I tried a Rule of Crumb gluten-free chocolate muffin for lunch and it was great! Very yummy. Problem is my stomach has been hurting on and off all day so, aside from a yogurt, it’s the only thing I’ve eaten. I think the pain is because I’m only taking 5mg of prednisolone now so it may be that I don’t eat much else today.

Last week!

Of being on steroids and I think I’m ok. I did have a bit of stomach pain earlier but that seems to have settled now. The need for the bathroom is a little worse than it has been but nothing dramatic has happened yet. I’m still a little anxious about stopping next week but I think the mercaptopurine should be enough to keep me mostly in remission. I’m seeing my GI this Monday so I’ll be able to express any concerns then as I’ll have a better idea of what it’ll be like without the prednisolone.

I’m trying to eat as normally as I can, sticking to mostly gluten-free and only eating what I can instead of trying to force myself to eat in order to finish a meal/meet calorie goals. So far, I’ve only had two days in the last week where I haven’t reached my calorie goal but also a couple where I’ve gone over so it sort of balances out.

While on the subject of food, I got my Rule of Crumb delivery yesterday and I’ve already tried the breaded chicken. To say it was good would be an understatement; I will definitely be ordering from them again. I haven’t tried the fish, bread or muffins yet but I will, hopefully soon, and report back. Thank you to @glutenfreecuppatea for posting about it and leading me to investigate.

Spoonie problems!

That moment when you realise you haven’t taken your meds because you got caught up in preparing the food you need to eat in order to take your meds.

Halloween!

So, I didn’t do anything special for Halloween but I did go out for a meal with my wonderful fiance where we decided to go and see Dr Strange. It is a really good film, so if you haven’t seen it yet, go watch!

In other news, my side is hurting again even though I’ve stayed mostly gluten-free today (I had a tiny bit this evening in the form of a mini egg-custard tart and couple of oreo biscuits). I know I shouldn’t have eaten them but I have a huge weakness for egg-custard. I will do my best to be gluten-free tomorrow; I’ve got some gluten-free Genius bagels so I’ll have one of those for my lunch. I’m also having a bit more fruit at the moment but staying away from anything too acidic.

For those interested in the rats, they are both being adorable and have braved coming out of the cage fully and onto my arms/up my jumper and into the collar for a short time. I’ve learnt one of them likes chocolate but the other doesn’t, and they both like dried banana and coconut shavings as well as pork sausage. I will continue to try and get them used to being on me and rewarding them with treats like fruit as well as the occasional cheerio.

I’m at the gym, speed-walking on the treadmill. I’m not planning on doing much other than some leg weights today. I missed going last week because of my infusion but I’m not too bothered by that. I figure if I go once a week, that’s enough for now.

I was going to go to a local Halloween Fair this afternoon but by the time I get back from the gym, it won’t be worth me going because it closes at four. Still, Halloween tomorrow and me and my wonderful fiance are going Pokemon Go-ing in Portsmouth tomorrow.

I just ordered a taster box from Rule of Crumb. It should be here by Tuesday. It has all gluten-free foods like breaded chicken, pie and muffins. I can’t wait to try them.

I’m drinking a lot of tea recently

I know it’s the time of year where you expect to drink more hot drinks but the amount of tea I have each week has almost doubled. Not that I’m complaining (I do love my tea) but I don’t know if I’m maybe getting a little addicted. I think I was having something in the region of four cups a day when I was in Lincoln.

I’ve also found I really, really like the Arizona brand iced tea (green tea with ginseng and honey, and black & white tea are my favourites). I’m slightly addicted to them too. I’m not sure this is a good thing. My stomach doesn’t hurt when I drink them so it’s not all bad… I guess.

This week has been weird. I’m half way through my sixth week of prednisolone, taking 10mg per day, and I’m getting a dull pain in my left side which I usually associate with a flare up. Only, everything else symptom-wise is fine. The pain isn’t too bad, I’m not needing pain killers, but I am noticing it more.

It doesn’t seem to matter what I eat; I get the pain and a need to go to the bathroom shortly after each meal. I only had soup for lunch but we were a little naughty and had Chinese for dinner, which has only ever made me bloat in the past.

Ah well, hopefully, next week will be better. I go down to 5mg of prednisolone per day on Wednesday but provided the mercaptopurine is doing what it’s meant to, I shouldn’t have any/too many issues. I’ve got a follow-up appointment with my GI at the hospital in a couple of weeks so I can always discuss things with him. I am hoping to have spoken to my GP about my high heart rate by then but we’ll see. I just hope I can get an appointment with her soon.

Bun-less burgers with bacon, cheese and BBQ sauce on top and a side of potato wedges. Not the healthiest of dinners but gluten-free and just what I needed.

The pain in my side from earlier has gone and I’m feeling ok. Although I’m still nervous about coming off the steroids, I think I’ll continue to be alright if I’m careful with my food. I’m going to try and have a bit more fruit (I’ve had only the occasional satsuma since coming out of hospital last month), and I’m going to try and stick to as gluten-free a diet as I can. I’ll go back to making gluten-free brownies soon. I might also try a few gluten-free cookie recipes a go too; it’s almost Halloween so I might try some of the themed recipes I’ve seen.

I’ve stuck with what I said I would eat for dinner (left over pizza, and yogurt for after) but I’ve also had some (read: loads) biscuits. Kind of regretting it because they weren’t gluten-free and I have a small food-baby now but I don’t feel as stuffed and uncomfortable as I did yesterday. I’ve only gone over my calorie count by a little bit so I don’t feel guilty. I’ll be having a small lunch again tomorrow, and if I continue like that for the rest of the week, I should start to feel quite a bit better. Gluten-free cereal, crackers and cheese, and chicken with pasta will very likely be on the menu for this week. Wish me luck!