Food-Issues

Blood test results.

by Veronica on November 19, 2009

in Food-Issues

Yesterday we received the results of Amy’s blood test results for Coeliacs. It was negative for the antibodies commonly found in people with Coeliacs when they’re eating gluten.

However.

Amy showed all the classic symptoms of a child with Coeliacs when we put her back on gluten. Tummy upsets and pain, bloating, rapid and insane mood swings, and finally, the big one, drastic weight loss.

My little girl? She weighed 1kg less than 8 weeks ago when she was weighed in the Paeds office. This is after a month back on a gluten free diet when she gained back some of what she lost. I suspect she probably lost 2.5kg (5+lbs) over the 3 weeks she was eating gluten. She looked like we hadn’t fed her. I could see every single rib and every single vertebrae. Poor little girl.

Add in the complete loss of impulse control, a severe regression into the realm of not toilet trained at all and the very sad little girl we had, well, we’ll just say that the Paeds are happy to diagnose Coeliacs even though the blood test was negative.

Apparently they’re only 70% accurate anyway. Plus, Amy only spent 3 weeks on gluten when they would have been happier to have her eating it for 6 weeks.

[Side note: 3 weeks of gluten nearly killed us. I’d hate to think of 6 weeks like that.]

At this point in time, they’re not happy to schedule an endoscopy for a definitive answer. The Paediatrician felt that it would be unfair to put Amy [and Nathan and I! we were going to refuse the testing until she was older anyway] through any more gluten, plus, he felt that she really didn’t have the weight to lose if we put her back on gluten. She’s only 5th percentile for weight, despite being 75th percentile for height.

Yeah, you try finding pants to fit her. Sigh.

So the diagnosis is Coeliacs. A life long auto-immune disease that can possibly make her very ill.

Looking on the bright side, Coeliacs is so manageable with a gluten free diet. Don’t feed her gluten and she won’t get sick. Easy!

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Yesterday…

by Veronica on November 15, 2009

in Food-Issues

Yesterday was shit.

Even though Isaac standing up on everything was very cute, it was slightly less cute when he used my ponytail to haul himself to standing. Once there, he tried to remain standing, using my eye sockets. He’s very um, grabby. And his grabby hurts. Sometimes I’d just like to put mittens on him so he can’t keep trying to claw me to bits.

Add the grabbing, standing, falling and clawing to a lovely tummy bug and Isaac was miserable yesterday.

So was I actually, as I ran backwards and forward to the toilet, retching all the way. I think I’m better today, thanks to some anti-nausea drugs and a few panadeine fortes.

Sigh.

Then, on top of Isaac and I being sick, Amy got into some flour. You ask why I’m keeping wheat flour in the house, knowing that Amy has gluten issues? Well I’m baking a wedding cake remember? I can’t throw it out until December.

She finger painted with my foundation. She poured water into Nathan’s tobacco. She smeared herself in honey.She also screamed like a banshee and wailed and cried and I think she might have spun her head around in circles at some point.

I popped her into the shower to clean off and when she got out I rubbed her dry and sat her on my lap to have a talk about why we don’t play in the honey/foundation/tobacco/flour.

She wee’d on me.

All over my lap.

I might have cracked the shits just a little. She was sent to bed while I got my head back together.

There were other various assorted things but oh my god, I was ready for bedtime. Unfortunately, the actual falling asleep didn’t happen until 2 hours after bedtime and I didn’t keep count of how many times I had to put her back to bed.

Sigh.

Dear Saturday. I want a do over. You sucked.

Dear Sunday. I know our morning has had a rocky start, but I’d like if you were better than yesterday. Please.

Update: Sunday, you’re not playing nice. It would be better if Isaac and I were no longer sick. Also, a little less energy for Amy would be fine. And less naughty. I’m sick of the naughty.

***

You know, to make me feel better, you could head on over and press like on THIS photo for a competition I’m in? If the link doesn’t work properly, mine is the photo of Barbie and Chuck. The page it’s on is a Fan Page, not my page, so you don’t need to be a friend to like it, although you may need to be a fan. I’m not sure.

I’d love you forever.

Promise.

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Can I just say…

by Veronica on October 22, 2009

in Food-Issues

NO MORE GLUTEN!

YAY!!!

Suddenly, the world looks so much brighter. This last three weeks has felt interminable. It’s been horrid. Horrid I say.

She has a blood test tomorrow, this daughter of mine who won’t sit still to have a splinter pulled. We will head to the hospital and arrive 20 minutes early so they can put numbing cream on her arm. Then we will do everything we can to get a little blood out of her.

Then we’ll need to work out what to celebrate with.

Suggestions?

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This gluten challenge is killing me

by Veronica on October 19, 2009

in Food-Issues

Bleurgh. This gluten challenge has sucked all the energy out of me. Amy has been …. a nightmare.

Case in point:

I baked the test wedding cake this weekend. Leveled the layers, wrapped them and left them on the bench. I also left the levelled bits wrapped on top of everything. I’d made lemon curd for the filling, straining eggs, stirring for ages and finally straining and cooling.

So when I woke up to tears and tantrums at 5.50am and stumbled out to the lounge room, only to discover that the tantrums were over the fact she couldn’t carry the bowl of lemon curd back to bed with her, I was a little upset.

There were also cake crumbs all over the house and lemon curd all over the floor and just ugh. She’d also stirred greek dressing into the curd and well, we’re just not thinking about that. (I couldn’t taste it after I strained it again and gave it a good stir. We’ll just ignore that fact.)

I nearly cried.

She tipped pine-o-clean on Isaac, she’s been racing to do things FASTER as I yell NO! and run for her and just ohmigod.

OhMYgod.

I’m ready to be done.

I feel like I’ve had all the energy sucked right out of me. Shhhhhlrp. Gone.

On the upside, the blood test is on Friday and Thursday will be the last day of gluten.

So um yeah, WOO HOO!

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Writing from a corner, where I’ve hidden.

by Veronica on October 7, 2009

in Food-Issues, Headfuck

We’re a week into our gluten challenge.

And.

Can I quit now? Please?

It’s been insane. So insane that I no longer think people are joking when they talk about climbing the walls. Because I think I’ve broken all my fingernails trying to climb mine.

She’s been … insane. It’s horrible. I want my daughter back.

I locked myself in the bathroom this morning, in order to shower alone. When Amy discovered that I’d locked the door, she had a tantrum.

Then, she climbed back into the kitchen and pulled every single key off my laptop keyboard. I got out of the shower to find a little girl, holding my laptop, surrounded in little black keys.

Now, before you yell, yes, I’d put the laptop away.

Isaac is reacting to the big ball of stress that is his sister by squealing. Lots. And screaming in anger when his will is thwarted. And screaming andscreamingandscreaming.

He’s been screaming, quite a lot. Ear piercing, make you want to curl up and hide, make your ears bleed type screaming.

It’s been … stressful. To say the least.

In other news, my floor is all pulled up! And tomorrow, they will be laying the new hardwood underlay and vinyl.

And there will be (everything going well) horses arriving on Saturday. The stable is all cleaned out and things are just about in place.

I’m excited about the floor and horses.

I’ve got no idea how I am going to make it through another 16 days of gluten.

Sigh.

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