Sleep Study Results are In....

This has been a journey in of itself. 
Starting late last Spring/early Summer. 
We were looking into some oral therapy for one of our kiddos.  Mild speech issues no one has been able to figure out a cause for, but as this child has matured learning to compensate and overcome.  As we were setting up an evaluation it was suggested we have the whole family evaluated.  Often issues are congenital and multiple family members have issues.  The therapy cause correct issues before they become issues later in life.  Worth looking into.
What we weren't expecting was concern regarding another child's palate.  We were aware of the issues, but no one had suggested anything else.  The quirks in his behavior we dealt with, thinking it was just the way this child was created.  Such as this child doesn't like to sleep in bed, always sleeps in recliner and/or couch.  Frankly, I don't care where my children sleep as long as they sleep these days.  Life is busy and some things I just don't have the energy to argue about.  Even if this child starts in bed, always ends up on the couch, either due to sleep walking or just waking up and wandering there after a bathroom trip. 


Next stop was the doctor to check adenoids and tonsils.  Nothing remarkable, so a sleep study was requested.  We were put on a wait list and I received a call just before Christmas for after New Years.  After our initial appointment, the PA agreed our kiddo was borderline and would benefit for a sleep study to either confirm/diagnose an issue or it was behavioral and we would decide what to do regarding behaviors. 
Best part was there was a cancellation and we were asked if we could return later in the week for the sleep study. As we hadn't been able to restart school, I said sure. 
I wish I could post pictures of all the wires.  While I was allowed to take pictures for Dad I was forbidden to share them with anyone else including siblings.  Which is why I also am being very careful to not suggest which child went with me to KC to the Children's hospital.  While there is noting to embarrassed about, I am trying to respect wishes here.  So if you do know who I am speaking of please, request my child's desire for privacy.  I am posting results only because so many have been praying and asking. 


So the results:
Airway is clear! No apnea!  No issues with orthodontics that need to be done. Wahoo!!
Diagnosis:  Periodic Limb Movement Disorder which causes brain arousal during sleep and causes low levels of dopamine in the brain. 
In our case, the disorder is being caused by iron deficiency.  Which also means there is a ferritin deficiency.  Since this child is a carnivore I asked what could be lacking in the diet to prevent iron absorption.  Vitamin C.  Said child does not care for produce!!  Lesson is being learned that Mom's balanced meals are meant to allow for maximum nutrition.  Each food is reliant on another food for maximum nutrition and health.  While this child consumes produce, it is not varied enough.  Understanding that athletic performance and overall feeling well and happy is dependent on diet, there is a willingness to try and eat more variety, albeit reluctantly.  We will need occasional blood tests as a result of the iron supplements, but in time we should hopefully be able to discontinue the supplements and just eat healthy!  Praising the Lord! 
We also discovered the child is lingering too long deep 3 sleep.  An indicator of not getting enough sleep on a regular basis.  Wiggling around in bed, procrastinating, asking all those late night questions.  You get the idea, all the stuff that drives a parent nuts when they just want their children TO GO TO BED!!! 
Well now, the child has heard it all from the doc!  Sleep and eat your veggies!! Amazing how much more validity there is to the mantra when it isn't the parent saying it!!

Woohoo! ~ Christmas Came Early!

On our way out of town Thanksgiving weekend, we had to call the doctor for Flutter Nutter.  He had a super bad head cold and we knew the Colorado altitude could complicate things.  So our super wonderful pediatrician found a Walgreens along the way and ordered some scripts for Flutter Nutter.  Good thing, cause Flutter Nutter needed them, and then Daddy's Buddy and Hockey Player needed them.  All approved by the doctor, just in case you thought we were doing a big no-no of sharing prescriptions. 
After we picked up the medicine, I got to looking at the receipt.  I thought we just got an amazing deal...$10 for 3 prescriptions.  However, we were only charged for one of the three medications.  What ?????  Focused on having fun, I decided to put it aside and think on later when we got home.  Arrived home and decided not to worry about it, afterall, I made it all weekend without thinking twice about it. 
Today I had to refill a couple of prescriptions.  I signed the slips and sent my card in through the drive thru tube.  I even put in my member number for Dillons so I could get my fuel points.  The clerk informed me there was no charge!  What? ?  I looked at her and told her, "I always have to pay for my prescriptions.  What is going on?  This is the second time this has happened."  Poor girl, she didn't know what to do.  Here she had told me, "No charge" and I was insisting on paying.  How crazy is that ! ? ! ?
She quickly went and found reinforcements.  Receipts and paperwork looked over.  I was told that everything had been processed and was correct.  Balance due:  $0
She did suggest we might have met our deductible for the year.
We DON"T have a deductible.  Just co-pays.
I call the insurance company.
Our insurance has a catastrophic medical clause.  Once you reach the designated amount out of pocket in a year then all medical expenses are covered at 100% for the remainder of the enrollment period!

Co-pays, prescriptions, eye doctors, dentists, counseling and therapy all apply.  But NOT orthodontics. Bummer, cause Hockey Player is suppose to start that process next year and we would just have to start him this next month if they were only covered. 
The year, I try to NOT go to the doctor.  The year I am constantly reassuring hubby all will be fine, they don't need to go to the doctor.  This year we meet our maximum out of pocket and qualify for the catastrophic clause.  We have a month left + a day.  Do I give the kids permission to go crazy? 
Guess this means I can quit playing the do we or do we not get the flu shot.  I hate paying for the flu shot and then we are all sick 3 months later with it. 
So now, when I can't figure out what to buy for Christmas for the kids or my husband, I get to try and figure out if there are any medical things we should get taken care of while we can.  Maybe the 2 topics can overlap and I will have both taken care of.... allergy medicine for the stockings!   Dental xrays all wrapped up in pretty gold filling paper.  Hee hee!
I don't know if I should be some what mortified about our medical expenses this past year or ecstatic that there are no more expenses the remainder of this year.  For now, I will just celebrate in having no more payments for a month! !  WOohoO

Spring! ! I love Spring! !

I love Spring! I love new flowers blooming. I love flowering trees. The poking ups of green stems and leaves of new plants breaking through the ground. I love new baby green grass.
I don't love pollen and sneezing and snuffling. But I love the warmth of the sun and the cool breezes. I love the sounds of children playing outside.
It doesn't mean I don't love the other 3 seasons. There are things I love about all the seasons and what they represent. So I try to be content in the season I am in presently. Figuratively and literally. Life. It is what it is. Sometimes, life is hard. Sometimes, it is really hard. Othertimes, life is not so bad, pretty good actually. But always there is something beautiful and something to love about each moment. God can use all these moments for His glory and I choose to focus and stand on that rock and promise.

This has been a difficult winter. I know I have posted that. I have struggled with how much to blog and share. So I have been mostly silent through the past winter. Instead, clinging to the promises in God's Word. He has a plan for our lives. Plans for our good, not to harm us. He uses all things for His glory.
Winter has a cozy effect on me. I like to curl up and stay warm. But I need sunshine. So much so, that during the winter I have been known to rearrange the furniture so I can curl up and soak in the sunbeams shining through the windows. I love sunshine. I open all the blinds much to the annoyance of some family members. Gotta have that sunshine. It has been suggested that I might consider getting a light or two for my home. The kind of lights that simulate sunshine and help with seasonal depression related to the gray and gloomy days of winter. It is being considered. We have had a child diagnosed with a mood disorder and have struggled through the process of medications this winter. We are getting to know this child for the first time. Who this child is without the mood issues. We know all of our children are amazing and fearfully & wonderfully made.
But we missed the sensitivity a child is able to express. The hugs that young children give. We are working on finding a balance with medications and side effects. On the other hand, we are enjoying some of the side effects... Hugs! Laughter! Contentment! Joking! The little notes of love and tenderness children leave all over the home. In the midst of cleaning this weekend, I rediscovered the window markers. This is what I found this afternoon on the windows. Along with the changes of season outside, I like the energy that seems to explode in our beings with the coming of Spring. The extra energy that enables us to clean the gardens. The energy that allows children toplay for hours on end outside. The energy that seems to encourage creativity and playfulness. So of course, I couldn't let him have all the fun. I like to joke and tease. That means when you have an ultra cool tween age boy who can't be caught dead showing any affection to his mother in front of anyone. He even waits to give good night hugs to me, when noone was around. Oops the secret is out! hee, hee So I couldn't help myself, I had to announce my love to this other son of mine. I got a shake of the head and a grimace smile. Sometime later, there was a response written back. Not sure if one of the girls tried their own hand at teasing their brother. Maybe, he wrote it. He won't ever admit it though. But I will take what I get. I will enjoy the seasons for all the bring.

On the front door no less. Wondering when he will wash it off. Before his friends come over?

Did you know...

generic medicines are not always "the same" as their name brand counterparts.

Discussing meds with our clinician at a checkup we were told that generic drugs can vary plus or minus 20% in their makeup compared to the name brand.
That is a 40% difference!
Not a big deal, necessarily, with some medications, but...........
Needless to say, I was quite shocked.
We have been advised to start saving our prescription bottles. When they are completed, writing on them about how that "month" went while taking that bottle of medicine.

Formulas differ from company to company. (The pharmaceutical company is listed on the prescription label.) Pharmacies often choose the company offering the best deal at the time when they purchase their stock. So there is no guarantee a maintenace dosage will be the same from month to month!

No matter how many times doctors and pharmacists have tried to reassure me generic is no different than name brand, I have not agreed. I realize we are talking about milligrams and micrograms and 20% may not seem like a lot when calculated. But when the dosage is 12.5 milligrams, we are talking about super small dosages. Basically, a little bit goes a looooong way! In this case, a teeny tiny little bit goes a long way! 10 mg, is not enough and 15 mg is too much.
AIY!
And now it is all beginning to make more sense....

Couponing Thrill sure can make a rough day better!

I haven't been to Walgreens much since they dropped the Easy Saver Rebate program.
It doesn't help that the Walgreens that works into my regular route, the people are really grouchy and dislike coupons. I just dread going in there. I do try my best to smile and be cheerful, but it is a real downer and decreases the thrill of a deal when you have to work with people who are not pleased to see the stack of coupons.

But in spite of all that I did dare to venture to Walgreens. I needed a prescription 2 days ago and well, it was time to just get it done. I didn't take a picture. I would have had chaos on my hand. My kiddos would have seen all the goodies and begged, pleaded and bugged me for the next couple of days for the treats I bought. But I will do a quick a run down.

I spent out of pocket $94.57! I stocked up on a bunch of allergy medicine and pain reliever, which means I get reimbursed by flexible spending account. That total is $64.92. So in all I spent $30.65.
First I picked up my waiting prescription (more on that later) and the Walgreens coloring book. Lots of good children's products coupons in there. Best part you don't have to surrender these coupons when making the purchase. They are Walgreen's coupons so you can hold onto them till they expire. You can pair them up with manufacturer coupons and sales for some pretty awesome deals. (Right now that includes the children's Listerine rinses and Benadryl).

Like I said I stocked up on allergy medicine.
I have to keep Benadryl on hand in multiple places for my food allergic child.
My daughter will be switching to Zyrtec later when she finishes up the other stuff she has. So that will make two of us taking Zyrtec. Gotta stock up when there are deals. This time around I got $7 Register Rewards for each purchase. Woohoo! Plus I had a Manufacturer Coupon for $4 off. I like to go to this website to look for medicine coupons. There I found $2 off of Zyrtec as well.
I also stocked up on the Tylenol buy one get one free. Paired up with coupons, a good deal there.
I also did the kids Listerine deal. I had a buy one get one free Q plus after the fact I got RR as well.
Dental floss was on sale and if you used the in-ad coupon to make it 99 cents and paired that up with Manufacturer coupon even better. Buy 3 and you get a Register Reward as well.
I gobbled up some of the Rimmel makeup with my coupons from All You magazine. I am finding makeup, nail polish and the like make really good "tween"/early teenager gifts. With Fun Mom being 13 as well as her friends, they are all experimenting with makeup goodies. So when I get them for free or almost free, I get really excited.
I stocked up on the scotch tape deal. Christmas is just around the corner. My kids like to wrap presents and tape is used up real quick. So this was a great time to stock up.
I also snagged a bunch of the scotch envelopes. They are great for various mailings, but I also use them sometimes for stuff I sale on ebay, so this helps keep my shipping costs down.
I also am trying to make good of the Goody Ouchless hair products. These are great for Operation Christmas Child, Christmas stockings and birthday gift fillers. Also helps to replace what my hubby vaccuums up, as he won't pick them up when the girls (rolling my eyes) "unknowningly" drop them on the floor.
I also snagged a bunch of Orbit gum and misc. candy that was clearanced. About now I start thinking ahead to Christmas stockings. Cause the kids behaved while I was gone and showered as well, I grabbed some sweets for my sweets to say thank you. All bought with register rewards. I also picked up a few goodies for Fun Mom's friends, who have birthdays lined up between now and eternity.
So that is what I got for $30.65 after all the coupons and register rewards I spent and my flexible spending account.
What I also didn't mention is I bounce my prescriptions around to whoever is offering the best deal if you transfer your scipt. So I did that this week with Walgreens and they gave me a $25 check to spend in the store. So if I add that into my savings that total is $173.72.
Best part is I still have $11.00 in Register Rewards to spend!!

Ah the thrill. Sure turns a bumpy evening into a little happier place of mind. The day went well, but on Thursdays it seems I have two that must fall apart for 2 hours in the evening. It drives my NUTS! At the end of the two hours they are fine.