Another Checkup

Ethan had another checkup with our local pediatrician this morning. I can't believe that he has now been off prednisone for 3 months! Ethan is still doing well, he grew another 1/2 inch this month. His doctor is very pleased with his progress, he is staying at a trace of protein and as long as he doesn't go up any higher she said not to worry! Easy for her to say Right?

The only health concern that is bothering Ethan at the moment is his skin. Ethan has eczema, and since stopping prednisone, we have seen his eczema continue to get worse. It has been years that Ethan has had any length of time off of prednisone, and I am not used to seeing him react to anything and everything.

I did question the doctor about this today, and she said that Ethan's immune system is relearning how to function on it's own. Many years of prednisone use, have suppressed his own immune function, and his body is kinda going haywire right now, trying to figure out what to do. She hopes with time his skin will improve, for now she prescribed some stronger cream to see if that helps. His eczema was getting so bad, parts of it were starting to get infected.

The best part of the visit was that we have now graduated to seeing the doctor in 3 months, instead of every month. Wow, I can hardly believe it, whatever will we do with all our free time? This is a really big deal for us, when Ethan relapses, we see the doctor one or more times a week, to once a week, to once every 2 weeks to once a month while he is on his medications. Once he is off all his medications, they see him once a month for 3 months. If he is still doing well at our next visit in 3 months, then we can graduate to once every 6 months! But I am not getting ahead of myself just yet. School is just around the corner and I have no idea what that will bring!