Hello

[Silver]

Hi all,

I've been lurking round here for ages but never joined. I tend to lurk round forums reading the posts for years before I actually get round to joining ;)

My name is Vicky, I usually tend to go by Silver online though either'll be fine. I'm 16 (17 next month, erk!) and I live in Taunton, Somerset with my parents and menagerie - yellow labrador Vale, rabbit Benjamin, guinea pigs Molly and Boris and syrian hamsters Cookie and Pinto.

I have numerous health problems (which I don't mind going into but I'll spare you unless I'm asked :D) and I've been having problems with dairy for the last couple of years, I eventually cut it out about 6 months ago and am feeling a lot better!

I'm still not convinced I've got to the bottom of things but I'm not sure how much is due to constipation which is possibly muscle weakness due to another condition and possibly not! If that makes sense, I'm not sure how well I'm explaining. I've had constipation problems for a long time and one of the things I tried was lactulose, couldn't understand why I had such a horrendous reaction to it until I realised all the problems I'd been having happened after I ate something dairy based, then of course we realised lactulose = full of lactose!

Ah happy days :lol2:

[cnc]

Welcome to the site!
I only joined a few months ago, and am glad I did, there's loads of information on here and its helpful to know there are other people out there with similar problems to you.
How's the dairy free diet going??

[Silver]

Not bad actually, I'm not really missing anything :)

I did try dairy free (and wheat) a couple of years ago, then went back after almost a year, so it's not a completely new concept. Much easier this time though - I've discovered Swedish Glace ice cream and Alpro Soya yoghurts!

I love the alpro yoghurts which is interesting as I never liked ordinary yoghurts.

[cnc]

I first tried dairy free a good few years ago and my downfall was So Good soya milk, I couldn't drink the stuff and I couldn't get hold of anything else!!
Swedish glace is good, especially the chocolate one.
I might try the alpro yoghurts thanks, as I hated ordinary yoghurts.
Hope the dairy free is helping, and you'll stick around on here.

[Silver]

I haven't been able to find any of the other swedish glace flavours, it's annoying as I'd love to try them! I've been into all the places I can think of and they only stock vanilla.

I haven't found the Alpro Raspberry and Vanilla or the Yofu Junior either, both of which I'd like to try.

[cnc]

I found the other versions of Swedish Glace in Holland and Barratts, or independent health food shops. I'd suggest trying Tescos for the yoghurts they've got them online, so should be stocking them in some of their stores.

[Silver]

I don't think our Holland and Barrett has them, it's quite a small shop and only has a tiny freezer for frozen stuff. They certainly didn't the last time I was in there anyway.

Tesco, on the other hand, although right on the wrong side of town for us is right opposite the hospital so next time I have an appointment I can pop in ;) Ta!

[rebecca c]

Welcome to the site Vicky, its good you've found the cause of one of your problems. My son is quite constipated and I only found out that was a dairy intolerence symptom after joining this site. I've suspected he may be dairy intolerance for quite a while and keep his dairy low but I think I'll give him a dairy free few weeks after half term. With all the tips I've picked up off this site he probably wont even notice.

Good luck and keep posting

[Copper]

Hi Vicky and welcome. My H & B store in Poole only has 2 small freezers but they do have the strawberry Swedish Glace sometimes. Maybe your H & B store would order some things in for you if you ask. Independent health food shops might be worth talking to as well.

[matt]

welcome tothe site. try any independent health food shop. they tend to be quite good for ordering stuff in. they don't stock much but can order things in easily. i'm sure they'll help.

i'm assuming the rest of your diet is normal? plenty fruit and veg? without going into details but without them you'll be constipated!! dairy will often cause those symptoms.

feel free to ask for help as you've probably read someone somewhere will have the answer or an idea.

keep posting

[Pam]

Hi Vicky, welcome to the site. I'm another guinea pig fan, I love the way they squeak at you, but the only pet we have at the moment is Smudge the syrian hamster, we don't see much of him and he is very smelly so not a great pet really (but at least he doesn't bite).

My daughter suffered terrible constipation and it was her reaction to lactulose that finally made the penny drop about her being milk intolerant. I hope your symptoms start to improve soon. I'm dairy free too by choice, though I have noticed that my hay fever and frequent attacks of hives disappeared when I cut milk out of my diet. I also tend not to supper colds unless I have a dietary lapse.

You can get a wide range of dairy free products (including loads of flavours of ice cream) from www.goodnessdirect.co.uk and they even deliver chilled and frozen products for a small extra charge. They probably do Alpro yoghurts too. Also watch out for Sojasun yoghurts they are really creamy and more like fromage frais. Holland and Barrett will order products for you but I prefer independent health food shops as they are generally more knowledgeable and more helpful.

Hope to see you around here lots in the future.

[Silver]

Thank you everyone :)

Yes the rest of my diet is normal, I don't have meat but plenty of fruit and veg. I think it's either muscle weakness, lack of mobility, intolerance to a food substance (how long can it take to get the full benefit of cutting something out?) or a combination.

Interesting you should say that Pam, even though I was pretty certain before it was the lactulose that clinched it for me too!

I have pretty bad eczema and that cleared up a lot when I cut dairy out but has since flared up again, for a bit I thought I might have found the problem!

On another note when can I get into the arcade? I want a trophy under my name too ;) Every time I click it it says:

Silver, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

[rebecca c]

it takes me six full weeks to clear dairy

[Copper]

I think you have to post 15 times before you are allowed into the arcade. Get posting :)

[cnc]

No not more people in the arcade!!! :D I'm trying to get a degree, not spend ages defending my titles! (in three weeks time I'll be able to spend as much time as I want in the arcade though!!) I don't know how long it takes, I joined in April and I've been in the arcade for a few weeks now, but you don't get immediate access though :(

I seemed to experience a fairly rapid improvement, after about a week, but then took another few weeks, to feel consistently better. (if that makes any sense??)

[Silver]

Yup, makes perfect sense :) The problem is I have trouble working out which symptoms are down to which condition so it makes for fun :D It's definitely nice not to feel so sick..etc after meals though.

Fifteen posts you say? I have far too much time on my hands so watch out Claire :bleh: That's a very impressive champion record you have there. How many games are there?

[cnc]

There are 99 games- I haven't played them all yet, but I want to be arcade champion!!- Watch out Pam!

What do you do Vicky, you still studying or working??

[Silver]

Neither! I've been off school for a long time because of chronic illness and am not well enough to work at all either.

I did some voluntary work last academic year and this academic year up till December at a school for kids with severe learning difficulties, but I had to stop that.

I've not got a clue where I'm going in the future!

[cnc]

I know the feeling about not having a clue about the future!!- I went to uni as I didn't know what else to do and I didn't want to get a job :D More worringly enough, people keep asking me what I want to do when I leave :S
Don't think that many people ever know what they want to do- well thats what I keep telling myself, makes me less concerned about my future that way :P

[Pam]

I had in excess of 40 games under my Gold champion title but CNC and Linny keep snatching them off me and I'm down to 30-something now (too many late nights and early morning visits). There are a few games that don't seem to register a score and some that only work intermitently, so if there is no score registered don't get your hopes up, we've probably already been there and tried it. I'm not sure if the minimum posts is 10 or 15 to gain access to the arcade, so you'll have to keep talking to us for a while first. You'll be adding RSI to your list of symptoms once you get in there, it is addictive.

Where do you get your dairy free goodies from? Supermarkets or health food shops - or do you just use non-dairy standard foods?

[Silver]

What are you studying?

I always wanted to work with animals but I don't think I'll ever have the physical stamina to be able to do that now.

I considered special needs but unless I can get a lot more mobile that's out too! I really enjoyed the work I did in that department though.

I don't even have GCSEs at the moment - the last exams I did were year 6 sats! - so I should think that's probably my next step, when health permits ;)

[Silver]

I use all three :) The majority comes from supermarkets, stuff that can't be found there from health food shops and of course there are lots of non-dairy standard foods too.

Luckily mum is a great cook so that's helped - you'd never know her dairy free cake was dairy free ;)

Edit: and that was post #10 and no arcade, so I think you're stuck with me waffling on for at least another five :)

[cnc]

I'm supposed to be a geography student!! but spend far too much time doing sport :D
I don't think I've had cake since I've been dairy free, (I'm rather lazy when it comes to cooking) must get my mum to make some when I get home (chocolate cake is my favourite)

Yeah, unfortunatly people want you to have qualifications, most want A-levels now as well, unless you get a practical qualification, those that send you to college and work on a rota.
Hope you start to find your health improving, will make things so much easier for you, im sure

[Silver]

She makes a mean chocolate cake :)

How much longer have you got left at uni?

I was thinking of doing The Duke of Edinburgh Award to see if I can get some sort of "qualification". It depends what the adaptions are for disabled people, if I'm capable I'd like to do Bronze and Silver, I think Gold would be a bit much - I couldn't cope with the Residential you have to do - though I suppose by the time I've finished those two it might be a different story!

[Pam]

I did my bronze award whilst at school. The service part was a session at the local police station every week for about 6 weeks, there was a whole room of us and we just sat and listened to the pc/sgt talk about his particular job. I did horse riding for my sport part as I helped at the local stables every week anyway. I was also a member of a drama group so got that in somewhere. We did a hike/camp to our local art college (about 8 miles each way) but we got lost on the way there and were picked up by our teacher at 10pm. I got part way into the silver and then our teacher died and the whole thing came to a stop. I can't remember much about it - it was 24 years ago!

Keep on going Silver, you'll be in the arcade before the day is over.

[cnc]

I did my bronze award, a couple of years ago, I did diving for my sport, and voluntary sports coaching for my service. Our hike was quite fun, was a good day out, until I got sent home, because I wasn't well and then had to go back the next day to finish it!
I've got a minimum of 2 years after this one to go, before I can graduate and then depending on what I do afterwards, I might stay and do a PhD, (avoid the real world for a bit longer)
I can now help you post lots, as I've just completed a timed essay so now need a reward (might just hide in the arcade actually :P )

[Silver]

Hiding from me already? :o

The next time the local office is open is Tuesday so I'm going to give them a ring then and get some more information. It's something I've wanted to do since before I was old enough to participate, but it kept getting shelved.

Plenty of time, anyway. I've got another 8 years and I can always skip straight to Gold if need be!

[cnc]

No, just getting ready to defend my titles in the Arcade :P
I was going to carry on and do my Silver and Gold when I got to uni, but then became a rower amongst other things and discovered that I didn't have the time to do it, its a bit of a shame, but at least I've got my bronze.
What other interests do you have then?

[Silver]

You've still got time, anyway :)

Interests...er, I spend a lot of time on the internet (showdog.com, petzkennelclub.co.uk and neopets.com are my usual haunts) and dabble in web design. Offline it's Petz and Sims 2 ;) I enjoy walking the dog when I'm able to, I loved most sport when I was younger but can't do that anymore. I listen to music, mainly 70s/80s stuff. Often I watch/listen to VH1 Classic.

I helped at the RSPCA for a few years but again, can't do that now! I also rode very briefly.

I like to potter in the garden when I'm able, I have a small wildlife patch with a pond, currently overflowing with tadpoles and newts! I have rapidly multiplying alpine strawberries...

What else? No doubt there's more but I can't think of it at the moment, feel free to ask any questions.

[rebecca c]

I did bronze, silver and gold. Good fun. I'm sure they must have good adaptations for disabilities - even in my day they would advertise for people with disabilities to join.

My gold expedition was tough, the assessors were quite hard core mountaineers and fell runners (one of them was in training for a himalayan marathon) and they wanted us to do it camping way up away from anywhere - which was fine except it rained heavily the whole expedition. I think the best memories are those terrible jokes you tell when your ridiculously tired. My residential was doing up a cathedral - I bet cathedral camps (if its still running could accomodate disabilites.

Pehaps you could do your wildlife garden as your skill Silver - that would be cool.

[cnc]

Have you tried the Duke of Edinburgh Award website, had a quick browse and they seem to be all about equal opportunities. So it might be worth contacting them directly to see what they say.
Good luck with it! It's a good experience, glad I did mine.

[Pam]

You're nearly there now Silver, only a couple more posts and then we'll have to watch out for our titles.

Are you wheelchair bound? Or just have intermitent mobility problems? My cousin has a disability similar to cerebal palsy, is in a wheelchair and attended special school but managed to do both her bronze and silver D of E awards. They are obviously aimed at making you push yourself that little bit further but will make allowances so that you can do things which are within your capability. Maybe the "helping others" bit could be centred around web design - doing a site for a charity or teaching others how to do it themselves. Your sport one could be a less mobile sport (I don't know what your limitations are) archery, bowling (they have special ramps to roll the ball down if you don't have the strength to throw it yourself), shooting, table tennis etc.

Good luck if you decide to do it anyway, it will be a personal achievement for you, whatever level you get to.

[Silver]

Yup Claire, that's what I'm planning to do on Tuesday :)

I am wheelchair bound at the moment Pam, and have been for a few years. It might be permanent and might not, but certainly for the forseeable future :lol2:

I hope it's going to be doable (I have limited energy too, so that might stop me) but we shall see! I know they seem to be quite good as a group of the older (17 and 18 year olds) kids - well I suppose they're not really at that age but you know what I mean ;) - from this special school I was helping at went up to Lancs for five days to do some activities that were for their DoE Award. I think they did sailing and caving and things.

It would be nice to accomplish something, it gets quite discouraging some times to not really be able to do anything! But onwards and upwards :)

[cnc]

I meant have a look on the website as well, it might answer some of your questions or give you some basic advice. Sorry I'm a firm believer in the internet, its a bit sad, but is quite a useful tool!
Most sections of the award only want an hour or so of your time a week, which could probably be broken down into something smaller if necessary, and the website seemed to say that special courses are run for those who need them. So I'm sure you'll be able to do it, especially if you are as determined as you seem to be!!

[Silver]

Sorry, I knew I left something out :D I meant to say I've already examined the website with a fine tooth comb and couldn't find any detail about catering for disabilities, just that they do.

I'll keep you updated (groans!)

And this post should let me into the arcade....

Edit: Still no arcade! Maybe it's 20? 25? 30?

[cnc]

Perhaps you've got to be a member for more than a couple of days!!
Ah well, at least its a way of getting you to stay on here! :P
I had a look and they said that there is a special pack avaliable aimed at those with disabilities, so I think thats what you might need!!
I'm afraid I won't be able to help you post on here much more this evening, I've got a bar to visit and then an early morning training session :unsure: Nah, its great really!!

[Silver]

Is it a good idea to go to the bar and then training...? ;)

I won't be on for much longer anyway, I don't think. I'm really enjoying chatting to you all though!

[rebecca c]

give them a call about your nearest group and what they can do to help you. this duke guy his seriously loaded you know should be provision for extra help for you in his budget.:)

[cnc]

Yeah bar and then training is an excellent idea!!(probably should mention the fact I don't really drink, so had a pint of water and that was it :D ) It's more of a social meeting place to me than anything else, was pretty quiet in there, but actually meant I got out of my room for longer than 5 minutes :unsure:

[matt]

sorry i missed the online party last night!!! was busy getting a six year old to sleep. too damn nosy she thinks she'll miss something if she falls asleep!

too many things to comment on but fun to read.B)

[Silver]

Well do you want the good news or the bad news....? ;)

I'm allowed into the arcade today :lol2:

We'll have to have another party for you matt :D Can't have you feeling left out now, can we!

[cnc]

Don't worry I'll be back to take my titles after 7th of June never fear!!

Matt, your daughter was obviously right, things were happening that you missed out on!
You really should join us all in the arcade, its a lot of fun.

[Silver]

I tried bubbles but I had to stop after 15 minutes because it made my arms ache so much - how pathetic is that!

[Pam]

Don't try bookworm then, that goes on for ever. I gave up after 30 minutes.

[Silver]

I guessed as much - clicked it, saw what sort of game it was, saw the high scores and ran away fast :D

[paranoidangel]

Well do you want the good news or the bad news....? ;)

I'm allowed into the arcade today :lol2:

Definitely bad news - if it wasn't bad enough that Claire was taking all my high scores, but now you're doing it too!

[cnc]

That's a bit unfair, some of those highscores were mine to begin with. I took your James Bomb one, and I've also worked out how to play the game :P
Its about time there was some competiton to take Pam off the top!!

[paranoidangel]

Its about time there was some competiton to take Pam off the top!!

I'd definitely agree with that one!

[Silver]

Well don't hold your breath about it being me ;) I'm still trying to reclaim snake at the moment!