<p>^ooh, they look Kathie! </p>
<p>I have a niece going to school in NOLA. She absolutely loves it, and thoroughly enjoys MadriGras. (although I don’t think she is a big drinker)</p>
<p>@FogFog - Another vote for no repairman. I think I would switch the hoses so that the temp controls can be used as labelled … by anyone in the house … and without explanation.</p>
<p>I am back here after so many trials and tribulations. First youngest dd was tried on an anti-dpressive to help her with mild to moderate depression. First few days were wonderful- same girl I had a few years ago. Then came zombie who wanted to hurt herself. Off anti-dpressant with round the clock monitoring-while I am doing this, we are at a store and she asks for some candy- not citrus candy so I say okay. It was peach gummy type. She eats four, turns bright red, itching, and doesn’t tell me but has breathing issues. I try to get her to let me buy some benadryl right there in the store but she says no. We go home, give her benadryl and she barely makes it through dinner. The next day, she sleeps in and then wakes up drinks some gatorade and back to allergic reaction, though not as bad as day before. I had been calling the allergist but they didn’t call back until after second reaction. We go in and she is given large dose of prednisone and super dose of Benadryl. At least, she isn’t caring about hurting herself anymore. Of course, dh is out of the country. I now figure out that the only commonality between the two items is citric acid. I look it up and see it is a very rare allergy but more common as an intolerance. She obviously has the allergy and it is severe since she turns red so fast. Now the next few days are spent finding what she can and cannot eat while we wait for official allergy testing.<br>
Meantime, I am having troubles finding psychiatrists who are accepting patients and will take Tricare.
Dh comes back and leaves again for overseas. DD #1 calls from college. She has been feeling really poorly and keeps feeling she will pass out. She goes to student health on Monday night. They take blood, tell her to see a cardiologist, and say she is low normal on iron. Yesterday, she does pass out. Both the doctor and her friend’s mom, a RN, tell her to go to the ER. So an ambulance comes and takes her to the ER. Meantime, I am in allergy testing with youngest. She is allergic to citrus and to that candy( citric acid) but to no other things like food coloring. Turns out that dd is anemic and they give her an IV with both lots of salt (for her low blood pressure) and iron (for anemia). She has a an appointment with a cardiologist in early March and is forbidden from attending classes until next Monday. She is so worried since she had a 4.0 in fall and doesn’t want to do badly. I told her to contact her dean and also disability services. In the meantime, she did feel better after the IV but this morning has a severe migraine. </p>
<p>She will be moving off campus next fall. Apparently the food service changed midyear and she is now eating poorly. By being in an off campus apartment, she can start cooking her own food with lots of salt and lots of meat. It will still be cheaper for me to feed her filet mignons rather than pay the outrageous food costs. We do think that it would be better for her to be with roommates since although she is happy with her current roommate (Miss don’t talk, not there), I would like her to be with friendly people. She did have some friends help her with this crisis. Two of them came to student health and drove her in her car back to the dorm and helped her up to her room and another came to be with her in the ER and take her to RIte Aid and then back to the dorm. She keeps expecting people to be like the mean girls she has endured while moving frequently but I tell her their are plenty of girls like her who aren’t mean. She would help a friend who was sick and so would they. </p>
<p>In the meantime, I found out that my knee cartilage is already decreased by 75% ( no wonder they hurt) and I have an additional diagnosis-fibromyalgia. I think the only reason I didn’t realize that I was tired before was because I am adhd and my tired is everyone else’s more normal. Now I am on a antidepressant for pain and fatigue and also on prednisone for at least a few months (to help with my hurting and stiff joints). </p>
<p>I hope to finally find a psychiatrist for youngest- who actually seems to be getting better since I think her problems are very related to SAD but she acted miraculously yesterday and actually cleaned her room for the first time in at least one year (yes, she didn’t really even get it cleaned for the move so movers moved trash and clothes that didn’t fit).</p>
<p>MM: I am really sorry to hear about all the health problems you and your Ds are enduring. I hope everyone feels better soon. Hugs to you and your family.</p>
<p>More hugs for MM.</p>
<p>MM- yikes, there is certianly a lot of stuff for you to deal with right now. Hope things get better soon.</p>
<p>I am just so happy about the University she is going to. I have learned that big state universities can be very responsive to students even better than some very small LACs. My son was treated poorly at a LAC which contributed to his medical issues but then he went to a large state university and was treated so much better. Then here this University has very caring people which I noticed when we were visiting last year. </p>
<p>I am telling d to figure out if there are bbq grills outside of her dorm. I think there are and if so, she will now start eating steaks and pork chops and such stuff for dinners nicely grilled.</p>
<p>Wow MM - I am so sorry to hear about all you are going through. I am so impressed that you are keeping it together under such trying circumstances. At least things seem to be looking up a little for both of your DD’s. I am glad the big U has been kind to your D, but sorry that the food situation is so bad that she can’t continue to live in the dorms.</p>
<p>Dear MM, ouch those are tough enough problems to endure when hubby is home. Hang in there. Do you have a military hospital nearby where you could speak with them about psychologists for your younger D? Also call tricare directly they should be able to give you a list of people nearby (you may have to drive) but if they don’t have anyone within a certain area who will take tricare, they may have to give you permission to use another provider, what we used to call “Champusing you out.” Good luck and hang in there.</p>
<p>MM, sorry to hear about all of these problems hitting at once. I think EAO’s suggestion of calling the insurer is a good one.</p>
<p>MM - And through all this you are keeping it together!! I hope things are turning around for your younger dd - it almost feels like spring here in the northeast, it was so nice to sit in the sun. I’m glad DD1 had friends to help her when she needed them. Hugs to you and a big cup of tea.</p>
<p>MilitaryMom – you have a lot on your plate. I’m so sorry for all that you’re going through. The anemia thing is very scary. I tell D now to gently pull down her lower eyelids – its the easiest way to see blood vessels – at one point, hers were very pale pink (not a nice healthy red like you’d expect to see).</p>
<p>Finally got a piece of good news, grade wise – D told me she got 98 on a math test. Woo hoo! Maybe she’s turning things around.</p>
<p>S’14 and 2 buddies are walking around the city today. His friends are in shorts! It’s not that warm out…</p>
<p>MM - wow, when it rains, it pours uh? Tough to take all at the same time - please do take care of yourself. Hugs…</p>
<p>Big hugs coming your way MM. You certainly are juggling a lot of balls. Since DH is away is there anyone else who can step in to help?</p>
<p>MM - gosh you are dealing with a lot.
Keep hanging in there, it’s got to get better.</p>
<p>As far as SAD do you have a happy light for your D. S had one throughout hs & I sent it down to school after the holiday break “just in case”.</p>
<p>Hugs to you MM!</p>
<p>MM–hugs and warm thoughts headed your way. The stuff always hits the fan when the spouse is deployed/tdy! Hang in there. Did they give your D1 iron pills or anything? Hopefully she can eat iron rich foods which will help!</p>
<p>Good luck with the Dr for D2. Tricare can be a difficult to negotiate, so I feel your pain. Keep calling and I’m sure you will find something either in or out of the system. Good luck to you too in getting your medical issues worked out–when it rains it pours. Take care of yourself too!</p>
<p>Good news here. DS had his interview for the summer marine biology class he is really interested in. They had over 50 people apply for 16 slots. DS had his interview today and the Professor said he should expect good news on Friday as he was currently at the top of the list. It sure helped that he had this same professor for his first biology class last semester (which he loved–favorite class) and the professor asked him how he got an “A” since he didn’t give out many “A’s”!!!</p>
<p>Rescuing from page 2.</p>
<p>MM- thinking of you as you navigate all that is on your plate right now.</p>
<p>D1 came home for a one night visit (the first since we dropped her off in January), since she had a few doctor’s appointments. She is very excited that she will beliving in the sorority house in the fall and is already planning on painting and figuring out the extra furniture that she may need. She and her roommate ended up with one of the largest rooms, even though they ended up with the last choice. She is happy that her closet will be larger than her current 3ft wide closet.</p>
<p>She also found out that she was elected ‘activities coordinator’ for her sorority. Her term officially starts in March, and goes through next year. She said “Mom, I really won by default, since the other girl who as running was elected to another position, and I was the only one left.” I told her that on her resume, it won’t say “Ran unopposed”, it will only say that she had the position.</p>
<p>i will be leaving shortly for a weekend away with some dear girlfriends. Have a great weekend everyone!</p>
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<p>Congrats to her! I have a friend whose S is the activities coordinator of his frat at Lehigh. It ended up being a big deal. he has a pretty big budget to manage, has met the president of the school, the dean, etc. His parents laugh because he can’t balance his checkbook but he is now in charge of tens of thousands of dollars for his frat. Plus he is quite shy but is now meeting all these new folks.</p>
<p>I can’t believe what one stupid TA is putting d through! This is in a CJ class where she has a 97 average currently and yes, she is pulling As in all her classes so far as well as being on the Presidential Honor list first semester. Does that sound like a kid who is faking anything??? She is trying to pressure her into taking a medical withdrawal. There is no reason. After all, this kid doesn’t even go away for weekends that don’t involve doing lots of schoolwork. She has spring break coming up in a few weeks and will be able to make it up fine. It is Cj, after all, that is giving her the problem- not math, not some other subject where you need to know x to do y. So d had to put a call in to the department and is also calling the Dean of the school and he will be calling her back. The actual full grown adults realize that anemia severe enough to require IVs and days of building up the iron levels is not something minor. I told her to forward the Mayo Clinic info about anemia that plainly states that a possible complication of not following treatment is death. </p>
<p>None of her other teachers are that stupid.
I also told her to order in food rather than walk to the dining hall. She ended up walking across campus yesterday because the bus wasn’t coming and she had originally been told she needs to hand deliver the doctor notes. The math department then sent a note saying email it to them but she was already gone. I talked to her afterwards and she sounded so weak. At least she now has the sense to only be calling and emailing the various people. I told her to bribe some guys she knows with steaks and tell them to grill them for her and them and she will make baked potatoes in the microwave and they can all have a high iron feast. She can’t grill herself right now because she is so weak it is too dangerous. I put much more money in her account and told her to order food in including groceries.</p>