Hey Dads,

My daughter has been dealing with some really bad acid reflux for the last coupla years.... so bad that it is effecting her voice and vocal chords (which is not good for a budding perfomer) and, more importantly, her inability to eat more than a few bites of food at any meal.

This has me, of course, somewhat crazed.... she's been to I don't know how many specialists... even going to NYC for "expert" medical opinions... nothing has worked....

Just this week she was a part of some sort of gastro something or other study... the good news is that they found nothing wrong... the bad news is, then, what the hell is wrong?

I got an email from her mother that she is doing better on the new medication... and we'll get the results from the whatever oscopy in a coupla weeks.... they did rule out any sort of pre-cancerous sort of thing... thank god...

I remember reading a book several years ago that said some people are just "brand x"... for those who remember commercials from the 70's.... some people are just more prone to health problems than others...

It's a given that my daughter is her mother's child in that they both share many medical issues across the whole range of medical issues...

There's not much I can do... there's not much anyone can do... except, maybe, be glad that it's nothing more serious...

Obviously, I'm worried...

With hopes that all are healthy with you...

All the best,

Smokey

Smokey:

The problem that your daughter is having, may be very real. You say that she has had a number of tests, and everything seems fine. Have you or her mother been told that it may be in her head? This is a normal occurence, with people who have irritable bowel syndrome, or in laymans's terms, krohns disease. Normal intestinal tests, quite often cannot detect Krohns. Most medications will mask the disease, and temporarily releive it, but it is a disease that lasts a life time. It is not life threatening, but it can be painful at times. Have it checked out, and then the right medications can be prescribed, and your daughter will have a something to control her pain and discomfort.
Another possibility is something called a Hiatal Hernia. It is a condition where the stomach shifts towards the eosoghigus, causing a small blockage. Appetite is usually very supressed, and heart burn and indigestion are prominent. Simple things like Zantac or Maalox, usually do the trick, to help eleviate the discomfort.
I wish all the best to your daughter, and I hope she finds relief from her problem. I understand very well what it means to worry when a child is ill.
John

Thanks for the information and concern, John. I'm guardedly happy to report that Jesse seems to be doing fine with whatever the new medication is. Heck, Bob and I even took her out to dinner the Sunday after Thanksgiving (that was my only Thanksgiving time with her... sigh... ) and she actually ate an entire plate of food and bowl of soup!!! It's been a year or more since I saw her do that...

For now, I'll just be glad that she seems to be healthy again and go back to worrying about getting her financial aid for school in place... (not to mention how the heck we're going to pay all that money back... LOL... )

Again, thanks for your input and let's hope the new year brings nothing but health and happiness to all our kids!!!

All the best,

Smokey

Good to hear the update, bro. Glad the Bug is doing better!

Wow, there's been a lot of activity on the boards this last week or two. I'll have to make a few responses and posts as soon as I can.