The Allergist

So, we had a visit with the allergist yesterday. Even though the ONLY things that could have helpes a little better for Zoe: a few books, and a coloring book and crayons, had been forgotten at home, I did have a snack, and some of her favorite little toys that even if she does not have a house to play with at home, she uses her imagination. Fast Forward to the Allergist's office: NO IMAGINATION!! Just tried to push every button on mommy that was possible!! So I had to fill out paperwork, and she was just running around the waiting room, then I couldn't remember the exact name of the (I think dermatitus) on her face that she gets, and gets a facial reaction when she eats things, and THIS is the MAIN reason we were there! FORGOT THE NAME AND DIDN'T WITE IT DOWN!! So completely forgot this because she wasn't listening to me. Then I didn't get to finish the paperwork, amongst that the receptionist took the insurance cards, and forgot to hand them back to me. Then we were called into the office, and Zoe can't sit still obviously for the 10 minutes that he wants to consult for. So after that, we go to the waiting room, and then they call us into the exam room. The nurse TRIES to check her blood pressure, and they dont have a cuf small enough, so I am SURE she guessed with what she had with 1 check of her blood pressure. Then they ask that I take her shirt off. Then I do that, he comes back in, Zoe has no background with this guy, and she doesn't like him poking and prodding her, but he tries to look for the former perforation spot in her ear, still tries to tell me that it most likely wasn't a perforation, says that her tonsils are a little big, but not so big that we should worry about them having to be removed unless the ENT says to next week. Other than that he won't remove them (over my dead body would I even ASK this guy to actually perform surgery on her.) Any how, he checked her heart too. So got that all done, and we go out to the waiting room, and he calls us into the office. He talks on, (he is of India-Indian descent, so it is hard to understand him in the first place) and then hands me some info and directions to follow along with the script for her blood-draw. He also BARELY talked about indoor/outdoor allergies, and didn't even test for any of these specific allergens, for in/outdoors, just the wheat/soy family, and another family of allergens, and the mangoe's and pumpkin specifically. As this is what she has had a problem with in the past. Then the nurse gives me more info, and schedules the follow-up for in a month, and hands me MORE information. So then I look at the sheet to the blood draw places, and see there is one near Matt's work. I head to my mom's quick to see were the blood place, and his work are in relation, as Matt said don't come get me until I call. It is really close by, and near the time he gets out, so I head over to the blood-draw place. Then I discover that I don't have her insurance cards! I call the office, they have them there, I could pick them up, well I am halfway to the blood draw, and could they mail them? No, they want to make sure I directly get them. OK. Get to the blood draw place, I need the Insurance Cards. Great! They offer to call, and have them fax the copy, OK, so then 10-15 minutes pass, NO FAX! Then we decide to call them agian. They say they sent it, and to the number I gave them. Well I never got it. So they sent it agian, it goes through. Yay! Then in a few minutes we get called in for the draw. I get Zoe settled, and because it was so crazy already, when the lady touched her, and her wrists turned a small pink, and I noticed it, but it didn't alarm off to me. Plus we had been in the office for at least 45 minutes already. Then she cries through the whole blood draw, and then we leave to get Matt becuase he had already called. Even though I told him EXACTLY where we were, he thought we were in Troy, and he got a ride home from someone. OK, so we head home too. Then there is an accident right at the border of town, so we were stuck in traffic for 10-20 minutes. It was a car who had a crashed in front-end, and the Firefighters were there directing traffic around, etc. We get home, and Matt is here, and get our things off, and I noticed Zoe's wrists were more pink, and dried up-in the pink area. So I wait a bit more, and there isn't much change. So I call the pediatrition, and they say give Benadryl for the allergy, and check with the draw place that they use Latex gloves, and Tylenol for the pain from the draw. OK. Did all that, she wakes up in the AM and her cheeks are slightly pink, along with her wrists. Give her more Benadryl, and call the Lab. Yes, they use Latex, unless you ask them not to, and with her symptoms, always ask for non-latex in the future, and she kind-of acted like, how didn't I know this before? And Zoe has not had that much exposure to latex, if at all because the doc's don't use them, and who know's about the hosptial, and the dentist uses both. SO! Now she is allergic to Latex! I sit down to read through all of this material. I ended up with at least 2 each of the Arthritus, and Diabetes Magizines (just the general kind in the doctor's office) and 2 of these catalogs with EXPENSIVE HEPA/Good for people with allergies things. Which I would like to hope that I can get them in the Dept. store, but not for the price in this catalog. There was another pamphlet with some cheaper items in it too. Also some brochures on if you love your child, you will get him this thing or that, obviously if your child is seriously inhibited by indoor allergies, I believe that would be best, but otherwise, do the best you can. So there was also a TON of nfo about indoor/outdoor allergies, and then I was really confused. Part of it was that I probably could not understand him well, Zoe was interrupting ALOT, and that he seemed to focus on the perforated eardrum, and cold remidies, and stopping a cold before she got it into an ear infection, and her mango/pumpkin allergy. ARGH! So I called everyone and alerted them to the Latex allergy, and then also asked that our Ped. call me back, as I am awfully confused, and should I take this info from the allergist about giving her cld meds at the first sign of a cold, and all of this other stuff the allergist gave me. So I will update later!