I have been a slacker now for almost a month! Posts have been few and far between, which is a no-no in blogland. This is the busy season for any chronically ill teenager trying to play catch-up and finish the school year. For the parent of a chronically ill child, the road is hot between the school and doctor’s appointments. Jessie is plugging away with Hamlet, Algebra 2, Biology, Drama, Spanish 2 and US History with her usual insistence that everything will be fine. (Shouldn’t this scenario be the other way around?)
We had an appointment yesterday for results from the sleep study. Jessie had an end-of-grade test, so I went alone. Long story short, she woke up 18 times during the night of her study and never was able to fall into a deep sleep (REM). We needed a doctor to tell us this? Jessie is also a mild snorer. (Good thing she doesn’t bother reading this blog. She’d kill me for writing that.) She didn’t have any other issues like restless legs or apnea. The doctor wrote her a prescription for Flonase to clear her up a bit at night to see if that helps. If not, we will try a little higher dose of Melatonin. If THAT doesn’t help, they will just have to give her something else to help with the sleep. I don’t know why, that all of a sudden in October, the Pamelor just quit doing it’s job.
Other than that, things are quiet around here. No more doctor’s appointments for the week. I have cleared the schedule through the end of the month allowing for “the crunch.” We were supposed to get the labs done for gluten testing, but we’re holding that off as well. Jes is still happily consuming all things gluten without any stomach problems.
Living Chronically 
I remember how crazy the month of May was when I had kids in school….and mine didn’t have health concerns. One day at a time and it will be summer break soon! Thinking of you guys…
I totally understand the time crunch – we have two school band concerts tonight (unfortunately at different schools at the same time).
Jess’s sleep study results were classic CFS. Last I heard, you were going to try giving her all the Pamelor at once at bedtime – did that help?
For me, when one med quit working as well for sleep, Dr. Bell suggested adding a different one. I now take 100 mg trazodone plus about 45 mg nortriptyline, and the combo has worked well for several years. My sleep with these meds feels normal now. Just something to consider when you talk to the doctor.
So glad to hear Jess is still eating gluten without problems!
Sue
Sue, I complete agree with everything you’ve said. We’ve been giving the Pamelor at night (50mg), but she’s still not getting a restful night’s sleep. I think that once this school stuff is over, we will talk again with the doctor about trying something else.