G.I. recheck....

We took Luke to see the gasteroenterologist on Tuesday (remember, I told you I would tell you more about that in my last post???) We were meeting with him in order that we might get some much needed clarification on the possibility of Luke having that colonoscopy and to review his lab work. Ty and I went into the appointment from the perspective that should the doctor feel that the colonoscopy was absolutely a necessity, then we would most certainly go ahead with it. BUT...we also felt very strongly that if there was any way that our doctor believed it would be alright to delay or dismiss the procedure, then that is what we would prefer. Primarily, we felt this way because of the trauma Luke would go through in preparation for the procedure and the effect of that on his little 3-year-old heart. He just seems so young to us to have to go through something so yucky if it isn't absolutely necessary! And prior to the appointment, I believed that the preparation entailed quite a lot more than what it actually will/would be, since my only experiences with pediatric colonoscopies were from when I worked at the Children's hospital. (More on that in a minute.) Secondary to the trauma, but also weighing on our minds, was the fact that the procedure itself was going to cost us upwards of $1600 to complete, which is quiet a hefty chunk of change for us! We would absolutely spend the money if the test were warranted, but we wanted to do our due-diligence and make sure it was first!!

In support of our wanting to wait, all of Luke's lab work has come back clear, with no indications of infection, inflammation or the like in his bowel. Further still is the fact that he has not had anymore episodes of that toilet-filling kind of bleeding that he had a couple of times prior to seeing our GI guy! He still has tiny amounts of blood on the paper after he goes potty, but that is more indicative of the small fissure he still has rather than the possible polyp(s). So......with all those things in mind, the doctor agreed with our desire to hold off on the colonoscopy until if/when he shows further symptoms. He seemed perfectly okay with our assessment of the situation and did not seem as concerned as he first was, I think mostly because the bleeding has not persisted.

The doctor does want us to alter Luke's diet just a smidge...no cheese for a few weeks, to (hopefully) allow that fissure to heal. Cheese is binding, you know, which can cause more straining, which in turn leads to tearing that fissure open again. Ouch!! So, not a big deal in the scheme of things!

And as for that preparation I was telling you about?? Well, at the hospital where I used to work, colonoscopies most often entailed the patient having to ingest large amounts of a fluid called Go-Litely prior to the procedure to 'clean out' and prepare the bowel for the procedure. And if the child was unable to drink the liquid (we are talking about A LOT of fluid here...not just a cup or two!) then an NG tube (nasal-gastric tube) would be placed. And THAT procedure is DEFINITELY not fun! I've watched many-a-kid receive those.....BLEGH!!!!!! It is horrible! Gagging, retching, screaming...thrashing! Its a miserable experience! So you can imagine our dismay at the thought of this happening to Luke! When I voiced those concerns to the doctor however, I learned that LLUCH does it a lot different than our doctor! In actuality, Luke would only need to drink a couple of ounces of a medication/fluid (I think it was called Miracel?) the evening before and morning of the procedure. A couple of ounces!! Not massive amounts!! (Phew!) Then, of-course, he would need an IV for the sedation he would be getting, but that seems like a cake-walk when compared to what I thought might happen!

Good news all around! So for now we will wait....and watch....and just see what happens. Luke seems happy and healthy and does not complain about pain or discomfort. What more can we ask for?