ANOTHER UPDOSE DAY!

This morning Coby woke up and put on his new skechers and said, "I FEEL EMPOWERED TODAY!" Atta boy! You got this! My kid, thank G-d does have a healthy sense of self as evidenced by one of his spelling sentences this week (#7):

'I succeed in most of the things I do."

You got it cutie, Believe and you shall Achieve!!!!

In fact at our appointment today I 'passed Coby a note' (on my phone) which read, "you are my hero." He responded, 

I am brave

                                                                     I am strong 

I am cool

I am handsome 

I am cute

I am a boy

I am sweet 

I am pretty 

I am proud 

I am beautiful 

I am polite 

I am positive 

My name is Coby 

I love that kid with his amazing sense of self-worth!!!!

At Coby's pre-check to determine if he was okay to updose, he noticed a bag of peanuts from across the room and his immediate response was to shrink back in fear.


I reminded him, "Coby we are doing this with the goal being you eating this- you won't have to be afraid!"

They gave him the okay to updose and he was ready! Seven weeks straight of updosing!!!!!

Don't stop won't stop!

They doubled his dose and he updosed to 10 milligrams--- the equivalent of somewhere between 1/25th and 1/30th a peanut! 

Down the hatch!

And the hour of observation began. Same ol' same ol (mostly), talking, playing on the phone, boredom, fits of laughter, 20 minute nurse checks of peak flow (he actually hit his all time high of 220!), pulse, blood oxygen level etc etc. 

He hates this part- 'wearing' the pulse & oxygen monitor

Was it peanut juice or giggle juice?

At one point Coby began complaining of a stuffy nose and his little nose was giving off a 'whistley' sound as he inhaled, so they called the doctor for a more in depth check which she did. (It's always a bit nerve wracking when a couple of extra people come running in and completely close the 'hospital type curtain' between patients to get more privacy.)  She checked his nose, throat, his heart, listened to him breathe.... and thankfully it was just a fluke and he was okay (though she did say to keep him on the nose drops twice a day for a few more days before going back down to once a day.) Once the hour was up and the doctor rechecked him, he was declared as PASSED!!!! WOOT!!!!!

Our of curiosity I asked her, "I know waaaaaay down the road he gets cleared to eat items that may be cross contaminated- but I was wondering at what point do I not have to fear 'airborne' reactions as much anymore?" She told me that there is no clear cut answer to that, but being that he is getting up to a substantial fraction of a peanut- it is quite possible he would already no longer react to airborne! But she added, "DO NOT TEST IT OUT YET THOUGH!" She told me by the time he gets to the peanut flour capsules he should definitely be safe from an airborne reaction!

"How long until he gets to the capsules?"

"Six more updoses and then we switch from liquid from to capsules."

She also told me that for a while now they will not be 'double dosing' at each updose as they had been. I was afraid to ask why since I had read on the facebook OIT group that there are certain updose levels that kids are more prone to reactions. I am assuming it may be due to that but didn't want to hear her say it. On her own she did say that if they were to 'double up' the next few doses it would be "too big of a jump." And so I didn't ask her to elaborate. I was afraid of what I would hear.

So IYH if all goes well this week next week's updose will be going from 10mg to 15mg (which would be about 1/18th of a peanut).

But for now I am celebrating today's successful updose. (where Coby was able to updose, the weather was amenable for the drive, getting there on time, and me having memorized how to get home so I didn't have a panic attack when Ms. Waze crapped out on me!) Yep, another updose under our belt- and one step closer to our goal!

My kiddo is a true brave warrior and he knows it!

One quick sidebar---- OIT was featured on GOOD DAY NEW YORK earlier this week! The woman who was discussing it is a patient of Dr. Selter's too. It was exciting recognizing the office and nurses in the video. OIT getting publicity. Hurrah! They discussed the possibilities of helping ward off peanut allergies if infants are fed peanuts (IF THERE ARE NO WARNING SIGNS ALREADY (LIKE COBY HAD)- IF THERE ARE WARNING SIGNS DO NOT DO IT WITHOUT A DOCTOR!!!  The doctor in the video discussing peanuts in infancy was NOT from that office.)  

They also discussed the success and hopes of OIT and and the younger you are, the more chance of success!

The news reporter/interviewer himself seemed a bit lost and confused but our OIT fellow patient and near graduate did good!

If any of you are interested in seeing the video the link is: http://www.fox5ny.com/good-day/228481362-video