Reply to Feeling so blue...How to live with DD's chronic illness?

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[quote=Anonymous]I think this is the correct forum for posting this question. DD is 12, and out of the blue, developed quite severe GI issues 3 years ago. The issues are terrible and have become chronic it seems: intractable constipation (i.e., she cannot go at all on her own), abdominal pain, crazy urgency. She was totally healthy before. She is a tough kid but all of this has taken a huge toll on her. She is super anxious about social situations now and is petrified of anyone finding out about her GI difficulties. All normal for her age, I think, and because the issues are genuinely on the embarassing side for a tween.  As a family, we are so restricted by her condition. The practical matters - always making sure she has vegetables, fruits, high fiber, no dairy - means that there is no such thing as a icecream stop or an occasional pizza meal. Our younger kid is close in age and a real playmate. So neither are doing camps this summer so that there is company for DD. But poor DD spends a lot of her days in the bathroom because of the urgency - so no one gets to do anything on those days. It feels cruel to get on with our lives, get the younger child into camps, go on family vacations (how to even do this?). We are struggling daily to help figure out her situation. This takes up time, energy, medical visits galore. I am not asking for help here on the medical side but really how to handle this as a family. It feels hopeless, no end in sight. And I am afraid the truth is that when there is a chronic situation then the whole family pays the price. Right? I just feel terrible that we can't help our child who is suffering horribly. I feel terrible that our other child's life has become so constrained. I feel sorry for myself too, as selfish as that sounds, that there is no pleasure left in life. I took a break from the kids today, shut myself up in my room and slept a lot of the day. DH was fine with handling the kids all day. But I felt like a stereotypical depressed person. The kids were asking what had happened to me and why I was so sad. Thanks for reading. [/quote]

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