I know, I know

It's been a while. So long in fact, that probably no one even checks this site anymore! That is okay. I am really writing for myself, about my family's journey with allergies. Seem silly to blog about? It is and I know it, but this is such a huge lifestyle change for me, I need to have somewhere to talk about it, even if it is to myself on a blog that no one reads! Anyway, my husband found out he can't eat wheat about two years ago. That has been hard, but now we have gotten to where we can manage it and most of the time it isn't a big deal. I have found new easy to fix meals and recipes, so life is okay. About a month ago I took my oldest in to see if we could figure out the rashes she keeps getting. We figured it out alright! She is allergic to all the grass around here (already figured that), most of the weeds (not a big deal), some of the trees (so the kid needs allergy medicine everyday...still not a big deal), broccoli(my other kids are jealous), wheat (what!! nooooo), peanuts (no more reese's, she will be sad), and EGGS (this is a huge deal!) Combine them all together, and it is hard to feed her. I was told that since she wasn't having any bad reactions so far, she could go ahead and eat these things in moderation. That isn't so bad! We can handle this. Except, fast forward three weeks and her rash has gotten terrible! I put her prescription cream on it and it is still getting worse. Dang, that means that I probably need to cut some of the offending foods from her diet. Sigh.

Now for my 2nd daughter. I haven't been able to pinpoint what is going on with her. I have spent the last year reading parenting books and trying to figure out if she just has a difficult personality or if there is something going on. When I talk to people the response is always "she is a middle child AND a girl. What do you expect?" So, I let it go, at least until the next episode. After a convo with a good friend, I decided I owed it to her to make sure nothing is wrong, so we started with an allergy test and found that she is HIGHLY allergic to CORN...including corn syrup, corn starch, pretty much if it says corn, she can't have it. I always thought that if you were allergic to a food, your throat swelled, and you got hives. I was shocked when the allergist handed me a list of symptoms:

Chronic fatigue, general malaise, sleep disorders, migraine, tension, sinus,

sinusitus, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, nervous stomach, rectal itching, bedwetting, fluid retention, arthritis, growing pains, eczema, unusual rashes, pale skin color, dark circles around the eyes, depression, anxiety, insomnia, hyperactivity of children, behavior problems, difficulty concentrating, panic attacks, moodiness

Over half of the things on this symptom list are problems we have been dealing with. The switch to no corn has been very hard. So far, in a week we have not successfully gone a day without corn yet. I will keep trying. The hope is that if corn is eliminated from her diet 98% of the time, then if she has a little bit her body will be able to tolerate it. She knows she can't have corn, but I am trying very hard not to let her know when she has had some and when she hasn't. I want to see if this is REALLY the answer or not and if she knows, we get some placebo going on and I am afraid it will just make it harder for me to monitor her reactions.