I discovered Activia myself even tho I am lactose intolerant. I take the pills in morning by Equate(Wal Mart) that are about same as Lactaid, I had tried the other 1 can't remember what it is called but it didn't help at all. I was taking lot of meds for headaches & my stomach has always been touchy(like my dad's).I had taken a number of probiotics from health food stores but I think when it is in a pill it is probably dead as never helped. Activia got rid of my hurting stomach in about 2 weeks taking 2 a day. Easy as I liked most of the flavors. It was advertised for stomach problems back then & later changed to sound more like a laxative! Now I think they say it makes "you feel better" (somebody probably sued) I had looked up what could be wrong & it sounded like I was getting where my intestines couldn't handle food any more. As with anything some things work for some & other things for others. Otherwise 1 antibiotic would be all that was needed for everybody. Our 98 or so elements seem to be slightly different in each person making it where each person needs meds just for them. Mom got her 1st UTI from them putting in catheter & leaving it in too long, that really set her on bad course. About 80% of meds act against her so it is difficult when she has to change something. Hope she does better after getting pacemaker after dr. gets back from vacation. Jan

The best news,just as we all hoped! Dexascan is a piece of cake - I used to do them when I worked in the Rheumatology office. Bone-building drugs may be prescribed, but they work slowly, so 6 weeks one way or the other won't make a huge difference. There are lots of reasons you can have osteopenia or osteoporosis - drug therapies, both chemo and steroids, being too thin (being under 127 pounds is a marker for risk), family history, early menopause, low calcium and Vitamin D, and the list goes on. For now, take care of yourself, be a good girl and do what the docs tell you to do. We'll all be here, thinking of you and cheering you on until those crutches are tucked away in the closet.

I hope she gets the care she needs. It's very scary as a parent to hear these stories. Even if your kid isn't on the social media, the other kids are and "talking" behind her back and she knows something is going on. Schools need to stiffen the penalties for cyber-bullying as much as physical bullying - I don't know, maybe the state has to get involved, if it takes charging kids with a misdemeanor, or issuing restraining orders to prevent driving another kid to suicide then that's what it takes! DS is 15, has always been a thoughtful, sensitive, private kid with a few close friends, not into the "popular" activities but seems to be happy, is definitely busy with Scouts, track, and church. I don't know what other kids may be saying about him, but at least he doesn't know either - or doesn't care. He is going to camp counselor training in a few weeks, and then to National Youth Leadership training for Scouts, hopefully next summer he will get a job at the Scout camp. OK, I'm bragging I guess but I think he's a good role model, and I *think* he's not at risk for depression. DD is 5 years younger and starting puberty - she has 2 very close friends, and watching others coming up to her after school concert she seems to be "popular" but again doesn't have the same interests as many her age (she's also almost a year older than everyone else in her grade, both kids are Nov birthdays and we decided to start DD later than DS since he had been in daycare/preschool and was an early reader, she was a late talker/potty trainer). She's more sensitive to peer pressure - I suppose girls usually are? I wouldn't pull her out to HS unless I thought there was a serious problem, I want to wait to see if she keeps/makes friends in middle school. I hope that keeping her in Scouts will help - if the leaders can keep a group of girls aware of the problems that bullying can cause, and keep them believing in their own value in spite of other people (peers, even some siblings and parents I know of) telling them otherwise. Girl Scouts just doesn't seem to be as organized as Boy Scouts though, and not too many girls seem to keep up with it through middle and high school, from what I can tell by the size of the troops in our town. But "mean girls" start early - DD ran into one her first day of kindergarten. Add a mean teacher, and in 1st grade she was begging me to HS her! At least 2nd - 4th she has regained her love of school, is actually disappointed to have only a few days left this year.

Thanks so much for the good vibes.. I think they worked. I was so stressed when I wrote that, having flashbacks from 2 years ago when my Mother passed. I was the only one ( out of 8 kids) to be there! It's so different when it's your own family, and being a nurse sometimes makes it worse. ( so much is expected.. hey , I'm not a doctor, I just play one on TV!!) He was finally moved to a room,He is right next to the Nurses Station. I am glad he is not miles away. He is breathing a bit better, but he is 87 with multiple problems. I can't even begin to tell of the horrors in that ER. ( once, he spent 5 days there!) I'll go over later this morning and get to speak with the patient rep. It's always worse over a holiday or weekend. ( You can only get sick Monday through Friday) Thanks again, It really meant SO much to me to read all your kind words! You really helped!!! I feel so fortunate to have found you all! Lori