Thursday 29 December 2011

Happy New Year!

I know I'm a couple of days early in saying Happy New Year but who’s counting.

I wanted to focus a post on all of you lovely and brave ladies. I hope you have been able to have some fun over the festive period and see friends and family.  It’s miserable to be poorly over Christmas and feeling like everybody else is having fun. If this has been the case for you then I hope you are feeling much better.

My past two years I have been really poorly over Christmas so I know what it feels like. This year we didn't manage to go to family for Christmas day as I wasn’t well enough. I did however manage to have a nice quiet day with my other half and to eat Christmas lunch which I was very grateful for.

I hope that this year you find some answers to your Endometriosis, Vulvodynia, Vestibuldynia, fertility problems or any other problems you are going through. Stay strong and keep in touch, I’d love to hear from you about your experiences and hopefully we can in turn help somebody else reading this.

Also not forgetting Partners, Consultants, Nurse Care Practitioner, Physiotherapists, Osteopaths, Pain psychologists, Alexander Technique teachers, friends, family and all the staff, trustees, fund raisers and volunteers at Endometriosis UK, both the Vulva Pain Society and the LVPSG  and the Happy Pelvis e-mail support group. If I have forgotten anybody please forgive me.
Thank you for all you have done this year in supporting and using your expertise in treating us ladies. For me, you know who you are.

Wishing you strength and a much happier and healthier 2012!

Lily-Lou x

Tuesday 27 December 2011

Wheat and Dairy Free recipes for Winter

I thought I would share a couple of dairy and wheat free recipes with you. Both of these recipes are using spelt flour, which is obviously wheat free but is not gluten free. I buy Dove's organic wholegrain spelt flour. This first recipe below is from the back of the spelt packet.

Roman Style Bread
Ingredients
500g Wholegrain Spelt Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Quick Yeast
1 tbsp Honey
400ml Warm Water
1 tbsp Olive Oil 

Preheat oven to 200C/Fan180C/400F/Gas 6. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and quick yeast. Dissolve the honey in the water and roughly mix it to the flour. When the dough is craggy, add the oil and mix well. Knead or work the dough for a few minutes, then divide between 2 x 500g bread tins or place on a large, well oiled baking tray for an artisan-style loaf. Cover and leave to rise for 25 minutes in a warm place. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes if using a baking tray, or 40/45 minutes if using loaf tins.
I also add seeds, rosemary or olives sometimes to the mix, just add whatever you fancy. 




Festive Winter Crumble
Ingredients
275g spelt flour, pinch of salt
50g Oats
175g brown sugar
200g unsalted butter, cubbed at room temperature
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
Packet of frozen mixed berries

Preheat the oven to 180c/350F/Gas 4
Place the flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Taking a few cubes of butter at a time rub into the flour mixture. Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Butter a 24cm/9in oven proof dish. Spoon the berries into the bottom, then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the crumble is browned and the fruit mixture bubbling. Serve with thick cream or custard.

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Fertility Nurse Talk

Both my partner and I found the presentation by Helen Graham, Fertility Nurse at the Royal Surrey Hospital very useful. She talked about hormone levels during your cycle and when ovulation happens, she said that its best to have sex three days before ovulation then every three days during your fertile time to try and catch the egg.

I obviously knew to have a varied diet full of different colours to get all of the nutrients possible. To keep saturated fats to a minimum i.e. cakes and bakery items and to keep within your BMI for your height and weight and to include exercise. The advice was also to keep alcohol to the recommended safe limit and stop smoking but I was surprised to find out that caffeine effects fertility! Not a problem for me, more for my other half and his new cafetiere! My down fall is having a sweet tooth but I intend to drop 7 pounds or so and stay off the sweet stuff, or at least try and make my own cake if I do eat it.


Helen also mentioned to watch out for too much vitamin A as this can cause birth defects. Taking folic acid is needed when trying to conceive and vitamin C and zinc was also important. She said it is useful to check if you are ovulating by using a test. I did this over two days in the middle of my cycle, the first day it came back negative, the following day it said I was ovulating.

However, I had a blood test done at the hospital on day 24 of my cycle to see if I had ovulated and the results said I didn’t ovulate! I was surprised and confused at this after taking the test. The doctor said that the ovulating kits on the high street aren’t very sensitive so may not always be correct. She went onto say that this may not be the case every month for ovulating, it could just be this or some months that I don’t. We now have an appointment at the hospital to talk through our options.

I did speak to Helen regarding taking painkillers and using very hot water bottles regularly. They would normally prefer you to not be taking any painkillers. Although in my case I need them so I am trying to take less of them during the month if I can, whilst trying to keep a balance in pain. I have decided to take a pregnancy test before I take my really heavy drugs each month. The advice for the water bottles was too keep them to a minimum and not too hot. She said plenty of warms baths were a good idea and very relaxing. Obviously if I have a period then I wouldn't be pregnant and can have hot water bottles and all my painkillers.


I was hoping to go with the flow and not get to hung up on trying for a baby but it seems it won't be quiet that simple. I am keeping in my mind that I have come far in this journey as now I can use all of the dilators and have some sex so that is some great progress!