August 2, 2013 visit
Traffic was a breeze. I can't remember ever being on the Beltway or Route 50 that early and had no standstills. There was some construction that held us up slightly on another street, but it wasn't bad. I left the house 1 hour and 10 minutes early and got there on time. It is a little distance away.
The visit went just as I expected. We talked about the increased dosage of the DMSA and how it has affected Jordan. Then I went down the list of changes I've noticed in him, positive and negative. From what I see he is actually more happy, she noticed that too. He is more involved with the family and spends a significantly less amount of time on the computer than he used to. His annunciation is also better, and he doesn't wait to be spoken to. When someone walks in a room he will say hi to them without prompting. However the negatives, his OCD. He must turn the light on and off then back on before entering a room. He has to touch your feet with his feet when getting up from a chair or sitting position. Also his stimming has become more pronounced. But to me these are minor considering the regression I could have seen. Such as loss of eye contact or speech. He still knows all he knew before, he just has to do certain things before he can move from a spot or room.
We had a brief discussion about the red blood cells and our concerns with the results after added the B12 (methylcobalamin). She explained what the terminology meant and why certain ones were high and low. I've gone over that with you before, but to recap, his red blood cells are small and pale, but there are more of them than there should be because they are making up for the smaller, less colored cells. And they are like that because of the lack of oxygen getting into his system. I have a post that explains all the things I've done to help with that naturally and what supplements can help with it as well. The last visit he had with his pediatrician she explained to me that iron is what helps. His DAN doctor agreed, however, his results are confusing. You see, if Jordan was having a problem with his iron, the hemoglobin (iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein) and hematocrit (percentage of the volume of whole blood that is made up of red blood cells) would be high and the MCV (indicates the volume of the "average" red cells in a sample of blood) and MCH (the average mass of hemoglobin per red blood cells in a sample of blood) would be low. His hemoglobin and hematocrit are normal and his MCV and MCH are low. Also his RDW (a parameter that measures variation in red blood cell size or red blood cell volume) is high which means there there is showing a change in the red blood cells but we don't know if it's for the better or taking a turn for the worse. She did put him on a liquid iron supplement :)We talked about his vitamin D levels as well and she was also confused as to why the levels went down. I told her that when I ran out of the 400 iu (I give him two capsules to equal 800 iu he is prescribed) I started to give him the 1000 iu instead. He's been taking that dosage for about 3 weeks. She said it was fine but in a month to go back to 800 iu. That's to be done because in the
short term it's fine, but because unlike some other vitamins, vitamin D is stored so it can be toxic in the long term. So after he returns to the smaller dosage I will have his vitamin D tested again.
The best part about the visit it when I go to pay. When she came back from leave her rate went up from 175 to 195. They let me know at the end of the last visit I had 3 months ago although she still charged me the 175. The end of this visit, still 175. I don't know if she keeps her rates at the lower price for those who have been with her long or her regulars, but I was happy to see that none the less. She is a great doctor and while I wouldn't mind paying the increase, it feels really good not to have to. That 20 will go towards the liquid iron supplement that is out of stock at this time.Side note: When going to pay, someone in her office walked by Jordan and he said hi to her first and she then spoke to him. And when we were at a stop light a lady on the street got my attention and she said how are you. In turn when she was done talking to me he said to her "Hi. How are you doing?" This was/is a really good day. To God be the glory.
