Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Back to square one?

So a few weeks ago we were back at the hospital meeting with Olivia's gastroentologist. We have been seeing him for over a year, he originally discovered how she is all clogged up and has had her on a laxative for over a year now. She is mostly cleared out now and has put on some weight but has hardly grown in height. I showed him her blood tests --indicating celiac disease and asked him about the biopsy my GP requested. We ended up having a conversation that went something like this.

Doctor: "Why did you even get this test done?" looking at the results....

Me: "Because Olivia's not growing and the GP was worried that progress wasn't being made."

Doctor: I hate this pathology center, they test everything correctly except celiac serontology. I am going to order a new blood test and analyse it myself and it WILL come back negative.

Me (thinking): why get a blood test if you have already decided what the outcome will be?

Doctor: If I had to do a biopsy on every positive celiac blood test I would never get to go home at 5:00

Me (thinking): well, I do pay you $400+ for one visit, you are the #1 at this posh private hospital in Sydney, so maybe a few late nights wouldn't kill you.

I finished up with him and then we went and got some more blood tests. He said he would call with the results in 3 weeks and if it was negative he would not see us again until 6 months. I figured since he already decided it would come back negative that I would start back at square one and go see an pediatric endocrinologist (dr.s who help kids grow). I haven't taken Olivia off of gluten yet, as we need her to eat it in order to get accurate tests for both her blood work and also for her biopsy. If the doctor won't do a biopsy then I might go gluten free without his consent. My grandparents sent me a book about going gluten free and Olivia fits all the typical symptoms to a T. In addition, after doing some homework, we discovered that her grandma has also tested positive for celiac disease, and her other grandma is allergic to yeast so --whether it is an allergic reaction to yeast or gluten we can hedge our bets by getting rid of the same food.

Overall, this might just be a smaller piece to the puzzle...I was kind of hoping it was the finally piece!

7 comments:

Danalisa said...

ugh, can't imagine all this run around of possible answers. must be so frustrating. I think I would have punched that Dr. so fair play to you for keeping your thoughts to yourself. haha I hope you get some answers soon...continued prayers!

Harry and Suzanne said...

How frustrating. Thank God Olivia has a Mom as you who follows through, and who will not give up until this is resolved. You remain in our prayers! One day at a time dearheart. Love you!

~adelle said...

Don't you just LOVE Doctors?? They drive me nuts. Can't wait to see what happens when you do take her off gluten. I hope it helps!!!

Jess, Andrew and Family said...

I'm so sorry! Doctors are so frustrating!! I've learned that you really have to go with your instinct as a mother and push for them to do what you feel is best. I hope you get some answers soon!

The Francis Family said...

I hope she starts growing soon. we love you!

Scott said...

Hope you can get to the bottom of this ... sometimes the answer is not so obvious even if the test comes back positive. Send me an email if you want to vent or have questions.

lrbodine said...

What a mess! Do you remember Lynsey and Natalie Woolf from our BYU ward? Both of them have Celiac disease and I am sure would be happy to talk to you about it! I know they got a huge run around about it at first!