My Monday post talked about how I sometimes need mental breaks from food allergies. Thankfully I am not the only one! A big thanks to all those of you agreed with me that mental breaks are needed in the life of a food allergy mom.
Today's post is one I have debated writing for well over a year. But this week I decided to expose my own vulnerability on this blog. My intent has never been to hide it from anyone but myself. I also never want to appear that I am blaming my precious Tyler for any of my own problems. All of my emotions bubble over from a deep love I have for my first born child.
But, the last few years have been tough. After Tyler was hospitalized in June 2008 for an anaphylactic reaction, I developed terrible migraines. Had they not started the week after his hospitalization, I might have never made the connection.
In the first year after his reaction, I would develop migraines for about a week at time. They were debilitating but life went on. I would usually have a good week or two before I would get another one. When my husband was diagnosed with tree nut allergies last May , I developed some form of a headache every single day. For 10 months.
I have no food allergies. Yet, my body developed a dramatic reaction to the fact they were (and are) a regular part of my life.
Once the daily headaches started, they became a vicious cycle. I saw a neurologist. He did an MRI and ran other tests and could find nothing clinically wrong. (They did determine there is a brain in my head which is a relief some days!)
I told my doctor all about Tyler and know food allergies were at least partly the cause. I really never expected them to find anything. Yet, life was terribly difficult with a chronic daily headache for 10 months.
I tell you this to say that having a child with life-threatening food allergies is hard. The stress is incredible. It takes a toll on your health.
The headaches are considerably better now. They did not leave without considerable drama, however. I will be back Friday to talk about why I was in the hospital for 4 days in March. As you might guess, I think stress had a thing or two to do with it.
Feel free to share your own experiences in the comments.
Today's post is one I have debated writing for well over a year. But this week I decided to expose my own vulnerability on this blog. My intent has never been to hide it from anyone but myself. I also never want to appear that I am blaming my precious Tyler for any of my own problems. All of my emotions bubble over from a deep love I have for my first born child.
But, the last few years have been tough. After Tyler was hospitalized in June 2008 for an anaphylactic reaction, I developed terrible migraines. Had they not started the week after his hospitalization, I might have never made the connection.
In the first year after his reaction, I would develop migraines for about a week at time. They were debilitating but life went on. I would usually have a good week or two before I would get another one. When my husband was diagnosed with tree nut allergies last May , I developed some form of a headache every single day. For 10 months.
I have no food allergies. Yet, my body developed a dramatic reaction to the fact they were (and are) a regular part of my life.
Once the daily headaches started, they became a vicious cycle. I saw a neurologist. He did an MRI and ran other tests and could find nothing clinically wrong. (They did determine there is a brain in my head which is a relief some days!)
I told my doctor all about Tyler and know food allergies were at least partly the cause. I really never expected them to find anything. Yet, life was terribly difficult with a chronic daily headache for 10 months.
I tell you this to say that having a child with life-threatening food allergies is hard. The stress is incredible. It takes a toll on your health.
The headaches are considerably better now. They did not leave without considerable drama, however. I will be back Friday to talk about why I was in the hospital for 4 days in March. As you might guess, I think stress had a thing or two to do with it.
Feel free to share your own experiences in the comments.