Some kids will go along with the decision and cooperate. Some kids won't and forcing them can actually be destructive to them emotionally and hurt your relationship. You have to know your kid. I had one who I helped into a clinical depression with the decision to hs, so in the OPs shoes, I would probably make the decision to sacrifice my own educational ideals for the sake of removing a middle school child from a school where he was doing well and was happy. My 12 yo is my youngest and has never loved hsing but we have somehow managed this long. She is the only one at home during the day now. My oldest two have moved out to college or career in the last few months. My next one is at high school or working. We were getting by, but then two of her best friends went from hsing to public schools this year and it's been very hard for her. All the activities haven't helped. We will probably put her into a private high school next year, a year early, but we still have to get through this year.

My first thought was POTS, too. I have POTS. My dd had POTS symptoms during high school. I never got her tested because I didn't realize it until late into the issues and other things were going on. Anyway, she had all the symptoms you describe and all the tests recommended here, including abdominal U/S, endoscopy, sleep study, and bloodwork up the gazoo. When she was about 19, I took her in for allergy testing after my other kids started having issues and tested positive for some common allergens. She had testing years before, but we went through it again. This time she tested positive to wheat, milk, and eggs, in addition to other things. In the years since then she gradually changed her diet and she is really a different person now. She could tell immediately that she had issues with eggs, but it took longer for her to realize that dairy was the cause of most of her GI issues because the reaction was delayed. Now that she is grown up and working and living on her own, she can buy and prepare her own food, it's been easier for her to control her diet. When she stayed at home between college and working, I could see the ups and downs when she "cheated."

Thinking of you, too, and looking forward to a post op update.

When I consulted a SLP after my youngest was born, she said she would act immediately if it were affecting eating. She also had a child with these issues so understood it on a personal and professional level.

I'm a healthy skeptic and lavender makes me sick and I'm not fond of diffusers. But there are EO uses that I discovered through friends and family that have worked. Tea tree oil eliminated recurring fungal infections on my feet after dealing with them for over twenty years. (Fungus-contaminated house slippers at a friend's house in Japan. Yuck.) One application of tea tree oil also eliminates red bumps after shaving. I have a couple family members who react to almost any shampoo, even high priced all natural stuff without the junk. Rosemary oil is the only thing that relieves their itching. I have chronic headaches and sometimes OTC stuff doesn't work. Rather than filling a script that my doctor gave me, on one desperate day, I tried a friend's peppermint oil along the hairline on the affected side of my head, and my headache became manageable within 15 minutes. Usually a headache would last two to three days, but it never came back after that first day. I could tell my head didn't feel right but the pain was gone. Now, I think I want to try peppermint oil for ants, which I prefer to the smell of cinnamon. I will get it from Whole Foods or Amazon. ? Any other things that really work?

I have two kids with tongue ties and got freaked out by a midwife who predicted speech problems would develop. Nothing like that ever happened. I think at least two of my kids also have a lip tie. I have a memory of the dentist pointing it out because it could cause a gap in the front top teeth. One's front teeth gap closed completely. The other's is so small that you can't really see it. She is the one who had a palate expander so that may have given her some extra room. My H had a lip tie and did not have speech problems but got it cut for other reasons. He does have a noticeable gap between his two front teeth. It's not huge but it's there.

Very interesting. It makes me want to do 23 and me. There's a lot of wonkiness in the family and I'd like to figure it out.

I love all these ideas. Thank you. I have heard about anxiety workbooks for kids so I'll look into that. And I'll go through my book shelf for inspiring books.

Interesting that you mention that because a few springs ago when she was going through the same thing, her pediatrician ordered bloodwork to try to rule out PANDAS. The tests were negative but I'm glad it was investigated.

Thank you. I hadn't heard of that before.

Have you tried Xyzal? That's what I was thinking about trying.

Uh oh. Now I'm afraid to try Zyrtec. She takes allergy meds through the fall but only has this problem in speing so I don't think the current med is causing it. I just wonder if she needs something else that might work better.

Every year, for my entire life, I would feel awful in spring. My mood was low, I was tired, I'd get GI symptoms. My mom was sure it was an anniversary syndrome because my dad left our family in spring when I was a child. But a few years ago, I started taking allergy meds and I I have never had that problem since. My D has seasonal and other environmental allergies. She takes Claritin. I find Claritin isn't strong enough to cut handle my post nasal drip in spring so I use Allegra in the spring. How do I know how much magnesium to give a 12 year old who is as tall as me, only skinnier? I really have almost no breaks and I think that might get worse rather than better. My oldest has been home helping a lot, but I think she'll be getting a job offer any day now.

There is some history of my youngest dd getting anxiety flares at exactly this time of year. This time it hit very suddenly and she is having a terrible time getting work done. She's 12 and I think the hormones are not making it any easier. She is my youngest of four girls and I know from experience this age has never been easy, even without anxiety to deal with. Besides school, she is also reluctant to practice and go to music lessons. Thankfully, she is still enjoying gymnastics, time with friends, and martial arts with her dad. I have put in a call to a counselor we've used in the past who is excellent and positive about homeschooling. Hopefully I'll be able to get her in soon. I may also try a different allergy med to see if that helps. A related problem is that my self-esteem is a little too tied into getting school done everyday. She is feeling bad but thinks I don't care. She thinks all I care about is school. :( And honestly I feel like a failure when school doesn't get done. It's irrational but it's bad. Crazy thoughts go through my head like I suck as a mom, I'm a loser, etc. Thinking about it rationally I know it's not true, but that's how I feel on the days she can't get more than a couple of things done.. :( I need some suggestions about how to handle this situation with her positively. How she is feeling is real and not manipulative, and I need to let go of my own anxieties about schoolwork.

To update, I recently made an appeal and dd got an additional grant. The cost would still be more than twice as expensive, so we won't be visiting again. This process is really stressful, though I'm very grateful for the amazing scholarships she's received.

Oops. Sorry. Our local elementary school had a strict lice policy. Kids were sent home immediately and had to be cleared before returning to school. I also realize while I have a lot of weaknesses, I have infinite patience and perseverance when it comes to picking out nits which helps keep any lice from getting out of control. My kids also have sensory issues, so we have always caught them quick.

As you realize, the lice is a separate issue. Lots of homeschoolers get lice. The worst infestations I know of have been among homeschoolers. That's just my experience, but schools don't allow kids back in with lice so it's usually dealt with quickly. We had an infestation in a D's classroom once, so I would recommend putting some pressure on the school to treat the classroom asap. We never had lice spread among family members but I was relentless about coming through and picking out nits. I would take out kids who want to homeschool at any point agreed upon by you and your DH. Right now would be fine if you agree the decision and timing is truly in their best interest. You said it's a good school so it doesn't seem like there is a question of their imminent safety or well-being. I would think twice about taking a kid out of school mid-year who is happy and doing well, unless there are extenuating circumstances. For any kids like that, I'd revisit it over the summer. Looking back, I traumatized one of my children by taking her out mid-year. I don't say that lightly. She was only in K but she cried every night like she was in physical pain for a long time after. I think she had a predisposition to depression but that was likely the primary trigger. It lasted over three years, until I put her back in school again. My one serious piece of advice is to make sure this is about what's best for each child individually and not about what you want. You are wanting them home again now. That is a truly beautiful thing in this crazy world of mixed up priorities. Just make sure you and your DH are on the same page. He seems to be thinking prudently and cautiously while you seem to be caught up in emotion--a very good and worthy emotion but still worth thinking through carefully.

I'm thinking about doing that, but tge peer institutions aren't that much lower. :(

My D really wants a small LAC but I don't think it's going to happen. We are waiting for notification on one last full tuition scholarship for an LAC. She already received full tuition plus at a very good state university. I think she'll end up there even if it mean comprising on her major. The LACs are more than two times the cost even with their top automatic scholarships and additional grants. We could do it with federal loans, but would it be worth it when the instate publics are much more highly regarded than the LACs anyway. We played a merit scholarship game and it created a lot of stress to have to depend on competitive scholarships that hundreds of other kids were vying for. I wonder if it was worth it. She has the stats for much more elite universities but did not apply to colleges with NPC results beyond our budget. There are universities she could attend more cheaply than the LACs in her list but they are farther away. And none would be less expensive than our state college or offer more.

I think we might be down to two schools. We were really hoping Susquehanna might work. We already have a visit scheduled for Easter break but I'm wondering if we should just cancel it. Even with their top scholarship, it's still expensive and much more so than the two other options. She has a scholarship worth more than full tuition at an instate university so it's hard to compete against that. I just wish she liked it more.

Friends of mine just visited after their DS was accepted and received an amazing scholarship. They were very impressed. Everyone at Gannon was very welcoming and tge surrounding area was nicer than they expected.

Several schools have fallen off the list, and now D is waiting on competitive scholarships at three colleges that she likes. She won't be notified until mid-March so we have a bit of a wait. She got more than full tuition at our local public university but she has become rather negative about it. Sad, but her reasons good. And the terms to keep the scholarship give me reason for concern. It would be awful if she went there just for the scholarship, couldn't keep up the gpa requirement in a challenging program, and we had to pay full fare at a place that made her unhappy. There is only one admission decision remaining from a more selective public uni that started releasing decisions this week. I'd like a big envelope from them today!!! Merit is stingy but it's an in-state public, and she should be very competitive there. It should be affordable even with a small scholarship.

Yes to this. We have rather good insurance but it wouldn't even cover ST for my preschooler because it was considered a developmental problem and not the result of an accident, etc. And we live in a state where we don't generally have access to public school services without enrolling, so homeschoolers are on their own.

My mom has an extremely mild problem with S's that I doubt most people notice. It hasn't caused a problem in her professional life. However, my siblings and I learned to talk by hearing her and we all developed the same speech problem and we all needed a year of speech therapy in early elementary school to correct it. Sometimes there are consequences for mild speech issues and if you have the opportunity to fix it I would. I would be inclined to pay for at least a few sessions with a speech therapist for the sake of efficiency, if it's affordable or covered by insurance.

Did they do a culture of the sinuses? My friend's S had constant sinus infections. He was on antibiotics again and again. I recommended she ask for a swab and culture, and an unusual bacteria came back, which they could then target with a specific antibiotic. Once he was completely healed he had surgery to remove his adenoids and that helped improve drainage so he was less likely to get infections. There was a dramatic difference before and after.