Since May, Mikey has been losing weight like crazy. The little guy was never heavy but he has lost 17 lbs. (down to 70 lbs) so now he is like a stick figure. We have been going nuts trying to figure out why this is happening. We took him off the Risdperdal which increases appetite towards the end of the Spring, but losing so much weight so quickly didn’t seem right. Blood tests seemed to point to Celiac disease so we are off to a GI specialist. He does a biopsy and reports that Mikey’s stomach looked irritated but, no, it doesn’t look like Celiac even though the intestinal lining does look a little flattened. So what is it, we ask. Not sure… maybe more tests?

OK, so now Michel is getting upset and losing patience so she starts looking into a feeding program and the hell with this GI doctor. But first maybe it’s Mikey’s teeth? Maybe they hurt so he doesn’t want to eat? Off to Dr. Charlie, the dentist, who reports that Mikey’s teeth are fine but Mikey looks terrible. His skin is translucent, his hair is thin, and he seems to have no energy. Dr. Charlie says, “Take him to the ER for fluids. The little guy looks dehydrated.” So it’s off to the ER where “Yes, Mikey is dehydrated” so Mikey gets an IV and some blood tests. The blood tests show his Depakote levels are too high (Depakote can cause stomach irritation) and his thyroid levels are too low (low thyroid can cause loss of appetite).

So they send Mikey home and say less Depakote and more Synthroid. And maybe he should have a little Risperdal (or something else) to increase that appetite. Mikey gets up today and seems better. He eats every Fruit Loop he can lay his hands on and has a big glass of milk too. So now the question is, will it last? Will the medication changes help?

More info to follow when we have more to report.