I'm Swearing Off WebMD

I'm swearing off WebMD. I've said it before, but I really mean it this time.

Since January, Issa has had some sick days. She would throw up once and then be fine. It was bizarre. When it first hit, we thought she had the stomach bug that was going around. In February, we thought she was super unlucky. When it came back two weeks ago, I called our doctor and we thought it was a super-fun three month virus that was hanging around and flaring when she got overtired. Every episode had been after a dance competition or slumber party. Since that diagnosis, though, I have the been the bedtime dictator.

When she threw up again yesterday morning, I knew it couldn't be that virus. WebMD convinced me it was either a serious gastric issue or cancer. I called our doctors and insisted they see her yesterday; we were in at 9:15 with a doctor who specializes in adolescents and I'm sure he now thinks I'm crazy. Of course, by the time we got there she looked and felt great. She had thrown up, and I had given her Motrin to help with her general achy feeling, which I attributed to her tiny body throwing up. We had a routine.

He asked about her symptoms, and then asked if she had headaches, which she said she did, which was news to me. Apparently they didn't bother her as much as her stomach so she just didn't tell me. He did some examining and asked a few more questions, and then diagnosed her with migraines. My response, "Oh, thank God." He looked perplexed until I explained our family history. I know migraines. We've got this.

That's also when I realized I already knew her trigger. Nitrates. Just like me. Because you know what you eat at dance competitions and slumber parties: lunch meat sandwiches, pizza, and bacon. All loaded with nitrates.

Issa and I went to too many stores to find B2, which should also help stave off the migraines. And we spent the rest of the day talking about what this means and what's now a very special treat.

This morning, I met with the school nurse to brief her. If Issa starts to get a headache at school, she will give her Motrin. We have plans if she starts to feel lousy there. And she let me cry when she said Issa was now officially on her caseload.

I hate that my baby has to be on a nurse's caseload. But I am so overwhelmingly grateful that if we have to be on a caseload it's just for migraines. We've got this.