What two months without Ketotifen taught us (all over again)

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So, here’s what happened. In my nauseous, pregnant daze in November, I did not order Ellie’s Ketotifen refill in time. By the time I did call to place the order, I realized it wouldn’t arrive before we were set to leave for our holiday travels. So I had the medication shipped to my parents’ house, in the hopes that it would arrive in the window we were in the Pacific Northwest, and not later, after we had moved on to visit family in Colorado. All told, we were without Ellie’s Keotifen for about three weeks in December and we were definitely feeling the pain with daily tummy aches and foods that had been working that weren’t working anymore. But we got it back, just before Christmas, and we were so relieved.

Then, we flew from Portland to Colorado and somewhere in transit we lost it. We lost $200 in medication and we could not find it to save ourselves. Ian and Ellie and I all had terrible colds and I know I was in a major fog, and all I could do was get through the next week of travel. I had no capacity for tracking down the Ketotifen (which is also called Zaditen). We had left two boxes of gifts at my parents’ for them to ship to us, and we hoped that maybe we had put the Ketotifen in there. So we spent a week in Colorado, and then spent another week at home in LA waiting for the boxes to arrive and when they did arrive – no Ketotifen. That’s when I really realized we were completely screwed. So I called CanadaDrugs.com and placed a new order and was told it would take the customary 14-21 days of shipping, but it could be toward the long end of that spectrum, because they had changed the country they were sourcing from.

By this point, things were really looking bad. Ellie had only had Ketotifen for one week out of about six. She was having tummy aches daily. In the morning the first thing she would say was, “Mama, I have a tummy ache.” She complained of her tummy hurting all the time and I had no idea what to do. I tried pulling back on her diet, but it had been so long (about nine months) since this magic pill entered our lives that I didn’t even really know where to start. I re-researched salicylate sensitivity, referred to this online food list daily, and seriously restricted any form of her allergic foods, even though small quantities of, say, cooked celery, had been fine in the recent past. I learned by trial and error – again. I made too many mistakes, and Ellie suffered. I hated it. I hated that we were back in that place. I think enough time had passed that I really started to wonder if that bad time had ever even happened.

A new home, a new baby

I haven't posted to the blog in a really long time and I feel terrible that I haven't even checked the comments in months! I just assume there's probably nobody out there reading about our quirky journey with food allergies and diet, but then I checked in and I had four amazing comments from people out there who are fighting the good fight, trying to find answers for their children. I am always in awe of people on this journey, and somehow much more readily able to see the awesomeness of their work than the awesomeness of mine. But we are all in this together, healing our children and hopefully staying sane in the process :)

I find it funny that my last post was on September 10 and in it I was musing about what the next chapter held for me, whether I was being called to write about our story or whether I should have another child. This is so funny to me because six days later we conceived our second child, who we just found out yesterday is going to be a boy. I am beyond excited. I have wanted this little sibling for Ellie for a long time, probably even before I had her, and yet it felt wrong to bring another child into the family because of how much she needed from us.

A new chapter

I don't have cancer.

Phew!

I found out quite a while ago, but haven't found the time to write. We live in Portland, OR and August in the Pacific Northwest feels like living in fast-forward. It's finally beautiful out and we all know we only have a few weeks to have as much fun as possible! It's amazing and glorious and extremely exhausting. :)

So in the midst of that summer craziness I had a biopsy done on my thyroid nodule and later heard back that the cells were perfectly normal. I'm supposed to continue to monitor the nodule with regular ultrasounds but my doctor didn't sound worried.

Two diets, one life

Ever since introducing grains a couple months ago – and really for a long time before that – I’ve been struggling to balance my needs and Ellie’s needs. This just comes with the territory when you become a new mom. A small baby has only needs and a mama’s job is to address them as accurately and promptly as possible. But at a certain point there becomes a mix of needs and wants and this begins the long and nebulous process of drawing boundaries. Like I said, every mama and baby goes through this.

Our process has a more complex layer added on, and it’s about food and wellness. This has sprung up recently as a very big issue. You see, I added grains back into our diet on the hunch that it might help Ellie’s IBS symptoms and they did help – tremendously. But what I noticed over time was that grains didn’t serve me as well. And it’s not exactly that grains don’t serve me well – it’s not quite that black and white. It’s that I have to watch the glycemic load of my food very closely, as it has a huge impact on my health and energy.

Over the course of several months these truths seem to be revealing themselves: Ellie’s biggest issue (aside from her allergies, which are blessedly under control with medication) is IBS symptoms and that is best addressed with a diet high in soluble fiber (grains fall into that category, along with many fruits and vegetables) and relatively low in some fats. My biggest issue, on the other hand, is blood sugar control and that is best addressed with a diet with ample fats and limited carbs (grains fall into that category).

An unexpected hiccough

It didn't take long. Ellie started doing well after we added Ketotifen to her routine and Ian and I started talking about wanting to have another baby. I always knew I wanted more than one kiddo but for quite a while, in the thick of Ellie doing poorly, we had resigned to the fact that she very well might be our only kiddo. I imagined having kids fairly close together and as she got older and older I wondered if our chance had passed. But here we are. Our baby girl is 3 now and doing so well that our thoughts have turned toward having another one.

I discussed this goal with my doctor, who is treating me for Hashimoto's, and she asked me to go in for a thyroid ultrasound just to get it checked out before considering getting pregnant again. I went in a couple of weeks ago, feeling slightly concerned but mostly just slightly irritated at having to go through more medical crap. I fully expected to hear back that there was nothing noteworthy.

This is what it feels like to have a healthy child

I haven’t written in a long time, which is due to a wide variety of factors, including the fact that Ellie’s given up her nap, which means I’ve lost my regular writing time. But the biggest reason is that I really cannot believe what’s happening. I keep pinching myself. I’ve been taking my glasses off, wiping them, putting them back on and squinting at this situation – trying to tell if I’m seeing it clearly.

It was less than two months ago that I was sitting in a doctor’s office with a cranky Ellie in my lap, enduring an intake interview with Ellie’s third gastroenterologist.

“How often would you say she has abdominal pain?” the GI asked me.

“All the time,” I answered. “Every day. All day. All night. She tells me she has tummy aches all the time.”

I know I said that, but I can’t believe it. Because Ellie’s all better.

What 7 days as a vegan taught me about life

I've been meaning to write this post for a few weeks now, and this is the perfect time to share. It's about self-care for us mamas with a kiddo in a challenging health situation, and just in time for Mother's Day! How can you prioritize taking care of yourself - can you find the space in your life for a little self-care?

Recently I underwent a weeklong cleanse. What on earth was I thinking!?! 

I’m a busy mama taking care of a 2-year-old with a really confusing set of symptoms and food allergies. The nutritionist we have worked with for over a year now offers seasonal cleanses as part of her practice. Each cleanse focuses on detoxing and supporting a particular organ and each time a cleanse has rolled around I’ve been equally interested and skeptical and 100% sure I was not up for it. But this spring I’ve felt a gathering strength as I’ve gradually gotten a handle on my adrenal fatigue and Hashimoto’s.