Dd is upset. She wants to go home. She doesn't feel well. :( CT came back normal. ER doc is going to see if he can get her admitted so we can get faster answers. He may or may not be successful. We're going to draw more labs and do IV fluids.

Waiting is hard. I'm so agitated right now. We we finally get an answer? Will it be terrible news? Or will we get the good news of no tumor but be sent home from here without any idea of what's wrong? Right now it's Schrödinger's tumor.

Waiting for CT results now. The tech was going to take us back to ER without contrast. I had to argue with her that we needed contrast and that the doctor approved it. The tech checked with the doctor. They did the contrast. I want to smash things because of how difficult it is to get the care she needs. She has been ill for 18 days!

I put on workout clothes and wear them during drop off because I'm going to work out immediately afterward. It's a much more efficient use of my time to get dressed in workout wear instead of putting on other clothes, dropping kids off, and then changing into workout clothes.

I asked about contrast for the CT so we will have it both with and without contrast. The doctor came back to ask if I had a background in medicine. He's never had a parent ask about contrast before. I just want answers.

I gave the timeline history to the ER doc. He agrees we need to see her brain, but he can't order MRI because they're completely booked. Those patients won't get bumped without a trauma emergency. He ordered a CT scan. He will also write a prescription for MRI and refer us to neurology. I'm so frustrated.

We are waiting to be seen at the children's hospital. This morning she says it hurts to see. She also can't squeeze my fingers. And, of course, she vomited during the night.

We've started writing things down over the past few days. She gets a headache and double vision, vomits, and then her head and vision return to normal. Her symptoms match what I'm seeing described for brain stem tumors, which, of course, worries me quite a lot. I'll ask for a referral to a pediatric neurologist, but I know our regular doctor can order an MRI now so that its results are ready by the time we're actually at the specialist's appointment. We did that when my 14yo started getting migraines (at age 8). MRI was normal, so we created a migraine treatment plan (at the pediatric neurologist). Dd10's situation doesn't really fit migraine, IME. I've only had visual disturbance twice out of hundreds of migraines. I never vomit with them. My 14yo doesn't get visual disturbance, but she does feel nauseated. Neither of us has ever had a migraine last 17 days.

We've discussed serotonin syndrome. She hasn't had Zoloft or Zofran since Friday morning. She did have Maxalt twice last night, but this list symptoms from the Mayo Clinic doesn't fit: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/serotonin-syndrome/basics/symptoms/con-20028946 She threw up again an hour and a half ago. At this point it seems predictably worst between 4pm - 7am (3-5 episodes most evenings/nights).

They've checked blood sugar. It's very unlikely to be diabetes at this point. She has not had a neuro exam. I'll ask for more things tomorrow.

I'm not sure the migraine med is doing much. She's still throwing up. Her headache woke her first (with blurry vision), then she puked, then her head and eyes felt better. Trying chicken broth for breakfast.

My poor girl is so tired of being sick. She's had visual disturbance (associated with headache), which is why we started trying a migraine med today. Maxalt made her headache go away, but she still threw up a couple of hours later. A couple of hours after that, she threw up again (no food in between times). The headache returned, so I just gave her another dose of Maxalt. Hopefully she will get some sleep. No doubt, she will wake at least once to be sick. 😥 The longer this goes on, the more worried I get about what's wrong. As we rule things out, the scarier or more life-altering explanations are the ones that remain.

Day 16: We're checking antibodies for celiac and thyroid (because I have autoimmune thyroid disease). We're also going to try a migraine medication. Follow up appointment on Wednesday.

We already have an appointment for tomorrow. I want to at least do some blood tests to see if there is anything to explain what's happening. It was only a guess that she was reacting to the Zoloft. She had a quarter dose Friday morning, but I haven't given her any meds of any kind since then. I understand that Zoloft will take at least a week to completely clear, but a pharmacist friend of mine said most of it would clear within the first three days. We wrote down approximate times and foods she ate today and I asked her to keep a record going forward. She can't function like this. She's missed two full weeks of school. She can't go to social events. It's terrible. :(

*sigh* She just threw up again. :(

She hasn't thrown up today. Fingers crossed this is over.

She started Zoloft a month ago. We will investigate celiac/other things if this doesn't fix it.

After this morning's visit, we are considering a Zoloft side effect. We added Zofran and will taper off Zoloft. If that doesn't stop the vomiting, then we know it's something else. Ruled out: Appendicitis Bowel obstruction Virus Dd has not lost weight, which surprises me given how little she's been able to keep down.

We're up to 7x in the past 24 hours. The nurse called back to suggest BRAT and fluids, but we've been doing all of that. She offered zofran, which I reminded her dd can't take. I'm supposed to get another call back after she talks to the provider again, perhaps with another antiemetic option. We have an appointment in the morning. I just want answers so we can fix this.

The vomiting is worse (5x/24 hours instead of 2-3). I called the pediatric GI clinic. They're not scheduling November appointments yet, so we are on the list for that. We're also on the cancelation list for October. I called back her regular doctor and spoke to a nurse. The nurse is going to talk to the provider we saw Thursday. I'm waiting for her to call me back.

She hasn't had a lot of tests. Thursday: I took her to her regular doctor (saw nurse practitioner) because she'd been throwing up for five days. They checked urine for UTI (negative). She had a physical exam with pain in the abdomen but no rebound pain. We were told to dose phenergan and return in a day or two if she was still throwing up. Friday night: Her abdominal pain was worse, so I took her to the local ER. They did an ultrasound of her appendix (normal). They drew labs (I'm not sure what) and those were normal. They sent us home with instructions to return if she worsened or didn't improve within 1-2 days. Monday: I took her to the children's hospital ER. They did an abdominal xray and treated her for constipation. They didn't draw additional blood, but they reviewed what was done on Friday. They sent us home with instructions to return if her vomit turned green or bloody or if she worsened (fever, increased pain). They gave us a referral for gastroenterology and gave me instructions for continuing to help her body evacuate waste. They told us to follow up with her regular doctor within 1-2 days and to use the phenergan from last week. Dd vomits whether or not I give it to her. Tuesday (today): I called her doctor's office when they opened. I explained the situation to the receptionist (day ten of puking, been to the ER, etc.). She scheduled us for tomorrow. Dd isn't lethargic and she doesn't have a fever, but it's been over a week since she's kept down any food. I'm worried she's going to crash. I'll try calling her doctor again to talk to a nurse. I really think if the nurse practitioner we saw last week or our actual doctor knew what was going on, they'd want to see her today.

If ibuprofen doesn't do it, I've loved my endometrial ablation. My periods were horrid. Various less invasive options did not work (tried Mirena, birth control pills, etc.). After my ablation I have a few days of spotting. That's it. I knew I was done with babies, though (you can't carry another pregnancy once you get this done).

Per the instructions we received yesterday, I'm giving her large doses of Miralax mixed with Gatorade twice a day. Things are moving, but she's still throwing up.

She's still throwing up today. I called her regular doctor's office and the receptionist scheduled her for tomorrow morning. I'm really frustrated. Something autoimmune-related is a possibility. I have autoimmune thyroid disease. My mom and my sister have rheumatoid arthritis.

She can't take zofran due to another medication she's on, but we have a prescription for phenergan. That didn't work over the weekend, though.