Clinic Update

Clinic on Monday went well. I have always loved clinic days. It may be a nearly three hour appointment (where I must juggle entertainment for a two year old all while discussing very serious medical jargon) with Lucy's CF medical team, but I figure since we only see them every three months that it averages an hour per month to catch them up and touch bases on what is going on with Lucy.

Like I mentioned here last weekend, Lucy's stomach has been so screwed up and not normal for her. She has always had more severe stomach issues than the lung issues all beginning at birth with the meconium ileus, but it seems to be getting worse as she ages. The rectal prolapses are becoming more and more frequent, her stools are greasier and more explosive and extremely painful for her.

The consensus at clinic is that she needs to go on what is called a PPI (Proton Pump Inhibitor). She will be placed on the PPI called Nexium. A PPI is the strongest acid reducer on the market today. The difference between something like over-the-counter Rolaids or Tums (antacids) to help with your acidic stomach after eating a huge burrito, and the Nexium (PPI) that Lucy will be taking up to twice daily is that the Tums just reacts by neutralizing the already existing acid in the stomach. Lucy's new medication will actually work to inhibit production of the acid in her stomach, knocking it out before it even gets released into her little tummy.

Here's what happens when there is way too much acid in her stomach, and why she needs to take it to relieve some of her symptoms:

The enzymes that Lucy takes every time she eats to help her digest food need to be in an alkaline (opposite of acidic) environment in her small intestine to work properly. If her stomach is making too much acid and the acid is being released from her tummy to her intestines, then the enzymes cannot work! If the enzymes cannot do their job then she gets bloated, gassy, painful, greasy stools, rectal prolapses, constipation, blockages in the intestine (poop unable to go anywhere), and anal leakage (grease).

With all that said...I HOPE THE NEXIUM WORKS! We had an appointment yesterday with the GI guy, and he ordered some x-rays to be done of her abdomen again to check for any blockages. We'll be going tomorrow morning to get "pictures" taken of Lucy's insides. She really loves getting them done when I tell her it's a picture. She smiles for it and everything!

Everything else about clinic was great! Her weight was still average on the percentile scale. Her weight did drop about 4% since the last time we saw the team three months ago, but we attribute that to summertime activities. She'll shoot back up during the holidays with all the goodies we bake around here! I'm not worried.