That is a beautiful dream. FWIW, my adrenals are a wreck. I have Addison's. My doc knows I drink espresso. Once upon a time, she encouraged me to give it up, but the past few years she has mentioned the many positives she's been learning about coffee. Check out some Mercola articles, and enjoy your brew!

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Just found this, and thought I'd share. Looks like it might be useful!

No sources for you, but I did want to say that your allergist's take is similar to our allergist's approach to allergies that DS has recently outgrown. DS is to eat those items 1 - 2 times a week to prevent allergies recurring. Have you asked here for sources? Oh, and come to think of it, both of our old allergists suggested the same regarding shellfish, despite DS never having an allergy. It is to prevent developing a new allergy. I'm going to guess he told us to do that in 2008 or 2009. Which reminds me, we need to get some crab into DS!

My heart just aches for him. Glad to hear he got some pictures from home, and a pic of his mom from facebook. Hugs to you all.

Poor kiddo. He has a rough road ahead. When my best friend/mentor died while I was in college, I became custodian to her son. He was 14. We grieved together. At the time, he was adamant that he did not want mementos of his Mom, but I saved them for later. I hope that perhaps your dfs found something (or you did) that you can help him preserve for the future. Even just to give to his social worker to hold on to for him, when he moves on.

You are very kind for asking. :) When/if you are getting together with a tree nut allergic kiddo, just ask the parents ahead of time. Everyone is different. My guy is allergic to tree nuts, and that did include anaphylaxis to coconut. Looks like we're the only ones here for whom the labeling of coconut as a tree nut applied. (He has recently outgrown coconut though! Yay!) Almond oil could be a problem, I suppose. Personally, I would worry more about the kids on the playground who snacked on nuts in the car on the way over, or ate a peanut butter sandwich - those kids might have residue on their hands or clothes, and that *has* caused a reaction for DS. But there's nothing we can do about that, and honestly it's not such a worry that we'd change anything we do re: playgrounds and fun. All we can do is teach our kids how to handle emergencies if they arise, and how best to prevent them. They have to live in the world, and part of our job is to teach them how to do so safely.

At least they caught it! Glad they could take care of it quickly. We've had a lot of CC fraud issues lately, which makes me very reluctant to use our bank card. Seems that it's much easier to take care of CC fraud than bank card fraud. Oh! My mom had her bank card number stolen last summer too - someone tried to charge $117,000. Really. Who keeps that kind of cash in their checking account? Not my mother! Needless to say, that was caught quickly, and caused nothing but laughter. :)

:grouphug: Right there with you.

Is her Lyme Disease fully treated? Did she have co-infections, and have they been properly treated? Are you seeing a good LLMD? It sounds like there is more going on, clinically. I would look into BLO - Bartonella Like Organisms, re: Dr Burrascano - it is particularly known for causing the type of trouble you are seeing in teens. And I would consider getting her testing through Fry Labs for the newly discovered organism - I have personal experience with it, unfortunately.

If you're getting an iPad also, I agree with Ali above. Doing things the same way on both devices will be easier, plus you can often share apps and sync info between the two devices. I don't know if you can do that with the iPad and the Samsung, but it is a definite plus on the side of 2 Apple devices.

I think more information is needed. :) You've actually perfectly described our next door neighbor. She is, sadly, a combination of A and B, and she is agoraphobic, depressed, and has other mental health issues (she has told me the various diagnoses over the years, I just don't remember them all). But there is more to her story than just the above symptoms/scenarios.

You ladies are all absolutely right. It won't hurt to ask. I emailed Amazon, and we'll see what they say. Thanks for the encouragement!

[sigh] ...I can't seem to figure out whether I can return them or not. Blech! ...They've been washed multiple times now, trying to get the smell out, and I don't have any of the original packaging (didn't think I'd need to save it, as I'd washed them). I might just eat the cost on this, which is a bummer, but won't break the bank. What a weird experience!

Aaaack! I'm so sorry! How painful! I'd follow up with an eye doc, too. :grouphug:

:grouphug: I'm sorry.

She was nervous, too, as we are not generally a chiro type family for some reason. :) She think it gives relief quicker. Some chiros are better than others, though. Some give her almost instant relief, and some ... not so much. Do you have anyone you can ask, locally, for a recommendation?

Ouch. :grouphug: My mom has flare ups of sciatic nerve pain every few years. Out of desperation, she saw a chiro a few years ago, and it helped. That's now her go-to treatment when it starts to flare. Any chance you can find a good chiro in your area? And, ditto Parrothead. It's always good to have an advocate at the doc's office - someone to nod as you describe your pain, or even to say, "hey, she's not describing how bad it *really* is!" But that's not always possible.

Melissa, may I ask about your neurologist? What is s/he looking for, symptom-wise? What are her/his thoughts on any long-term consequences of the side effects of Singulair, if you've discussed it? I am clear on most (some?) of the neuro symptoms (side effects) of Singulair, but I would be very interested in hearing your neuro's thoughts on whether they resolve quickly once off the med, or if they can have long-term effects. When DS got off of Singulair (after being on it for years, like you), most of his symptoms resolved. But he has odd recurrences every 6 mos or so. They seem a bit less this year, so maybe this is not part of Singulair, or maybe it's something else altogether, but we do wonder. FWIW, we've talked to other parents who have seen the same thing after their kids got off of Singulair after years of taking it. Would love to connect with you on that, and compare notes!

Oh! In addition to the probiotics, it might be a good idea to add Florastor. You can buy it a CVS or Walgreens, I think, or order it online. It is a beneficial yeast (S. Boulaardi), and it is a great addition to your probiotics. Very good for gut health while on abx. I will never take abx without S. Boulaardi again! (I think I'm spelling that wrong, sorry.) It can help prevent C. Diff, too. :) Might help with the gastro issues.

I was going to make some of the above suggestions - staying upright for at least 30 minutes, eating with it, taking probiotics, etc. I was on doxy and other abx for many years, and those tips can help. But since you said she's been feeling this was since Day 4... I just have to ask - is there any chance she has Lyme, undiagnosed? What you're describing, that sort of flu-like feeling, sounds like a herxheimer reaction. And with Lyme, that typically shows up around Day 3 or 4. So your post kind of made me wonder...

Thanks for that link. I think I'm going to try to send them back. They just can't be healthy. I hadn't even thought of fake jeans. That could be it. They were part of a Lightning Deal on Amazon.

Aaack! I missed that one! They smell like something synthetic. I don't know what to call it. I just read some reviews on Amazon, and some people have experienced the same thing - they say it smells like Diesel fuel. I don't know what that smells like exactly, but this could be it. Maybe I'll try the vinegar one time, just to see what happens. This is the most bizarre thing!

Thanks! I will email them. I didn't even think of returning them, as I'd washed them so many times. Whew. They are really stinky!

I recently bought a pair of these jeans, based on some rave reviews here. They are nice jeans, not my usual jeans, but I can definitely see wearing them. If they were petites, I'd probably like them more (curse of the shorties!). But... They stink! I noticed it when I pulled them out of the box (ordered from Amazon), so I washed them. Still smelled. Washed them again. Still smelled, and this time everything in the load with them smelled, too. Seriously, I opened the dryer door and the smell hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to rewash everything in the load. I am wearing the jeans today, thinking the smell might have been in my head, but no kidding, it's like I'm walking around in a cloud of ... fumes. It's making me nauseas, and I'm going to take them off and try washing yet again. Are they all like this? Is it only this pair? They are a dark, almost black color. Sort of stretchy. Anyone else have this happen? Any advice? If I can't get rid of the odor, these will be thrown in the freecycling bag.