Hello there, just waving hello to you all, thank you for your lovely comments last time. Some holiday photos and health news at the end of the blog.
In May this year, we went down south to Hampshire, we stayed in The New Forest. The boys and their partners camped with us for a few days. We celebrated Nat's birthday with a meal (it was back in April). It was a good to see my parents and the in-laws graves. Angus flew the plane in the campsite lol, it was an open event for the campsite - to celebrate 80 years Victory in Europe. Holmsley Campsite is set in the grounds of a disused airfield. It has a lot of wartime history with a book written about it too.
Stalls set up for entertainment
Walks close to the campsite
A detour past the horses to...
a disused railway, nice and flat.
Leaving the track...
chatted to a German couple cycling, wondering about the 'cattle grid' signs. We said they stop any animal, horses, cows crossing. They are all free roaming in the forest and some roads.
The money tree, where people wedge a coin in for luck.
The play park back at the campsite.
Travelling in the motorhome to...
"Oooh a pup cup, for me!"
"Yes Angus, it's for you"
"Yes Angus, it's for you"
Tall Trees Walk, I love it there. I've shared photos of the Tall Trees before.
A stop in town for supplies. In the distance on the right, are two donkeys (right of red car) that tried snatching my 'ripped' bag! The animals are wild and free to roam. We aren't to feed them, they are however always inquisitive. It's hard to park with a huge motorhome (we hire one), so I walked down the road a bit.
Next time, I'll put together some photos of our next stop before home. We visited The Peak District.
Next time, I'll put together some photos of our next stop before home. We visited The Peak District.
Health Update.
My dietitian is appealing to my GP to refer me for testing of Histamine (& sibo), Salicylates and Hydrogen Breath Test. It's been a few months of emails back and forth... still waiting for news.
Last month, a lady came to our WI to talk about her allergies. She's had them her whole life, she's 50 years old now and glad to be alive! Her allergies require an epipen and a trip to the hospital. I was amazed when she used the word diarrhea two or three times! I spoke to her afterwards and said - that's been my life, at least once a week for the past 30 + years.
Though I don't have allergies... life threatening emergencies. I do have intolerances that aren't solved through FODMAP testing alone. It's not Coeliac either. I've never known what causes my debilitating symptoms, and they are definitely debilitating. It leads to feeling washed out, fatigue and sometimes brain fog. I always say, if I knew what caused it, I'd stop eating it.
Thanks to my dietitian mentioning Histamine intolerance, I've been investigating histamine, salicylates and glutamates. I purchased a cookbook called Food Friendly (Australia RPAH experts) the recipes are absolutely bizarre. They aren't just weird, they're completely lacking in 'normal food'. At the moment, I'm eating foods in the low and moderate column. Overall I feel lots better. I still get end up eating 'wrong things' though I'm working out what they are slowly. Bananas (not sure why), too many cashew nuts - that's a Fodmap issue - I have the Monash App tailored to my tolerances. It tells me that I can eat 2 cashew nuts per meal, so I could have 6 over the day. Some may think, well don't bother with the cashew nuts, but it's the only nuts in the low and moderate columns that are safe to eat. The other nuts and seeds are high or very high. It's nice to have a bit of variety.
The book recommends that you make 5 very basic recipes first' as you'll use these a lot. If I don't make these, then food will be very bland... no condiments, no dressing, no stock/gravy... nothing! I love 'all' the condiments, dressings, mayo and lashings of gravy drowning my food.
So I'll need to make the basics: mayonnaise (no lemon and made with rice bran oil, no olive oil, or veg oil),
pear jam
pear chutney (pealed pear is low, peeled golden delicious is moderate), no onion, no spices and no black or white, cumin pepper is allowed.
The only ok herbs are parsley but only a pinch and chives. Spring onion and leeks are ok.
Stock & gravy is tricky due no onion, herbs, hvp and yeast extract.
Lastly 'Lemon Cordial' which hasn't any lemons in it at all. I've yet to try making the basic recipes as I've not felt great and at times low energy due to food issues eg realising that bananas and cashew nuts are an unrelated problem for me and eggs (except baked in a cake or brushed on pastry) are an unrelated problem for me.
I made a stir fry one day, once I felt a bit happier with the 'idea of cooking from the book'. Soy sauce is out, as well as Chinese five spice. You just have to make it work with the ingredients allowed.
There's no use bleating about it, I've gone through a strange grieving process - realising that I just can't eat all the things that I want to. They don't do me any good anyway. I'm always hopeful and always trying different things in the hope that it may help. One day the dietitian will contact me, either with news about testing or she'll hopefully help with a proper elimination diet.
Well that's a lot of rambling, take care and have a lovely weekend.
Cx
My dietitian is appealing to my GP to refer me for testing of Histamine (& sibo), Salicylates and Hydrogen Breath Test. It's been a few months of emails back and forth... still waiting for news.
Last month, a lady came to our WI to talk about her allergies. She's had them her whole life, she's 50 years old now and glad to be alive! Her allergies require an epipen and a trip to the hospital. I was amazed when she used the word diarrhea two or three times! I spoke to her afterwards and said - that's been my life, at least once a week for the past 30 + years.
Though I don't have allergies... life threatening emergencies. I do have intolerances that aren't solved through FODMAP testing alone. It's not Coeliac either. I've never known what causes my debilitating symptoms, and they are definitely debilitating. It leads to feeling washed out, fatigue and sometimes brain fog. I always say, if I knew what caused it, I'd stop eating it.
Thanks to my dietitian mentioning Histamine intolerance, I've been investigating histamine, salicylates and glutamates. I purchased a cookbook called Food Friendly (Australia RPAH experts) the recipes are absolutely bizarre. They aren't just weird, they're completely lacking in 'normal food'. At the moment, I'm eating foods in the low and moderate column. Overall I feel lots better. I still get end up eating 'wrong things' though I'm working out what they are slowly. Bananas (not sure why), too many cashew nuts - that's a Fodmap issue - I have the Monash App tailored to my tolerances. It tells me that I can eat 2 cashew nuts per meal, so I could have 6 over the day. Some may think, well don't bother with the cashew nuts, but it's the only nuts in the low and moderate columns that are safe to eat. The other nuts and seeds are high or very high. It's nice to have a bit of variety.
The book recommends that you make 5 very basic recipes first' as you'll use these a lot. If I don't make these, then food will be very bland... no condiments, no dressing, no stock/gravy... nothing! I love 'all' the condiments, dressings, mayo and lashings of gravy drowning my food.
So I'll need to make the basics: mayonnaise (no lemon and made with rice bran oil, no olive oil, or veg oil),
pear jam
pear chutney (pealed pear is low, peeled golden delicious is moderate), no onion, no spices and no black or white, cumin pepper is allowed.
The only ok herbs are parsley but only a pinch and chives. Spring onion and leeks are ok.
Stock & gravy is tricky due no onion, herbs, hvp and yeast extract.
Lastly 'Lemon Cordial' which hasn't any lemons in it at all. I've yet to try making the basic recipes as I've not felt great and at times low energy due to food issues eg realising that bananas and cashew nuts are an unrelated problem for me and eggs (except baked in a cake or brushed on pastry) are an unrelated problem for me.
I made a stir fry one day, once I felt a bit happier with the 'idea of cooking from the book'. Soy sauce is out, as well as Chinese five spice. You just have to make it work with the ingredients allowed.
There's no use bleating about it, I've gone through a strange grieving process - realising that I just can't eat all the things that I want to. They don't do me any good anyway. I'm always hopeful and always trying different things in the hope that it may help. One day the dietitian will contact me, either with news about testing or she'll hopefully help with a proper elimination diet.
Well that's a lot of rambling, take care and have a lovely weekend.
Cx
I hope you hear something from your GP soon, it's so hard waiting on people when you want to get to the bottom of it. Your holiday looks fun, I've never been tot he New Forest but I'd love to see all the animals.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get the testing you need and that the new food plan gives you symptom relief. I have Sjogren's disease and the dry mouth is awful. I am grieving all the foods I cannot eat anymore and it can get sad when I think too much about it.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely to hear from you, Cathy. And your trip to the New Forest looks amazing! It's an area that I have yet to visit, and I'd love to see all the horses there.
ReplyDeleteIt must be horrible for you, still feeling so unwell all this time. I really hope that you are able to get the testing you so desperately need. I only wish you were able to somehow manage your intolerances. X
Hello. It's lovely to see a post from you! It looks like you had a nice trip to the New Forest. I'm sorry to hear about your health news. Interestingly, you mentioned histamine as being an issue. I also have histamine issues. It affects my bladder. It causes me to have painful bladder syndrome. It basically feels like I have a UTI, but I always test negative. It's very frustrating. I have allergies to different trees, weeds, and grasses, and this also affects my bladder. Any citrus fruits and vegetables, along with alcohol, also cause issues. I've recently read that most meats are acidic, too. I'm in search of a functional medical doctor who can hopefully give me some guidance and help with this issue.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear about your health issues that are related to foods. I was diagnosed with vestibular migraine and advised to make changes to my diet namely to cut out all caffeine and as many additives as possible. Although it was hard at first the improvement in my health has made it all worth while. I do hope you are able to get the medical help you need so that you are able to make the changes that will give you a better quality of life.
ReplyDeleteJane
I'm sorry you are still struggling with health issues and waiting on appointments with people. It must be so frustrating for you. I hope the changes in diet will help and make things more comfortable for you long term.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to get away to the New Forest in May for a short while and enjoy the great outdoors.
Thinking of you.