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Post by stacy629 on Jun 15, 2011 2:11:51 GMT -5
Well, I had a hysterectomy February 11 of this year. I was feeling great....until about 2 weeks ago. The pain is back, mainly near my right ovary (kept my ovaries-Dr. refused to take them due to my age-32). I guess its time to start the endo diet. I know I should have done this before the hysterectomy, but I was so anxious for the pain to be gone for good I just didn't take the time to do it. No clue how I'm going to do this diet, I'm a junk food nut and I love Diet pepsi and coffee and whole wheat bread. Any advice on how to proceed would be so wonderful. I go back to the Doctor tomorrow to be examined....would really prefer no more surgery's (I had 2 within 5 months of each other). So am really hoping I can get on board with this diet. However, my kids and my boyfriend and everyone I work with all eat like crap. Help? Suggestions?
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Post by JC on Jun 15, 2011 8:19:58 GMT -5
Wow I'm so sorry you are having pain again! That's terrible! It sounds like you have a tough situation on your hands to change your diet especially with a house full of people. I have a hard enough time eating right with just my candy-loving husband around let along having kids too! In your situation, quitting all those foods cold turkey is going to be way too much. I tried to do it that way and I failed miserably. I couldn't do it. Instead I started doing a slow elimination of foods. If you make a list of all the foods you eat that are not endo friendly then just start eliminating them one by one. Make weekly goals. Say for week one you're only going to let yourself have one diet pepsi a day. Then get it down to 1 every other day. Then 1 a week etc... Then move on to the next thing on your list. You can do it slowly to make the habits stick longer. You may or may not see the effects of the diet right away. It all just depends on what your body hates and how it reacts when you get rid of it. We all tend to agree that sugar and wheat are the worst ones for us. Another thing you can do is when you eliminate something, add an endo friendly food in its place. Instead of the diet pepsi, add a coconut water or whatever sounds good. When you eliminate candy, replace it with a dehydrated fruit. I buy tons of dehydrated fruits in the produce section of the grocery story. It helps get rid of the sweet tooth. Instead of chips, you can have veggie chips. They are salty and crunchy just like regular chips and are quite addicting. I love them. Those are also in the produce section. You may find that you may not have to be completely on the endo diet. I really think the whole purpose of the diet is to identify the foods that make you feel like crap. Not all of those foods may be bad for you personally. Like for me, I still eat dairy and meat but I just make sure I get everything organic. My issues are with sugar and wheat (I'm still struggling with getting rid of wheat). Overall, I think a slow progression would work well for you. Here are some more threads on the diet, recipes and suggestions from other girls. Hope this helps! "Recipe thread" cjlevett.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=diet&action=display&thread=2835"Suggestions on what I should try with the diet" cjlevett.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=diet&action=display&thread=4833"Endo Diet: What I eat to feel good." cjlevett.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=diet&action=display&thread=4516"'Elimination Diet' and endo" cjlevett.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=diet&action=display&thread=4807"What do you eat for breakfast?" cjlevett.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=diet&action=display&thread=2751"Meats?" cjlevett.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=diet&action=display&thread=2192"need help finding the right whole grains" cjlevett.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=diet&action=display&thread=3723There are many many more if you browse the "Diet and exercise advice" section.
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Post by stacy629 on Jun 16, 2011 12:11:43 GMT -5
Thanks so much! That really helped. I will start eliminating a little at a time and see how that works
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Post by pretty on Jun 16, 2011 12:33:11 GMT -5
LOL I have to post my 'devil's advocate' other side of the story - I think for some people yeah one thing at a time, but really, if you are making a life choice for your health, you could also consider jumping in with both feet and just go all the way. Buy all your 'replacement' foods in one go and then start eating them. I know some of us like to take it slow but I worry for those people trying the diet this way if they don't get fed up and just quit over time since they're NOT FEELING THE DIFFERENCE since they're not actually eliminating the triggers. For example if you eliminate beef, but keep wheat and dairy, and THOSE are triggers for you, how will you know? You'll still have all this pain, perhaps get very discouraged, and end up feeling that the 'diet' doesn't have an effect! My advice to all endo-diet-tryers is this: GET RID OF WHEAT AND DAIRY COMPLETELY FROM YOUR DIET FOR 2 weeks. Don't bother trying to get your family, kids, SO, partners on this diet too. You will wear yourself out and get depressed lol. Just focus on YOUR diet. replace wheat carbs with corn and rice carbs and watch out for energy bars, granola bars, etc - try to keep it very very simple. Replace your dairy with rice and almond milk. After you are comfortable with your new diet, in a week or two, try eliminating red meats. Then try getting all the Soy out of your diet. Watch out for gluten items like oats and grains since sometimes they cause inflammation like wheat does. Finally go through your diet and carefully try to put back in things that are missing, like getting enough fruits and veggies, getting your calcium, and healthy fats. Anyway you don't have to follow this but remember, if you do choose the slow elimination, you will wait much much longer to feel the good effects. if you feel NO CHANGES, you have not yet eliminated the triggers for you! Lisa
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Post by JC on Jun 16, 2011 12:43:13 GMT -5
Anyway you don't have to follow this but remember, if you do choose the slow elimination, you will wait much much longer to feel the good effects. if you feel NO CHANGES, you have not yet eliminated the triggers for you! Lisa Definitely true. Although I gave you the slow elimination plan because you sounded a lot like me and was afraid you'd burn out like I did. Just keep in mind that you may not notice a difference until you find that food that causes problems. But if you're motivated then jump in with both feet and go for it!
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Post by omaklackey on Jun 16, 2011 13:06:46 GMT -5
Hi Stacy! I just had to say hi! I also had a hysterectomy, mine was in 2009 and they took my last ovary at the time so I'm menopausal. I would love to hear more of your story in the Menopause section even though you still have your ovary. It would help others looking for information on life after the Hysterectomy. I have tried several times to find my diet triggers slowly and quickly (went cold turkey endo diet for two months right after I was diagnosed) . Its not easy but for those who find them successfully its a pretty amazing difference. So good luck! One thing I did was try decaf coffee. They have some pretty yummy ones out there. It was one of those small changes like Jenaya said to help out. Getting completely of the caffeine has made a huge difference in my sleep, which of course makes me feel better overall. I hope eventually to cut out coffee and see if it makes a difference as well but the baby step was good for me.
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Post by pretty on Jun 16, 2011 15:22:27 GMT -5
And hey, I support whatever works for us all. Just pointing out that the risks of 'burnout' are even higher for those who feel no differences - which is a great risk when stretching out these elimination items over a long period of time. Even though I am a big endo diet fan, and even though I have eliminated SO MANY THINGS from my diet over the last year or so - my greatest risk for burning out is when there are just TOO MANY TRIGGERS in my diet. So for those who REALLY want to stop the pain and inflammation NOW, there's no reason not to get the 'elimination' part over with up front. Remember, after you eliminate your triggers, and your diet is clear of inflammatory substances, that is when you can begin re-introducing one food at a time to REALLY know what affects you and how. It's hard to do this systematically until you are SURE that you're starting fresh. And you can't start fresh if you only eliminate one thing at a time and never get clear of everything! (Does this make sense to anyone else?)
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Post by Karen on Jun 16, 2011 18:23:08 GMT -5
I tend to feel similar to Pretty... Big changes fast usually mean you notice big changes soon, which is a HUGE motivator to keep up with the diet. I found it really helpful to do a 3 week 'cleanse', which forced me to eat very strict. As soon as the cleanse was over I decided to treat myself to a cheeseburger and bloated up promptly. It was the slap in the face that I needed that certain foods, indeed, did a number on me.
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