Feeling very alone...LO sick could use any pearls of wisdom

[Marnica]

My DS is 18 months old and just developed a a cough thursday. It was no big deal but by least night he was wheezing and his cough sounded junkier. We had happened to be in for his 18 month visit yesterday and the doc had listened to his chest and said it didn't sound too bad but that he was obviously coming down with something. Within 3 hrs of that appt yesterday the wheezing started. I really do not like allopathic medicine and so far have been able to treat whatever bug DS has had with natural stuff at home and we also see an ND....even his last chest cold that they ped wanted to give antibitics for we avoided them and treated naturally with success.

Anyway the wheezing was scary and by this morning had worsened. I called and we took him back to the ped. She said there was gunk in the lungs and he needed a breathing treatment. Ok I really didn't want to give him any drugs, but I'm not unreasonable so he had a treatment in the office and she sent us home with a nebeulizer and we are to do it every 4-6 hours. She also wanted him to start antibiotics (big surprise) she knows I am very crunchy and that DS also sees a ND (who is unavaliable on the weekends ) She said we could hold off on the abx to see how the treatments work. She also said if the treatments don't help much, he would need inhaled steroids ....(ummmm yeah I am so not going there if I can help it)

He has always been sick alot but usually it is mild and we handle it with what nature offers with no problems....sitting there in the office giving him that treatment while he cried like I was torturing him has been the worse parenting moment for me so far. I know people have had much worse happen to their kids and I don't mean to diminish that at all. I am just stating my own experience.

I'm just worried and scared and I have no one to talk to as my DH doesn't really understand my mistrust of allopathic medicine and thinks we should just do whatever the ped says. I have a call into our ND butI don't think he''s call back until Monday. In the mean time I have him on natural stuff that he has taken for chest congestion before...lots of vit c and elderberry syrup.

Any others moms who generally don't resort to allopathic meds (or trust them much either) out there?? I need to hear from you guys!

[MommaLura]

well, I don't have much advise, but totally understand your lack of trust in traditional doctors. I took my ds in on Wednesday because he was coughing so hard he threw up. All the ped saw was an ear infection and gave us a prescription for antibiotics. I feel antibiotics are over prescribed and have caused many problems. There are many other ways. It's awesome you have an ND, I'm jealous. Hugs, mama!!! I'd hang in there till Monday if you can. You're an awesome mommy and you're doing what you can to help him.

[Panserbjørne]

Hugs, mama. I am one of those people. My kids have never had OTC or prescription meds. They have, however been sick. I do have excellent practitioners and am lucky enough to be in a state where naturopaths are licensed. My doctors have always had call services so I could get help.

Now I would be using homeopathy (ipecac if the coughing and wheezing was bad, but maybe ant tart if he's gunky and not moving it) for my kiddo in this situation along with unda numbers and maybe cell salts. I would also be doing wet sock treatments to loosen the gunk and boost the immune system, garlic poultices and castor oil packs to encourage drainage. I would be using EO's in an infuser if needed-ones with an affinity for the lungs...we often combine things like eucalyptus, camphor and rosemary or sandalwood. There are so many things you can do but it's really best if you have support with such a little one.

I hope things improve for you and that you do hear back. I know you are a dedicated mama but know also that if he needs more treatments then that is the best thing for him. I really find in these situations no matter what path you end up on having faith is imperative. I happen to believe that it's better to go the allopathic route and believe it will help than go all natural if you doubt it will. Being in alignment is a big deal to me. I know you totally believe in the natural path, but my point is if he does go the allopathic route, embrace it and be thankful for it. The outcome will be better if you can.

Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does it's okay. Kiddos are resilient. They are amazingly strong and it's not the end of the world! Natural medicine is always my first choice, but if it ever wasn't an option or wasn't enough I'd happily go with the alternative and my kids would be fine-just like yours will be.

[Marnica]

Thank tou both! I have given him more breathing treatments...I guess Im ok with these and will continue with them...they are helping. I have filled the abx rx but have not given him any yet. I want to hold off and see if he can kick this without them. I will give them if he gets any worse though.

Panserbjørne I am alternating Ipecac and ant tart at the recomendation of MY ND who I called because I couldn't get DS's ND on the phone (yep we have 2 different ND's....not ideal, but convenient.) I also tried a mustard poltice, but he screamed bloody murder and he won't tolerate wet socks either. I am running a vaporizer in his room with eucalyptus oil in it (only oil I have in the house right now) His ND finally called back and had a few other suggestions but actually told me to go ahead and do the abx!!! That we could do "damage control" after the fact. I was kind of shocked actually. I am still holding off until morning and hope it doesn't come down the abx but am prepared to give them if he gets any worse.

It's so lonely here...following a natural path is not easy when you are not surrounded by people who share your beliefs.

[f&p'smama]

One of my DDs had a rare physical condition that caused her to be hospitalized with low oxygen saturation levels each time she got a cold. Nothing they offered helped because it had a physical cause, a compressed trachea, that could only be treated with surgery when she was 13 months old.

My other DD has asthma. She was hospitalized with pneumonia last spring.

So I know what it's like to watch your baby struggle to breathe. It is *very* scary. I felt hopeless and very worried.

Are they rx-ing ABX because they think he has pneumonia?

It is my understanding that the medication in breathing treatments have a short half-life and even if you have to do inhaled steroids, which I hope you don't, they don't have a systemic effect, or a very limited one.

Part of what feels tricky for me as a parent is making medical decisions that effect someone else. If I choose allopathic or alternative treatments for myself, I feel better with the risk/benefit decisions. It feels more intimidating to make those kinds of choices for someone else.

I hope your little one gets better quickly! Take care of yourself, too, mama!

[Panserbjørne]

I hear ya mama. I'm glad your ND called back. I hope you feel good about the path. How are you both doing now?

[jeliphish]

I believe that abx are over prescribed but I also believe that they are needed and warrented in some cases. DD1 has had abx twice in her life and they were definitely needed. Has your LO had abx before? If your ND feels they are warranted and the other more natural treatments aren't helping - why not start them? Especially if your LO hasn't been over prescribed them in the past. Following a natural path is great but I don't think beliefs should be part of the equasion if there is a medical need. Weezing and low O2 saturation are concerning and if it is a bacterial infection that has been getting worse and has settled in his lungs, abx may be the safest option.

[Marnica]

Well...I caved and gave him the abx this morning. Feel pretty crappy about it, but his chest sounds so congested and just awful that I understand their concern about pneumonia. I guess when lungs are that little...things can progress very fast. I certainly would feel even worse if it turned into pneumonia and I could have prevented it from getting to that stage by just giving him the abx...so here we are. I have to just know that I'm doing the best I can and feel ok in that despite him taking the abx, I also am giving him lots of others natural things that may diminish the effects of the abx, and that I do use them judiciuosly. It's hard for mr to get over the feeling that I'm feeding him poisin though...I know not rational, but that is how deep my mistrust and dislike of allopathic medicine goes!!
f&p'smama glad your LO's are ok. That must have been so scary to go through a surgery when they are so young! I don't think the docs are rx abx because they think he has pneumonia now, but think it's a bacterial infection that if not tx now could turn into pneumonia. How they know its bacterial and not viral I don't know. I think they guess and rx to cover their bases.


jeliphish...he has had abx once before but only for 2 days..he got a rash and we d/c'd them and I decided he didn't really need them anyway because he was getting better and the ND and ped concurred and sure enough, he recovered fine without finishing the entire 10 day course. Incidentally the ped said that he probably hadn't needed them in the fist place since 2 days on amoxicillin was not enough to have him improve as he had. Another reason I take a wait and see approach. I think giving them right away often times results in unneeded courses.

I got into natural medicine after my career was already established and I will be done paying off my student loans in my 60's! But I often regret the field I chose and wish I had discovered this interest and passion for natural medicine long ago. I would have gone to school to be an ND or a homeopath. People tell me I can always change careers and I tell them if they are offering to pay my way Ill enroll tomorrow!!

[lonegirl]

Originally Posted by Marnica

jeliphish...he has had abx once before but only for 2 days..he got a rash and we d/c'd them and I decided he didn't really need them anyway because he was getting better and the ND concurred and sure enough, he recovered fine without finishing the entire 10 day course.

Just a quick note....I hope that you don't always stop your course of abx mid way once you start feeling better. This of course helps cause the problems of antibiotic resistance. It is important that if you do start antibiotics that they are taken correctly.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by lonegirl

Just a quick note....I hope that you don't always stop your course of abx mid way once you start feeling better. This of course helps cause the problems of antibiotic resistance. It is important that if you do start antibiotics that they are taken correctly.

I am aware of how to take antibiotics "correctly" I am no stranger to them having been on them way too much as a child. As I said above the last and only time he took them he developed a rash and I was instructed by the doctor to stop. She didn't feel the need to prescribe a a different one. Once I have chosen a course of action whether that be natural or otherwise, I will follow the directions of whoever is prescribing that intervention.

[Mammo2Sammo]

We are in the process of switching to a more natural way of healing. It feels right and I have seen great results.
I also highly distrust allopathic doctors. I have too often seen the greatest doctors in my area tell me that they can't help and throw up there hands, and then I find that I could do quite a lot, just not there way.

It is not an easy path right now, since I feel like I'm in the toddler or young child stage of my learning. But it is exciting and that every time I use a natural method I take one more step towards the path I want, and every time I do a allopathic treatment, I still take one more step towards the path I want, because it is a learning experience and the thinking and decision making I do keeps on getting me closer. It is a journey and every time we are able to do a natural treatment, I believe our bodies are stronger to handle the occasional allopathic treatment we might still need to do.