drama girl

Oh, my sweet, crazy Rachel....I love this girl so much.  We've been going through some hard stuff with her lately, though.  I mentioned over the summer that we had to cut dairy out of her diet to try and figure out what was causing her stomach pain and discomfort.  We didn't notice a huge change, except she started losing weight, so we put her back on the dairy.  She continued to struggle with discomfort now and then.  She eats a few bites, feels bad, usually burps, and then can eat some more.  But this takes time, plus she's a slow eater anyway, so when school started and she had a limited time for lunch, and friends to talk to, which takes up some of that limited time, she started eating only a few bites for lunch and throwing the rest away (because it was already opened and wasn't re-packable.)  So she continued losing weight.  Her clothes started falling off her tiny waist.  I did finally get her to not open the applesauce and yogurt at school and bring those home and eat them when she got home, so at least she eats that now.  

A month ago she had a bad few days with her stomach and missed some school.  We went to the  doctor and they took an X-ray and determined it was likely constipation.  We took care of that problem and it was a little better for awhile, but not completely gone, but then over the weekend it started up badly again.  She was miserable on Sunday.  So Monday we went back to the doctor and this time she decided we need to start digging deeper to figure out what's wrong.  Yesterday we went to the GI clinic at Children's Hospital, where they ordered lots of blood tests and an upper GI.  Rachel was terrified of the blood test.   She is so scared of doctors, needles, tests, being prodded and poked, and all of that kind of stuff.  She shed many tears leading up to the appointment, knowing it was coming, and I was fearing having to hold her down, like I've had to do for throat cultures, dentist visits, and the one other blood test she had when she was much younger.  But she did it!  Yes, she cried, but she didn't  kick or scream or carry on like she's done in the past.  She was so proud of herself and wore her sparkly bandaid on her arm like a badge of honor all day yesterday.  She did tell me, "That's the worst thing that's ever happened to me in my WHOLE life!"  Such drama.....

She's just started taking Zantac to see if it would help, and her extreme pickiness makes taking any new medicine an issue, too.  For a couple of days it was a battle twice a day to get her to take it, but she's gotten better, and even though she still hates it, she does it without complaining now.   So  we've made progress.  She also has to drink two Carnation Instant Breakfasts each day, trying to add calories, protein, and vitamins to her diet.  I was afraid of how she'd react to that, too.  She started it this morning, and she liked it heated up like hot chocolate, so I guess maybe that won't be so bad.  She also has to drink juice mixed with Miralax every day, and that, too, was a battle at first, but now she doesn't mind it.  Finding time for all of these drinks, though, is rather difficult!  

So that's the drama we're going through with dear Rachel.  On top of that, Rebecca's been sick (some sort of stomach flu), so that's been no fun.....  But she's on the mend today.  

The Upper GI test is next week, and then we'll just have to wait for all of the results.  I really want my girl to feel good again....and to stop losing weight (she's in the 2nd% now for weight).  She and Rebecca almost weigh the same amount now.  That's just not right.