He has had a excess mucus problem in his throat since he got his mouth expander in July. This problem has been on the back burner being trumped by his stomach. Plus I was hoping it was due to the expander and figured as soon as we got the expander out it would go away. The mucus also started at the time he started his elimination diet so I wondered if it would go away with adding foods back in. It doesn't really make sense but I wasn't sure what to do about it and just wanted it to go away on it's own.
At his well child check in August the pediatrician recommended allergy medicine. So we tried that for a time and didn't see a difference. We then tried Mucinex for a time and didn't see a change. Then Flonase for months and still no change.
Once we had added all the foods back in and his stomach was feeling good I decided it was time to tackle the mucus problem. I checked with the orthodontist to see if there was any way the expander could be causing so much mucus. The answer was no. Ugh, I was really hoping that was the answer. So I made an appointment with an ENT. I thought for sure he would have the answer. We had to wait a month to get in so waiting patiently was hard.
The ENT put a scope through the nose and took a good look at James's sinuses and throat. He was stumped. He said to try an antibiotic just in case it was a sinus infection. Then he said to start taking Prevacid in case it was Reflux. I didn’t feel good about either but with no other ideas we decided to start with the antibiotic.
The mucus was getting worse and James missed a lot of school. He felt like he couldn’t breath when he tried to clear the mucus. He would have to be by a sink so he could spit it out. I watched him struggle for a week and it was hard. I felt helpless and hopeless. I worried it would block his airway and he would end up in the ER. I fasted for him one Sunday and during sacrament meeting I got an answer from one of the talks. She said sometimes you don’t get answers because you haven’t found the problem yet. I knew I needed to take James to another doctor but didn’t know who.
By end of the antibiotic use James developed thrush. I made an appointment with one of the pediatricians and hoped she would have answers. Normally developing thrush would be bad but I’m this case it caused us to go the the doctor. Tender mercies or miracles started to be apparent. She was the exact person we needed to see. She said he most likely has Eosinophilic Esophagitis. She recommended seeing an allergist and following up with the GI doctor.
I left there feeling more optimistic. That night I read all about it and then began to try and figure out what he is allergic to.
I didn’t think it could be a food allergy because of his elimination diet and being able to add everything back in.
Then it all clicked. The mucus started when the metal was placed in his mouth....he’s allergic to his braces! I must have said a million prayers over the weekend thanking Heavenly Father for blessing me with the knowledge and answers. I felt a huge burden lifted.
Unfortunately I figured all of this out on Friday night. I talked to the pediatrician Saturday and she agreed that it was probably some kind of metal allergy.
All weekend I couldn’t wait until today. I called the ortho this morning and they got James right in. I was so worried they would think I was crazy. I said prayers all morning leading up to the appt. The ortho assistant was so understanding and even said she also has an allergy to certain metals! What a tender mercy that she was the assistant out of ten others that James could have been paired up with.
Then the ortho agreed as well with all that James has experienced it was most likely a metal allergy. Within an hour, all of the metal was out of James’s mouth. Now we wait a few days for his body to detox but his mucus is slightly better already.
He will meet with an allergist to have a test to confirm but I really feel good about all that has happened. God is good and cares about James. We wouldn’t have gotten answers without divine intervention. Our prayers were answered.
