DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP>>>SERIOUS SITUATION> THANK YOU <3

This is a difficult post for me to make. A couple of months back I told everyone how I was having a gluten problem and must make a big life change to embrace a new eating plan. Well, unfortunately ALOT has happened since then. I have been off the gluten for over two months, and it was by far, the best thing I have done for myself(second to dreads!). Anyway, I went through a colonoscopy, endoscopy and stomach biopsy...which all determined that I was cancer free and my internal organs looked healthy, although inflamed from the past gluten. Next, I had a new series of bloodwork and several hormone studies, all performed by an Endocrinologist. What was found was twofold...First, I have something called Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Which is to say that I have a very enlarged thyroid, that for some unknown reason is turning on itself and destroying itself! I had an ultra sound to confirm that my thyroid was covered with scar tissue and was very damaged. Second, they found that I may also have something called Addison's disease...which goes with Hasimoto's quite often. The results of Addison's is a low cortisol level from adrenal failure. Your adrenals help to process stress. So, high levels of stress upset the adrenals and then the less cortisol you produce, the less able you are to handle the stress...a vicious circle really. Anyway, in plain English...my stress is literally killing me. I am now on thyroid meds (for life!), and my neck has shrunk over two inches in a month! I have another specialist appt. in a week or so and will find out if I must go on steroids (for life!) to deal with the Addison's. I do have a pituatary tumor in my brain that was found long ago and is benign, but may be causing or adding to these problems. Anyhow, many of you know that I have two special needs children. My youngest daughter is mentally ill and highly violent. She was in a facility for two years and came home in April. Because of budget cuts, I will lose vital services in June to help me care for her. I have VERY few options and at this point...I am too sick to fight for more services. All of you here are my family and I love you more than you will ever know. I truly feel blessed and at a place in my life where I am happy with who I am. I have found so much love and guidance from all of you. You have never let me down...evenwhen my own family did. I believe that my dreads hve lead me to explore my world differently and to get answers that I was too afraid to contemplate in the past. What I need from you all now is this...I MUST get my stress under control, or I will not be here in the future. My doctor has been very clear. I just don't know how to find peace in a situation that I can not change (my daughter). I don't know what to do for myself to get to a calm place. Please, will anyone help me?

updated by @panterra-caraway: 02/14/15 05:41:14AM

damn Panterra that is alot for any one person to have to deal with. you already are a very strong person and have your head on straight. for the stress thats something that has to be worked on. ive been trying to live stress free for years, and over time i have gotten better at it, i know you can do it to hun! your a great person n we all love you here too!

I am so sorry to hear all of this Panterra, I've been thinking of you. I don't know how much help I can be all the way over here in Ohio but I will gladly be praying for you and will always be an ear to listen and if there IS anything I can do, you better believe I will jump at the opportunity. I'ma shoot you a message on FB!

I become very sad when i hear situations like yours...I am with you and pray for something good to happen to you and change your life....

3 years ago my dad caught from the police for drag deal and now he is in jail for life....i have 2 sisters separate from their husbands with 1 kid each and a mother who is not very well in her mind...My sisters don't work and i am the only one who works and try to keep my family....

What i want to say is that my life is so Stressful that for about 6 months i had very often panic attacks..

The only thing that helped a lot and drugs free was HOMEOPATHY...changed my life and now i feel that my batteries are full and i have the strength to help my family!!!

I Hope for you the BEST AND ALL THE POSITIVE ENERGY I CAN GIVE YOU...

My thoughts and prayers go out to you, Panterra. I can imagine that living with special-needs children can be stressful enough in itself, even without the added difficulty of health problems. I find meditation helpful for stress. You can do it anywhere (except of course while driving!) , and even short meditations here and there can be effective. You might find other natural ways of de-stressing, eg, a herbal adrenal balancer. Stay as positive as possible, don't worry about unimportant things (like housework ). From where I live I can't help you practically, but please remember there's people out there who are, in spirit, at your side.

*HUG* Panterra.

Oh sweety, you are valued and cherished more than you'll know. You, bright spark, are going to have many days of worry ahead of you but if you believe in you children's ability to live life as well as they're capable of then you can let go of holding onto those reins quite so tightly. When Mommy is ill there's only so much she can do and even with anxiety-ridden planning, nothing is really disaster proof.

Do you have any legal council who can advise you? May be a strange question but my thoughts concern long term care in case something happens to you.

St. John's Wort(if not contraindicated for your conditions) may help with anxiety and depression. You should only take it eight weeks at a time, though. Give yourself a break from it for a few months then you can go back on it again for another eight weeks.

That's about the only homeopathic type drug I can think of right off hand... I can't take it due to allergies and have to stick with Xanax. But when my boys REALLY get in a mood to raise hell and turn the house upside down no amount of Xanax works. Then it's "everybody gets a time out!" time and separation is the only thing that works. You can try to help someone to death when they'd be much better of figuring things out on their own sometimes(i'm talking about the kids, not you, Panterra!!!) depending on their age and capabilities. There's only so much hand holding and swaddling you can do with your children before they have to deal with the world at large, mental challenges or not.

I know that with my 10 year old ADHD son when he gets in his REALLY BAD I-just-don't-feel-like-cooperating moods I have to give him space to cool down. Most of the time I can talk him down before it escalates to that level but sometimes... guh. No amount of talking works. He just has to rant alone by himself and work out his temper tantrum.

Have you sat down with someone from Medicaid/Medicare and explained your own health situation which is now compounded with your childrens'? Sick people aren't very good at taking care of one another. I speak from experience. It's like the blind leading the blind around here in my house and it bites ass. Sometimes nothing gets done.

I feel the need to mention, though, that in researching my own condition I have heard that adrenal failure is becoming more and more common. Very curious. If the body is not able to handle stress then.... We're walking time bombs. Which is why I mentioned legal council.

Gentle yoga in a quiet place is the other recommendation I have. That mental 'quiet spot' for meditation will be hard to find if you're so stressed. You can't shove a square peg through a round hole. Yoga can be a way to force your brain to shut up so you can then lead yourself into meditation when you're capable of it. www.yogajournal.com is wonderful. Their articles on emotional topics are so very needed some days! I look forward to reading them.

oh yeah haha thanks Angel, i almost forgot

*HUG*

About your comments on adrenal failure, Angel Frye, you're absolutely right in it becoming more common. As human beings we're increasingly forced to deal with things we're not equipped to cope with. There's more time pressure than ever before. Computer use has opened our world in many ways, but it can also cause immense amount of stress.Our lives have become like fragile towers of cards - one slips and they all drop. Then,on top of all our worries, we start to worry about the effect all this is having on us and our children! It's a vicious and accelerating circle, and eventually something gives.

Perhaps, Panterra, this has happened to you. It happened to me some years ago when I came down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. And I don't have children - let alone special needs children! Makes me think you're actually a very strong person, but the load's just gotten too much. That's no reflection on you, just on what we're expected to deal with nowadays in our everyday lives. When I got diagnosed with CFS, it was a great help to understand that. It made me feel less of a failure for always being sick. So I'm sending you an electronically-transmitted hug with this, and wishing you strength. Please keep posting.

And that makes at least two of us with CFS here, hippiegal. In retaliation I learned to unplug from technology whenever possible. My kids are virtual schooled and that makes it difficult but..... I do it! I read, play games, and try to be calm as much as possible. It's not easy with all the trials and boo-boos kids bring along with themselves but if you gotta be calm then you have to figure out what it means to truly "minimize" everything in your life.

What are the bare bones necessities?

I'm not a great fan of techno-gadgets either, but I appreciate the way a computer allows me to connect to people (like this group) because my social opportunities are limited. I have a cell phone but rarely use it. Our TV reception is kaput and neither of us are bothered to fix it. We just use it to watch movies now and then. My priority is saving energyand not just the stuff that comes off the grid. I've simplified our home and my way of doing things to make life as easy as possible.To me, minimizing is not just getting rid of unnecessary material junk, but also unnecessary activity. Eg, does the house need to be cleaned every second day, or will every second week do? When you start cutting it down, you'd be amazed at how much energy mostpeople waste. I guess my retaliation is against the culture that says we have to cram our lives with doing. If you can stay calm while teaching and bringing up your lively kids, you're a long way ahead! I admire you.