miriam
Junior Member
Posts: 55
|
Post by miriam on Apr 17, 2009 11:37:48 GMT -5
Hi everyone!
I'm in here because I've got the dreaded E too. Had my right ovary removed by laparotomy in 2004 (grapefruit sized endometrioma) and now got a suspected endometrioma on left ovary, going for scan next Friday. Been referred to fertility and RE clinic too. Hopefully remaining ovary can be preserved or else my chances for children are shelved!
Have taken steps recently to be serious about diet and the things that I am avoiding are:
Wheat/gluten Dairy Soya produce Sugar Alcohol Caffeine
I've been finding it not too bad as I am happy to cook stuff and buy organic, but I do have a few questions and thought people might want to contribute what they know/have done.
Is it okay to replace cow's dairy products with sheep and goat (e.g. small amounts of feta cheese, goat's and sheeps yog etc)?
How much do people think fruit sugars should be limited? There's only so much sugar free that I can do!
What are people's views re. oranges - my understanding is that there are certain natural chemicals in oranges which can promote an inflamattory response - not what you want with E. Any thoughts?
Anyone else here get thrush a lot? Its a pain, but gyn told me that it should not interfere with conception. Good luck to everyone and remember, kick some ass and take control!
Miriam x ;D
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Apr 17, 2009 16:03:23 GMT -5
Hmm, I don't think I can quite answer you as I took one look at the endo diet and decided it wasn't for me, but I am on the insulin resistance 'diet' and find it's made huge leaps in how I feel. A few things I've noticed that perhaps you might be able to put to use.
Once I started the 'diet', I noticed HUGE changes in my daily pain. I had pain every day, all day, just depended on how much. Within a few days of the diet, I was down to very tolerable pain levels and was able to notice much more subtle changes. When I noticed a spike in pain, I took note of what and when I ate. I found that the pain started ramping up between 10-45 minutes of eating something. Mind you, it wasn't horrible pain, but enough to notice a change. I still have a ways to go, but I'm finding that certain foods OR certain quantities of food cause problems. For example - 2 cookies? I'm ok. 10 cookies? Not so great. I'm not saying everyone notices as drastic of a change, but perhaps you'll notice something.
Perhaps you might try cutting out a ton of things for a week or so (or maybe there's some other appropriate amount of time) and then gradually adding some things back in one at a time and seeing if you notice a difference. Think about it - it's hard to be on a super restrictive diet for a long period of time, so might as well figure out now what you can tolerate and what you can't and perhaps you'll be able to stick to it better/longer and get the most benefit.
Just my two cents. Perhaps others with more experience can chime in with more/better info. Good luck!
|
|
|
Post by eekselle on Apr 29, 2009 12:06:13 GMT -5
Hi Miriam, Good for you! the diet is tough but (IMO) totally worth it, I have noticed amazing changes in myself since I started. I don't do it 100% all the time but I try. Not sure about the dairy question; I eat small amounts of dairy (my choice) I seem to have a tolerable limit for it. I have about a cup of skim milk a day as well as yogurt (organic). Have you tried sheep and goat milk products? was there a reaction or did you notice anything? Fruit sugars I think are OK, you obviously don't want to eat like an entire pineapple or anything but I think the important part is to avoid refined sugars and honey. If you have a issue with thrush you should look into the Candida Diet as well (similar just a few extra no-nos) altmedicine.about.com/od/popularhealthdiets/a/candidadiet.htmI think everyone is a little bit different ie: you have gluten on your list but I don't avoid it. I do however avoid red meats like the plague - I am in amazing pain if I eat a hamburger or steak or something. I also have GI issues which I need to address. As olsenka said above try different things and see what happens.
|
|
miriam
Junior Member
Posts: 55
|
Post by miriam on May 1, 2009 14:38:31 GMT -5
Hi, thanks for the replies. It is interesting to hear about how other people do these diets. I agree I actually find dairy is not a problem but I'm cutting it out anyway (at least most of the time!) I have had no reaction to sheep and goats products at all, other than quite enjoying them, particularly sheep's yog Heh! I probably would eat a whole pineapple knowing me - a flatmate I once had ate a whole melon and had a terriible headache afterwards! And yes, I am prone to thrush and I suspect it is linked to the endo in some way unfortunately. Haven't been able to do the candida diet before tho as its so low in any sugar, which I think would be the end of me!! Thanks again, Miriam
|
|
|
Post by Karen on May 1, 2009 15:48:07 GMT -5
Miriam - I agree - it's interesting to hear what intolerences others have! I actually would LOVE to eat a whole pineapple but find that too many fruit sugars actually cause me more pain, so I (sadly) limit fruits to small portions at a time. I have to tell you, though, knowing that some foods clearly cause pain is a very good deterrent for me!
In response to your thrush comment - have you tried taking a probiotic or acidopholus (sp?)? I was talking acidopholus for a few months with good success. Wouldn't you know, though, I ran out of it and within days found myself with a lovely yeast infection? Might be worth looking into if you haven't already!
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Jul 15, 2009 20:26:29 GMT -5
Hi girls, I’m new to the forum, new to the concept of Endo in general, but have been suffering from it for a very long time. I just bought the e-book “Recipes for the Endometriosis diet” and I was hoping you could help me figure out the reasons we shouldn’t have certain things. (1) It says in the book that chocolate is not allowed because of the sugar. Fair enough. The recipes in the book use carob powder a lot. Can’t we have Cacao, and if not what is the reasoning behind that? (2) I was also wondering about honey (as unfortunately I have a cold with a throat ache at the moment ). Why is maple syrup better than honey? Does honey contain hormones or something? (3) I didn’t understand weather or not we are allowed to eat peanuts… The same goes for dried fruit. (4) The book says we should minimize consumption of canned and frozen food. Obviously fresh is always better. But frozen veggies have been proven to be quite good nutrition-wise and they are so handy. I was wondering how strict are you with canned and frozen foods in your diets… Thanks!!
|
|
|
Post by Karen on Jul 15, 2009 20:34:40 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by liats80 on Jul 20, 2009 20:53:11 GMT -5
Hi girls, I would love to know why we are not allowed cacao, if anyone knows. Thank you!!
|
|
|
Post by ouchy on Jul 20, 2009 22:27:54 GMT -5
I would say try it and see if it makes your symptoms worse. If not, hey, go for it.
|
|
|
Post by lreider on Jul 20, 2009 22:43:04 GMT -5
i have been on the endo diet for just over a month. I have substituted almond milk for cooking, but havent actually had it with cereal - which the only thing I have found acceptable is puffins - they are at trader joes or in the organic department in most grocery stores. I love the diet, I have found some of the more citrus'ey' fruit will cause the pain to flair - apple cidar vinegar is the worst culprit, chocolate and refined sugar make me feel the pain too, overall its a pretty decent diet - and bonus I am down 10 pounds as far as the cheese, I have no idea, though I would kill for some feta!! good luck with it!
|
|
|
Post by liats80 on Jul 21, 2009 22:27:44 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. For some of the food the diet book said that they will make things worse in the long term, so I was wondering if cacao was one of those and how it is related to endo in general. I don't think it affects my symptoms.
|
|