Celiac Is Beating Me Down...

[Joni63]

Hey everyone,

I need help/advice/support!

I'm so frustrated right now. I honestly feel like I can't keep up with every day life. I struggle to get the things done I need to do and can not even accomplish that.

Heres some things I'm frustrated about...

Water pipe broke in basement yesterday and that means oodles of work. We cleaned up the water but have many wet/damp things that still need to be gone through. Plumber naturally can't get here until next week!

My housework is never close to being caught up. I struggle so bad with getting things done.

Just found out 2 weeks ago I'm Iron and Vitamin D deficient.

Had tinnitus constantly since December.

Still have bloating and have trouble losing the 10 - 15 lbs I need to lose.

Feel like the kids are taking advantage of my tired state and not helping like I need them too. I'm seriously thinking about calling Nanny 911!!!

Need to get a job because it's getting tougher and tougher to keep up with rising costs of living. I've been a stay at home mom for 8 years. I want to work, but how can I when I am such a mess?

Husband works nights which leaves all the kids activities/homework/chores to me!

Need a new rug, furniture/rooms painted and so many things fixed/repaired...I get frustrated knowing I can't possibly do them all. Usually I do a lot of handi-work around the house and love doing it, but have no energy to do anything.

Oh and I've been doing ok with yogurt/hard cheeses (I think) so I tried milk today - it's a no-no!

Wonder if I'm getting worse or better? New symptoms of Iron and D deficiency and tinnitus were not there pre gluten free!

I really needed to get all that out of my system!

HELP!!!

[AndreaB]

The stress you're under is bound to cause some health problems.

Have you had another celiac test to see if your numbers have come down. Any chance of cc?

If you have another celiac panel run and the numbers look good then I would suggest looking into other reasons for the vitamin deficiency (unless that isn't new). The tinnitus can be metals, and probably a host of other things. I would recommend a integrative/holistic/naturopathic type doctor as they run numerous tests to try and find what is wrong.

[CarlaB]

Joni, the weather is getting nicer, get out in the sun with no sunscreen 15-20 min. per day.

You will have more energy when you get your iron levels raised. I always feel horrible when I'm anemic.

As for the housework, it will be there when you feel better, I promise. Let go of what you can't do, stress isn't good for getting better.

As for the kids (I have six), give them specific chores. I gave each child a room that they are in charge of (even the 9 year old). That way if I walk in a room and it's a mess, I know which kid to tell about it. They have to keep the room straight, vacuum and dust. I might be tougher than nanny 911, but that's because I've been very sick the past few years.

Don't think about getting a job until you are doing better. You need your rest to get better. The additional stress won't help any either. If it has to be done, perhaps hubby might have to take on more work.

I can tell you that through the past couple years, dealing with my illness has had a profound effect on my family. The kids know they are needed and are so self-sufficient now. They ask me for help if they need it on their homework, but I do not check to be sure they are doing all that needs to be done. If they need to be somewhere, it's their job to remind me where and when. If they miss something, it's no fault but their own.

But through this all, they know I love them. Remember, they don't need you for what you do, they need you for who you are.

If you continue to not see improvement, keep looking for what else might be wrong until you finally get back to good health.

Hang in there .... dealing with chronic illness is not for the weak.

[Joni63]

Have you had another celiac test to see if your numbers have come down. Any chance of cc?

Hi Andrea, I did have a 2nd Cealic panel at 6 months and all of my numbers came out negative. 2 were elevated prior to my diagnosis so I was pretty happy that I was able to get them down in the negative range so quickly. I have had a few accidental glutenings and mistakes along the way, but the numbers were all negative.

I just went to see a Naturopathic Nurse Practitioner who is a PHD on Saturday. Loved her! She is putting me on soooooo many supplements, in fact I'll post them for opinions. None of them she sells...I had to order them myself. I made sure all of them are gluten free and got most of them today. I just started 3 new things today and want to only add 3 things every 5 days until I'm up to what she recommended.

She also has me going for some blood tests and my iron and D were never tested prior to gluten-free so it could be that I've been heading this way for a long time and the gluten free diet change and increase in exercise tipped the scales. Gluten free food, I'm sure you know is not fortified and I wasn't supplementing even a multi-vitamin regularly, and I cut out milk that I used to have daily. My energy level has been heading downhill for a while and this feeling that I can't keep up with everything has probably been here for about 2 years. It's the energy I lack so bad, eveything is such an effort!

Here is the supplement list:

Multiple vitamin, Vitamin B50 complex, Vit C, Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc, , Alpha Lipoic Acid, Iron, Vit. D3, Coenzyme Q-10, Multiple Amino Acid Complex,

Temporarily (about a month of each of these) Siberian Ginseng, Selenium, Pau D-arco, and Acidophilus

She also wants me taking melatonin at night.

I'm a little overwhemed with all these, but willing to try it since I feel so lousy. These are also at pretty high doses and some supplements are 3X a day!

The tests she wants are:

CBC - C diff, HgbA1C, CRP, Sed Rate, ANA, EBV titers, CA - 125, Pregnenalone, DHEAS

I also go back to my PCP in about 2 weeks for iron and D followup, and all B's, Magnesium, A, and K. We didn't do those the first time, all others such as B12 and E are fine.

I also did have the thyroid numbers run and recently read a thread on here about the parathyroid and I'm wondering about that. My calcium levels run 9.2 - 10 and I haven't had my PTH level checked. I might try to get that on the next visit.

I guess I shouldn't be so discouraged since I'm being proactive about my health, I'm bound to get answers. It's just so hard when it feels like the answers aren't coming quick enough - or the relief!

You will have more energy when you get your iron levels raised. I always feel horrible when I'm anemic.

Thank you Carla. You sound like a very strong person. When I first got dx'd I said wow, it's only a diet change I can handle that. I've always kept a fairly healthy diet and this seemed easy enough. I kept positive and thought I would feel better in a couple months. In some ways I do feel a lot better and mostly it's the clarity of my thinking. It's nice to be able to stay focused on things now.

About iron, my serum ferritin is 7, but is that considered anemic? I read that serum ferritin wouldn't make you feel that tired, unless hemoglobin and hemocrit are also low. So I didn't think that would be my problem.

You are an inspiration having 6 children and being so organized. I think it's great that they have responsibilities and are held to them. My kids are 8 and 10 and they do have a limited amount of chores. I think I have just been slacking so much myself that it's hard to keep after them to get things done. And you know kids, they tend to take advantage of things like that.

I will try to hang in there. I guess I have to realize that it's going to take a lot more time than I originally thought. I want a quick fix, but I can't have it so I'll have to be patient.

Any ideas about the supplements or tests I'm getting done. I don't know what CRP, ANA pregnenalone and DHEAs are? I do know that the EBV is because I had mono when I was 14. I really liked the Naturopath - she was very thorough.

[CarlaB]

I don't know that much about ferritin levels so I can't really answer that .... but I think if those levels are low it will affect your health in a negative way! It has something to do with the amount of iron stores you have. I'm not sure what those other tests are either. I'm sure you can Google them.

Don't feel bad when you have your kids work on days you cannot ..... when they're sick, I'm sure you don't expect them to work. My kids see me working around here when I'm up to it. Kids understand what feeling bad is like.

[mftnchn]

Joni,

I think these are good supplements to start with and see if they help. If not, you might need to explore more.

I have pretty severe malabsorption but didn't know that right away. My body is also very very picky about supplements. I am now getting my B vitamins by shots which is helping. It has been a challenge to figure everything out.

I also read a post the other day that was an encouragement. This is exactly what has happened with me, feeling worse in some ways even though BMs are much better. What a trade-off, huh? Anyway this post helped me refocus and just try to keeping hanging in there.

Also, the most frustrating thing in my experience, is that the healing takes TIME. And during the healing time, a lot of strange things can happen and sometimes you can't tell if you got glutened, or a new food senisitivty popped up, or it's just some weird change your body is going through while healing from the gluten. All that just about drove me nuts for several months, like from month 8 through about month 16... there was a span of time there where there was just a lot of ups and downs that I couldn't make much sense of.

I really think there is a big difference around the 2 year mark, and some of the things that happen before that time may just be unexplainable.

[KimmyJ]

I'm so sorry that you're feeling badly. I know this may not be helpful, and you probably already know this, but the more you think about how much you're not doing/able to do, the worse you will feel mentally/emotionally. It really sounds like you're doing your best, so that the place to start. Try to remember that you have some serious deficiencies that will take some time to solve, and that you're not lazy or unmotivated. I don't know how your relationship is with your children and hubby, but maybe you could sit down with them and explain about your health and that you will need some real help so that you can feel better. I know my mother had a chore wheel when we were young that she put on the fridge, and every person in the house has their chore for the week, and it changed every week. Maybe set up a system of privileges that your children either have or lose depending on whether they do their chores or not. I think that there is a good chore for every child that can be matched to their age and ability. Enlist your husband's help setting this up and enforcing it.

As far as you getting things done, it really is a process. Pick one thing that you will do every day (for example, the kitchen sink). You could pick just that one thing and decide that even if you feel really horrible, you will keep the kitchen sink clean. That gives you at least one thing that you can feel you accomplished that day. Then if you're feeling up to it, you can add something else, but don't put pressure on yourself. If you're anything like me, you'll start to feel more competent because you have managed to keep the kitchen sink clean for a period of time. Then as your health improves, you can keep adding things to that list of things you do every day. It sounds really basic, but it often helps to get back to the basics when you feel overwhelmed by so many things to do.

I hope something in there helps - it's such a difficult situation that you're in. Just know that you can do this, and it too will pass. Sometimes it's just baby steps.

[missy'smom]

I've been asking my son(10) to unload and put away the dishes alot lately. He can't load it as well as I can plus loading is minmal effort for me on days I don't feel well. If he can do that much, it helps the kitchen and I both to ready to cook the meals and that is the minimum that we need done each day. In the past I have designated Friday after school or late Sat. morning, to be our cleaning day and made a list of the things that needed done. He chose first, about 1/3 - 1/2 of the chores, and the rest were mine to do. We started together and the work got done faster with both of us working and it was more bearable for us because we were doing it at the same time. When we did that he got small monetary compensation for his work.

I hear you on so many of the things you listed! My husband is away alot and works long hours when he is home, so alot falls to me. I completely understand about the kids taking advantage. We have the same problem and I feel really bad about it but I do the best I can.

[Ursa Major]

A serum ferritin count of 7 is terrible. Normal is 40 to 300, with 110 being optimal.

Several years ago my count was 4, while my hemoglobin was still 120 (normal is around 140). It takes a while for the hemoglobin to drop with low iron stores.

But I was so weak, that some days I would get out of bed, and my legs would just give way! I'd have to crawl back into bed and stay there for the day, as I simply couldn't walk.

In order to feel better, I had to get iron injections once a week for a while. To get your iron stores back up quickly would make a HUGE difference in your energy level.

I suggest you ask your doctor about getting iron injections for a while. You simply can't get your levels up fast enough with just supplements. And taking too many of those might make you sick to your stomach and cause constipation, too. An IV with iron might be another alternative.

In Germany they would give you an iron IV immediately, right there in the office, if your iron was that low! My sister had that done several times and gave her an immediate energy boost (too bad she is in denial about celiac disease, and so it is never a permanent fix).

For the vitamin D, I suggest cod liver oil. It would be great if you would get lots of sunshine, but that will just give you enough, without fixing the deficiency. Carlson's cod liver oil is the best there is, and it doesn't taste fishy. It is lemon flavoured, that is what I have been taking. I was quite deficient in vitamin D two and a half years ago, and taking it brought my levels up quite fast.

[Joni63]

Don't feel bad when you have your kids work on days you cannot ..... when they're sick, I'm sure you don't expect them to work. My kids see me working around here when I'm up to it. Kids understand what feeling bad is like.

Yes, your right. They do know. I did ask them to pick up after themslves today and last night and they were actually pretty good about it.

It's my fault for being too lenient most of the time. It's hard to have to 'keep after them' to do something and sometimes easier to do the task myself. Does that make sense?

Joni,

I think these are good supplements to start with and see if they help. If not, you might need to explore more.

I have pretty severe malabsorption but didn't know that right away. My body is also very very picky about supplements. I am now getting my B vitamins by shots which is helping. It has been a challenge to figure everything out.

Thank you! It is a lot of supplements and if my iron and D goes up maybe it will be enough for me to feel better.

I looked up some of the tests and it seems she's testing me for inflammation/lupus and adrenal function and a couple homones. My Naturopath said with all these supplements I should notice a huge improvement in about 2 weeks.

The quote you posted is right on for me too. I actually did feel really good at about the 3 month mark and then so many things changed. Seems like we get the dx or know we need to be gluten free and since we have the 'answer' we assume we will fix it pretty quickly. Forgetting that it took most of us years to reach this point. It's just tiring, but I did finally reach the point where I'm admitting that I feel so bad and seeking help from the doctors. In the past I guess I felt it was normal and didn't press for help when I felt bad, just kept hoping I would feel better.

Thanks for your kind post. I will try to be more patient!

I'm so sorry that you're feeling badly. I know this may not be helpful, and you probably already know this, but the more you think about how much you're not doing/able to do, the worse you will feel mentally/emotionally. It really sounds like you're doing your best, so that the place to start. Try to remember that you have some serious deficiencies that will take some time to solve, and that you're not lazy or unmotivated. I don't know how your relationship is with your children and hubby, but maybe you could sit down with them and explain about your health and that you will need some real help so that you can feel better. I know my mother had a chore wheel when we were young that she put on the fridge, and every person in the house has their chore for the week, and it changed every week. Maybe set up a system of privileges that your children either have or lose depending on whether they do their chores or not. I think that there is a good chore for every child that can be matched to their age and ability. Enlist your husband's help setting this up and enforcing it.

As far as you getting things done, it really is a process. Pick one thing that you will do every day (for example, the kitchen sink). You could pick just that one thing and decide that even if you feel really horrible, you will keep the kitchen sink clean. That gives you at least one thing that you can feel you accomplished that day. Then if you're feeling up to it, you can add something else, but don't put pressure on yourself. If you're anything like me, you'll start to feel more competent because you have managed to keep the kitchen sink clean for a period of time. Then as your health improves, you can keep adding things to that list of things you do every day. It sounds really basic, but it often helps to get back to the basics when you feel overwhelmed by so many things to do.

I hope something in there helps - it's such a difficult situation that you're in. Just know that you can do this, and it too will pass. Sometimes it's just baby steps.

KimmyJ, You are so right! I get so down and feel bad when my house is not perfect. (and it is far from it now). When worked full time and had a 1 and 1/2 year old and another on the way my house was cleaner! It is embarrasing.

The kitchen sink cleaning reminds me of Flylady.com. Have you ever seen that site? I tried it a couple times, but can't stand getting the daily emails, lol!

Thank you for your kind advice. It does make me feel better when you said "it too will pass". This is so true.

I've been asking my son(10) to unload and put away the dishes alot lately. He can't load it as well as I can plus loading is minmal effort for me on days I don't feel well. If he can do that much, it helps the kitchen and I both to ready to cook the meals and that is the minimum that we need done each day. In the past I have designated Friday after school or late Sat. morning, to be our cleaning day and made a list of the things that needed done. He chose first, about 1/3 - 1/2 of the chores, and the rest were mine to do. We started together and the work got done faster with both of us working and it was more bearable for us because we were doing it at the same time. When we did that he got small monetary compensation for his work.

I hear you on so many of the things you listed! My husband is away alot and works long hours when he is home, so alot falls to me. I completely understand about the kids taking advantage. We have the same problem and I feel really bad about it but I do the best I can.

My kids are 8 and 10 so it is kind of hard to have them do too many chores and none on a consistent basis like I want. And part of the problem is that we are out with evening activities 3 nights a week, It was all 5 nights, but I made them drop karate. So they are usually busy with homework and a little free time, then dinner and out the door, then home for bath. Sometimes I feel it's too much to try and make them keep a schedule through the week and then when friday comes they are tired from it being the end of the week.

Isn't it hard to be the only one home with the kids some nights. I go to bed 10 minutes after they do. My husband has worked this shift since I was pregnant so I've never had the usual help in the evening (which is the hardest time of day). It's nice to know you understand how tough it can be.

I like your idea about listing chores and having your son pick out the ones he wants to do. Great idea! I think I'll try that this weekend!

My kids keep asking me for an allowance. I want to give them and allowance but I keep telling them they have to get consistent with the chores first. I'm so afraid if I start an allowance they will always think they should get money for anything I ask them to do. Maybe I'm wrong about it, but that part scares me. How is that working for you?

Several years ago my count was 4, while my hemoglobin was still 120 (normal is around 140). It takes a while for the hemoglobin to drop with low iron stores.

But I was so weak, that some days I would get out of bed, and my legs would just give way! I'd have to crawl back into bed and stay there for the day, as I simply couldn't walk.

In Germany they would give you an iron IV immediately...

For the vitamin D, I suggest cod liver oil....

OMGosh! Your post is so interesting to me. Maybe it is just my vitamin levels making me feel this bad. I'm on 2 325mg pills of iron a day. I go back in about 2 weeks and it there isn't much change I will definately ask about the injections. I'm amazed that in Germany they would give the injections so quickly, that is great so a person doesn't have to struggle for months getting their levels up. I'll definately keep the injections in mind to ask about - thanks!

For the vitamin D, my Naturopath put me on 5,000 IU's of it each day. The pills I have now are 2,000 so I'm only getting 4,000 but that is a huge dose. I do try to get out in the sun too when I can.

I tried cod liver oil made by Mollers. THey told me at the health food it is exactly the same as Carlson's. It doesn't have any lemon flavor at all though so I wonder if they just told me that to get me to buy it. And I really despise any fish taste or smell at all. It honestly makes me gag. I stopped it after a couple days, just couldn't handle it.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. It's so encouraging to have understanding people willing to give advice and support. I'll get through this hump, even though I might come back and cry out for more support again!

[Ursa Major]

I tried cod liver oil made by Mollers. THey told me at the health food it is exactly the same as Carlson's. It doesn't have any lemon flavor at all though so I wonder if they just told me that to get me to buy it. And I really despise any fish taste or smell at all. It honestly makes me gag. I stopped it after a couple days, just couldn't handle it.

They were wrong, of course. No other cod liver oil is the same as Carlson's! I promise you, that this oil does NOT smell or taste fishy, or I wouldn't be able to take it, either. I tried Norwegian cod liver oil once, and gave up after two days. I simply couldn't handle it.

They do have a smaller bottle (which I use when travelling), if you want to give it a try before buying the regular size.

[missy'smom]

Bellyfat,

You asked about the allowance. When he does alot of chores he gets paid for it. He initially asked for compensation for every little task, but I have explained to him that we are a family and that we all need to do our part to help each other out and to keep our house running. He accepted that without much complaint. I think that doing the Friday chore list for quite a while helped break him in and get used to helping out. Now he helps with odd tasks without complaint for the most part. He has ADHD so that makes things more of a challenge. He stays on task better if we do our chores at the same time or does only one at a time. Regular chores that he is supposed to be responsible for on his own requires more policing than I'm up to. There are some things I just let go. I just ask for help when I need it and make sure I thank him and praise him and express appreciation for job well done. He seems to not mind, at this point that he doesn't get an allowance every week(we haven't been doing the Friday chore list lately) and we don't call it an allowance. He's just happy to have some money at all. We call it chore money that way it's more like getting paid for a job, earned -not a right. I don't buy him stuff often so if he can save up for a game and buy it, he's thrilled. For the List, I break everything into small, manageable tasks. Laundry includes, loading washer, loading dryer and folding clothes. Bathroom includes washing sink, cleaning mirror, taking out trash, shaking rug outside, cleaning outside of toilet, cleaning inside of toilet etc. I listed the rooms and then the tasks under the appropriate room. He could pick any of the tasks in any room(but HAS to pick a certain number overall) and initials them before he starts and crosses them one off when it is completed. That's to ensure that there are no misunderstandings about who is supposed to do what and to help him stay on track. He gets paid that day. It may or may not be the best thought out plan but it works for us and helps alot.

Good luck!

[Joni63]

They were wrong, of course. No other cod liver oil is the same as Carlson's! I promise you, that this oil does NOT smell or taste fishy, or I wouldn't be able to take it, either. I tried Norwegian cod liver oil once, and gave up after two days. I simply couldn't handle it.

They do have a smaller bottle (which I use when travelling), if you want to give it a try before buying the regular size.

Ha! That doesn't surprise me. It's ashame too because it was around $17.00 for the bottle. Turns out I needed a lot higher supplements than that so it worked out ok anyway. I think this might be the Norwegian brand.

missy'smom,

I tried the list today when they got home from school. It worked out really well! The only thing I forgot to do is have them cross of the tasks they did. Heres what they got done - cleaned out dog pen, walked dogs, picked up pieces of padding that is falling apart from trampoline, broke down some boxes that got damp in the basement during our leak, and they dished out their own dinners and cleared the table.

I feel like we got a lot done and it really didn't take that long today! Thanks for the great advice.

For some reason I had a really good day today. I seemed to get a lot done for the first time in a couple months. It makes me wonder if the supplements aren't helping already, but I find that hard to believe. This is my 2nd full day of taking all but 3 things that just came in the mail today. I did some chores around the house, went to help out at my sons school for a snack day and kite day for about 1 1/2 hours. I ran around outside with the kids and came home and did more work. I don't want to get my hopes up too high because I sometimes have a good day or 2 like this and then crash again. Oh and my kitchen sink is even clean! If I felt like this every day I would get caught up!

[kbtoyssni]

My kids keep asking me for an allowance. I want to give them and allowance but I keep telling them they have to get consistent with the chores first. I'm so afraid if I start an allowance they will always think they should get money for anything I ask them to do. Maybe I'm wrong about it, but that part scares me. How is that working for you?

When I was a kid, my mother made it very clear that my brother and I were part of the family and therefore were expected to help with the household chores without payment for them. Since we used dishes and the bathroom and played in the pool, there was no reason why we shouldn't help clean those things, too.

We got an allowance, but it was also because we were part of the family and needed some money in order to learn how to make financial decisions. My parents really only bought us toys for things like birthdays; if we wanted something at another time of year, that was what our money was for. Of course, we ended up saving most of it which set us up well for college Maybe you could go with a scheme like this. If your kids go above and beyond one week and help out a lot more than expected, maybe they'd get a little extra for that.

[missy'smom]

Bellyfat,

I'm so glad that it worked for you and that you had a good day! My kiddo needs to cross them off because of his concentration issues.

I'll add a plug for the Carlson's. They ensure that it is purified and free of the heavy metals.

[darlindeb25]

B12 is very important for celiac's, most of us do not get enough, and when we were eating gluten, most of us were deficient of B12. Most doctors will tell us our B12 level is fine, when they really do not know what a good level is. Do you know what your B12 level was? If your level was say, around 200 and your doctor says that is fine, it's not, that's way too low. B12, iron, and vit D are very important for us. You will never get enough B12 from a B-Complex vitamin.

[Joni63]

When I was a kid, my mother made it very clear that my brother and I were part of the family and therefore were expected to help with the household chores without payment for them...

That is exactly how I approach it. My kids have so many things that I don't really think the money incentive would really be appropriate or really appreciated by them. My husband's family always made Christmas and birthdays huge with tons of gifts and he has carried that on with our kids.

My childhood was the opposite. We had very little money and often our stockings were stuffed with toothpaste, toothbrushes, a deck of cards, pencils, pens, etc., mostly things that were neccesary. We might have received 3-5 gifts other than that and one gift for birthdays. He's also a big ebayer and finds lots of things cheap for them at other times of the year. I'd prefer it NOT to be this way and I have tried to stop it, but he does it anyway. They also get toys and things for Easter instead of candy. So...to try and curb all those gifts, they are told they have to do chores without compensation. I'm afraid to have it any other way in our situation.

I do think the reward part is important though and they need to feel appreciated for the work they do. I know I like it when they appreciate the work I do for them. Usually the rewards are having friends over, a trip to Ritas for ice cream or a day out some place. It's just not been consistent enough, but in time I think it will get there.

It would be nice at some point to figure out a way for them to learn to manage their money though. Often they get birthday or Christmas money from my mom and I'll put half of it away for college savings. Seems like such a waste to see all these toys around when college will be right around the corner and at more than 50,000/year at some places, it will only go up!

Bellyfat,

I'm so glad that it worked for you and that you had a good day! My kiddo needs to cross them off because of his concentration issues.

I'll add a plug for the Carlson's. They ensure that it is purified and free of the heavy metals.

Thank you! Good days are wonderful right now!

I think crossing off the list is the best part when I'm done my chores! It makes me see what I've accomplished. I need that as an incentive myself.

B12 is very important for celiac's, most of us do not get enough, and when we were eating gluten, most of us were deficient of B12. Most doctors will tell us our B12 level is fine, when they really do not know what a good level is. Do you know what your B12 level was? If your level was say, around 200 and your doctor says that is fine, it's not, that's way too low. B12, iron, and vit D are very important for us. You will never get enough B12 from a B-Complex vitamin.

My B12 level was in the 700's, on the higher end of normal. I do have a sublingual B12 that I bought before going to the Naturopath and she told me to go ahead and take it.

Problem is that is has lactose in it and I'm struggling to figure out if I'm lactose intolerant right now.

My symptoms of Celiac were strange and I'm wondering if lactose is causing bloating, but not C or D. I also have swollen eye lids along with the bloating and am having trouble figuring out why. I just know when I feel the worst, my eye lids are swollen and I'm bloated.

[Joni63]

Hey All,

I went back and read over this post and even though I'm still quite overwhelmed with the amount of things I have to accomplish, I have started to feel better and am slowly getting more done. It's a start and it feels really good!

Oh and I'm getting my kids to do much more around the house which has helped tremendously. They don't get an allowance, but do get treats (ice cream at Ritas, dinner out) or trips (library, park, and soon to be the pool) for jobs well done.

Bloodwork gets drawn next week and I'll have a visit with my PCP and my Naturopath really soon so we'll see, but it seems like my iron and D must be getting better.

Just wanted to update and let you all know I am feeling better and appreciate all the advice/kind words you gave me!

[mftnchn]

Glad you are doing better!

[missy'smom]

Glad to hear it

[home-based-mom]

It would be nice at some point to figure out a way for them to learn to manage their money though. Often they get birthday or Christmas money from my mom and I'll put half of it away for college savings. Seems like such a waste to see all these toys around when college will be right around the corner and at more than 50,000/year at some places, it will only go up!

Glad to see you're feeling better!

I don't know if you would be interested or not but Open Original Shared Link has a LOT of really excellent age-appropriate teaching tools - games, workbooks, etc. We had one of their board games once(which I didn't see on the website just now) and it was really fun to play.