Update on A

The meds she was on were not doing a darn thing to help her and the side affects were terrible. I did some research on other treatment options so that we could try something new and found that there are some vitamins and other supplements that have helped people with Tourette's. Two specifically are 5HTP and DHEA. I have read that DHEA is a hormone so my doctor is looking into whether it would be safe for "A" since she has not gone through puberty fully. In the meantime we started her on a multi-vitamin and the 5HTP. She began taking it Thursday night.

We also cut sugar and caffeine out of her diet. We scoured the grocery aisles for replacements for the high sugar cereal she is used to eating and for healthy snacks. We found some organic cereals to try. One is a Wheat Puffs cereal put out by our grocery store, Big Y, which tastes like Sugar Smacks but is sweetened by organic wheat syrup. The other one is a "Cheerios" type cereal put out by Kashi. She likes both of them so it won't be too much of a hardship on her (this kid loves sugar!!). We also bought some snack crackers and fruit for snacks. My lucky husband gets all of the left over Easter candy. LOL

So yesterday was her first full day off of sugar and caffeine and on the 5HTP and multi-vitamin. I am happy to say that her tics seemed to be decreased last night, even after holding them in all day at school and she fell asleep after about 4 minutes in bed. EUREKA! I think we're on to something!

I am so glad that this seems to be working. The side affects from the first medication she was placed on made her really weak and tired and didn't seem to help her tics even a little bit. I am going to continue my research and see if I can find anything else to help, but we seem to be on the right track.

On another subject, i have an eye doctor appt today at Lenscrafters. I lost my vision insurance when my company was acquired by another one this past summer. I found that Lenscrafters accepts my new (really really bad) medical insurance so that will save me $70 on the exam and i found a 50% off coupon for the lens portion of my new glasses. I am excited to get my new glasses. Do they still tout that you can have your glasses in about an hour or is that somewhere else? LOL I don't want to wait for them! (I think I am actually going to buy two new pairs because they have some really cool frames there)

I got my Seatbelt Bag!

This is a picture of my Harveys Seat Belt Bag. It came in the mail today. One of my knitting friends, Jenna, has one and I have been coveting it since I first saw her with it at Rhinebeck last year. Hers is red and I was convinced that I wanted a red one, also, but when I saw this new color, Mojito which is new this Spring, I knew I had to have it instead. (the picture does not do the color any justice. It is gorgeous IRL)

The bags are very sturdy, and yes they are constructed from seat belts. Even the handles are made from seat belts folded in half lengthwise. Inside, there is a cell phone pocket, another pretty big open pocket and also a zipped pocket. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes (including laptop bags) and also a variety of cool colors and prints. I have a feeling I will own quite a few more of these in the near future!! Visit them at http://www.seatbeltbag.com

Today was also "Dyeing Easter Eggs" Day in our house. I let the girls do them all by themselves with just a little bit of help with the measuring. We have a tradition in our house to make a "poopy" egg, which is an egg that has been dipped in every single color resulting in a brownish-green color. It started years ago when my oldest daughter "E" did an experiment to see what would happen if she put an egg in all of the colors, and it's stuck. This year we made two so both girls could do one. LOL This is "A" on the left and "M" on the right. The "inventor" of the poopy egg is "E" and she lives in FL now with her Dad. (nice hair, right? LOL)

HBO program I blogged about yesterday...

I don't think enough people know what Tourette's is and how it affects people who suffer from it. I mentioned that I had recorded the program and made copies for my mom and daughter. It is coming back on 3/25. If you'd like to watch it, mak sure you tune in. Or, if you don't have HBO, I'd be glad to send you a copy.

If you'd like one, please email me with your contact info at mittenexchange at gmail dot com . I'd be glad to send you a copy.

I think it's important that other children learn about this to make it easier for other children they come in contact with who may be have it. Kids only tend to be mean when they don't understand why someone is different than they are.

I am considering asking our school to play it for the students who surround "A" on a daily basis so she can be more accepted and not have to feel so self conscious.

Update on "A"

I know I haven't mentioned exactly what is going on with "A" yet, so here goes.....

She got along ok today. She is starting to have muscle aches in her stomach area from the movements involved in screaming out repeatedly, and her medicine makes her extremely weak. This coupled with the fact that it doesn’t seem to be doing a damn thing to help stop or slow her tics, leaves me wondering what the hell the point is for the meds. We’ll definitely be discussing other meds at her Dr. appt on Monday night.

Tonight she told me that she is afraid that she will be running out of her classroom too much, when she goes back to school on Monday because the tics come so frequently. It will get in the way of her education if she does that. But, imagine being an 11 yr old girl having to scream “love you” over and over at the top of your lungs while all of your peers are trying to learn. Sometimes it comes out so loud and abbreviated that it does just sound like a bark or something. She just moans after them sometimes because they knock the wind out of her. If that doesn't do her in, she'll surely die of embarrassment (ask any 11 yr old girl).

Today we went to the mall to buy Easter outfits for both girls. They got adorable sundresses at Pac Sun. "A" is comfortable enough to let the tics come out while in public but we both agree that it is because the people around her are strangers and she doesn’t give a damn what strangers think. I told her that if anyone stared at her to calmly say “It’s called Tourettes, go home and do some research”. Short and sweet, not rude, but to the point. She liked that and gave me a giggle.

Tonight we discussed how much better it is to shout Love ya than to say obscene words. She said “yeah, beep beep beep beep beeeep” We both laughed a lot at that. I’m glad that humor is still alive in this home. It helps A LOT!

Tomorrow we'll spend the day coloring Easter eggs, and Sunday we are going to Brunch with the whole fam damn-ily. It'll be a quiet, subdued day, so I am not sure how "A" will feel. We've decided to take 2 cars so she and I can leave if she wants to. Our strategy is to take frequent walks outside if she needs to let the tics out. It physically hurts her to keep them in, so I am a little nervous to let her try for too long.

Coincidentally, there was a great program on HBO last night called "I have Tourettes, but it doesn't have me". All 4 of us watched it as a family this morning and I burned copies on DVD to send to my older daughter and their father down in FL and to my Mom up in ME. It helped me to see other kids suffering from this disorder, yet succeeding at so many things. "A" said that it didn't help her much, but I think it did because tonight at bedtime she was talking to me about one of the boys who also had a vocal tic to deal with. I think it was good for her to identify with someone else and not feel so isolated. One of her biggest complaints this week was how lonely she felt even though she was never alone.

On a lighter subject, my big moment of the day today, was buttoning and zipping a wicked cute pair of shorts from the Juniors department. I’ve taken a nose dive on the WW front this week. We’ve eaten Chinese, Friendly’s Ice Cream sundaes, Dairy Queen, Nachos and Cheese, etc. And GUESS WHAT? I’ve lost freaking 4 pounds!! I think I needed to jump start my metabolism again. I am hoping it stays there so I can weigh in at that weight. That would mean that I finally made it down to the 50 pound mark.

Please continue to think good thoughts for us and pray for us if that is your thing....

My No-More-Humdrum-Mittens Round 2 Mittens are complete

So, these are them. :) It's just a basic mitten pattern.....before the embroidery was on them, my pals at my Stitch and Bitch Group affectionately called them "Poopie Mittens" LOL Well guess what? They must have made GREAT fertilizer because there are some GAWGEOUS flowers sprouting up on them! hehehe

Personally, I love the color combo but i am worried that my partner won't. I think they look kinda retro.

I've never really done any embroidery before. The Orange flower and the blue and white flower are crocheted circles that are attached with lazy daisies. The blue and orange flower is just free form lazy daisies and the leaves are free form.....I guess you call it satin stitch, and then there are some tiny flowers made out of french knots.