Thursday, July 31, 2008

so, not me then? him?!


in case you were wondering, it really is all about me. Me, me, me, me, me.

Except when I walk in to find the Eldest sleeping soundly in a puddle of his own blood. Blood caking his face, his tongue, pooling under his face. From his nose, apparently. Experienced hemo-mama that I am, the sight completely freaked me out. Who let the B movie horror flick into my bedroom? Sheesh. And holy mother of someone else's god - that was scary.

And yet still relatively small potatoes, if small potatoes with major irritation sauce. We've had three weeks of this now, with nosebleeds every day or two, sometimes once per day, sometimes twice. Some minor, some not so minor - none requiring a trip to the ER, mind you. Instead, we've kept our regular prophylactic schedule, dosing the kid with his clotting meds - and tossing in an extra medication designed just for bleeds in the mouth and nose.

Foul tasting stuff, that one, but I'd rather swallow it than the blood, he tells me. So, then.

Eventually, we noticed that the Eldest was bleeding primarily on the night before he got his clotting dose - when his capacity to clot was at it's lowest ebb. So, we shifted his schedule from every 48 hrs to every 36, just for a weekend. It helped a bit - but not enough. With the stepped up schedule, the Eldest did better, but he still needed the secondary medication. Stop that stuff, and back came the bleeding.

So, now what? We're stuck in a loop, depending on both medications. And tonight's bleed came while the Eldest's levels are high, leaving us suspicious. He should bleed less when he can clot more, unless the body just isn't getting enough of a chance to heal.

Now what?

I'll tell you one thing, though. Now? It's all him, him, him, him, him. And a bunch of laundry.

oh, child.

7 comments:

katrina said...

Sorry to hear about your troubles, mama. I hope he stops bleeding soon. Take care.

dykewife said...

oh dear :( poor boy! and poor mama!

i hope you find the balance that works soon.

Anonymous said...

OY VEY... poor little guy. I'm hoping it's not the dreaded "I" thing...Will keep him in my prayers for nose-bleed resolution.

Hugs, Mama!
:-D)

Rixblix said...

Are the allergies going bonkers too? What about a growth spurt? Or, can you bump up his units along with the 36 hour dosing schedule? And/or what about the "other medicine" on a cotton swab schmeared up the nose? I know it's supposed to go systemic, but mine seem to do just as well or better when they do a swish and spit for a mouth/gum/tongue bleed.

I'm thinking of you guys...

Anonymous said...

So, what you're saying is that a good host present for you guys would involve giant containers of laundry detergent and an extra hot water tank. Gotcha.

Nosebleeds, blah. Hope they go away soon.

Julia said...

Damn, woman. This is very scary even to read. Please tell me there is an innocuous explanation/solution to this. There is, right?

ZM said...

Nope, not inhibitors, not a growth spurt, not allergies irritating the tissues, and not even the a/c drying him out - we're mostly a/c free around here. Alas.

Just lousy engineering of the nose. But I'll edit the post to include today's update.