Whoop! Whoop!

(Not to be confused with "Woot! Woot!")

Remember how the other day I mentioned that I think Nicky, Daisy, and I all have whooping cough?

Well, I continue believing we have it.*

It all started about seven weeks ago with Nicky. He had some cold symptoms, and after about a week and a half, he started having really nasty coughing fits. Around the same time Nicky started coughing, Daisy got pink eye, so I took them both to Instacare. The doctor took a look at both kids and said, "Yeah... they don't feel good. Here's some antibiotics for the pink eye, and I'll put them both on Amoxicillin." She told me to keep them away from other people for three days, but after that, they'd be fine.

About a week later, I started coughing. In the meantime, Nicky was still having regular fits of coughing that were quite violent, so I made an appointment with a pediatrician (not our usual one since she wasn't in that day) and an appointment with a doctor for myself.

The doctor Nicky saw gave him a breathing treatment and put him on Augmentin and an inhaler. She seemed confident that he was suffering from allergies and/or asthma. My question of, "Even though I have it, too?" were brushed aside (I swear doctors only give antibiotics to shut mothers up), but I was at peace because the breathing treatment showed a positive change in the sound of his lungs and his oxygen level. The doctor told me to go ahead and keep sending Nicky to school; she was not concerned about him being contagious.

The doctor I saw was less than helpful. She said my nose was clear, my throat was clear, my lungs were clear, and my ears were clear. I was bothered by this because my lungs happened to be clear at that moment, but off and on I could feel liquid moving in my lungs when I coughed. Additionally, the doctor seemed very unconcerned when I told her that I vomit when I cough. She swabbed me for strep (which made me roll my eyes because I've never had strep in my life) and sent me home empty-handed with no diagnosis and instructions to "try drinking some honey or lemon tea."

For the next week or so, Nicky and I continued having coughing fits. The worst ones happened early in the morning - around 5:00 a.m. - or right as we went to bed with a several episodes throughout the day. I would spend about every-other morning throwing up from coughing. Nicky never vomited, but he sounded terrible during his cough attacks, and I couldn't ever shake that feeling that there was something more going on than the doctors were acknowledging. The inhaler and Augmentin did nothing for Nicky - his cough remained consistent and unchanged.

One day, Daisy woke up from her nap covered in a rash, so I called the pediatrician and was able to get her in immediately. I was relieved to get to speak to our doctor so I could mention the coughing, which Daisy seemed to be starting with as well.

The rash? No big deal. Calamine Lotion and Benadryl took care of it right away.

The cough? Well... even our pediatrician wasn't much help. She mumbled this and that "could be a virus... bla...bla...bla.." and then she gave me some Singulair for Nicky. So again I was told that it was most likely allergies or asthma.

I have this tendency to believe doctors while I'm in their offices, but then I get home and start thinking about things, and I get angry because I realize my concerns weren't addressed. After we got home, I thought Wait a minute! I know it's not allergies or asthma. Why would the three of us develop allergy symptoms in two-week increments? This is something contagious!

I was frustrated, but I had been given the "virus... bla...bla...bla..." talk, and I was willing to accept that it could be a virus that just needs to run its course.

But now, here we sit seven weeks into this, and I think we are way beyond "could be a virus... bla...bla...bla..." Nicky is still coughing, and just within the last few days it seems to be decreasing. I'm still coughing and vomiting. Daisy is coughing and occasionally vomiting as well.

Everything I read about whooping cough leads me to believe that's what we have:

• We all started with cold symptoms and ended up with a cough that will not go away and did not begin to decrease in severity until after six weeks.
• We all developed the illness in two-week increments.
• Nothing relieves the cough (humidifier, lozenges, suppressants, inhalers, allergy medication, Amoxicillin, Augmentin, etc).
• Daisy and I vomit from the coughing.
• There are no other symptoms present with the cough after the initial cold symptoms (other than the sore throat I got last week and Daisy's rash, which I believe are unrelated).

I'm not sure why there are a million billboards, commercials, and news articles talking about how dangerous and deadly Pertussis is, but when I tell doctors I think I have it, they say, "Oh hush! You're fine."

This morning I had an appointment with my OB/GYN, so I asked him about it. Of all the doctors, I knew my OB/GYN would be the most likely to address my concerns. Even though he seemed unworried, he told me he would order a test if I wanted one for peace of mind. He said even if I do have whooping cough, I'm most likely not contagious anymore, and I can't be treated at this point (you need to be treated within three weeks). Plus, this far into it, the test could show up negative anyway. I asked him if he could assure me that I won't kill any babies, and he said, "You won't kill any babies." So I went home.

I guess I'll never know for sure.

(But it's totally whooping cough).

*You're probably wondering if we are vaccinated. We are, but it's still very possible to have it even when immunized.