I have read this board for almost 5 years now. On and off. Through the years I have seen some parents opt to stress dose their children through emotional stress and some not to. I think like Toni said, most children at Christmas, are up at the crack of dawn high on emotion. Taken from one exciting place to another until dark. Something out of the norm for their routine. That draws not only on their emotions but on their physical body. If I post I always make sure I type in my daughter’s CAH type because I think there are slight differences when it comes to caring for their CAH. I like to see who posts with what type of CAH. (and what age because I think that is important too) For example I feel the salt wasters seem to have a harder time in heat, ect. And I believe each person has different needs. That is what makes CAH SO frustrating to me. There is no black and white rule book to really follow religiously. It is all gray. I know that Tonia’s 2 girls both have the same CAH. One does horribly when she gets a fever. It usually requires and ER trip. But if she vomits, she is treatable at home. Her other daughter is complete opposite. If she gets a fever she is treatable at home, and when she vomits, it requires an ER trip. That amazes me. I also read on here that when someone lost their grandma they needed to stress dose her daughter because she was taking it so emotinally hard. I also read that an adult with CAH had to stress dose herself because her brand new truck got ran into parked on her street. When she saw this she came back in her house and stressed dose because she felt physically terrible. So I think stess dosing for emotional events is a good idea. As long as you don’t abuse it. And if you know your childs needs. One may require a tad more for the day of stress. Some may need a little more than that. I use two rules of thumbs when dealing with CAH with my daughter. First I seek out her Endo. and ask him. If my gut says I know my child better than him with this particular thing, then I challenge him. If he still sticks to it, I weight my choices, and do what I think is best for my daughter. (hey mom’s know best) ha ha ha.  One more thing to take in mind. I notice if I stress dose my daughter in a time of need for some illness, her emotions can run high. My thoughts are, gee maybe she is already over suppressed and this just adds to her high levels. Then if she is undersuppressed at the time of extra meds. this meets her needs beautifully and I don’t get any real bad emotionall reaction from her. It all is this great big ball of what ifs with CAH to consider. It is still such a mystery.