Friday, February 13, 2009

Week one of propranolol

Caroline has been on the propranolol for one week and we are beginning to see some changes! I don't know if it will be very obvious from the pictures yet, but it is definitely getting smaller. We began seeing real change when we increased the dose to .75 ml, and after talking with Dr. Bellet (she is covering for Dr. Prose while he is out of the country until 2/27), that is where we will stay for now. Dr. Bellet also ordered home health nursing visits 3 times a week to take her blood pressure and monitor her blood sugar. It looks like we will be getting a glucometer to measure her blood sugar here at home if needed, too. Dr. Bellet is very concerned about the medication making her blood sugar drop, so we are having to wake Caroline at midnight every night to feed her. I'm hoping that a week or two of normal blood sugars in the morning will allow us to stop doing that. I don't want her to get used to a midnight snack after we've been sleeping through the night so well! All in all, she's doing great with the medication, and we are pleased with the results so far. Here are some pictures of the last week for comparison sake.
Day 1
Day 3
Day 6
The changes are subtle, but the hemangioma is shrinking. It is more obvious when seeing her face to face, but particularly over the bridge of her nose and at her nostril the swelling is down. We are hopeful that it continues to improve and that the medication will have no side effects!

4 comments:

The {G} Family said...

So glad you are seeing changes! She is just gorgeous!!!

Anonymous said...

I've been eagerly awaiting an update on Caroline's progress! Great news! I like the idea of a home health nurse - I might have to ask about that for Ruthie.

Erin said...

That is so wonderful! What great news!!

Baby Allie said...

Hi Kate - We e-mailed a little over a week ago. My daughter Allison has now been on propranolol for 1 week. We saw drastic changes in the color and swelling over the first few days, and now it seems to be slowing a bit. She started on .85 ml 3 times a day. Did Caroline have low blood sugar following her starting on propranolol? Or is this just a precautionary measure? I like the idea of a visiting nurse. I am going to have to inquire about that.