waiting room forever and my son getting more and more worked up about what is about to happen. A lady waiting tells me she had an appointment for an hour ago. So I decide I am not going to wait that long. I plan my words out carefully. When I am called up to fill out papers I say "I hear there is an hour wait time." I am told yes. "Why is that?" I am told they are short on staff. "Well, I made an appointment. Don't you take people with an appointment at their appointment time? Ahead of the people who walk in?" Then I go on about how my son has anxiety problems and I made the appointment so he wouldn't have to deal with waiting. So guess what? They take me back right away after the lady who had been waiting for an hour! I was so glad that I said something.
Now fast forward to this week. Yesterday we go back to the allergist to get the patches put on. These are sticky paper strips with a metal disk in the middle to hold the food on the back for 24 to 48 hours. We leave after 10 minutes, everything is fine and stuck on well. We then are off to see the pediatrician because asthma has become a problem again. I can't believe what I am hearing from the Doctor! I need to take him in for valley fever tests! Chest x rays and a blood test. Not another blood test! Well, by the time we get home the patches are falling off. It's hot and humid. I try my best to use the extra tape they sent home with me, but it's just not working! I try band aids, not working. After dinner I go to CVS and the pharmacist suggests a super adhesive band aid. It works better, but not perfect (which you know is what I want). But I am so done messing with this. This is what his back looks like tonight.




So today I had to go in for the valley fever x ray and blood test. I have to walk into the x ray place and wait. I make sure to ask them if the patches with the metal disks will affect the x ray. The receptionist tells me they won't. They are really nice and tell me it will be 45 minutes to an hour wait and I can leave and come back. So I take the kids to a McDonald's across the street to play. That was so nice! When I get back we are called in and I ask the x ray tech about the food allergy patches. She told me that she would have to take them off and then to the x ray. I tell her "Oh no! We can't take them off. I will just have to come back." Do you know how frustrated I am at this point? But I don't loose it and I leave and will have to go back later this week now. We do get the blood test done and we are done for the day! By the way, I am super proud of my son! He did both blood tests without going crazy, which usually happens when needles are involved. He got rewarded with a movie rental both times.
More tomorrow because we get the patches off! YIPPEE!!