Terrible Rash!

Ok, so last Sat. Tyler started coming up with these bumps. They looked like this at first:



Then, the next day, they started looking like this:





And then, later on in the afternoon, it looked like this:





So, I guess I'm feeling very grateful that this isn't itchy or painful. But, doesn't this LOOK like it should be painful or itchy? He hasn't displayed any other symptoms other than the external rash. The doctor thinks it is a reaction from the antibiotic that he was on the previous week. It is starting to clear up now, somewhat, but still looks pretty bad.

Again, I'm go grateful that he wasn't in misery with this stuff. Man, who would've thought that he would develop this a whole week after taking this antibiotic though? I mean, it is all over his body! It is terrible! Anyone else encountered anything like this, that went from small red bumps to something that "merged" together into big welts like this?

Naughty Spot

Hey, the naughty spot actually works. Or so I think right now. Tuesday night, Tyler hit Robert in the face with something. I was in the other room, and I heard him tell Tyler not to do that. Then I heard him tell him again, then it was the naughty spot happening. We've had the "naughty spot" already lined up and ready to go for a few weeks now. Robert pulled it out of the garage one night and said, this is it, this is going to be the naughty spot. It is a square cushion that says "Dallas Cowboys" on it. So anyway, when Robert began to implement the naughty spot for the first time, I went and grabbed the kitchen timer. "They" say that it's 1 minute per year of age, so I set it for 2 minutes and told Robert that HE needed to deal with it since it was a "crime" against him. So, he set him there, in the entryway, and told him to SIT there and not to move. He explained to him the reason for sitting on the naughty spot. I came in with the timer and said that when the timer went off, that he could get up, then I left the vicinity and let Robert handle the rest. He said Tyler sat there, but he would keep inching forward on the cushion. Robert went back a couple of times and put him back in the corner. Tyler wasn't actually getting up from the spot, but he was inching forward looking to see what Robert was doing. Robert would get up, push him back, not saying a word, and Tyler actually sat there! He didn't like it, but he did sit there for the full 2 minutes. Not bad for the first time.

Ok, so tonight (2 nights later), I was trying to start cooking dinner. Tyler was on the couch, and he KNOWS that he is not to stand or jump on the couch. He was testing me though. I told him once.... then I told him twice... then the third time, I said, "Tyler if you stand on the couch ONE MORE TIME, it will be the naughty spot. You have been warned!" He looked at me and he sat down, and actually got off the couch, and he never did it again. I was extremely impressed that just the mere mention of the naughty spot would make him mind like that!

We'll see if this keeps up!

Also yesterday, he was so cute. He was such an angel all day, after a hell day the day before. We were out on the back patio and the cats started fighting out in the yard. I told Tyler to “go tell those kitties to be nice” so he walked out closer to where they were, and he held up his hand (like he has learned that red light means STOP) and he says, “Meow, Bop.” Bop means STOP. It was so cute! He was telling them to STOP fighting by holding his hand up. Cracked me up big time.

Update on Tyler

Took Tyler to the doctor this morning. Of course, since he woke up, he hadn't hardly coughed at all, and his runny nose had disappeared. *sigh* So the doctor examined him and said he sounds good. Yeah, you should've heard him before! It is amazing that all it takes is making a doctor's appt. for Tyler's symptoms to subside. Not that I'm complaining. Of course I want him better. But dammit, at least have the symptoms long enough for me to feel like the doctor's appt. is worth the trip and the money. He did say he has a little bit of fluid in his right ear, but nothing too bad. His chest sounded good (I just cannot believe it!). I said since I had been giving him the doses of that antiobiotic from Mexico, should I go ahead and finish it. He said, sure, why not. He said it isn't the strongest antibiotic there is, and that he very rarely uses it, but it was ok. Well, maybe that explains why it sort of went away and came back so quickly. I thought they had GOOD drugs in Mexico. Bottom line is he is doing fine, much better, and is on the mend. I almost wish I hadn't kept him out of school today. He really is much better. Oh, the doctor said to also continue the breathing treatments through the week, just like I've been doing. I guess I have been doing all the right stuff all along. It just took awhile to kick in.

Clothes Shopping

I went clothes shopping Saturday with my Mother. It was the first time in well over a year. I used to get so disgusted shopping for clothes because I was getting to be such a huge heffer. I was up to a size 18 a year ago. Guess what I am now? A size 12! Can you believe it?! I've gone down THREE SIZES. It's all thanks to those Supreme Greens. Gotta love it! I actually got me some low-rise pants, instead of the Mom Jeans I had been wearing for like forever. I am not sure I am going to be able to get used to them. It feels like my pants are falling down all the time, so I find myself pulling up on them, which I'm sure is a very attractive habit to behold. Well, I'm going to give it more time. Granted, I'm not in my 20's or even 30's anymore, but I can still wear *some* of the latest fashions dammit!

Sick Tyler Again

Here's what I sent my pediatrician this morning. Better to just post that than try to explain it all again:

Dr. S,

As you may recall, I took Tyler on a trip to Acapulco, Mexico Feb. 12-19. The day that we left on the airplane (Sunday), he started with a clear, runny nose. By Monday, the discharge from his nose had turned to yellow. Then Monday night when he went to bed, he started the barking seal cough. I knew then that I would need to get him to a doctor the next day. When I took him to the doctor, he diagnosed him with bronchitis. I probed him for the possibility of croup, explaining to him that he had the croup a few months ago and was on nebulizer treatments for 12 days. He insisted that it wasn't the croup and put him on antibiotics. The antibiotic he put him on was called Cedax Suspension 36 mg/ml. He put him on 1/2 teaspoon for 5 days. He also went ahead and prescribed breathing treatments, although I think he only did that to satisfy me because of the discussion of croup. I did 3 breathing treatments (I don't know what medicine they used, but it was probably not the 2 medicines you prescribed) while we were there, then I discontinued them because the coughing had seemed to subside enough, and the antibiotic seemed to be helping. When we got back home the following Sunday, he had been coughing a little more that day, so I started him on the breathing treatments at home. I have been doing 1-2 treatments per day since then, skipping a day here and there. However, in the last few days, the cough has gotten substantially worse again, and I have now been doing the treatments again. In addition, I had some leftover Cedax, which I have given him the last 2 days, 1/2 teaspoon each day.

He has also been running a fever off and on the last couple of days. I have been giving him over-the-counter cold medicine and fever reducer when needed, in conjunction with some leftover medicines that you have prescribed:

1. Crantex syrup 7.5-100mg, dated 4/5/05, discard by 4/5/06, dosage: 1/2 teaspoonful every 4-6 hours as needed for congestion and cough. I still have quite a bit of this left, but I'm wondering if the dosage can be increased since it doesn't seem to be doing too much for him. I have given him 3/4 teaspoon at times, but I want to make sure that is ok.

2. H-C Tussive syrup, substituted for Histussin-HC syrup, dated 11/23/05, discard by 11/23/06, dosage: 1/2 teaspoonful every 4-6 hours as needed for congestion and cough. I am almost out of this. I have also given him 3/4 teaspoonful at times, and again, I want to make sure this is ok.

Should I refill #2 above (and maybe increase the dosage, as I asked), or is #1 above just as good? If #1 is just as good, it expires in April of this year.... how concerned should I be about this expiration date?

Neither of these cough medicines are doing the trick. He is still coughing pretty bad, and it seems to be getting worse. However, I have only given him 2 days worth of the antibiotic I had left over from Mexico. Perhaps I should continue the antibiotic another day or two and hope it starts clearing up? It just seems that he never *completely* got over the original bout with this. It cleared up somewhat, then started coming back. I am still uncertain whether it was a good diagnosis on the Mexican doctor's part. Plus, I had issues with him about the dosage of antibiotic. The reason I had my doubts is because I know that usually when you prescribe him an antibiotic, you usually start off with day 1, 1 tsp, then you finish it ALL off with 1/2 tsp each day until GONE. In the case of this medicine, it was only 1/2 tsp from day 1, and when done with all 5 days of medicine, there was still a 1/2 bottle left. Which is why I still have some. I think perhaps he didn't get a full dose of the antibiotic in the first place? Of course I could be wrong. I am not a doctor. I tried discussing it with him, and we had a hard time discussing the dosages. Their dosages are different than ours. That's why he wrote it out in ML instead of tsp's so that there wouldn't be a discrepancy in dosage.

Let me know what you think I should do. Thanks.

Then, a second email:

Dr. S,

Just to try to clarify the confusion over the dosage of the antiobiotic he prescribed..... he told me *verbally* to give him 1 tsp per day for 5 days, but his prescription was for 2.5 ml per day. I tried explaining to him that on *my* syringe, 1 tsp = 5 ml. He said that was why he wrote it in ml. His rationale was that ml is a global measurement, whereas a "teaspoon" wasn't, so this way, we would avoid confusion over "teaspoons" (their "teaspoons" are different than ours apparently???). I guess my main concern is that he really should've been prescribing 5 ml, which is 1 of "our" teaspoons in the U.S. If I had given him 1 tsp per day for 5 days, then ALL of the antiobiotic would've been used. It called for 25 ml of water to add to the powder mixture. Common sense tells you that 5 ml per day for 5 days would have equaled the 25 ml of water added to the mixture. When I tried discussing this with him, he insisted that the dosage should be 2.5 ml per day. Well, 2.5 X 5 only equals 12.5, which is only half of the antiobotic that was in the bottle. So that is why I was unsure of his dosage. I guess they do things differently there. Usually the antiobotic is totally gone when done.

Anyway, the reason I posted this was I found it SO frustrating when I was there, trying to get my point across to this doctor about the dosages. We will see what my doctor says about all this. Hopefully he has heard of this particular antibiotic. If it is the croup though, I think last time he prescribed steroids for that, so the antibiotic might not even be the correct thing. We shall see....

Which Sports Car are You?

Courtesy of my Mother, I took this test:

I'm a Mazda RX-8!

You're sporty, yet practical, and you have a style of your own. You like to have fun, and you like to bring friends along for the ride, but when it comes time for everyday chores, you're willing to do your part.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Not so sure I agree. I thought I would be a more practical car. ;)

Dirty Diaper???

So, I went to pick up my stuff from the Divine Consign sale on Friday night, and there in the parking lot, right next to where I parked, was a dirty diaper. What is wrong with people? This isn't the first time I've seen this. If you can't find a trash can, then put it in a plastic bag and throw it away later, people!