CF Mom: Super Sleuth Extraordinaire

My 8 year old daughter has cystic fibrosis and takes about 10 to 12 different prescriptions each day to keep things working right in her little body. We just started two new medications- an antibiotic and a steroid to try and combat the chronic cough she has been unable to shake since last December. I carefully queried the doctors and pharmacist about drug interactions, possible side effects, etc. Sounds like it should be fine so I gave her the first doses of both drugs last night before bed.

She woke up this morning complaining of pain in her thighs, knees and ankles; pain so bad it was hard for her to sit in the chair and eat breakfast. I grab the paperwork from the pharmacist- you know the ones with microscopic fine print about drug reactions. Nothing mentioned in there about muscle pain. But everything else I read scared me to half to death. “Honey, if you get a rash or a bad tummy ache or blood in your pee, be sure to tell mommy right away.” “Okay,” she says. Hmm. A search on the internet doesn’t tell me anything new. “Honey, if you have really dark colored poo or you start to throw up, be sure to tell mommy.” “Okay,” she says.

We decide to wait for a couple of hours to see what happens; she can call me from school if it gets worse. I give her ibuprofen to help her feel better. We finish eating breakfast and head off for school.

As we drive, my son starts talking about the field and track event coming up and how he and his buddies are practicing by running around the building. Then, my daughter pipes up with, “Yeah, we had to run around that great big building FOUR TIMES yesterday in PE!” Me: “What??????” Her: “Yeah, we were really tired and our legs were hurting!” :-0

So much for being a pharmaceutical super sleuth. My daughter simply has a case of “sore muscles.” Go figure…

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Lisa Greene, BS CCP
Lisa C. Greene has been helping parents raise healthy, happy families since 2002. She is a certified parent coach, parent educator, and mother of two children with cystic fibrosis. She is also the co-author with Foster Cline MD of the award-winning book “Parenting Children with Health Issues: Essential Tools, Tips and Tactics for Raising Kids with Chronic Illness, Medical Conditions and Special Healthcare Needs.” Visit Lisa’s website at www.HappyHeartFamilies.com