I had one like that. It's hard. They do grow out of it. Mostly. :)

I crave salt, esp with headaches. It also helps with POTS, so I am on a high salt diet per doc's orders. This may be unlikely, but I will mention it just in case. When my salt cravings were at their highest, I was heading into adrenal insufficiency, but didn't know. Salt craving can be a symptom of Addison's Disease. If you notice darkening skin, excessive fatigue, other symptoms, I'd mention it to the doc. Getting the Addison's treated lessened the salt craving here. But it's still comfort food!

I'm so sorry. It's been a rough winter here, too. My story is much like Isabella's, but perhaps with different factors affecting it all. I'll throw out some stuff that my (allopathic but natural leaning) doc has tried. You've ruled out walking pneumonia? First, I have adrenal insufficiency, so any sickness means I need to increase cortisol. I learned about this when I could not get over another illness a few years ago. Any chance you have adrenal fatigue? When increased cortisol didn't help this time, my doc checked (because I have a history) fibrinogen levels - I have a problem with hypercoagulation. So we increased my treatment for that - I take Boluoke and Serratia. That's all related to the MTHFR genetic disorder, so I added back my Methyl Assist for that, which I'd let lapse. Finally, we added in several anti-vitals. An drographis Plus and HEEL Engystol. I am finally feeling a bit better. Still tired but much, much better. Not sure any of that will help but maybe it will spark some ideas.

Io have several close friends who've never chosen to have kids. They are happy, fulfilled, have rich, full lives. I know a lot of other females without children, though I'm not close enough to them to ask about their feelings - they seem content on the surface. FWIW, all of the above are in a science field which does not lend itself to parenting.

Moxie, I understand what you're saying. This article, though, is very short, and is specifically asking for donors, even gives minimal requirements, and offers an opportunity to help. There is absolutely something we can all do here. We can post it places, like here, where more can read it. That's how a donor will be found. Liver donation is a miracle, that it has come so far, that we can have living donors - it is beautiful. In '98, my best friend died while on the liver donor list. There was not an option then, for a living donor. When it became available a few years later, her mom and I cried happy tears, with some regret and sadness mixed in, of course. I hope they find a donor. I wish I could do it.

(((Many hugs)))

Use a CPA. It's liberating. And worth every penny.

Oh, another one we love here: the Scooby Doo family stickers. :)

I am stunned. Stunned! Are we twins? ...I was just coming to post that one! I love, love, love that sticker. DH always looks at me like I'm crazy, but I adore it. I have only seen it once, and it *still* makes me laugh hysterically. We no longer have a minivan, or I'd have hunted it down. OP, you must use that one, pretty please!

Another vote for home. Hoping she feels better soon!

Yes, 5 Guys cooks with peanut oil, but that doesn't worry our allergist as much. It's the shelling of the peanuts that becomes aerosolized and easily inhaled. We can go in ChickFilA, who cook with peanut oil, but not 5 Guys. :) Oops, editing to say that DS wouldn't eat the food in ChikFilA, but he can sit at a table and eat his own safe food while other people eat ChikFilA food. We can't do that at 5 Guys or ... That steakhouse. Maybe it's Logan's? Not sure. :)

I like Evernote. Pinterest has private boards now.

If you can possibly avoid selling things like peanuts and other nuts - that would be appreciated deeply by those of us with kids who have life threatening allergies. Like, I'd like to give you a hug kind of appreciation! Nothing ruins a good time like the sight of something deadly, littered on the floor. Peanut shells [shudder], sure sign that there is something floating in the air or on a chair or table. All it takes is a touch, and then a kiddo touches his mouth and ... trip to the ER. Been there, done that. Not fun. There's nothing like having to leave an event because of the potential for a reaction. It's disappointing. I know it's not an issue for everyone. I know people love high protein snacks. I used to as well. Of course we train our kids to stay safe despite the realities that these things are out there. But things that leave residue, or potentially get into the air can kill some people. I'd never suggest avoiding all allergens (impossible) but the obvious easy ones, especially the ones that have a tendency to go airborne... It would be great if those could be avoided. (There's a reason places like Five Guys and that other steakhouse, I can't recall the name, have a warning on the door that people who have peanut allergies shouldn't come in - because they serve peanuts in the shell, and the stuff is *everywhere.*)

Today I'm grateful for the Indigo Girls. Okay, that could be me any day, because we love them here, but today... More than normal. :) You know how sometimes there's a band that spans decades, and their entire career becomes the soundtrack background for your life? Yep. From the first time I saw them in ... 1988 at Rock Against Fur... to today. Big puffy heart them. :001_wub:

Slartibartfast, I'm glad you are all recovering. To have that happen while out of town... [shudder]. It was one heck of a combo. We canceled a vacation to my mom's house (I was so disappointed because I miss her, but need I say how grateful we were not to give it to her?). Then we had to cancel a visit to more extended family, and another visit *from* extended family. We still have to reschedule it all! Yikes. OP, I hope your kiddo is okay, and that it doesn't turn into the crazy-bad experience we had. FWIW, except for the strep, there wasn't much the doc could do. But it helped to know that the strep was taken care of, and that the rest was viral. If you think it could be the same combo we had, you might consider the doc, but if you're sure it's just (ha! *just* is hardly the word) the flu, then do what you'd normally do, and I hope some of the above ideas help. :) Sending healthy thoughts to all.

Wasn't it?! I didn't even think it was possible to have strep and flu at the same time! The doc said 50% of the kids coming in that week were testing for both. It was about Dec 29 or so. I am *still* not back to 100%. Hope you guys are all better!

Oh! We did end up with one kiddo in the hospital due to dehydration - after days of vomiting. So definitely keep an eye on that, and make sure she's hydrated. If you can stomach doing it, the powdered gatorade is a bit healthier than the type that's pre-mixed. I can't recall the difference, but it's distinct enough that our doc (the natural leaning one) always suggests that. Pedialyte makes a drink or some push up pops that would replace electrolytes, too. Our kiddo that was dehydrated is an excellent water drinker, so he'd been drinking water, but not replacing electrolytes. And for full disclosure - I was also hospitalized with this particular flu. It was really a doozy. Not sure if the crushing chest pain was from the Tamiflu or the flu itself, but I scored an ambulance ride and hospital admission. Not fun to have the flu in an isolation room. Not at all. While I was there, there were 90 other flu patients admitted. Horrible. So do be careful.

I hope she feels better quickly. Our flu A (verified) this year manifested in a similar way - her symptoms sound very familiar. Some of us had fevers, some didn't. I think the main things to watch for are dehydration and breathing issues. We needed to use the nebulizer every 4 hours for our asthmatic kiddo. I'm going to second Jean's suggestion of Vit D and C. Also, our natural leaning doc suggested Andrographis Plus by Metagenics and HEEL Engystol for me. Those are both anti-virals. We used elderberry syrup as well, especially for the people who weren't sick yet. For the fever, we did Motrin, and as long as it brought a high fever down 2 degrees or so, we were happy. We (obviously, since the flu was verified) went to the doc, but my kids had strep along with the flu, so they needed to have that treated. Around here, the kids all seemed to be catching the double whammy special of flu A and strep simultaneously. Yuck. But really, other than Tamiflu, there's not much they do for the flu, and Tamiflu has it's own issues. We had it, but none of us finished our courses, as we had side effects and decided it wasn't worth it. Hoping she is better soon, and that you all don't catch it.

Great minds! We posted at the same time! Go Moms!

Sweet. :) I left home at 17, and have been fully self-supporting since. But when I had a hysterectomy scheduled, at 27, I wanted my mom. She flew across the country to help me. Moms rock!

Stomach pain can be a symptom of anaphylaxis. In fact, if you have stomach pain along with another body system involved, our allergist would suggest you epi. We were recently in the ER after DS ate something that contained trace amounts of an allergen - and his symptoms were (severe) stomach cramping along with dizziness and lightheadedness. We actually did not epi before the ER, but went in for monitoring as we were afraid things would progress. Do you have an epipen? Do you know the symptoms to watch out for re: anaphylaxis? Past reactions (or non-reactions) cannot predict the severity of a future reaction, so I would be extremely cautious. In regard to the stomach pain... I find that I take that very seriously, as delayed use of the epi is a primary cause of reactions to become fatal. So I feel that *any* symptoms is significant. My emphasis on this stems slightly from the story of the poor teenager who passed away after eating Subway in a mall, years ago, that had been contaminated by peanut crumbs from a cookie. She and her mom just thought she had diarrhea, essentially, so she was in the restroom alone while mom shopped. Use of the epi earlier might have saved her. Her story breaks my heart. That happened right about the time DS was diagnosed with allergies, so it's made an impact on me. Editing to add a link: http://www.whenpeanutsattack.com/peanut-allergy-survival-101/anaphylaxis/ I found it while searching for the poster - DS has this poster hung on his bulletin board. It's printable. But the article with it seems good, too.

For DS, who is super helpful, kind, and just a nice guy. I like that kid! For feeling ... Better. Less bad. :) For a beautiful snowfall that didn't stick (much) but made our day feel cozy.

We must all share the good news about Sam and Dean. That goes without saying. If you are driving along, and see a frazzled homeschool mom taking pics and honking at you in your Impala, pentagram & flannel - it's just me. Carry on. Sorry to hijack. Any mention of Sam and Dean gets me all worked up. :) BV, in the new dress code, maybe Suoernatural shirts can have a pass, as long as they are not divisive?

Love the dinner, hate the sin! DS is calling it Sin Bread. Yum.

I think I'm going to go make banana-banana bread and call it dinner.