Goldie, I hear the pain in your post. My heart goes out to you. You are being very honest and brave to step forward to discuss the very thing that pains you so deeply now. Sometimes being honest with ourselves forces us to look at things that we otherwise might not because it hurts so much. For you to step forward and tell of your experiences in the hopes that others may be spared the same pain that you and your daughter have is heroic in my books. We need to hear ALL the stories, not just the popular ones. If this serves only to enlighten others to the fact that there are other choices rather than just the one the doctor says is "necessary" than you have served your daughter well. I can feel the deep love you have for your daughter and I empathize with you. I have read your many posts and in each and every one the love comes shinning through. I don't have a girl with CAH, but I can relate to your frustration as it was very difficult for me to hear that some of the doctors wouldn't switch from the liquid to the pill form of cortef. Everytime I read a post that someone mentioned the subject I just wanted to scream "this could kill your child"! Many parents didn't have any noticable problems and the ease of dispensing the liquid did make life a bit simpler. They looked to the doctors to tell them that it was bad and many didn't. They waited for the pharmaceutical company to admit it and they didn't. I even received some emails from people who didn't agree with me speaking out about a med that they had used successfully for years. I almost quit once. My passion wouldn't allow it so on I nagged. I thought that, if I spare even just one child the pain and suffering that my son has had to endure, or the loss of a child, like my friend Reina and others have had to, then it was worth a small amount of discomfort on my part. Unfortunately, in the end, we did end up losing some children to this problem, but my emails also tell me that it did save some. I, like many other parents, didn't even know that there was a problem with the liquid cortef until I came to this board out of pure desparation. When I found out that I was not alone, it gave me the strength I needed to question everything I am noq told. I think we can all agree that this board has been a life saver to us all at one time or another. I, for one, am glad to have people like you Goldie, JoanW, Danette, Laura and all the others who speak about the trials and tribulations of their lives in an effort to educate others about the things that have caused them great harm and pain. This has always been a board where we have felt free to express our opinions and experiences no matter how popular or unpopular they may be. We all have the same goal for our children, and that is to spare them anything that might cause them undue pain whether it be physical or emotional. I think that we can all agree that the treatment for CAH is far from perfect. Unless someone rocks the boat by asking questions and holding the doctors accountable for the unsuccessful surgeries that they perform, we will make no progress in the treatment of this disorder. It is unfortunate that we can't know whether the surgery is a success or not until it is too late. The debate as to whether the psychological damage of growing up looking so different from the other children causes more pain than losing sensation after a surgery to "normalize" the appearance of the child could go on forever. I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that knowledge, education and questioning everything is a good place to start. I applaud all of you for stepping out of your comfort levels and sharing with us your fears and concerns for our children. Believe me, I know how difficult it is to do. My thanks goes out to all of you.