Friday, July 06, 2007

Here Comes The Weekend

I think I'm mostly over my freaking out about the peanut test. As with the initial diagnosis two years ago, I'm WELL aware that there are things far scarier and worrisome that could happen. We'll deal.

I am, however, disappointed in myself because (whether it contributed or not)I've slacked on my label reading. I need to remember to read every label every time. That's how you catch changes in labeling... like those on Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips; and how you discover things that you would never suspect to have peanuts...like Sunmaid yogurt covered raisins.

My list of questions for the Dr is growing; first and foremost is wondering if this large jump in result suggests that she won't outgrow the allergy.

To answer Jenn's question, which just popped into my inbox: a lower number is better. Approximately 20% of children will outgrow their peanut allergy, and E3's Dr looks at a result of 2 to be the golden number to qualify for a challenge test. A challenge test is exposing the patient to the allergen, in a controlled environment like Children's Hospital, to see if they react. It's something that should never be tried at home when you're looking at the possibility of an anaphylactic reaction, which can be life-threatening in a short amount of time.

Some websites I've found helpful include: ABC Peanuts , Peanut Aware , Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network

We've been hopeful that E3 would outgrow the allergy before she begins kindergarten because thus far, our school has no peanut allergy plan in place. So, yeah, to have that result come back at a 26 was a bit of a shock.

In other news, I've got a couple of other posts rolling around in my head that I want to get banged out, but I don't know when they'll happen.

This weekend we have our 11th annual party to celebrate our move into this house and I should be cleaning in anticipation of that.

Today I re-painted a wall in our basement bathroom - finally - and if you knew the saga behind that you'd be high-fiving your computer monitor right now. During my painting session E1 and E2 were cleaning up the explosion of craft supplies right outside the bathroom door and in the process questioned, "Mom, what are these?".

Photo courtesy of giggling E1

"Oh, that's Bud Man. They're salt and pepper shakers."

momentary silence...followed by giggling...

E2: "Hi! I'm Butt Man! I deliver salt!"

Who can remain pissed off at The Evil Peanuts when they've got Butt Man on their side to deliver seasonings?


*My working week's so tough
I think I've had enough
Until the weekend*

5 comments:

Glenda said...

I'm glad you explained more about the test and result -- I tried to ask the question but blogger went whackadoo on me so I finally gave up. Glad someone else asked!

That *is* a bummer the number increased so much, and that you have to be constantly diligent about reading labels, even labels for products you've bought before.
Sounds like you'll be pushing to get a peanut allergy plan in place at the girls' school before E3 starts (can't imagine why they haven't taken care of that already).

Congrats on getting the repaint done. LOL about Bud Man = Butt Man; kids crack me up (haha, I made a pun!).

Anonymous said...

The Bud man twins are cute! I won;t give the baby peanuts yet. TOo scared about allergies. I can't wait to own a home!!

Lisa said...

Wow.

For the record, I think G-town has some sort of "kinda sorta" plan in place... As in no one can bring peanut-butter products to school. That's what someone was telling me. Frankly, I'm surprised there is no plan in place at the 3E's school. (At Seth's kid's day out there was a room for kids who had the peanut allergies and one for the kids who didn't. (There were quite a few in the allergies room so it wasn't like 2 or 3 kids were being singled out or anything.)

Anonymous said...

E2 is freaking hilarious! That made my month!

Christine

Jenn said...

Thank you for the explaination! Now I completely understand why the results had you so upset. I've heard some kids have the peanut allergy SO bad that even just touching something with peanuts can cause a reaction.

I don't think my school district has that kind of plan in place...at least not that has been publicized. I guess it's a good thing Unruly won't go near peanut butter with a ten-foot pole anyway. She can't stand the stuff.

Oooh..Bud Man! I haven't seen Bud "Butt" Man in AGES!