More Cowbell

We’ve been very busy lately and it has been a few months since I updated everyone on what is going on with C.

Before I do, I want to share this… One of my very favorite Saturday Night Live skits that I recently rediscovered.(Here) Now that’s done, on with the updates.

We got the results back from the anorectal manometry procedure that I previously wrote about and it indicated that he does, in fact, have proper muscle function in his lower gut, but that they are not being used properly; this is likely related to his Executive Function delay. The results caused our GI doctor to recommend behavioral therapy with biofeedback which has had success in other patients but, as of right now, we are still waiting for a referral to someone that provides this service.

Hearing the word ‘behavioral’ connected to his gut issues is, yet again, hard to swallow since we’ve heard it so often over the years. However, if you look at it in the proper context, with the proper explanation (something we had not been previously given), it makes sense. It is not behavioral in the sense that he is defiant, it’s behavioral in the sense that he needs to learn how to use that part of his body properly, and behavioral in the sense that he needs to be more proactive in his health. He needs to take the vitamins and medicines we offer, eat the correct foods, go to therapy, practice what he learns, and spend time on the toilet. In theory, all these things will lead to his being able to get out of his pull-ups, wear normal underwear, and not worry about accidents.

The drawback to all of this is that I lack complete confidence in this assessment. One thing that stood out to me, during the procedure, is the final test that they performed. They are supposed to inflate the balloon until he feels it but, the doctor just zipped through the test and I don’t think C felt it at all. Which would be consistent with what he’s told us all along of not feeling the urge to go, and not feeling it when he does go.

Meanwhile, we have been seeing his psychiatrist and working with him to balance the medications used to treat C’s anxiety, depression, and ADHD. So far, we’ve found a good balance, although he still struggles with agoraphobia. Just getting him outside to play is a battle.

We have also been trying to figure out what might be causing an idiopathic low-grade fever. He has been fighting this fever for at least 6 months. He complains daily about being tired and, when he does feel good enough to do something active, it’s short lived because his legs ache or he quickly becomes tired. We have asked doctors and they all seem to agree that it not linked to the constipation. We’ve had blood tests drawn. Everything seems normal. Recently we were referred to a pediatric rheumatologist. Thankfully, she ruled out rheumatism as an issue for us to worry about.

One thing that the rheumatologist did say that we found useful and interesting was that he should be taking vitamin D daily. Where we live, there are a lot of overcast days, especially in the winter (the American Pacific Northwest and the UK have nearly identical climates). Most people in this region are vitamin D deficient. Without running a blood test, she felt confident that a daily vitamin D regimen could help his achy, tired body issues. She also felt that all his symptoms are linked together: his anxiety keeps him in a flight-or-fight state which causes constant stress. Constant stress and anxiety keep the body tense, which makes it hard to relax enough to potty. You can’t go potty, so you get stressed. It’s this cycle of stress feeding itself. Many times, a body reacts to stress with a fever. Of course, this led me to do a search for low-grade fever issues and came up with a term called Psychogenic Fever. One of the articles I found on the National Institutes of Health website described it this way:

Psychogenic fever is one of the most common psychosomatic diseases. Patients with psychogenic fever have acute or persistent body temperature above normal range in psychologically stressful situations.

Another interesting but technical medical article about Psychogenic Fever can be found here. Lastly, another article about schoolchildren developing fevers during testing times was also interesting and can be found here.

It all fits what we see in him, yet we can’t seem to find a resolution that works. We have tried bowel-specific physical therapy. We have tried medication, stool softeners, a high fiber diet, vitamins and so on. He still can’t grasp the process to defecate. Hubs and I will be meeting with a psychologist this week to see if she feels that she can help us work with his needs, and then C will meet with her a couple days later. Hopefully, she will have an idea of how to improve things for him. If she is unable to help, I have a strong feeling we will end up looking into a Cecostomy. It’s not ideal but, at this point, we are looking to provide him with any form of relief so that he has less stress and improved mental health.

Maybe once his gut is healed, he will have a fever of a different kind. A fever for more cowbell!