Suspenders

Whenever I hesitate before giving Miss Susan some bit of news she's been waiting to hear from me, she says, "Don't keep me in suspenders!"  Miss Susan says other folksy things like, "Hope springs infernal," and, "They get along like calico cat and gingham dog," and I admit we were a good two years into our friendship before I spoke fluent Susan. 

Once, early on, Susan wrote at the end of an email to me, "It's always nice to hear from you."  I immediately sunk into an abyss of depression since we all know, "It's always nice to hear from you," is just another way of saying, "Best of luck in all your future endeavors."  That is, "All further correspondence from you will be interpreted as harassment."  You can imagine my confusion when I confronted Susan and she insisted that in the strange world she comes from, "It's always nice to hear from you," means, "It's always nice to hear from you."

But today we'll just focus on the suspenders. 

It's not nice to keep people in suspenders, and Olive's doctor's office apparently agrees.  The nurse called me Saturday to say that Olive tested negative in her blood work for both Crohn's and Celiac disease.  In the light of day, I can see now that Crohn's was unlikely given that Olive does not present the main symptoms that sent me to the GI doctor: waking up in the middle of the night with diarrhea, unexplained fevers, weight loss, and bunny-stomping abdominal pain.  Also, Olive has grown in both height and weight since her last well-child visit, holding steady in the fifth percentile (much like her Mommy).

No results on the stool sample yet and no solid (groan) clue about the cause of the diarrhea, but it's a tremendous relief to take Crohn's off the table.  We have switched Olive to a gluten free diet anyways, and for the past two days she's had close-to normal BMs at home.  This is her usual pattern though, with the watery stuff being reserved for school.

I saw Olive's psychiatrist on Friday, who feels the diarrhea is anxiety-related.  He switched her (it's a gradual tapering process) from Zoloft to Paxil, since apparently Zoloft has been linked with diarrhea for some people.  One could argue that if you're holding a hammer every problem is going to look like a nail, and that as a psychiatrist he's always going to go to look to the brain as being the source of all problems.  But if switching SSRI's can spare Olive from a series of barium studies, it's Something To Try.

If you're shopping for Gluten Free foods, Trader Joe's is a terrific source. They even gave me a print-out of all their gluten free items.  It's interesting that Olive's favorite foods -- chana masala, basmati rice, fresh salsa, beans, meat, meat and more meat -- are all gluten-free.  She never eats the bread part of a sandwich.

The only trouble with Trader Joe's is that the check-out staff is chatty.  I really, really didn't want to talk, and the clerk was not happy with my short answers.  No, I'm not having a party.  Yes, I have a lot of children.  Yes, one of them is gluten free.  No, I've never had the flourless chocolate cake before but I'll take your word that it's delicious.  Yes, it's been a long week.

Finally, she leaned in close and whispered, "Would you like me to check you out extra slowly, to delay the time until you have to go home?"

I may be reserved, but I'm not made of stone.  That question completely disarmed me and unleashed a lengthy monologue about my youngest child's bowel habits that perhaps went into more detail than the clerk had expected.  Hey, she started the conversation.

But you didn't, and given the amount of times I've made you read the word "diarrhea," I feel obligated to show you some pretty pictures.

Here's a baby blanket in progress, for a boy on the horizon.  Kidsilk Haze is my favorite thing these days; I love how light and airy it knits up.

All the same, I'm going to knit a backing for this blanket using smooth, Swans Island merino. Some people don't like the feel of fuzzy against their skin.

Looking at Lene's baby hats makes me want to try my hand at piping. Some people just don't like dressing their boys in ruffles (go figure) but piping, I believe, requires slow laborious work and picking up stitches: just like ruffles.

And here's the beginnings of a sweater I'm making for a certain little boy whose having his second "real" birthday on Leap Day.  I'm using Noro Silk Garden sock yarn and a fingering weight merino, with Isager lace-weight alpaca as a knit-along for extra softness.

Comments

[Holly]

Hi, Jen,
I'm also in the gluten free camp, but in a very big way. If it seems that Olive improves a bit, but not completely, from gluten free, you may want to go a little further into a totally grain free diet.

I found that gluten free helped, but my symptoms never entirely disappeared until I removed grain from my diet completely. Legumes had to go as well. The only thing I can tolerate at all is a bit of rice. Using rice flour for baking helps me keep things under control.

I hope sweet Olive's tummy doesn't require such strict measures, but wanted to let you know that some of us are sensitive to a lot of different grains, not just wheat. Corn can be a really harsh meany.

It sounds as though Olive's preferred diet is mostly paleo anyway, so this should be a fairly easy change for her, if it turns out that grain is responsible for her digestive problems.

Wishing her (and you) a quick, easy, and complete solution.

Holly

[Anna]

For sake of coming full circle, I experienced diarrhea today, wondered if it was from anxiety, and thought of Olive. I'm glad it's not Crohn's or Celiac - but I hope it's something else with a fixable answer.

[Heather P]

Poor little Olive, I can certainly sympathsize. I get diarrhea from anxiety as well, and really hope that's all that is wrong. I hope she will do well with Paxil. I do know that it really works to keep people calm(my mom took it for years), so hopefully it will work for her.

[Meredith]

As the daughter of someone with Crohn's, I just want to tell you how relieved I am to hear it's not that. Phew! Now I wish you luck figuring out what it is and how to fix it. But thank goodness it's not Crohn's.

[kmkat]

I'm so glad Crohn's is out of the picture. All I know of it is what I read here, but that is enough to know that it is a bitch. Wishing you and Olive lots of luck and happy tummies.

Look at you rocking the lux yarns! KSH, Noro, alpaca -- your hands must just yearn to get back to knitting when you doing those other things we all must do (making dinner, helping w/ homework, etc.)

[CrazyMomTats!]

Oh Jen, I'm so glad for you that it's not the worse for little Miss Olive (now NOT so little). Gluten free is manageable. And it may be just stress or giardia, or some other parasite. All much easier to deal with.

Whew!

[Lo]

I think you still might be obliged to buy Elisabeth's book.

[The Coffee Lady]

My family were obsessed with bowel movements. They would cheerily chat about them over dinner. You do your worst - it will never worry me.

[Gail]

Glad Crohn's and Celiac are off the table. The psychiatrist might be right, but hopefully it's something that can be controlled by diet.

Beautiful yarn! What fun!!!

[Barbara]

Beautiful blanket!

I just remembered that my college roommate would get diarrhea from onions. And since they are in everything (and she liked the taste of them) it was hard to remain vigilant.

I hope you find a simple fix for this, but it does sound like anxiety is the likely culprit.

[Michelle]

I seriously let out a huge breath (that I didn't realize that I was holding) of relief when I read the no Crohns bit. WHEW!

I too was wondering if Miss O might have the dreaded IBS, as I do. Mine is both diet and stress triggered, with stress and anxiety being the main culprit in my episodes.

You know, because when you're running late for a meeting with the school principal or going to a job interview, there's nothing like a sudden, 10 out of 10 attack of diarrhea to keep you on your toes. Uhg!

On a completely different note (thankfully), I am in awe of your knitting, as always, and that merino looks luscious! :)

[Michelle]

P.S. - If you buy Elizabeth Hasslebeck's book, I'mma have to come out to Northbrook and kick you in the shins.

[ccr in MA]

Those are some very pretty colors in the knitting!

Even without your reasons, sometimes I am Not In The Mood To Chat at checkouts. Even with annoying machines, I'll use self-checkouts when I can (I know TJs doesn't have them). I can snark back at the machines!

[Hildie]

I'm happy the suspenders are over. Thanks for the yarn treat at the end.

[leslie]

Best news - so glad.

[Em]

Gluten-free peanut butter cookies:: 1 egg, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup peanut butter. Multiply as needed, mix and bake. So good, and so easy. Hoping the solution is as easy as that :)