You know, it never fails that I think we are past something and there it comes again! :) We have been battling stomach problems again for almost three weeks now. I'm at the point where I feel like quitting again. I know, I know, you've read that before. I burn out, take a break, read like crazy, get hopeful, and then crash again. No, I'm not bi-polar. I'm just a Mom who wants to have her daughter simply feel "good" on a regular basis, and it just doesn't ever seem to work for long. Thank you Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. You suck.

So, let me stop whining for a moment and try to sort out what's been going on. Sometime not that long after my happy post about how great Bug was doing the stomach aches started again. Now, changes that have happened prior to them starting again are as follows:

1) We saw the GI and cut her Prilosec in half
2) We started to reintroduce dairy, limiting her to only a milk at school each day - and a lactaid with that milk
3) It got cold (hey, things do seem to be worse with her in the winters - just read back in this blog and you'll see it too!)
4) We started eating more processed foods again, since we were no longer worried about dairy
5) She started having a sugar-free juice at lunch instead of milk

Ok, so those are the changes. Now, the first thing we did after the stomach aches returned is get rid of the sugar-free juice. As it turns out it was made with Splenda, which can cause horrible side effects INCLUDING stomach pain. Google it - I was shocked when I called the GI and she told me about it.

At first I thought it solved the problem, but it's back. To complicate things the flu is going around and anyone who has a kid with stomach problems will understand me when I say I have no idea which is which until the puking begins. However, there are strains of the flu that don't cause puking.... Anyway, over Thanksgiving I thought she had the flu. Stomach pains for 5 days, not feeling like doing anything because the pains were so bad. She had a couple of OK days, and then BAM, we are back to stomach pains again!!!

I am at a loss here. Starting tomorrow I'm pulling her off of dairy again to see if we can get this thing to stop. That causes a chain reaction because it means no mac and cheese or other processed foods. (which I know is a good thing, but gosh darn it, convenience really saves me sometimes!) I guess I'll give that a week and then call the GI if there is no improvement. Something I really don't want to have to do - I want my daughter better, not on more meds!

Anyway, I'm going to stop complaining about that now. :) Everything else is going ok with her right now. We didn't have our IEP meeting yet as school got dismissed early that day for a huge winter storm. We are now having it next week. I still don't know if we are rewriting the IEP for next year or moving on to a health plan, but that's ok, I am still comfortable with either one.

I think that's it for tonight - tomorrow my 12 year old non-ehlers-danlos child is getting his braces. I need to rest up and get myself prepared to experience this milestone with him! :)