Whatever it takes

Our lives have been packed with visits to the doctor for the past few months.  There's the usual sore throats, eye infections, and so forth...but, the majority of our appointments have been for Sierra to try and figure out what's going on with her.


Phase 1- She started getting massive migraines that OTC medicine didn't seem to help.  RX was prescribed.  She seemed to be doing better, although the frequency of the migraines stayed about the same.

Phase 2- She started passing out, blacking out, or feeling woozy and random moments- but generally when she was dancing.  After the first time- we thought it was weird and a one time thing.  Two times had me worried about her eating, drinking, drugs, etc.   But all checked out normal and we were convinced she was fine.  After a couple more times we began to seek medical treatment.

Phase 3- Family doctor examined her and wanted to send her to a neurologist for further examination.  Neurologist did an MRI and changed the RX for her migraines.  All test came back normal and he dismissed her case stating that he thought she needed more sodium in her diet.  Symptoms persisted.

Phase 4- Symptoms increasing.  Extreme fatigue, tingling and numb feet and hands, chest pain, numb arm.  Sought out a cardiologist for testing.  Doc did EKG and stress tests, also decided to have her wear a blood pressure cuff for 24 hours.  This took her BP every 20 minutes.  No abnormal results.  Then he had her wear a heart monitor for 7 days.  This monitored her heart rhythms and heart rate.  It also included a button she could push to mark when she was having symptoms of any kind.  They would then call and speak with her about the symptoms and what was going on.
           No conclusive results.  Heart rate would go up during exercise, but blood pressure was generally on the low side.  He dismissed her case and believed she was fine. 


Phase 5- Depression set in.  She was feeling so tired, no energy.  Everything was hard, dancing, getting dressed, being awake.  She was sluffing school and falling severely behind.  She spoke to a counselor at school saying that she was having suicidal thoughts.  I was called immediately to the school for intervention.  I was not surprised by the chain of events that led to this- but I was surprised by how intense her depression was.  She seems so level headed, mellow, and responsible most of the time.  It was very scary to see her like this.  Racking sobs, unleashing all of her worries, fears, and scary thoughts.  Depression runs in my side of the family, and her fathers.  So I had no doubt that she needed immediate medical treatment to get her back on track.  I know that medical problems can also bring on depression.  We saw our family doctor and had them put her on an anti-depressant.  It took a couple of weeks, but she seems on an even keel emotionally now.  She has caught up on her school work and is not feeling such a heavy weight- however, her body is still not cooperating with her active life style.


Phase 6-  More passing out.  We decided to see and 2nd cardiologist.  He was recommended to us and we had high hopes.  He put her on a heart monitor similar to the one she wore before, but it measure more intricately her heart rhythms.  She had to wear it for 3 weeks.  He wanted to figure out exactly when and why she was having symptoms.  They decided her heart rate was getting to high while exercising.  He put her on a beta blocker/blood pressure medicine to bring down her heart rate.  He felt she was dangerously close to heart attack range.  Tried the medicine for a week and then came in for conclusions.  He determined that all of her high heart rhythms were during exercise and he did not feel right about continuing the beta blocker due to her age, and it was not helping her symptoms.  He sent us to a pediatric cardiologist for further testing.


Phase 7-  Same problems.  Same questions, same paperwork.  But this doctor was utterly disgusted with the amount of testing we had already gone through.  He believes she is completely dehydrated.  Working at an athletic level and starving her body of water.  Sodium needs to be upped and Water needs to be ingested at an aggressive rate.  5000 mls a day.  He called it hyper hydration.  Just to get her back on track, then we can scale back.  He believes all of her problems are linked- the migraines, the tingling, the passing out, the racing heart, the exhaustion.  We are not totally convinced this will work- but it is definitely worth trying.  She's been tested enough to fly to the moon.  He is convinced there is nothing wrong with her heart, brain, or organs.  He believes she is a child in a woman's body and the blood is competing with the heart and the brain.  Which causes the fainting.  He said this is common and called it vasovagal syncope syndrome.  She may have to deal with it for a while, while her innards catch up with her physique.  I hope this helps- a simple solution for a problem we have been so worried about.  It hasn't helped much yet- the symptoms are persisting-but it's only been a week.  We go back in 4 weeks for a follow up.  I'll keep you posted.

Just want my baby girl healthy, happy, and loving life.  I'll do whatever it takes.