redsquirrel Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 After 6 weeks of 'bad cold and lingering cough' for ds2, the doctor said he has fluid in his lung. I knew something was wrong on Tuesday night and took him in Wednesday morning. FTR, we are NOT 'run to the doctor' sorts of people. I can do a good job sorting out when something is just going to get better on its own or when things are escalating in a way that needs intervention. The weird thing about this illness has been that he has never run a fever, so no infection. He looked and sounded like he had a bad case of bronchitis, getting worse over time, but no fever. It was up to me and I made the call to give him the antibiotics because I this really has to stop and I could imagine an infection setting in later in the day, so might as well start them now. Plus, the doc seemed visibly relieved when I green lighted the antibiotics, she was not happy with that fluid. She could tell right where it is and he was also having pain in that spot. He is on a 5 day course, and this is his first time taking them. He was also given an inhaler, which has helped a great deal. Ds2 has always had us worrying about asthma, but I thought he had grown out of whatever it was. The doctor mentioned something called "RAD" and we'll talk about it later, when he's better. So, given that this is his first time taking antibiotics I want to help his healthy bacteria re-establish quickly. He's showing no sign of problems with the antibiotic, no diarrhea, no nothing. Yesterday I gave him one dose of my probiotic and today he had some kefir, which he adores. I can continue to give him one probiotic capsule a day for a couple weeks? I can also get some naturally fermented dill pickles when his appetite picks up. We have a local supplier. I have seen bone broth suggested, and I have a local source, but I am not sure how to get that into him. He is my very picky eater. He won't eat soup and veggies are right out as well. Ok, he will eat roasted sweet potato and baby carrots and baked acorn squash..so anything sweet. We're working on it, but one thing at a time. He will eat refried beans, so maybe I could sneak a tablespoon of the broth into those? He's not going to drink it, it smells disgusting so that is right out. He won't even eat regular soup. But, then I also hear that bone broth doesn't live up to the hype, something I am sort of inclined to believe. The hype is really, really big, lol. So, aside from probiotics, which I have covered, and some fermented pickles, which I can get this weekend, are there any other 'do not miss' suggestions to help his flora rebound? It's moments like this that I wish I could lactate on demand. A quart of mama's milk would fix him right up, I just know it. Too bad he weaned 6 years ago.... The good news is that today, after his initial dose of antibiotics and regular doses from the inhaler, he is so much better! He has some colour in his cheeks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 If he'll tolerate it, using a high-dose probiotic as a rectal suppository would be better than taking them orally. I used to administer them to my DD that way during her sleep and she never objected. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderfilled Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I think you're doing a great job with the probiotic, and kefir, and fermented food. Just keep up what you're doing and he should be great! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 You're doing all the right things. Keep with the probiotic, kefir, and fermented food. One suggestion for the bone broth is to make rice using broth rather than water. You may need to salt the rice a little for taste. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 Ok, I'll keep doing what I am doing and will just assume things will go well, lol. I was worried there was some obvious thing I was missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) Along with the probiotics, don't forget S. Boulardii. I prefer Florastor because it's what they used in the studies on its effectiveness re: C. Diff. Like the probiotics, it should be taken two hours apart from the abx. Hoping he feels better soon! Edited January 30, 2016 by Spryte 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) I'm a firm believer in bone broth ( I make my own chicken one--beef bone broth was a fail here) but I don't think it's "alive"'in terms of cultures. It is boiled to death after all ;) but I'm not a doctor and I do not play one on TV. I think it is great for general health so I get it into mine by making "cream" soups. The cream is usually yogurt or cre me fraiche. Cream of potato/leek, etc. Even if he just dips bread into it... kombucha? though I think if he loves kefir I'd carry on with that. Edited January 30, 2016 by madteaparty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollie010 Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I had to get some bone broth into my kiddos in a hurry, but it's always been hard to present in a way that they would eat it. I don't like to heat it to much because that just seems to defeat the purpose. Last night I had a brilliant idea and it turned out amazing ! No protests at all. We are gluten free so others choices may vary, but I prepared some brown rice spiral pasta and browned some ground beef. While draining the beef, I turned down the heat and added a jar of beef bone broth to my empty skillet. Then salt, pepper and garlic. I thickened with a little cornstarch dissolved in water. Then added a container of sour creme. Stirred. Removed from the heat and tossed it in a large bowl with the noodles and beef. It took exactly 17 minutes to prepare from start to finish. And even less time than that for 4 picky eaters and one food snob husband to devour it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 The weird thing about this illness has been that he has never run a fever, so no infection. No fever doesn't equal no infection in every case. Sometimes your body doesn't respond with a fever even if there is a true infection. Our household has had lab verified cases of strep throat and bacterial pneumonia in the past few years with no fever. (I felt like the worst mother ever when I let ds suffer with a sore throat for about two weeks before I took him to the doc. No fever, so I thought it was just drainage/cold.) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) Sauerkraut (like Bubbie's brand) is also a good probiotic. Don't forget some prebiotic foods as well. Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, and asparagus are all good sources. However, I'm not sure if cooking kills the prebiotics?? I know they can be eaten raw, but I've never had them that way so I don't know how good or bad they are. ETA: jicama is also a great prebiotic, and it's delish raw :) Edited January 30, 2016 by whitestavern Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.