Shew...what a week!

Well first off, I hope you all had a chance to swing by Jim's blog and tell him "hi". He needs the encouragement to keep blogging :) We all do from time to time.

I am WELL aware of the fact that there are zillions out there that have things truly "rough". With that being said, we all still have what we consider rough days, weeks, months...etc. Last week was one rough week! Brayden has had (as of this past Tues) 4 weeks of diarrhea. And we couldn't figure out the source. After the first 2 weeks I took him to our regular pediatrician and she just said he'd had a virus and it really tore up his stomach and intestines and that it'll take a while to get back on track. She said to give Lactinex (like a powered yogurt) and put him back on his Zantac? I asked her if she thought it could be that he'd formed another food allergy. Cause he was kinda acting like he did before we found out he was allergic to eggs. She wouldn't listen to me and told me it was a virus. Frustrating, but I did what she said for a week anyway. ...no change. I decided to get another opinion and went to another pediatrician. I gave her the run down and a dirty diaper for a poo sample. She was concerned but told me that there was such a thing called Toddlers diarrhea that can last up to 8 weeks. But she wanted to rule everything out. She said to stay on the Lactinex, get off the Zantac, and try Mylanta to soothe his tummy so he'd eat better (maybe). ...another week, no change..but he was eating a little better. And then this past Monday he went to pieces...crying, clingy, wouldn't eat or sleep (at nap). So I called and told them this was nuts. She agreed and said to come back in. She did another exam on him and we drew blood for a CBC. And I asked to please run a RAST test (allergy test) so that I could please put my mind at rest and know whether or not I'm giving him something everyday that's causing this to happen. She asked if I was sure and I said that as selfish as it may sound...yes, I have to know.

She called with the results on Wed and everything came back normal....except the RAST test!!! (Thank goodness I was pushy) He's now not only allergic to eggs...add soy (which he drinks Soy milk everyday cause it "seemed" easier on his tummy) and dairy! I just fired back "well what the heck is he supposed to drink?" Brayden now drinks goat milk. He likes it most days. And I have now become a frequent (already) patron of our local health food store. It's been very stressful and mind numbing trying to learn to read the labels on all food correctly. Cause milk isn't always just listed as MILK it's got other forms (I don't know how to spell them all so I won't attempt to provide examples). And soy is sometimes SOYA, soy letchin, etc... It was/is overwhelming, but with each day I get over it a little more. I still just wanna say "no fair" and suck my thumb (or his thumb since this all impacts him). But I have to get over it and just do what we have to do.

It really helped this weekend when we finally found out about this store called Whole Foods (they are actually all over the US and international). This is where our health food store gets a lot of their stuff. The closest one was in Arlington, but it was worth the drive to see that there are stores made for people with allergies. You pay the price, but they ARE out there. And that was one of my biggest worries once we found out about all this...that I wouldn't be able to find selections. Cause our dinky little Walmart is NOT geared for Allergy Free shopping. Jim suggested that after Whole Food we try Central Market (by HEB) and see what they have. They had almost all the stuff we needed (some at better prices) except the dairy free mac and cheese (which I think I can find online). Goat cheese was one the things I was trying to find for Brayden that Whole Foods didn't have...well Central Market has at least 10+ to choose from. So again, it put my mind at ease to know the selections are out there...we just need to drive a bit and pay a bit more. But it's worth it for him! ......now to try and prepare him something for Thanksgiving...hum...

Thanks for those who stuck it out and read this whole rant/pity party. I'll back it all up with pics later this week. And Brayden seems to be doing much better now that we have his diet on track.