Sugar Cramps My Style

It was time for my second blog and eek I had no idea what I wanted to talk about this time.  I decided to stick to what I know and write about what I’m currently feeling.  I haven’t shared this publicly and honestly, I’m not ready to go too deep into it but I’ve been on a fertility journey for a few years and it has at moments been pure hell.  Throughout the journey I learned that I had endometriosis.  Big word if you have never heard of it, endometriosis is when tissues that are normally inside the uterus start to grow outside of the uterus.  It can attach to your ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowels, bladder... pretty much everywhere and wreak havoc.  It causes painful periods, heavy bleeding and infertility. For some it is absolutely debilitating.  There are women all over the world in constant pain and unfortunately there is no cure.  I have read so many terrible stories and my heart goes out to these women that just want their bodies to functional normally and get their pain under control.  If you have tough periods, infertility or unexplained pain... please get checked for endometriosis.  It's very hard to diagnose without surgery, my fertility doctor felt that my right ovary was stuck during an ultrasound and because he was very familiar with endometriosis, he was able to recognized it.

Personally, I only had pain during the first two days of my monthly cycle.  While I was in a lot of pain, sometimes finding myself on the bathroom floor for the relief that only a cold tile floor can bring, I had no idea.  I thought this was normal, so I just grabbed a heating pad and dealt with it.  Worst of all the endometriosis could be causing my infertility.  I could go on and on about how angry and upset I was that this was not checked early on. Its a huge problem in the medical field and women are suffering unnecessarily.  After lots of research online, scanning through Facebook groups and listening to podcasts, I decided to have an excision surgery late last year to remove the tissue.  My surgery took 6 hours and the doctor got it all out.  Unfortunately it grows back and what I'm hoping for is a window of time.

I also learned that I could also make dietary changes to reduce the inflammation in my body and keep the endometriosis quiet.  Certain foods trigger your endometriosis by causing inflammation.  Gluten, Dairy, and Sugar are inflammatory in general and it's a good idea to cut them out.  I was able to stop eating dairy and gluten pretty easily and after a couple of weeks without it, I definitely noticed changes and I felt better.  I’m just going to say it, I had perfect poops like clockwork every morning.  I felt so much better mentally and physically.  I had more energy and it felt like a fog had been lifted from my brain.  My thoughts were clear and concise without the usual anxiety.  I was more creative and I felt more like myself.  Now sugar, or as I like to refer to it an intoxicating drug, that was another story, it’s in all the good stuff and I couldn’t get past the craving so I decreased it as much as possible but found myself grabbing way too many sugar filled gluten free carbs.  I still felt pretty good with a little sugar and my cravings were slowly decreasing.  But then came the holidays, and all of those lovely treats!  I ate and ate and ate way too much sugar!  I found myself on a sugar high that I couldn’t come down from.  I had to have more and it engulfed my mind, I wanted that quick sugar/carb high. You know what I'm talking about!  White fluffy snow filled the ground outside and I had my version inside, sugar.  The anxiety returned with a vengeance and to be honest just a week ago I was sitting with a tub of vegan gluten free cookie dough and a spoon.  I decided I was done and threw it away, I got hit with what I hope is my last rage of sugar related anxiety a couple of hours later and that was that.  No more sugar girl!

For me sugar is a huge problem, it’s like a bad boyfriend, feels great in the moment but you know this is not going to end well.  It makes my brain spin out of control, it makes me bloated and I lose my perfect poops.  Listen.. once you have them you’ll understand!  So from here it's essential to have a plan and be prepared.  That means having good healthy food that is in the house prepared for me to grab a quick bite when hunger hits.  I’m not doing my body, the endometriosis or my fertility any favors by consuming bad foods.  So far so good and I’m on day 5 of No Sugar, No Gluten, No Dairy and very low carbs!  The great news is that the sugar cravings were for the most part gone after a few days.  Our bodies are amazing like that!  I’m not saying that this is the answer for everyone but I do think it’s important to pay attention to how your body responds to certain foods.  Is Dairy making you breakout?  Is bread making you constipated?  Maybe you're like me and sugar makes you a bit cray cray.  Try an elimination diet and clear out the foods that make you feel like crap.   How’s that for a fashion blog?  I don’t think this blog will be about fashion at all!  Cheers Friends!