Pages

Sunday 3 October 2010

Back in blogland


On the top of the 8th highest mountain in Ireland, Mount Brandon. Covered in mist for all but about 50 days of the year.

I got back from Dingle yesterday evening. After unpacking, I read through all the posts from the blogs I follow (well most, I think I had 148 unread). I found lots of great gluten free things to try (especially HEAB's cornbread and gluten free experiments).

I did some walking, but not huge distances, and despite bringing my swim suit and trainers, I neither ran nor swam, I wasn't well enough. I ate lots of bread and wheat-based cereals. The most prominent symptom was a lot of sharp upper abdominal pain but in the centre rather than to the left as with the pancreatitis. It got worse and worse as the day went on and most nights I couldn't sleep, but it eased off by morning and then started up after eating. The good news is I am getting a heap of blood tests on monday, I was supposed to have an MRCP scan when I was away but will get in rescheduled soon, and my dad has asked a gastroenterologist friend to see me. So while the pain is really depressing, I am trying to stay positive because hopefully I will get some relief soon.

I am so sick and tired of eating wheat, and I ate very little fresh vegetables when away, that I am craving big heaps of greenery and berries. After monday morning, I am going gluten free for a week to give myself a rest, and plan on trying out lots of the new recipes I've bookmarked. I'll also drink plenty of water, take probiotic tablets, eat no refined sugar or sugary fruits (just apples and berries) and plenty of beans, seeds and vegetables. I am going up to my allotment soon to have a look at my kabocha and buttercup squash, I think it'll be ready for picking, and maybe the fennel and carrots will be ready too. I have lots homegrown cooking apples to get through, so I imagine I'll be making plenty of comforting apple and squash recipes over the next while. I think I might cut down my coffee drinking a bit as the gut pain could be inflammation, and coffee could be irritating it. I'll just stick to redbush and peppermint.

Some more pictures from the holiday








2 comments:

  1. Great to see you lady! Sad to hear you are still feeling crappy. Way to push to the end. I'm looking forward to hearing about your results, as well as hearing about you feeling better!

    Getting off coffee is TOUGH. I still struggle with it, every time I smell the stuff. Do you guys have fake coffees over there, like Teeccino or Dandy Blend? They actually wake me up in the morning. Before you make the switch to total decaf subs, cacao can help too. I still eat that, like, every day!

    Thanks for the pics! Despite the bad tummy, you look active and glowy and happy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't think I could give coffee up completely...I only had some instant coffee while away, and when I had a cup of the real stuff on sunday morning, it cured a week's worth of constipation. Yes, there are some chicory based coffee alternatives, I tried one a while ago and blogged about it, but it's not quite the same. However, I was drinking 3-4 cups a day for a while, I'm down to one small cup in the morning and hope to cut down to just a few hits a week.
    Luckily the weather was nice and we managed to go for little walks most days, although I managed one hike. I really needed the fresh air and moving around:)

    ReplyDelete