Geometry makes sense for sophomore year as the PSATs have Geometry. I think I'll order the Geometry for dd for next year and the Beg. Algebra for ds after he completes Dec/Percents. Does that make sense? I doubt either child is going in to a math-related field so if they do not get to Calc. in high school that is ok with me (I took Calc and it never did me any good!). Thanks all!

Oh my. How much does a test like this cost from Great Plains? And how do I do it? Do I just take it in to my ped. or a lab to do the blood draw? My husband is also super-skinny and has been since middle school...also quite chubby as a baby and fairly average as a young child. I might have the test done on him as well. Misty, you can PM me if you want...I so appreciate any info. you have.

To the pp who was concerned about taking Zoloft while pregnant: I was on Zoloft while pregnant with my 5yo and she was completely, 100% healthy at birth and still is. I even breastfed on it. My psychiatrist has always told me that if I were to become pregnant, that is the drug she would switch me to. But of course, there is no guarantee, kwim? Anyway, I've been on so many but I will say as another pp did that what works for one may not for another :) Friends told me to try Wellbutrin b/c it worked for depression as well as fatigue and would help me lose weight. Well, I felt like I was having a heart attack on Wellbutrin...major, major anxiety and heart racing. Ugh. I am on Cymbalta now but would not recommend it only b/c it is a BEAR to withdrawal from. I quit Zoloft cold-turkey when I was on that and had NO significant withdrawal symptoms at all. Be careful with the SSRIs...they do tend to interfere with your s*x drive. Effexor made it totally impossible for me to, um, "fully enjoy" s*x if you kwim. I am not a dr. but I would say that Celexa and Zoloft are good choices for depression and anxiety. My 9yo was just put on Celexa for anxiety and irritability and after just 2 days we can already tell a HUGE difference and can tell when the drug is wearing off. It is incredible. But please, go see a good psychiatrist and talk openly about your concerns. Beware of the psychs who prescribe the "latest and greatest". Good luck finding what you need...it can take time to find that "perfect" med. Oh, and I would not go on meds unless you are also in therapy. The two must go hand-in-hand if you ask me.

Wow. Just wow. Good job, Mom! And way to go dd! I have goosebumps right now.

It helps to keep in mind that comments like that are usually made by people who feel threatened by homeschoolers or who are, in some way, unsure about their own decision to public school their children. Of course, it could be that their inlaws are not providing a good example of how homeschooling works? Lots of different reasons. It is usually best to keep your mouth shut in situations like that unless you are prepared to debate. :D Don't let the comments get to you. You are doing the right thing...what is best for YOUR family at this time. Don't doubt.

I have a 7th grader who is hating Saxon 8/7 right now. He does fairly well with it, but I am tiring of the daily struggle to get him to do his work. I know that I should just make him do it...but if there is an easier way...I'm all for it. Enter Life of Fred. :D Could somebody tell me the correct sequence of the books? He will hopefully do Fractions and Dec/Percents this year and finish up in the summer or first sem. of 8th grade. Where would he go from there? Thanks in advance. Also...my dd14 is using Sax Alg. 1 right now but I can see how she might like LoF, too. Where would she go after Sax. Alg. 1? We plan to do 4 yrs. of math for high school.

No advice, but lots of :grouphug: and prayers JC.

My dd14 loves sugar snap peas. She shells them but the rest of us eat them whole. I, myself, abhor broccoli but that might be a good one to try. Sadly, my children are not big veggie eaters although we try. :glare:

I am a Leo. I will always be a Leo. I don't care that the NEW zodiac chart says I am now a Cancer. :D

He started Celexa today...I didn't ask about a stimulant yet. He was ill today due to a virus (sore throat, etc.) and feeling nauseous but I can't tell if it was the meds or the virus causing that. He was so lethargic...but he also had a high fever. So...who knows. I suppose I should ask about a stimulant to help his concentration but I though also that we could try something natural for that. Just not sure. He should be discharged tomorrow if our at-home visit goes well. I'm very hopeful b/c I miss my little guy so much, esp. now that he is sick. Oh, I also asked the dr. to do a gluten intolerance blood test and lyme (he had a tick removed last summer that resembled a deer tick but we didn't have it tested.). Just wanted to cover all my bases, kwim?

We haven't tried meds at all yet. The psych mentioned the anti-depressants but we haven't consented to anything yet. i still want to talk to the dr. I asked for a gluten intolerance test to be done. I'm already wondering if I shouldn't just eliminate all gluten anyway just to see. Hoping the hospital can start that ball rolling.

Thanks all for the advice and the humor...esp. the humor!:D I needed a good laugh this morning. Really. I went to bed overwhelmed and am still overwhelmed. But, I put a call in to ds dr. to do a gluten intolerance test...realizing full well it might come back neg. when in fact he DOES have some sort of intolerance. But, one step at a time as somebody said. The thought of going gluten-free scares the living h*ll out of me b/c my son is carb-crazy and is already a super-picky eater. Hardly any veges, only a few fruits, mostly cereals, bread and no meat unless it is McDs chicken nuggets. :glare: which he hardly ever gets b/c I loathe McDs! Anyway, the thing that scares me about the gluten thing, if he is intolerant, isn't so much the behavior issues it is the physical stuff...the failure to thrive...b/c of the inability to absorb nutrients. He is a stick already! So skinny and prob underweight. Ugh. Anyway, thanks for all the replies. I love you guys!

This is a vent. This is only a vent. This is not a debate or a controvery or whatever. :D In researching what exactly is wrong with my ds9 who was recently hospitalized for severe, violent, rageful temper tantrums and diagnosed with severe mood dysregulation, I have obviously had quite a few people tell me to eliminate this or that from his diet. It just got me thinking about food in general in this day and age and all the warnings about harmful thisses or thats in it. Am I making sense? I mean first we have the obvious non-food stuff like food dyes, preservatives, additives, trans-fats, etc. which cuts out most, if not all, of the processed foods. Then there is sugar, hfcs, cs, etc. which eliminates the rest of the processed garbage as well as ice cream (sugar), chocolate, cookies, muffins, cakes, pies, etc. Then we move to our more natural and supposedly healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Well, we can't eat those b/c of the pesticides sprayed on them and apples contain salicylates (Feingold diet). And lets not forget all the genetically modified fruits and veges. Let's talk meat. Forget pig products and shell-fish b/c those are "scavengers", not intended to be food for our bodies (from The Makers Diet by Jordan Rubin for those not familiar). And we can't eat beef products b/c the cows don't graze on grass anymore, are fed antibiotics and steroids or whatever or chicken b/c they are caged, don't roam free and are fed antibiotics, etc. Fish is contaminated with mercury, dairy is a no-no, the water is polluted unless you filter it or buy bottled (and that is questionable). And then we have our infamous HUGE no-no...GLUTEN! And I am not mocking gluten intolerance or Celiacs here...I realize it is a huge problem but I am frustrated! So, tell me, please, what then CAN we eat? :001_huh: OK. Vent over. Going to bed. Head is swimming after researching gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, the damages of artificial dyes, preservatives, etc. in an attempt to help my poor litte boy who is STILL in the mental facility after a week and we still don't know much more what is wrong than we did a week ago. :glare:

:confused: That about sums it up! I wondered about the psych prescribing an anti-deprressant instead of a mood stabilizer. :confused: But as Zoloft often works to "mellow" people, perhaps Prozac or Celexa do as well? I know Zoloft mellowed me. As to the gluten intolerance...ds9 didn't have any signs as a baby (he was chubby, ate everything, had a wonderfully calm and relaxed personality, was happy, always smiling, etc.). It wasn't until about age 5 or so that we saw the signs of the moodiness, irritability, rages, certain rigidity of his thoughts, easily frustrated, etc. He is a very, very skinny child. My husband is as well and we just thought he had the same body-type. He doesn't eat well, but certainly enough to survive, kwim? I saw that gluten intolerance can result in a failure to thrive or weight loss b/c of the lack of nutrient absorbtion. :confused: I am so confused right now I just want to cry. WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY SON!?!?!?! Sorry to scream...I'm just so frustrated.

Ugh. No, but you are not the first person to suggest this. Can't imagine having to live gluten-free. Gluten is in EVERYTHING and this kid is CARB CRAZY! Why would so many people be gluten intolerant today? I mean wheat and barley are foods that God gave us to eat! It's not like some man-made preservative or chemical dye or something yucky like that. Thank you for that insight, though. I do plan to investigate this further when he gets home. :)

The initial diagnosis for my ds9 who was recently hospitalized (and is still there) was mood disorder-NOS. The psychiatrist has recently said he thinks it is likely Severe Mood Dysregulation. I did some research and it seems to fit. He wanted to prescribe Prozac or Celexa but when I asked about Zoloft he said that would be a good choice as well. Does anybody have any experience with this? It's not bi-polar..studies have shown that the 2 disorders effect different areas of the brain. Thanks in advance for any info. you might have. Was also curious about what type of therapy would be helpful for this as well as any natural remedies. He also has shown some ADD/ADHD behavior but I don't think the drugs mentioned would help with his attention/focus. I'd hate to think we'd have to have him on 2 different drugs.

Janna, we must be on the same wave-length today b/c I JUST posted a request for recipes! Just now! I didn't see your thread until I posted it! :D

We don't have a bread machine since dh got rid of it. :glare: And I do not own a decent mixer. But, dd and I made a couple loaves of whole wheat bread this morning and used our hands to mix, punch and knead, etc. It was fun and therapeutic. Could you share your yummiest whole wheat bread recipes (or any!)? I found lots on the internet but was looking for some tried and true. I like to use honey instead of sugar. Today we used white whole wheat. Thanks!

No judgement, only :grouphug: and lots of them. I wish I were closer to you b/c I'd love to give you one in person. May people are afraid of depression and so are not very supportive. They just don't know what to say and avoidance is easier. It sucks. It sucks that I have to pay a therapist each week so I can "vent" when all I really need is a supportive and compassionate friend. I have many, but they are all too busy with their own life. Anyway, I'm sure you've heard all the advice...eating right, getting enough sleep, exercising, fish oil supps, praying (if you do that), getting enough time for you, etc. So I won't say that! :) You are not alone. :grouphug:

Thanks Stacey. I will try her again tomorrow. DS is still at the hospital and we are having such issues with what is going on there. They are supposed to be professionals and yet I feel as though what they are doing to "correct" my son is worse than what we do here at home. Don't want to get in to detail but I'm just so frustrated with the care he has received. I was expecting to know a lot more by now and all they can tell us is they are "working with him". :glare:

I've been on Cymbalta for months. It was working fine with no major side effects. I just noticed that it wasn't as effective anymore...not really helping increase my mood. I figured why take something that wasn't even working, right? But, these withdrawal symptoms are horrific! I did take a pill tonight and am hoping to feel "normal" tomorrow. I'll call my psych then and figure out a wean sched.

So, I've not taken the Cymbalta since Wed. morning. of last week. I went off of that to take the Pristiq as dr. prescribed. Took that for 3 days. It got worse. Then I went off of the Pristiq. I've had nothing since Sat. night. I think I will have to go back on the Cymbalta...have some left...and talk to my dr. about tapering for now. If it were just me I had to take care of I could do the withdrawal cold turkey. But it's not. So I guess I'll have to do gradual. I have to be better. Thanks all.

I just stopped taking Cymbalta after a few months on it. I was prescribed another (Pristiq) but it was horrible. This was over the weekend and I haven't talked to my dr. She hasn't returned my calls. :glare: I've been off the med for a couple days now. Each day I feel worse. Dizzy, tired, "loopy" feeling, forgetful (short term memory), can't drive b/c everytime I turn my head I get dizzy and feel faint. I am way irritable...too irritable even for me. I screamed at my 2yo! I never scream at my kids anymore! Will this all stop soon? What can I do to ease the symptoms? I can't be a good parent like this. My ds9, if you read the special needs board, was just hospitalized at a mental health facility. He needs me to be 100% and I'm not! But, I want off the drugs. Wasn't working anymore anyway like I wanted it to. So, does anybody have any experience stopping an anti-depressant? Any advice? Thanks.

Ds9 is home for a visit right now and if it goes well, we can discharge him tonight and put him in the day program tomorrow. So far he is okay although we've had some angry outbursts and foul language. :glare: Ugh. So his psych said that so far he can see some mild hyperactivity, rigid thinking (duh on that one!), anger issues (another duh), and he is prone to emotional volatility (another duh). He thinks the day program would be a better fit for him in assessing what we are really dealing with as long as we are "out of crisis". We shall see. Please keep praying. I'm off my own meds and going through withdrawal symptoms (headaches, dizziness, irritability) and not really on top of my game right now. It's a lot to deal with all at once. I really just want to climb into bed and pull the covers over my head and cry. :(

Just an update. He is doing well there..as we suspected...b/c his behavior is typically only an at-home behavior. :glare: We suspect that he has food problems going on..as in he is sooo picky and doesn't take in enough calories to function well and thus any behavior problems are exacerbated. It is a 2 part issue, kwim? The social worker thought we were crazy...that ds was "playing us" but we as the parents just KNEW. The kids was STARVING himself b/c he hated the hospital food. Maslov's hierarchy, ya know? He needed to eat before he could focus on his "feelings". ANd he hadn't eaten all day b/c he hates the food there. AND they had him on restricted diet for some crazy reason! :glare: Once we got that taken care of, he was ok. Dh got him an emergency meal from McDs (not our first choice, but it was realy an emergency). Once he ate he was FINE! We see him today for a sign-out on the campus! :D Hopefully he can come home Fri. Thanks for the prayers and encouragement.