I'm going to start my medical update with... David! I know I don't talk about him often when I'm talking medical stuff, but David got some news a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd share.
David's been struggling a lot with having brain fog, being excessively tired, frequent headaches, etc... In addition to some medication changes for his anxiety/depression, we decided to get him allergy tested because I suspected some underlying food sensitivities that are aggravating his system. We got his allergy tests back right before vacation (FYI- we did IgG and IgE to test for allergies as well as sensitivities) and it turns out he is highly sensitive to eggs and all dairy. He is also sensitive to broccoli. The doctor doesn't feel the eggs or broccoli are likely aggravating his system, though he does recommend cutting them out, but dairy can definitely be contributing to these symptoms.
Some dairy allergies produce a drug-like effect on the central nervous system and lead to brain fog. Food reactions can also trigger irritability and confusion. Some of the most common food allergies are to cow's milk and other dairy products, such as cheese, ice cream and yogurt made with milk. Some people cannot digest or absorb casein, a protein in milk, or lactose, a sugar molecule in milk. This causes an allergic reaction. http://www.livestrong.com/article/333669-foods-that-cause-brain-fog/
So, starting today, David joins our growing list of family food allergies. Eggs, dairy (all types), and broccoli is out for him. Conner can't have gluten, dairy, or peanuts. Madi cannot have eggs, gluten, or much dairy, as well as almonds or peanuts. I suspect Ramya has a dairy sensitivity as well, as I have noticed she gets diarrhea after eating dairy. I know dairy bothers me too, so at this point, we are all just going to be dairy-free. For now, that's our list.
Right before vacation I turned in stool samples of Ramyas. The doctor wanted to make sure she didn't have any internal perisites. I got the test results back today and I'm happy to say, she's parasite free! Yeah! I pray I never ever have to collect samples again. Yuck.
We've had a looooooot of shower chair drama, which I will post later. After a very long wait, I am happy to say the correct chair (part of the long story) should arrive tomorrow. I can't wait to be able to get the girls in the shower! YEAH!!!!! I'll post a picture, as well as the whole long story soon :).
Tomorrow I take Ramya down to the general surgeon because we are still trying to figure out if she will need the cecostomy tube some time in the future. The surgeon wanted to meet with us after we went in to GI. I think that's our only appointment this week, so that's nice.
We've had to make a hard choice to take Ramya's physical therapy down to every-other-week. Because we have crummy insurance and our PT is out-of-network, we spend $115 a week right now for her to have physical therapy. That's on top of the $850 we spend a month on health insurance, and the hundreds we spend on co-pays and deductibles and the such. We can't make it on David's base salaray, and so are cutting a lot to try and stay above water (he won't be getting bonuses for quite some time due to some crazy things going on that are just way to complicated to type out). I know that our troubles are so minor compaired to so many others, and that we are very spoiled, and for that I am thankful, but it does feel kinda bleh right now. We're praying that Ramya will get on long-term care soon. We can apply for her again in October after our re-adoption date. That's when she will officially have her full name and official US paperwork. They told us she won't qualify, but please help us pray for a miracle! Though we would still have the $850 a month, it would help so much with everything else. We know we will be fine and we will get through this time, we just have to cut down, and sadly, this is part of what we need to do. I try to work with her a lot on my own, and I know she will continue to thrive despite our cut-back.
Thanks for walking our journey with us and for always keeping us in your prayers. We appreciate each and every one of you!
