A Terrible Experience

Since Sze Yi had been coughing for more than 2 weeks, we decided to take her to see Dr. Lim. It was not a bad cough, just occasionally and very rare. However, when it came, she could be coughing away until she sounded like wanting to vomit. This caused us really worried, as we’re not sure what’s causing this.

I asked her if she wanted to see Dr. Lim, she would laugh and then said “Ai”. I’ve been preparing her for the visit by imitating the way Dr. Lim will take her temperature, and say “Ah… open your mouth”. She played along happily.

Well, the moment she stepped into Pantai Mutiara Hospital, she panicked and directed me to turn back. I was carrying her, but at the way she’s struggling, it was quite difficult to handle her. I tried to tell her it’s ok, that she needed to see a doctor because she’s coughing, but to no avail. So, I had to purposely make a few rounds and told her that we need to find Daddy (hubby dropped us off at the entrance to find a parking) to go back. Everywhere I went, she could sense the direction was not correct and pointed to the entrance. Finally I managed to convince her that there’s a play place up there, and thank goodness she agreed. So, I quickly took her into the lift, up we went and finally we arrived at Dr. Lim’s clinic. When she saw the slide, play house, etc. she started playing there happily. Then the nurse asked to have her weight taken, but she struggled away. I’m not sure if we finally got an accurate measurement, but she’s 11kg That’s a relieve, because she’s been sick and I don’t expect her to gain any weight since the last visit.

Well, Daddy then arrived and played with her. Before long, we were called in. It was a great parents-baby struggle (2 vs 1, and yet she seemed stronger than us). She wouldn’t want to go into Dr. Lim’s clinic! And when we forced her, she was very stubborn and gave a very good fight, struggling with all her might and crying non-stop, as if some terrible monster were coming at her. We tried to soothe her, coax her, and reason with her, but she was crying and struggling too much until we need a few more pair of hands to hold her, or she’ll drop off. Gosh, it’s really a terrible experience, not only for her, but for me as well. She seemed so helpless, but never wanted to give in. From here, both hubby and me realised what a stubborn and strong-willed girl we have. She never once rested or gave in, and fought all she could with everyone, kept calling Mama and Mai at the same time.

In the end, Dr. Lim gave up and told me he can’t diagnose what’s wrong with her, since she wouldn’t let him hear her breathing. Hubby quickly took Sze Yi out while I stayed on to find out what’s wrong with her. According to Dr. Lim, there were a few possibilities that caused her to cough- either a blocked nose, lung infection, or sore throat. So, since he’s not able to hear Sze Yi’s breathing properly (due to her screaming), he decided to give her the following to try out:

i. Rhinathiol Promethazine, which is for unproductive and irritative coughs particularly nocturnal coughs – this is to cure the phlegm and throat 

ii. Ventolin Syrup (Salbutamol Sulfate) – to treat the lung

iii. Fluimucil A (N-Acetylcysteine), in sachets form, need to be disolved in water – this ia also for the phelgm.

I was told to bring her back if her cough didn’t stop in 3 days. So I thanked him and left. Sze Yi and Daddy were happily waiting for me outside, at the play place. We went to get the medicine and went home. Throughout the journey, Daddy kept teasing Sze Yi, “We go and see Dr. Lim, ok?”, which would start making her cry again. But after a few times, she got the joke and replied him with a laugh and a big ”hahaha” instead!

We’ve been feeding her the medicine diligently, and started to see some improvements after 1 day. But when I read the description on the Rhinathiol that an overdose could cause the child to be in coma (and it’s only supposed to be given to children above 1 year old) I was worried and called Dr. Lim to check. Furthermore, MIL told me that after Sze Yi took it for the first time, she’s been sleeping for really really long. Before calling him, I told Sze Yi that I’m going to call Dr. Lim to check on something. She was very apprehensive and stood near the phone, looking at me intently. After I finished talking to Dr. Lim, she was relieved and went back doing her things again. Well, according to Dr. Lim, that’s what stated for all cough syrup and he’s already prescribe a lower dosage than recommended in the description. He told me that if I’m still worried, I could further lower it down to 3.5ml (previously was 4ml). So, we continued the medication for 3 days, with a lower dosage for the Rhinathiol. She seemed to love the sachet type drink, but it was not so easy with the other 2. Anyway, a treat on Barney CD always did the trick. And of course the thought of going back to see Dr. Lim would make her take the medicine too. Since then, everytime I asked her if she still have cough after I returned from work, she would reply me with “Boh”.

After this experience, I started to ask myself if it’s wise to change her PED? Since Sze Yi just wouldn’t give Dr. Lim a chance, it’s so difficult to diagnose her and she needs to take so many medications to actually know what’s wrong with her. Well, that’s something to consider, will see how…