I hope she feels better soon.

A lot of families initially find themselves in similar situations to the OP's when a child comes out. My son's boyfriend is from a conservative Mexican family and his parents asked that he not let his younger siblings know that he is gay until they are older. So my son is invited to family events and whatnot but for now he is his friend. Some families go to Pflag meetings. We didn't but it is there. I do think young gay men and women need good guidance and education when it comes to staying healthy. For our son it's meant learning thoroughly about HPV, HIV and meningitis prevention. What can be done to maintain good mental health, too. My son's doctor is gay himself and has been truly wonderful.

Zinc could be the problem like your doctor suggested. It can be hard to eat the amount you need on a daily basis. I know I tend to be deficient. Low levels of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) can be caused by mild, short cases of salmonella poisoning. Effects tend to be chronic and can lead to IBS and colitis in some. Curcumin can raise levels of IAP, intestinal alkaline phosphatase. Thorne makes a good supplement called Meriva. So you might want to add that for a few months, too. Here is some more info. https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/alkaline-phosphatase/#Conditions_With_Decreased_Alkaline_Phosphatase

I have a bisexual son, who leans more toward gay, but is attracted to both women and men. He seriously dated a young woman, whom he loved very much and was sexually attracted to, but now dates a young man whom we all like very much. We emphasize good health and healthy relationships. You did not fail in any way so don't beat yourself up. Her being a lesbian probably has to do more with her neurology, how her brain has developed. There are a few studies out there that show this. More factors may be at play as well, but it is very unlikely your parenting. Going forward she needs to know most of all that you still love her and always will. It is very scary to come out, even sometimes in accepting families. Although she might not marry a man, it doesn't mean she can't have children. It doesn't mean she wouldn't make a wonderful mother. Many gay people do have children and are wonderful parents. A friend of mine back in the 70s had two dads. Her father was technically bisexual and after his wife died from cancer, he began living with a man. The four kids all thrived. My friend said that she was very thankful to have her father's partner in her life growing up. Today, my friend and her siblings are all in their 50s and her father and his partner are in their 80s, and the whole family is very strong and caring. Find a church that supports and accepts all of you. That was one of the best things our family did.

If the pain is waking you at night or making it hard to get a good night's sleep -- disrupting your circadian rhythm -- that can make your insulin problem worse. Then the higher insulin can lead to more inflammation which won't help your pain. It's a vicious cycle. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005181218.htm I'm sorry you're in so much pain. ?

That's good she wasn't drinking at observations! LOL Definitely try to find out why her blood pressure was going up and down. It could be happening throughout the day or night but not causing her to faint.

Eating early and eating within a window both increase insulin sensitivity. Light "wakes up" the brain and food "wakes up" the liver so that both can begin to deliver messages throughout the body. The liver begins to send out messages when any food comes in including coffee. So that is when the clock begins. Not sure if you do this already, but calories taken in later in the day are less efficiently metabolized than calories taken in earlier in the day. Meditation reduces certain inflammatory markers which may be contributing to your insulin problem. Have you read any of Dr. Fung's articles? He's been having some success with people who have insulin problems.

Low potassium might be something to look at. Most people in the US don't get enough potassium from their daily diets, which is probably the safest way to get it. One way to see what she's eating is to just look at the foods that are high in potassium and ask her if she's eating them on a daily basis. So, if she's eating a whole avocado, a cup of cooked spinach, a glass of milk, etc. she'd be around one-half the RDA. If she's not eating much of these foods she might want to start. Also good to check out are foods that deplete potassium. 74 isn't terribly low for blood sugar if she's in a normal range typically. If your daughter might have had some alcohol, that could keep it on the low side. If she hadn't eaten, that could keep it low as well. Just depends what she ate and when.

Maybe they were buying Halloween candy because they ate all the bags they had bought earlier? That is why I will be buying Halloween candy on Monday. Ahem. Toilet paper is their #1 selling item. Now I would totally battle the crowds for that!

Happy birthday, Medic Mom!!! I hope you have a wonderful day and can treat yourself to something you enjoy. You deserve it. ????

Lori, those posts are really interesting. I wonder how many people go undiagnosed. I bet a lot.

I know nothing about frankincense but for breast cancer here are some ideas to consider: Valter Longo's human studies on doing a short fast or two before chemo, or eating a fasting mimicking diet which you can buy called Prolon. You'd want the one for cancer. Fasting leads to autophagy which is a process of cellular clean up. Without fasting, cellular parts linger about causing inflammation. Fasting recycles or disposes of these bits and pieces. Of course, you'd want to be careful with fasting because of electrolyte loss. The goal is to have a ratio of blood glucose to blood ketones of less than one (ratio is called the Glucose Ketone Index). You can buy meters that will measure blood glucose and blood ketones. Ketones tend to be high late afternoon. That's a good time to measure. Intake of protein -- around 0.35 grams per pound of ideal weight until you reach 65 when you'd increase protein intake. Excess protein leads to changes in biochemical pathways that can cause certain kinds of cancer. Ideally mostly from vegetarian sources. Limit red meat. Satchin Panda at the Salk Institute's Panda Lab recommends chemo in the late afternoon or early evening if at all possible because cancer cells are less robust about that time and through the evening so you kill more of them with less chemo. Also, when possible, try to stop eating after 5 pm. Eating later leads to excess inflammation. This is also Panda's work. Exercise. Aerobic, anaerobic, weight lifting, stretching help to gobble up excess estrogen. Stretching for some weird reason is helpful after chemo. I'll have to go dig for that info cuz I can't recall it offhand. Going to sleep in a pitch black room because darkness helps your body to produce more melatonin, a cancer fighter. Then in the morning, exposure to bright sun light as soon as possible. If it's dark outisde, you can sit in front of a 10,000 lux therapy light to help turn off melatonin and turn on serotonin. A wide variety of fibery vegetables, especially cruciferous ones, to help remove certain toxins. Green and black tea throughout the day. Sauna is very beneficial for many health problems. Meditation for about 10-15 minutes helps preserve telomere length. Exercise does, too. Whatever you decide, good luck!

Neurofeedback has helped some with RAD, too. I am so sorry for what you’re experiencing, bethben. Parenting a child with RAD is not easy.

Johns Hopkins is using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for severe patients. Your RLS does sound like a severe case. Might be worth checking out or inquiring about it. If you cannot travel there, you could contact someone there, explain your situation and ask if they know of anyone using TMS in your area. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180829115526.htm

The daughter is showing signs of complying with treatment and that is a positive sign. It may be that her therapy and treatment are ineffective and could possibly be making her problems worse. For example, of those who are prescribed SSRIs, about 25% will worsen. I don't know if she's taking an SSRI but other meds can cause problems as well. If you hang out on a forum for psychiatrists, you'll quickly see how different their treatments can be. That the family has a history of serious depression could point to some genetic underpinning(s) that could be playing a part. So far, about 74 different genetic variants that increase the chance of developing depression have been identified (research done at King's College London). This doesn't mean that having those variants guarantees someone will develop depression but if combined with certain environmental stressors, depression could develop.

Early trauma may have had an impact on the daughter’s neurological development. Divorce and ensuing problems would be considered traumatic, for example. Somatic experiencing therapy could be something to consider The impulse control problems and difficulty making plans and sticking to them point to some neurological problems that might need some specialized help. Drinking and drugs will exacerbate it especially if she began using when she was young. Some types of depression are caused by inflammation. If that were my child, I’d get a highly-sensitive C reactive protein test. Researcher Charles Raison uses this to determine treatments for depression. It’s not unusual for depressed individuals to be slightly warmer than others. Raison has successfully treated these people using a special sauna machine which heats the body sufficiently to “reset” the internal thermostat. Results are fairly quick and long lasting. The monitored sauna treatment takes about 2 hours, about 200 degrees, IIRC. Must be monitored. If she can get a more accurate diagnosis, the Neurostar treatment might be helpful but the dysfunction in her life must also be addressed. Insurance now pays for Neurostar treatment. Another simple aid would be for both Mom and daughter to use the Mood Meter app which was developed at Yale for (initially) at-risk children. The idea is to identify specifically the word that best captures how you’re feeling. It’s based on the concept of emotional granularity. It wouldn’t work as a sole treatment but might help as an adjunct.

Yes, that's true. I'm not disagreeing with that. In the OP's case, something like motivational interviewing (MI) techniques might help him to seek treatment. It's a way of conducting a conversation so that the listener's autonomy is maintained (they're not being told what to do) and the interviewer (could be a wife) responds in a way that the listener develops a plan for himself. Medical personnel are learning how to have these conversations with their patients in order to get them to become more compliant with treatment. MI can be used in many different situations actually. My husband and I are using it to help our relationships with our adult children. What I'm responding to is the idea brought up in a thread that mentioned other treatments don't help. That's not true. My point is that people should have treatment options.

I cannot tell the difference between cheap wine and expensive wine. Maybe that means I could just buy the cheap stuff and be good but I'm not a fan of wine by itself or beer. I do like sangria, margaritas and other cocktails but limit myself to three per week and would limit it more if the places where I drink would offer herbal tea drinks or mocktails.

Mergath, there are only so many medications available to try. Some people do not respond well to any. A very conservative estimate of those with treatment-resistant OCD is 10% but other estimates are around 40%. These individuals have tried the medications and psychotherapy and they didn't help. They and their family suffer for decades. My father and other relatives and friends work(ed) in the pharmaceutical industry developing drugs and overseeing studies. The drugs that are available are not limitless -- or without serious drawbacks -- so other methods of treatment are being developed and they're working on some of these people. Having more available options means more people can be successfully treated.

Some companies also offer winternships, which are internships offered over Winter Break. Some places will also hire freshmen and sophomores, too. For some positions, interviewees might have to fly out for the interview for a few days during the school year. My youngest had an interview in NYC that involved two days of interviewing/problem solving -- right after the end of quarter finals -- and literally went from the last exam to the airport to the interview. It was very stressful. So, be aware of that. Also, Glassdoor and Quora (and probably other sites) offer information about different internships, such as interview questions, what they're paid, etc. My youngest studied up for a few months on the types of questions and problems former interns said the firms would ask. My youngest did get a nice offer this summer and is now a happy clam. Internships are definitely worth checking out.

Only if they respond favorably to either (meds or psychotherapy). Some don't respond well to anything. Nothing changes for them. That is the problem. What works for one/some does not work for all which is why more treatment options would be helpful.

Medication and psychotherapy do not work for all people with OCD. These are the people who need other treatment options. For some with treatment-resistant OCD, Schwartz's method has worked (and some of those individuals were suicidal). There are also a number of small studies being done on individuals using devices like rTMS and DBS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and deep brain stimulation).

I am so sorry. Many hugs to you and your son during this difficult time. Depression and suicidal thoughts can be made worse by inflammation. You might want to request a high sensitive c reactive protein test. Charles Raison has studied how hsCRP can help to determine which treatments will help. This is fairly new research but important in determining what to do.

Might be too much, too soon. Reduce dosage and take every other day.

Thank you! I'm going to give those a try. It can't be healthy for my family to be eating the non-stick coating.