Do you wage war on the beast or ride out the storm? How you view this battle, can have a large impact ....Can you find or develop a sense of joy in life while throwing up.....and not waging a lifetime of war ...Which leads to sense of victory, which leads to a sense of defeat at each battle that arises?
So this title might be a little miss leading..or a little confusing ....for most puking is anything but joyful. However many cvs kids puke, not because of bad thing like stomach viruses, over eating or food allergy. These kids puke because of excitement, and good things that make other kids happy. Most often people think of this nervous stomach, but that is not even close.
A nervous puker, might puke then feel better, they can be distracted by tv, or redirected by an incentive. If you are blessed to be a parent of a child with cyclical vomiting you might notice that no amount of bribing, incentive or punishment turn it off and in fact those thing make it worse. Its common knowledge the excitement is often a trigger for kids with cvs along with temp changes, lack of sleep, allergies and viral illnesses. Some triggers are more easily managed than others. The excitement is one that falls under the others.
My husband and I were only half joking saying we should just do away with birthday and holidays here. We know that's not the answer. We were reflecting on the numerous hospital admissions we've had over the last year, his birthday, birth of his sister, older sisters first communion, Halloween and Christmas to name a few ( not all but you get the point ). We've learned to keep parties small and only to immediate family members and just to celebrate with dinner of choice, cake and light up balloons. Yet every birthday ( of any family member does not have to be his) we end up in the hospital...
This is so common place the siblings no long bat an eye about it. They just can't wait to visit him and play with the toys the hospital has. (well minus the 4 year old who cries when his brother in gone because he misses him and once he visits him and sees he's ok so is he) Life is exciting! Good exciting or bad excitement it's all the same to a cvs kid. We focus on simple joy and way of being content day to day. Homeschooling has spared us the cycles that are triggered by assemblies, substitute teachers, fire drills and other seemingly harmless excitement in a child's life.
Sure you'd expect traveling to see family out of state would be one (which it is) but there are soo many exciting things the day that we often overlook. Joy comes from within. Joyful puking is a state of mind, knowing that this will pass, its just the way your body processes excitement. It's not a beast to be fought, though you might feel that way at times. Emotions just are, excitement just is. How you handle them will determine the outcome (not totally but large enough impact). Work with emotions and excitement, not against it. Allow feelings to be acknowledged and validated thus released and less likely to become full out trigger. I am not saying cvs is an emotional or mental disorder, it is most likely aggravated by stress of any kind...the joyful puker is one who though he is fighting a battle, consciously chooses not to wage a war he knows cannot be won by those means.
It's not giving into cvs, from what scientist know at this time there is no cure... So there may or may not be one in your child's life time..... Give them hope, but also give them the tools to pick battles wisely and how to life a life with it. Calming thoughts, assist with regulating emotions both good and bad can help you to become a joyful puker who is one who is not shocked or emotionally defeated by yet again another cycle.....
Life by its very nature is exciting! Children by their nature excite easily as they are filled with awe and wonder as they learn about the world around them.
They love to celebrate and embrace any reason to celebrate. This is where very often kids with cvs get stuck like a child trying to eat an Oreo and brush their teeth at the same time... It seems very oxymoronic. Child love to be happy and and excited yet for some children this sends the nervous system into hyper drive and miss firing causing a cycle of intense vomiting, light motion sound sensitivity that only respond to very strong anti nausea meds used by cancer patients or in other cases treated with iv fluids and mild sedation til it passes. Or for some excitement taps all the energy their cells mitochondria have which might already be on or me empty to begin with. So how can CVS kids find peace and joy in this world of excitement? This is where the joyful puker come in.....and how we teach it in our house.
Do these kids need to learn to tolerate them better, yes. Are we sheltering him, Not in the way that one would think. In teaching and increasing his ability to tolerate we need to make sure it is in ways they can succeed which may mean a different standard. A trip to Disney world for these kids might be an absolute nightmare or they could love it depending on their tolerance level and if parents are proactive in avoiding a cycle. As they get older they can learn cognitive behavioral tips oh how to regulate mood to keep a more consistent energy level.
But any parent of a toddler or preschooler knows how hard it is to get them to bed on Christmas Eve or before the first day of school...CVS parents might fight that battle everyday. Somethings will get easier the older they get and the more positive experiences they have. If they develop quite the history of excitement puking, they will learn that this will pass, and it will get better, and as we've found have a greater appreciation for the healthy times that many take for granted.
To achieve victory, he must do the opposite, he must learn to work with and help its opponent have its needs met to avoid another fight......thus creating a better life for all. ENJOY LIFE ALONG THE WAY!!
So this title might be a little miss leading..or a little confusing ....for most puking is anything but joyful. However many cvs kids puke, not because of bad thing like stomach viruses, over eating or food allergy. These kids puke because of excitement, and good things that make other kids happy. Most often people think of this nervous stomach, but that is not even close.
A nervous puker, might puke then feel better, they can be distracted by tv, or redirected by an incentive. If you are blessed to be a parent of a child with cyclical vomiting you might notice that no amount of bribing, incentive or punishment turn it off and in fact those thing make it worse. Its common knowledge the excitement is often a trigger for kids with cvs along with temp changes, lack of sleep, allergies and viral illnesses. Some triggers are more easily managed than others. The excitement is one that falls under the others.
My husband and I were only half joking saying we should just do away with birthday and holidays here. We know that's not the answer. We were reflecting on the numerous hospital admissions we've had over the last year, his birthday, birth of his sister, older sisters first communion, Halloween and Christmas to name a few ( not all but you get the point ). We've learned to keep parties small and only to immediate family members and just to celebrate with dinner of choice, cake and light up balloons. Yet every birthday ( of any family member does not have to be his) we end up in the hospital...
This is so common place the siblings no long bat an eye about it. They just can't wait to visit him and play with the toys the hospital has. (well minus the 4 year old who cries when his brother in gone because he misses him and once he visits him and sees he's ok so is he) Life is exciting! Good exciting or bad excitement it's all the same to a cvs kid. We focus on simple joy and way of being content day to day. Homeschooling has spared us the cycles that are triggered by assemblies, substitute teachers, fire drills and other seemingly harmless excitement in a child's life.
Sure you'd expect traveling to see family out of state would be one (which it is) but there are soo many exciting things the day that we often overlook. Joy comes from within. Joyful puking is a state of mind, knowing that this will pass, its just the way your body processes excitement. It's not a beast to be fought, though you might feel that way at times. Emotions just are, excitement just is. How you handle them will determine the outcome (not totally but large enough impact). Work with emotions and excitement, not against it. Allow feelings to be acknowledged and validated thus released and less likely to become full out trigger. I am not saying cvs is an emotional or mental disorder, it is most likely aggravated by stress of any kind...the joyful puker is one who though he is fighting a battle, consciously chooses not to wage a war he knows cannot be won by those means.
It's not giving into cvs, from what scientist know at this time there is no cure... So there may or may not be one in your child's life time..... Give them hope, but also give them the tools to pick battles wisely and how to life a life with it. Calming thoughts, assist with regulating emotions both good and bad can help you to become a joyful puker who is one who is not shocked or emotionally defeated by yet again another cycle.....
Life by its very nature is exciting! Children by their nature excite easily as they are filled with awe and wonder as they learn about the world around them.
They love to celebrate and embrace any reason to celebrate. This is where very often kids with cvs get stuck like a child trying to eat an Oreo and brush their teeth at the same time... It seems very oxymoronic. Child love to be happy and and excited yet for some children this sends the nervous system into hyper drive and miss firing causing a cycle of intense vomiting, light motion sound sensitivity that only respond to very strong anti nausea meds used by cancer patients or in other cases treated with iv fluids and mild sedation til it passes. Or for some excitement taps all the energy their cells mitochondria have which might already be on or me empty to begin with. So how can CVS kids find peace and joy in this world of excitement? This is where the joyful puker come in.....and how we teach it in our house.
Do these kids need to learn to tolerate them better, yes. Are we sheltering him, Not in the way that one would think. In teaching and increasing his ability to tolerate we need to make sure it is in ways they can succeed which may mean a different standard. A trip to Disney world for these kids might be an absolute nightmare or they could love it depending on their tolerance level and if parents are proactive in avoiding a cycle. As they get older they can learn cognitive behavioral tips oh how to regulate mood to keep a more consistent energy level.
But any parent of a toddler or preschooler knows how hard it is to get them to bed on Christmas Eve or before the first day of school...CVS parents might fight that battle everyday. Somethings will get easier the older they get and the more positive experiences they have. If they develop quite the history of excitement puking, they will learn that this will pass, and it will get better, and as we've found have a greater appreciation for the healthy times that many take for granted.
To achieve victory, he must do the opposite, he must learn to work with and help its opponent have its needs met to avoid another fight......thus creating a better life for all. ENJOY LIFE ALONG THE WAY!!
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excellent...seriously...you should make this into a book.
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