Working on the Diet

I have decided that it may be helpful if I start, occasionally, blogging about the gluten-free/dairy-free/paleo-type diet I am on. This go round with the diet has not been as easy as the first go round. The first two months of the diet, I knew there was a chance that the diet could prevent the need for surgery, so I really stuck to it and did a great job. Now that surgery is over, I find it a little more difficult to be so strict on the diet. However, I am doing pretty good, it is just a slower start than before. The main struggle I have had is not having anything sweet to eat (other than fruit). So I have been searching Pinterest for recipes over the past couple of weeks. Up until now, everything I have tried to bake (gluten free/dairy free) has miserably failed. Which is uncommon for me because I usually have no problem with baking/cooking. Anyway, I have recently found a couple of things that are really good and wanted to share for others who are trying to follow the same type of diet!

First, a vanilla cupcake recipe. I found this recipe on Pinterest. It says they are vanilla cupcakes, but I think they are more like muffins. Either way, Jordan and I both really like them! The first time I made them (the recipe makes 6) I just did plain cupcakes. We liked them so much I decided I would try to add some things into the cupcake/muffins. So, on Sunday, I made 2 with blueberries, 2 with sprinkles, and 2 with chocolate chips. (the chocolate chip ones are for Jordan- he doesn't follow the diet). Here is the recipe:

3 T butter, melted or coconut oil      (I used dairy free butter)
3 large eggs
1/3 cup organic sugar (if using honey, reduce to 1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut flour      (I used brown rice flour)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Mix together butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.Combine the coconut flour with the baking powder and mix together. Then, add to the butter mixture; whisking until there are no lumps in the batter. Put batter into 6 greased muffin cups or muffin cups lined with aluminum foil baking cups. Don’t use paper because the muffins will stick to the bottom of the baking cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Here is the link to the recipe site. She also has an icing recipe in her post that I have not tried.
alifeinbalance.net

The second item I wanted to share, is the Bisquick Pancake mix I found at Walmart! I rarely go to Walmart, but was very pleased with the amount of gluten free items they had. I haven't found a ton of stuff at HEB, but I have been told I will have better luck if I try the big HEB in Kyle. Anyway, I used almond milk, sunflower oil, an egg, and the bisquick and we had pancakes Sunday morning. Jordan and I both liked them and thought they tasted "normal". :)

For some unknown reason, this picture refuses to upload right side up. So, I guess sideways is better than nothing! :)

Recovery and Follow up Appointment

Well, it's already been one month since the surgery! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I am nearly back to normal as far as recovery goes! The internal pain is gone, my strength is back, general movement is much easier, the glue and stitches on my incisions have dissolved, and I am feeling pretty good! The incisions are still a little tender when touched, but it's nothing unbearable at all.

RECOVERY:
Here is a little "back tracking" because I missed a few weeks of posting about the recovery:
I don't remember much of anything about the surgery, coming home, or being home for the first couple of days. Jordan stayed home with me Saturday and Sunday, Carla and Jana stayed with me on Monday, my Mom stayed part of Tuesday, and then I was on my own. My days consisted of me on the couch getting sucked into Downton Abbey. I successfully started and finished 3 seasons within about 4 days and became hooked. Lucky for me, season 4 had just begun, so I caught the first couple of episodes of that online and am now up to date with the regular TV showings. Every couple of episodes, I would try to get up and walk a circle or two around the living room, as the Dr. suggested. One week after surgery came time for one of two annual Market trips for the store. Market (in Dallas this time) is where we purchase all of our merchandise for the store. The Dr. had told me that I could go if I felt like it, but I had to be in a wheelchair the whole time. By that time, I had been taking the pain killers every 6 hours rather than every 3, so I thought I was doing pretty good. I guess I didn't realize that the pain was minimizing only while I was on the couch. I went to Bible class the Wednesday night before Market, and by the time it was over, I was feeling pretty weak. But, I decided to stick with the plans of going to Market. However, that was a bad decision. By the end of the first day (mind you, I rode in the wheelchair 95% of the day), I could barely stand. I had not taken my pain meds every 3 hours and I was miserable. Jordan was just about to hop in the car and drive 4 hours to pick me up. However, once I got in bed, got a heating pad, and lots of pain meds, I thought I could recover. The next day I stayed on top of the meds and the next evening was much easier. So, if at any point you plan to have this surgery, my suggestion is to do NOTHING for at least 10 days following surgery.

Anyway, the next week I started returning to work, partials days at first, and doing jobs that allowed a stationary position. Next thing we know, 4 weeks had passed and we are headed back to Houston for a follow up appointment! The drive seems to be getting shorter each time we go, and we get to stay with my brother and sister in law and see my precious niece, so it is really not bad at all.

FOLLOWUP:
This is how awesome our Dr. is- my appointment was at 8, and we didn't leave until about 9:30. No, she wasn't late and we didn't have to wait- she was actually meeting with us that long! She is so good to never rush us, answer all of our questions, and explain things thoroughly. So, back to the appointment. She is very pleased with how my body is "reacting" to the surgery! So far, it has done exactly what was planned and even a little better. The return of a cycle without any help from medication was very exciting! The incisions are healing well (she has me rubbing Vitamin E oil on them to help with the scarring). We got a little bit of disturbing news from the biopsy/culture samples that were taken from my uterus during surgery, though. The nurse had called about 2 weeks ago to inform me that I had a staph infection, and to let me know they were putting me on antibiotics. She said this is just caused from bacteria not leaving the body and was nothing to be worried about. But, when we got to the follow up appointment, she had some more news. The biopsy showed precancerous cells in my uterus. She is a little concerned about this (and it really scared me, at first), but she said that with the return of the cycle, the body should flush this cells out. She plans to do another biopsy (if we are not pregnant) in 6 months, because she wants to stay on top it. Good news, though, the chances of the cells progressing into "real" cancer are very very low! For those of you who do not know, I have had similar results from biopsies of my cervix over the past 3-4 years, but that issue has "fixed" itself and is no longer a concern. (and is not connected to the issues in the uterus). So, we are confident that there is not much to be concerned about and that the Dr. will stay on top of the issues.

We will go back in 3 months for another follow up! Until then, my instructions are to continue the gluten free/dairy free diet and finish out my long round of antibiotics.

Thanks again for your prayers, concerns, cards, visits, food, etc!