The Really Useful TCM Thread

[muncho]

hi ladies

yes i eat quorn , chick peas have high protein so im eating lots
Havent treid almond milk, i may try some..
gotta dash, hope you are all ok otherwise x

 

[abster]

Minimin - Holland & Barrett for the non-dairy milks (or, if you're lucky enough to have one, your local independent health food shop). I get lots of my veggie/vegan stuff from my local organic farm; they do a box scheme and have a farm shop which stocks all sorts of wholefoods from small, mainly organic, independent producers, like Suma, Infinity Foods, Grasshopper, Taifun, Clearspot, Zest, Natural Cool, Meridien, Rachel's (when I was having dairy...) etc etc. I feel very lucky to have them nearby.
Hey, I'm drinking decaff tea and a coffee substitute called No Caf, made with barley and chicory. Got it in H&B and I really like it.
Do you have kidney yang deficiency? Try the ginger drink they do - it's one you drink neat, called Rochester Ginger. It has a fiery kick to it and ginger's supposed to be very good for toning the kidney yang. I have it in the evening instead of wine and I drink it in spirit-type measures. Yummy!
I can recommend raw chocolate as well - no sugar but beautiful.
Abi x

 

[muncho]

raw chocolate? what the hell is that??

 

[abster]

It's made with raw cacao, the way (I think) the aztecs used to make it,and it's really healthy.
Th eone we polished off last night was Minted Rare, made by K Creations in Hampshire, and contains cacao, cashew, mesquite (the sweetener I think), carob and essential oil of mint. It's dearer - £2 for 28g - but you don't need very much. Google it to find out more. Yum!

 

[muncho]

hmm sounds interesting. im eating a protein Ball at the mo. 15grams if protein but its so hard to eat..yuk yuk...

 

[rubyloo]

hi all - abs, my prac told me my kidney energy is very depleated, my Ying energy (the one which governs the first half of the cycle) needs 'nourishing' and my blood needs strengthening. i was told to eat lots of fruit, but to keep foods warm so need to cook it first, and dark, juicy foods which are good for Ying energy. i have also been told not to push myself and keep stress levels down (haha! try doing that as a secondary school teacher.....)

i drink almond milk and rice milk - i enjoy both but use rice milk more as is cheaper! i tend to avoid soy as its very mucous forming (in a similar way to normal milk), can mess up your hormones and uses all sorts of nasties in the extraction of it.....i was told that if you want to eat soy then go for tofu or miso-based foods as the soy has been fermented naturally in order to break down its pretty complex structure - and make it more digestible. interestingly, vegetable based protein is meant to be better for women trying to conceive as opposed to animal based proteins so lots of pulses and beans for us!

ooooo - its all very interesting!

 

[misskat29]

Misskats FIRST Acupuncture & Reflexology Session

Today i went for my first session. It was Just for Acupuncture & Refleoxlogy - NO Herbs involved.

They guy was lovely, discussed why i was there etc....then started.

He put a needle below each knee, half way down my leg, and i think just above my ankle - i say i think, cos i couldnt feel a thing!

He did all my pressure points in my fingers and toes. Put another needle in my right ear. then started on the reflexology - which was heaven. I hate my feet being touched and it was lovely.

I managed to fully relax - although didnt fall asleep.

I had tinglings in the back of my head? but thats about it.

He has asked me to feed back to him this week, then we will look our next session. I was there for an hour and half in total, so i think he did everything he could for a first go

I got home, and DH was saying how he'd had a rant today to his mum cos its been one thing after another in our life - and i just sat crying. Not sure if its cos of the acu' or as he says one thing after another.

So, i will keep you all updated for session 2.

I'm at the specialist tomorrow to look at why i have high prolactin levels, hopefully that and my pcos will be sorted soon x

 

[Carrie29]

Hi Miskat,

Good to hear it went well and was relaxing.. i always feel a bit more emotional afterwards, but men don't help as they always manage to say something that set's us off lol!!

Good luck with the specialist today!..

 

[rubyloo]

hey misskat! i always get emotional after any sort of alternative treatment....i see a homeopath every month and have done for nearly two years now - she's pretty much sorted everything apart from the cycles bit but it was her (along with my mum) who said acu might be the way forward on that one. Anyway, i always end up crying in my sessions with her! i think its all about relaxing and releasing old pent-up stuff. we 'hold' on to so much baggage without even realising it. although i hate it at the time i do always feel better for a good cry! good luck with the tests/stuff today x

p.s. tmi moment ....... i do believe ewcm is featuring today SO that usually means 4-5 days until ov! fingers crossed

 

[Laummatt]

Hi all..

Managed to get back on again. Rubyloo I see that you have coeliac disease, me too!!! Im struggling to limit my diet and my prac has said I shouldnt worry too much as Im already on a restricted diet. Trying to be good tho but I cant give up choclate!!!! Im going to try the one Abs mentioned.
My prac also said I have a blood dief not sure i mentioned that before and that I need to build up and generally eat more. Well Ive been eating like a lil piggy and I sooo feel sick, I just have a poor appetite (apart from the choc!) He wants me to put on weight as altho Im normal BMI, its only just. I guess thats just part of the coeliac disease too..
You all seem to be doing really well with the diet part, I really need to get my butt into gear and look for all the good stuff, ginger drinks, health choc etc.

And by the way I ov later this month grrrrr... I hope its just the B vits taking effect more EWCM tho, like 5 days and ummm lots (TMI?) anyone else seen these changes?

 

[Laummatt]

Ohh forgot to mention. Iam currently 4 dpo and my temps are higher than normal and staying up there which usually after a pathetic peak they come down for my crappy 7 day LP. Also had been really suffering with pain, cramps, pulling and generally knowing that something is wrong in my uterus to this month and AF was just around the corner to... nothing!!!! I almost feel normal, no symptoms at all!!! Yay for all the pills and herbs!

 

[rubyloo]

laummatt! yay! a fellow coeliac sufferer! its a pain and add in the diary intolerance and my diet is pretty restricted - don't worry too much about the bmi and weight - i struggle to keep my weight up too, its a constant battle, but am starting an exercise regime this week in the hope that building up my muscle mass might help!

in terms of diet and appetite - i am dictated to by a) how busy/tired i am and b) where i am in my cycle. 2 weeks prior to af i get starving and the rest of the time i only get hungry at meal times. i stick to a high protein diet - lots of white meat (chicken and turkey), some pork, oily fish (salmon and mackerel) and beans and pulses. i also eat lots of fruit and veg - carbs are brown and basmati rice, potatoe, gluten-free pasta and things like buckwheat noodles. i also buy gluten-free breads/rolls but only tend to have these on my days off work! a typical lunch for me is a tin of mackerel, one whole avocardo, mini tomatoes and one or two gf (gluten free) ciabatta rolls with diary free sunflower spread. for work i make pasta salads with grated carrot, mini toms, aduki beans and tuna (usually with some mayo or pesto). i am also a huge fan of home-made soups - i like thick, chunky ones like bacon and lentil with added potatoe! as long as you are eating well and getting the right number of calories each day then don't let it worry you.

with your blood needing nourishment, think about getting an iron suppliment. i was diagnosed as boderline anaemic last year and its obviously had a big impact on my overall health. i now take, religiously every morning, my Spatone sachet which has iron-rich water in it. and don't forget your dark, leafy veg like broccoli, spinach and kale - all great for iron. eggs are also a great source - i am sensitive to these too but i do use them in any baking i do.

hope some of this info helps and keep me updated x

p.s. temps sound great, fingers crossed for you x

 

[Laummatt]

Hey

Thanks for the mention about iron supplement, my prac did mention this but I forgot what with all the other info and you have reminded me!! thanks!! Where do you get that from?

The thing I hate most about being coelaic is having to be so organised with food, I can be useless sometimes and thats when I dont eat properly.

Are you taking you 5mg of folic acid??

x x


Ps just found some on amazon x

 

[Carrie29]

Hi Ladies..

Ok unsure about my temps but past 4 days i've had EWCM lots of.. and also this morning i had a truly positive OPK.. the test line was way darker than the control line.. (i often have dark lines due to my LH levels being higher because of PCOS, but never darker than the control line).. and i've also had a bad bought of the runs today.. sorry i know it's way too much info but i did read that the large rise in estrogen around ovulation can cause this.. so do you think that going by these 3 things i really could be ovulating?.. Sorry just so excited that my body may be doing what it's meant too!!

 

[abster]

Yup, sounds like it - do you temp at all? That's the way you can really tell. Make the most of the ewcm though (diarrhoea permitting!).
Abi x

 

[Carrie29]

He he, i know it kinda kills the mood lol!!.. i have been temping no drop yet, so i guess i'll see what happens over the next few days!

 

[fitzy79]

Busy thread these past few days ladies. All this talk of healthy diets is putting me to shame!! Ah to be fair, I do eat a balanced diet and am quite fit BMI and weight are well within normal range so not too bad.

Carrie I def think that your body sounds like it's working as it should so...get...ing!!

I had a bit of a meltdown day on Sunday...lots of tears and feelings of hopelessness..nothing like a good cry to get it all out in the open. Really think TCM is doing wonders for my wacky cycles:
Pre-Ov Temps this cycle are higher and a lot less erratic than previous two cycles.
I am using CBFM this cycle for first time and it went to high yesterday on CD12 and again this morning. If my peak comes within next few days and ovulation subsequently occurs it will be well within normal range....AMAZING!!! Fingers crossed my body will cooperate and a visit to Dr. Wu tomorrow evening should help the process!!

I have my first appt with FS tomorrow morning...will be interested to see what she has planned for me.

Welcome to all the new TCM'ers...

 

[abster]

Well whoop-de-doo, cycle day 1. Fucking witch. Wouldn't be so bothered if I'd seen some real progress.. like a decent LP... but I ovulated 2 days earlier than usual and... came on 2 days earlier than usual.
Stinking kidney yang deficiency and cold, unfriendly uterus!! Sodding spleen!!
Gues I've got to be positive about this cycle being "the one"; doesn't that sound dreadfully familiar!
Here's to a fantastic-looking chart this time round.
Bugger.

 

[muncho]

Abs, HOW annoying.
I need some good news PLEASE SOMEONE ...

 

[abster]

Sorry Muncho, I'll do my best for us this time round. On the bright side, the end of my chart was looking good - just needs to be a bit warmer. Progesterone? Where are you?!
Hey... Jen1802 and Glitterqueen are both pregnant!
Abi x

Anyone else have anything positive to say?