The start!

Good morning to all!

This being my first ever blogged and it being about my ups and downs in life, especially with Herbs, please stay with me!

As with all good things, there's a beginning! Mine started a couple of months after my first son was born in 2009 and they thought I had gluten intolerance! HA right I could eat gluten and gluten products BUT yeast containing products where another issue - one not regconised by medical science!

Years pass by with me trying to cut out the yeast - didn't work as I love my bread and booze! Then in 2012 I started having vacant seizures, doctors told me 'it's stress!'. Now at the time I was studying again for my Access course to atend university - nothing stressful compared to the last 3 years surely! But the doctors stuck by their diagnosis and stated the fertiity drugs wrent helping matters.

So off the drugs I came and I cut out yeast aggressively and the fits stopped but then I got pregnant 1 month before uni started! Frantic phone calls and emails followed to make sure I could still attend as I had fought so hard to get onto my Herbal medcine course at Lincoln uni - the tutors were fab and for the 4 months I lasted, they helped in any way they could - even making sure I didnt try any herbs that could mess with the pregnancy.

Now I know you are all thinking why 4 months? How is this related to the title?! Well its relation will become clear believe me! I only last 4 months as my pregnancy didnt go well - kidney infection followed swiftly by a chest infection started the slippery slope down hill. Come January I realised staying would only bring this baby early which after my experience with Roman I didn't want so I took a year out!

Phew! Thought I had sorted it all out but no, come 2 days later I took myself up to the hospital with upper gastric pain - expecting a diagnosis of pre eclampsiea again but hoping it was just trapped gas! Well it was neither of those - extremely low platelets, high liver enzymes and the gastric tightening I had meant steriods in the bum cheeks and lots of monitoring for 48 hours. To say I was thinking they were over reacting as I felt relatively fine compared to the previous months.

3pm on the Tuesday afternoon - 48 hours later - I was told I was being prepped for a c-section at 4pm! PANIC!!! I was only 31 weeks and my baby was doing fine, the sonographer had said so! Why was I being taken in? All these questions running through my head resulted in tears but the doctors said they would tell me everything once baby was here and I was on a drip! Sounds scary right? Nope after my inital tears I was calm and resigned to the fact that my baby was coming regardless!

An hour later, after my second son Harley arrived, I am told that I had a rare problem only found in pregnancy - Fatty Liver of Pregnancy - where the pregnancy hormones cause fat to accumulate inside your liver and the only 2 signs were the gastric pain I had been experiencing since week 15 and the blood results. they then told me I was to go onto an insulin drip overnight until they thought I had stabilised - well me being stubborn woman that I am said no, I even told them I wanted the stupid canula out! Doc came in and told me if I didn't have the drip the chances of me going into a coma were high as they didnt know anything about the condition apart from the fact that women who had the drip survived.

Well I was terrified now so I just stuck my arm out and told them 'What you waiting for?!' It is now 22 weeks later as I write this and both me and baby Harley are doing great! Especially as I took up baking gluten free again lol.

Since I hate being bored and Harley being a baby, I was sat in front of the telly a lot! I decided I was going to start a bakery for allergen free baked goods - everyone raved about my brownies and lemon slices, even the silly carrot cake I made, but I was still bored so I joined BlueBella and love it BUT, yup you guessed, I was still bored so I thought blogging!!!

I would share my daily struggles to keep active and shift the pregnancy weight after a c section, how i am using my herbal knowledge to help this and others (as limited as it is) and any tips i come across that others can use! As well as my struggle to get any diagnosis for the random spasms I get - doctors put that down to stress too!

My current one is drinking Lemon water every morning at the very least! Sounds yucky but is very refreshing. I just get a glass of water add a slice of lemon and drink with a straw (to limit the acidic contact with my teeth). Lets see if this helps the weight shift!

Until tomorrow peeps! Look forward to hear your thougths and any suggestions! :)