Getting Somewhere.... FINALLY!!

My health is getting lots better since using the Sleep Apnoea machine, excercise and obviously off the gluten/mostly off dairy diet. I feel flexible, alive and energetic, YAY!
All of the children except Raven has been on a mini-gluten challenge followed up by a blood test for all of them, Raven as a bit of a control.
The bloods were taken on Monday, hopefully in time for the results to be ready for their next appointment with the pediatrician in three weeks. He is a great doc so far, it took some pushing to get this far, but finally we're there, and he's hearing us, nice feeling. But really it is expected just never seems to happen that way...

Labyrinth has a Sleep Apnoea test when Andrew has one middle of next month, if she has that it might explain her move swings and lack of attention span at times.

Monika is still sore and sick, the poor lass. Little improvements are big here, and she has been a little improved, strange since she's had more gluten than usual...

Other than that I'm going to make Cornbread for tea, which I'd better get on with right now!
Weight has been coming off, it is visible now... but still got quite a bit to go... too much really but I'm capable and determined now! Until next time Q.

The news seems to get better and better.

and worse and worse!

Raven has improved amazingly under the Gluten Free Diet. This of course is NOT enough to prove he has Coeliac's. He has to go and have a biopsy. As an adult I am content, I know what I'm "missing" out on and realise the benefits way outbalance eating something that's making me double over in pain and be unable to make it to the toilet most days (yup that's the reality of the thing). Unfortunately, being a child and later on a rebellious teen, Raven asks me even now "when is my tummy going to stop being gluten free?" Poor little man. So he needs the diagnostic "proof" that it is indeed what it is.
He cetainly doesn't miss out on his share of treats, but he does notice what he's eating is sometimes quite different from the other children.
Hey, I've noticed this since he was a baby, he was in pain while I changed his nappy (the bloated belly) and its re emerged memory is quite strong now he's had to go back into nappies for a short while (his accident's were daily and on furniture at times). But now he seems much better and he's making it every time now. There has been days when his belly is flat (that is amazing considering at times he looks like a pregnant toddler, and never without some form of bloat). He still seems blase about his occasional accidents.

And now for the worst news I've had to contemplate for myself yet. I have wisdom teeth problems. Both bottomies, actually. One's roots is scissoring and one is wrapt around the main nerve of the lower jaw bone. Not only that, if they were to simply cut them free, there would be approximately half a centimetre of jaw bone left in either side. This is a real problem, and I'm forced to see what the Dental Surgeons decide because I'm in the public system. If they class me as priority one I will have emergency status and be dealt with within three weeks, if they don't I'll be priority 2 and may have to wait a year. Headaches, swollen glands, fevers, sore throats (I put them down to my glasses and Coeliac's) is actually my wisdom's pinching my nerve, I have pain every day in my face. Hey, when this gets sorted (and the sleep apnea), may be I'll be almost human! It seems when I'm actually trying my hardest to get well my own body is screwing me up - again. The carefree nature I had as a younger woman/girl is come back to haunt me!

Anyway, that's all for now. At least Raven's getting better! Q,

Home Made Fish Cakes and Updates

Home Made Fish Cakes

Made from mincing (we've got a Kenwood Chef with mincing attachment, also makes sausages, when your GF it makes a difference financially if you do it yourself as much as you are able). So, we minced Cockie Salmon (Australian Salmon), mixed with fluffy mashed potato, crumbed with egg, cumin, salt and pepper and GF rice crumbs/all purpose flour, and deep fried in our new cute little deep fryer. Now alot of people think that deep frying is bad, and it is if you do it all the time - but it actually keeps alot of the fat out shallow frying will let in, so in that sense it's better. What made this meal quite healthy was the huge salad we had with it.

Update: Raven was rejected from the public hospital, so we asked our GP about doing a DNA test on him (and me). Well the results came back... I had one gene that was positive, but Raven had both of the gene markers! (This doesn't actually prove he has CD - it just says he has potential to develop it, but with his symptoms its highly suspicious.) With this in mind, our new GP gave us another referal to the hospital and asked us to take him off gluten and keep a food diary. We've done this religiously all month. There hasn't been a huge improvement so we have gone one step further and have taken him off dairy too. We're trying our best to keep the food as nutricious as possible. During this time we've been keeping a diary on all of the children.

Its become apparent that Monika is suffering diahrea a lot, so we've taken her off dairy only at this stage, but no improvement yet (just over a week). Actually, there has been some improvements with Raven that I should point out: he's ravenous (parden the pun) - which is indicative of CD patients fresh on the gluten free diet; loads more energy, but we're still struggling with bloating and constipation. To help things along a bit more we're including more raw fruit/vegies into his diet. His only source of calcium is Rice Milk/sheeps and goats cheese, so we have to decide if that's OK ie enough and not compacting his constipation issues. We were naughty and didn't have our special juice for about a week, when it was at it's worst. Now we have him on a shot of straight prune juice daily, so we'll see.

As for me? Been more sensitive and got cross contaminated three times in the last fortnight so its been painful and slowed down my really good progress. But before that I had energy! Real energy and motivation. I've also been to see the specialist about my sleep apnea - he says I've got 80% chance of having it and it might just be that last piece of the puzzle that makes me well again. I have to go to the sleep lab on Christmas Eve Eve, mind you... and then I have to wait until the end of January for the results. But there you have it. Q.