Or any diet like gluten-free/dairy free/sugar free etc.
Just wondering for those on it, how long did it take to get actual results? Did the pain get better? stay the same? Did you stop and go back to normal eating after that or still continuing?
Also did you have any 'treats' along the way or was it followed strictly? If you did have any treats did they come back to bite you in the bum (like me! ) or did it not affect your pain levels/overall progress?
I just want to know if it's worked for everyone or only for some. For those it didn't help, what was the reason?
Oh dear.. you and me both! I can't sneak in a treat without paying the price come next period. This thing is relentless and seems to know what i am thinking !
It's early days yet for me and i am finding it REALLY hard giving up all that stuff ( I just love coffee, cheese and pastries too much..sigh >< But I know i have to. I can be really good for weeks and then i'll eat something 'bad' and my hubby would ask " Are you sure you should be eating that?" and i say " I dont care". He then says " you won't be saying that come period time". and it repeats. I am trying really hard though.
Oh i know its so tough, one positive i will say for keto, while you give up milk, you dont have to give up cream or cheese. Look into it, might help out 😁 xx
Yeah my husband was on that for about a year and lost a lot of weight and his migraines stopped and had more energy and he was much healthier all round. He did it religiously and still does it from time to time. But like me he has the willpower of a kid in a sweet shop and he takes little 'breaks' which end up going on for months sometimes and he goes back to eating junk and then moans about his weight and migraines then goes back on Keto and rinse and repeat painful to watch.
I find it very restrictive. I love my oats, buckwheat, quinoa and gram flour (those not allowed on Keto) and they're good at reducing oestrogen levels so its why i haven't tried going on Keto. Just concentrating on eating all the good anti-inflammatory stuff...with the occasional small treat that i instantly regret lol
Hi. Don't be too hard on yourself! see to which food you react and allow the foods you do not react to. I follow a diet free from: gluten, dairy, soya, chocolate, caffeine, brown rice, apples, hot spices. I am fine with quinoa and cook both quinoa and rice together. I have kept sugar, but not much. I have decaff coffee (with oat milk). I have vegan chocolate and I also have gluten free, soya free, finger almond bars, biscuits, flapjacks as I appear to be ok with butter. I react to yoghurt, cream, but I buy vegan yoghurt and I can make whisked cream with chilled coconut milk from a tin, so don't punish yourself, you can still enjoy food, but a bit differently. And yes, like you, sometimes I slip and allow myself the forbidden food... for which I pay not long afterwards. We are only human after all!
I have just lately noticed that spicy food doesn't sit well with me, I have always enjoyed spices but it seems I can't anymore, it seems to awaken the endo bear! So cutting back on those. I am fine being gluten free (much prefer oats and buckwheat really delicious especially the pancakes/muffins/waffles) 😋
Stopped dairy too and finding it ok apart from the cheese, but I eat feta made from sheeps/goats milk and that seems ok too, so not a huge loss. (love wensleydale cheese with cranberries - that's been the hardest to stop! ><) I too am ok with butter as long as organic.
I react to cream and yoghurt too but haven't bothered replacing them. Was never a huge fan of sweets, biscuits, ice-cream , junk and takeaways so that hasn't been any loss. My weakness stems mostly around savoury pastries.><
I thought dark chocolate 85% cocoa + was actually good for you (an anti-inflammatory) and i have that occasionally. Any reason why you don't eat it?
Hi Mulan64. Hope you are well. Yes, dark chocolate is good because of its high magnesium contents. Unfortunately, it also contains milk and soya like the majority of chocolates and I react to both. I still risk it sometimes kidding myself that this time, maybe I won't react. Alas, alas my tummy does the talking (and more!). I get vegan chocolate, they were on Dragons Den a while ago. 🐲
In terms of hot spices, I can't have them as it will give me cystitis, but I have never liked hot spices, so I don't miss it. I use however turmeric paste to calm down night sweats and that works. It also seems to appease the inflammation.
I enjoy ice cream from time to time and I like the Magnun vegan almond ice cream, I find it at Sainsbury, I also enjoy either buying or making mango ice cream.
Yoghurt give me an instant negative reaction. I just about tolerate a bit of brie from time to time. I use vegan cheese when I make my own pizza (vegan puff pastry for the base), it's really nice. I too enjoy the gluten free oat, either in porridge with coconut or oat milk, or as flapjacks. If I lived on my own, I think I would survive on this type of porridge for dinner! 😊 It's as healthy than a lot of meals! But I have a family to take care, so I eat like everyone else.
I also enjoy soup, yesterday I made carrots and coriander soup (which stayed in) although sometimes some veg soups just go through me and it's not the effect of gravity! 😂
Take aways were not important before and I prefer to make my own Korma by using the necessary spices, coconut cream and sultanas, my family really enjoys it too, its seriously yummy! 😋
However, even being so careful, I still manage to get flare ups. I had one yesterday (painful tummy and feeling drained), I ended up laying down with a hot water bottle watching a film because I couldn't do anything else. Hopefully, today will be a better day! 😊 The wait for medical treatment is far, far too looooooooooooooooooong.
About the dark chocolate...noooooooo😭 lol. I didn't know they had soy and milk. But! ..but!..I've been looking around and i saw that Lindt excellence dark chocolate is vegan friendly, so there's hope yet! A bit pricey but worth it for that occasional treat! Thanks for letting me know.
Yes Turmeric is just great isnt it!? It really calms everything down. Couldn't be without it! It;s my go to all the time. There are so many vegan alternatives out there that you can just about eat anything these days without feeling left out so that's great. I'll try to ease into the vegan market and see what's out there. 😋
Yes I absolutely LOVE oats, I make muffins, smoothies, pancakes, waffles and dumplings with that flour and its so versatile and delicious. Especially the pancakes. I mix it with ripe bananas, raisins, cinnamon, olive oil, one egg, baking powder, oat milk and they come out great. Drizzled with a little maple syrup. That's my sort of weekend treat. Kids love it too, so i am happy they can wean off the gluten a bit too! Try it! My other go to is buckwheat flour. Blueberry buckwheat pancakes are just the BEST! Doves farm have a recipe for them which i use and its the best one.
Oh dear about the soup! 😁. Love soups too. Carrot and coriander always a favourite. Also love leek and potatoe and cauliflower soup too.
I make my own Indian too and like you said, I'd just live on oats and buckwheat and soups but family needs to eat so yes can't cook two meals! And yes like you , no matter what I eat sometimes, i get bloating and the pain seems to randomly spike and i end up with my hot water bottle curled up and just riding the wave out.
Just yesterday we had guests over unexpectedly who were only supposed to come up for 10 mins and ended up staying 3 hours 😣(yes those kind! ). I'd just sat with my hot water bottle and had to get up and get dressed and entertain and pretend I was not in pain and it was hard just sitting there and hoping they don't notice my wincing! 😁. All i wanted to do was curl up and watch TV!!
Anyway hope you sort out your treatments soon. You too have a great weekend and stay safe!
Thank you. I am a bit intrigued with the buckwheat, doesn't this contain wheat? About a year ago, I thought that I was being very good and also trying to vary my diet with bulgur wheat... it took me a while to realise why my tummy was in such a state! I had to stop, another door closed.
I understand how tough it is to keep a straight face while being in pain, it's like living on 2 different planets at the same time! A few months ago, I attended an endometriosis meeting and we were shown how endo women drew themselves. The drawing that attracted the most attention was the one that depicted the face of a woman divided into 2 vertical sections with the face divided in the middle: on one side was the serene, smiling woman, on the other side was the face of the woman contorted with pain, crying. I think it illustrates perfectly well how we feel. I think the worst situations are at work. This year I had to keep a straight face while my manager was talking to me and explaining things about a task and during all that time I could feel my tummy playing up (I have IBS D) and the only thing I could think of was 'shall I run now to the loo or can I wait a bit?' I managed to hold on, memorise what he wanted me to do, keep a straight face, go back to my desk and then walk calmly out of the office to the ladies... for any normal person, it's quite a feast, but for us, it's perfectly normal. I went for a walk with my husband yesterday and my tummy was sore, but I knew I was doing the right thing by being outside and walking, we still have to take care of the rest of the body, so, I kept walking at my own pace. Luckily, it started to rain and it wasn't warm at all, so I could keep my arms crossed over my tummy that also helped to keep my hands warm and put put a kind of pressure over my tummy but I enjoyed the walk along a canal, very peaceful and I saw some birds I had never noticed before, grey wagtails but they have yellow on them, flying over the surface of the water, they were very pretty! Like you I enjoy my home made leeks and potatoes soup, but it seems to go through me, which really puzzles me as it's pure veg! I am currently making a chicken soup, which is nice and comforting with the rainy weather that we currently have, I will roast the chicken afterwards, it makes 2 to 3 meals. I will check the ingredients on the Lindt dark chocolate, definitely worth a try! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
So glad you could go out for a walk and have that bit of peace and see nature. I felt at peace just reading that! 😁. We need that mental switch off from the endo, it helps to keep your mind healthy too.
About the buckwheat.. yes I thought that too until I read that It has NO relation to wheat (despite the name!)and is actually gluten-free which was strange but great all the same. I love that stuff. It a dark sort of flour but tastes nutty a bit like almond flour. 😋 Bulgar wheat has gluten, although not as much as wheat but still has, so I avoid that too. I love it but have had to stop it too! sigh...
Family had bulgar wheat and meat yesterday so that was me out and I was too tired to make myself something endo- friendly so i just ended up having oats with cinnamon and bananas and just drank some pomegranate juice. Sometimes i can't be bothered.
Having roast chicken with veg and roast potatoes today so that's something to look forward to. 😋
There are endo sufferrers who have written about their experience and give lots of suggestions to other sufferers who want to heal naturally : Recipes & Diet advice for endometriosis', 'Heal endometriosis naturally by Wendy K. Laidlaw. Carolyn Levett has also created her website which is called' endoresolved.com' She is a naturopath, talks about diet, natural treatment for pain, etc. Wendy Laidlaw also talks about a lot of natural treatments, and also treatments used in other countries which are really eye openers. Hope you find the treatment that works for you. 😘
I've got to admit I am pretty strict and still suffer daily pain I find that it eases ibs symptoms but not the sharp stabbing pains on my ovaries! but everyone is different and at least if you eat healthy and do your best no one can blame your diet 😁
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