A note to friends and family...

Something I've noticed about endometriosis is that this disease has taken over my entire life. That seems like a dramatic statement, but it's all I think about and I talk about little else too. I didn't mean it to and I certainly don't want it to, but for now it seems it has. When asked how I am there's nothing else to talk about as it's crept into every aspect of my life. Our finances have been stretched and twisted in ways we didn't think possible. Every meal has to be carefully planned and work days sometimes take crazy tangents as we deal with my various symptoms. Trips to see the in-laws are no longer simple and my answers to invitations now have the suffix "...as long as I'm not too tired/in pain/recovering from my op/etc."

The biggest thing affected has to be my social life. Most people have been understanding when receiving the above response and I can't thank them enough for all of their support. But already I can see disbelief in some people's eyes (or feel it in their messages) that I could be so far affected by endo that it would prevent me from doing x, y or z.

To those people I say this: I know you're skeptical. If you haven't experienced the unpredictability of this illness before then to even imagine the extent it can affect your life will be difficult. But please believe me when I say I want to be at your event/see you socially/whatever else you've invited me to do. I would love to say an unequivocal 'Yes' without the ifs, buts and maybes attached. There is nothing I want more than to socialise, celebrate and experience things with my friends and family. Please know that if I have to back out of plans, it is upsetting me more than its disappointing you.

My body has become unpredictable. I can be fine one minute and in pain or exhausted the next. My hormones flip upside down without warning and a light-hearted joke can shatter me in an instant. That sounds dramatic and I assure you it is.

I put up with it because it's also allowed me the most heart-felt belly laughs I've had in years. The true friends have stepped forward in my life and my family relationships have never been so strong. I have a sense of purpose in life and I've found my energy again (around lots of naps!).

My life is a whirlwind of symptoms and emotions at the moment so forward planning is near impossible. My social life has become a juggling act and occassionally some things will drop. But if you're a true friend and you stick with me through it all I can promise that any time there's a choice over what to drop, it won't be you.

Hospitals, Hormones and The Traumatic Incident of the Dog in the Evening.

Monday marked exactly 1 month from the day I was discharged from hospital, which surprised me! It seems like no time at all! To celebrate, yesterday I went to the doctors for my second Zoladex implant and to the hospital for my post-op check up. Seems like an odd way to celebrate, but that's the medical profession for you. ;)

I'm happy to say that all went well. The implant wasn't half as scary as I was worried it would be! As for the hospital check up, everything was better than they'd expected, which can only be good! Both cysts have shrunk - the larger one is now half the size which is pretty impressive! So they're happy to go ahead with my next surgery in October, which is great news.

The only downside so far are the mood swings and hot flushes. I've not quite turned into a fire-breathing city-destroying monster, but irritability is never too far and more recently I've been feeling quite fragile and easily upset. Not to mention turning into a furnace at the drop of a hat!

This all came to a spectacular explosion after a particularly traumatic incident yesterday evening with the neighbours dog that left me a shaking mess in our hallway! (No dogs or Amis were hurt, just mentally scarred for life...)

So if I'm snappy, over-react or just seem plain grumpy, please forgive me. There is hormonal warfare currently taking place in my body and right now I'm not winning!

Recipe: Endo Friendly Chicken Goulash

Today I decided to use the slower cooker that's been collecting dust since we moved in! Tom had work and I was feeling particularly lazy, so a batch of slow-cooked chicken goulash found its way onto the menu. It's incredibly simple to make and takes between 2.5-6 hours to cook depending on the setting you use. Prep time is only about 10-15 minutes so it really is a hands off meal!

Serves 6 (I froze 4 portions for later meals)

Ingredients:
olive oil
1/2 an onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper
1kg chicken breast
1 1/2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1tbsp brown sugar
1tbsp paprika
3 handfuls of red lentils
other seasoning to taste (I used sage, mint, parsley & chilli flakes)
water/tomato puree can be used to thin/thicken it as you like

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add the onion, saute until cooked through and add to the slow cooker.
2. Cook the pepper and garlic in the pan then add to the slow cooker.
3. Add all of the other ingredients (minus the 'other seasoning' and lentils) to the slow cooker and mix together.
4. Cook for 2.5-3 hours on High or 5-6 hours on Low.
5. Remove the chicken and shred it.
6. Add the chicken, lentils and other seasoning to the slow cooker and cook for 15 minutes on High or 30 minutes on Low.
7. Serve and enjoy!

I especially liked this recipe as it was something I could share with Tom - he cleared his bowl! Half the battle of the endo diet is feeling like you can't share meals with other people without feeling like they're giving up a good meal, so this was a real relief. :) It's also a budget-friendly meal, especially when done as a big batch. The chicken was the biggest expense at £6 but the rest cost no more than a few pence per ingredient, bringing the cost per portion to less than £1.50!

Endo Recipe Book Review

I recently purchased Recipes & Diet Advice for Endometriosis by Carolyn Levett* for two purposes: firstly to explain what foods to cut out and why, secondly for the recipe ideas it contains. On both fronts I've been very happy with the purchase.

                                        

The first few chapters deal with what foods to avoid and the science behind them. I found this bit particularly fascinating, especially learning exactly why each food exacerbated endometriosis in particular. Although I knew some of the things on the list weren't exactly 'healthy', I didn't realise they could have such negative effects on the body. For example I knew soy wasn't good from a salt-content perspective, but I was surprised to find that every aspect of mass-produced soy is bad for you as the process removes all the good nutrients and aluminium from the containers is slowly absorbed into the end product.
The chapters are broken down simply and the science-y bits are really easy to follow (if not understand!).

The beginning of the book also deals with foods that will help you in your recovery - liver friendly ingredients to help with detoxing, along with lists of specific fruit and veg that contain vitamins directly useful to healing from endometriosis. I've found this section extremely useful when trying to flavour new recipes I'm testing - consulting the spice rack for its medicinal uses instead of just the flavours I can create.

Another aspect that I've found helpful is that throughout the book there are sections explaining alternative ingredients you can use in place of the banned ones. For example stevia, cacao or carob can replace sugar depending on the recipe you're using. There's also a lengthy section explaining the different benefits of alternative gluten free flours. These alternatives can be a bit pricey though so I'd definitely pick recipes that use the same kind of flour so that you only need to buy one.

The majority of the book is dedicated to recipes; from drinks and starters all the way through to desserts and baking, not to mention party food options. This is where the true value of the book is found, as a lot of sources will tell you what you can't eat but very few will help you work out what you can. All of the recipes are extremely basic and conform to a completely vegan diet, so that absolutely anyone can use them. This leaves plenty of room for you to add your favourite white meat or fish to the dishes.

Whenever I'm planning our meals for the week I've taken to having this book nearby. I'm very fussy when it comes to food, but even if I don't like the exact recipe it's excellent for getting base ideas to build on.

If I had one complaint it would be that the book has typos scattered throughout and you can tell it wasn't professionally written. The author is an endo-sufferer and wants to share what she's discovered and found to help. It's not a big problem, these things just jump out at me!

Overall this book is absolutely invaluable and if you're an endo sufferer it should definitely be on your bookshelf! Or even if you just want a healthier diet that isn't full of the additives and hidden nasties that regular products are now becoming overloaded with.

*This is an Amazon Associate link.

Wheat, Gluten & Endometriosis

As promised, I'll be going into more detail about why you need to cut out certain things when on the endometriosis diet. The list is rather extensive and the explanations for some can get rather lengthy so I'll be doing them as a series of posts rather than flooding you all at once.

Today I'll be focusing on wheat and gluten, as cutting out this particular one has had a huge effect on me already and can be of help even to those who don't suffer with endometriosis.

                             

More and more people are waking up to the evils of gluten and wheat, no longer the healthy staple it used to be thanks to years of genetic modification and pesticide use. Gluten is now used in food production as a binding agent, much like eggs are when you're baking a cake. The problem is that it's new genetically modified form doesn't just bind ingredients in the food - it moves through your digestive system like glue and binds whatever it fancies. It has slowly developed from a nutritious ingredient in almost every area of cooking to something you should avoid if you don't want to incur the nasty list of symptoms it can cause.

The most common symptoms can include;

• Gas
• Bloating
• Queasiness
• Abdominal cramping
• IBS
• Irrational mood swings and emotional problems, even depression
• Fatigue

But if you have a gluten intolerance or an allergy called coeliac disease the symptoms can be much worse; neurological disruption, fibromyalgia, migraines and inflammation & pain in your joints.

As you can see, it's nasty stuff even if you're completely healthy. The problem when it comes to endometriosis is that you may have a combination of disorders that are all fed by wheat, compounding the problem. It's not uncommon to also suffer from Candida (a yeast infection in the gut that is fed by sugar), IBS (irritable bowel syndrome, cause currently unknown) or some level of gluten intolerance (anything from a mild irritation up to coeliac disease) - sometimes all three at once.

The only way to get rid of these symptoms, whether you're just looking for a healthier diet in general or you're looking to ease endometriosis, is to eliminate wheat and gluten (also found in barley and rye) from your diet completely. It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it.

In a study of women with endometriosis 80% found their pain was greatly reduced when they cut wheat out of their diet. This jumped to 100% when they also cut out gluten.

Cutting gluten out of your diet is no mean feat, don't get me wrong. I've now taken to reading the ingredients list on absolutely everything I eat (checking for wheat and other ingredients in the naughty list)! But once you experience the rewards for all the hard work you put in you become reluctant to go back to eating gluten products. Some women find their pain is reduced and some find it disappears altogether, it all depends on the cause of your pain. But in either case it's worth giving it a try - what have you got to lose?

To give you an idea of the difference it can make, here's a snippet of my own experience:

"I have suffered bloating to varying degrees throughout 2013, blaming everything I could think of; water retention before a period, weight gain during a period and IBS just to name a few. I'd attempted to go gluten free a few times and it did show some improvements but never enough for me to think it was worth it.

When I got my diagnosis and subsequently had my op I dropped weight dramatically (2lbs from the surgery alone and then another 6lbs in 4 days when I got home) and the reason for my problems became obvious. Every organ in my abdomen was so swollen that once I'd reduced the bloating I was just revealing the extent of the swelling without realising it (a scary thought!).

Pre-diet I had been eating anything I fancied, partly because I was so grateful to have my appetite back and partly because I knew once I started the diet there would be a lot of things I'd miss!

On day 1 of the diet I was going to the shops, which warranted more than the loose fitting pjs I'd been living in! Since I'd lost so much weight I thought I'd try to put on a pair of jeans that hadn't fit me in 2 years, to no avail. My stomach was still too bloated despite the weight loss.

On day 2 I woke up and looked a lot slimmer in the mirror (my enemy and best friend). This time I was going to visit family and figured it was worth another try. To my amazement the jeans fit. Not completely comfortably, but I could do the button up. I wore them out and everyone said how amazing I looked.

By day 4 I could do the jeans up and had wiggle room. To say I was shocked doesn't even come close.

I'm now on day 7 and my stomach is still a little bigger than I'd like, but my internal organs are still going back to their normal size so it's something I can live with. I'm just shocked at how fast everything went back to normal once I started on this diet! It's definitely worth it for me and I find I don't crave my old comfort foods because I know the consequences."

I'm wary that this post is getting a bit long again, so I'll put the alternatives to wheat in another blog post for you. I really hope this has given you an insight into why so many people struggle with wheat and convinced you that it's at least worth giving it a go. Experts recommend 2 weeks gluten free to get it out of your system and see the real effects, so don't get disheartened if you don't see results immediately. :)

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Recipe: Endo-Friendly Turkey Chilli

Ingredients:

• 400g Turkey Mince
• 100g Brown Rice
• 1 Tin of Organic Chopped Tomatoes
• 1tbsp Tomato Puree
• Herbs and Spices (I used Sage, Parsley, Minced Garlic and Chilli Flakes)

Method:

1. Brown the turkey mince in a pan until it's cooked through and drain the fat.
2. Set the brown rice cooking according to the instructions on the packet.
3. Add the tomatoes to the mince and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add in tomato puree to thicken the sauce, along with herbs and spices to taste - experiment here and see what flavours you like! In the past we've tried everything from paprika to mint to see what results we'd get. Only add a little at a time as the flavour will concentrate while the sauce simmers!
5. Leave the mince to simmer, stirring occasionally until the rice is cooked. It should thicken down and concentrate over time.
6. Drain the rice and serve everything up!

Here's what ours looked like:

              

If you try this recipe let me know how it goes. :)

The Endo Diet

Having done a lot of research into Endometriosis and alternative treatments that help the condition, I've come across a number of things that are said to help. The method that crops up most often is the 'Endo Diet' - a diet that cuts out all foods known to aggravate the condition. The list is pretty extensive!

There are countless testimonials saying their pain has all but disappeared and some even claim their endometriosis has gone entirely. So it's time to test out their claims and try it for myself. :)

My first step was to buy Recipes & Diet Advice For Endometriosis by Carolyn Levett*. There are lots of books out there that explain the diet and the science behind it, but this book comes with 260 recipes that are Endo-friendly, all the way from starters & soups to baking and party foods. Once you see the list of things you can't eat, you'll understand why this is a God-send!

Once that arrived I spent the morning reading through the science-y stuff and working out what foods I'll be saying goodbye to and which new friends I'll be greeting. Without going into great detail, here is the list of foods to avoid:

• Wheat/Gluten
• Red Meat
• Dairy
• Sugar
• Caffeine
• Eggs
• Alcohol
• Yeast
• Soy
• Additives & Preservatives

As you can see, it's pretty much everything you'll find in a normal diet. You may be thinking there's nothing left to eat, but you'd be surprised at how much I can still eat - I was!

For example chicken, pork, turkey and fish are all fine (as long as you're careful about the source), along with all gluten free products like breads, pasta, rice etc. Fruit and veg are fine too, natural sugars are okay. Plus herbs and spices are really good to include, so it doesn't have to be a bland diet.

Next stop was Asda to stock up on a few healthy items. I won't be jumping feet first into this diet, it'd be too extreme for my body and pretty heavy on my bank balance! The plan is to slowly use up what we have in the cupboards and replace them with the healthy alternatives over time.

We bought:

• Organic chicken stock cubes
• A fruit syrup alternative to sugar
• Almond milk
• Gluten free cous-cous
• Organic Virgin Olive Oil
• Organic tinned tomatoes (high in antioxidants)
• Turkey Mince

It came out as a pretty expensive shop! My favourite find was definitely the fruit syrup, which I used in my porridge this morning. It was quite a subtle but sweet taste and can be used in all kinds of things - tea, coffee, porridge, spread on toast, in baking and cooking etc.

                                             

We've now come up with a meal plan for the week, some of the meals being the new healthy version and some still being from our normal diet. Tom is going to be doing this diet with me (with some red meat added in for his man-needs!) so we'll be easing into it gently.

This blog is getting pretty long now so I'll leave it here! Over the next week or two I'll be throwing in some recipes that we've tried out (including the turkey chilli one from last night) along with a more in-depth explanation about why each of the foods are being cut out.

If you find this topic interesting or know someone who might benefit from the information please share my blog. :) It was quite scary at first getting a diagnosis with no known cure, but having looked around and talked to people with the illness it's really reassuring knowing there are things you can do to help. I'd love to be able to pass on that experience to others!

*This is an Amazon Associate link.

News and Promises

Hi all!

Has it really been 5 months since I last posted? The time really goes fast!

This time I have a legitimate excuse and hopefully my promise to blog more regularly can be kept from now on. I've had all manner of health problems since April and all my energy has been put into keeping up work and having something that resembles a social life! After months of doctors looking at me with a puzzled expression, I was finally taken into hospital 2 weeks ago and all was revealed.

I've been suffering from severe endometriosis (information can be found here) which has led to a lot of pain, tiredness and general grumpiness over the months. I was in hospital for a week, had a minor op to find the problem and fix it, and my health has been improving dramatically ever since! I'm immensely grateful for all the doctors and nurses I came into contact with, they are all incredible people and the care I received was second to none. So thank you to all the staff at Southmead Hospital Cotswald Ward for your help. :)

So there's the news, now for my promise!

I'm completely changing my life, from the inside out. I've already got more energy and that's only increasing each day, so it's time to do something with it. :) I'm going to be tackling our finances harder than ever before (3 weeks off work isn't cheap!), overhauling my diet to get my health back up to scratch and getting crafty again as I find things to do during my recovery. All of this means I'll have plenty to blog about, so that's what I'll be doing!

I won't be promising a daily update, as that was very difficult to keep up even in peak health. But I can promise 2-3 posts a week and possibly some featured posts or guest posts to supplement my own. :)

And that's all I have for you today! I'm off to be inspired by recipes, project ideas and frugal blogs. ;)