Paddleboarding Fun this summer

 

 Paddleboarding fun at the lake 

This summer has been so much fun, we have been paddleboarding most weekends, after work and as often as possible. I was lucky enough to win a paddleboard about 5 years ago in one of my competitions, think it was with Vodafone. Last autumn I managed to get my Fiance Tony onto the board, even though he cannot swim! he wears a life jacket and since that first paddle around the lagoons in Llanberis, he is addicted.

 

Tony enjoying a summers evening on his board

Llanberis Lake is great for beginners, it has a lovely lagoon which is sheltered from the wind, we only live around 20 minutes away and we just love Llanberis as its where Snowdon is and there just the most amaazing views as you can see below:

Below is a video of Llanberis lake, with Snowdon and other mountains in the viewpoint.

This is the video of my first ever paddleboard, around 5 years ago! i feel i have improved alot since then

Amazon has all kinds of paddleboards here my boards above are Irocker boards and my favourite is here, i also recently got an attachement to screw in for my cuppa tea, my go pro and a self stick. A wet dry back as shown is a good idea too, take your phone etc on board with you.

Kit Kat Prize - 10k road trip

 Summer 2023 - Dream trip to Canada - Dream Prize Competition

Canada Road trip time!! its my 50th birthday in June 2023 and after 7/8 years of entering as many competitions as i could, i finally won my dream prize, a £10,000 road trip with Kit Kat!!

Now i am a competition nutcase, i enter them all the time, my friends and family think i am a little crazy but they love my wins as i am good at sharing. i saw this competition coming up early this year and decided it would be a great opportunity to take my sons on a road trip to route 66 with it as we had been saving up. So i asked them to buy the promotional kit kats like the example here:

 

I would keep the receipts safe and then i could enter the competition. The rules were you could enter twice daily so each day i would go and buy kit kats! all types of flavours and then enter the competition. I started entering on around the 15th January, i didnt manage to enter every day as thats way too much chocolate but i gave it a good go as this was too good a prize to miss out on, i literally willed myself to win! there were 3 parts to this competition, you could either win a lucky bar like the wonka type win, find a winning pack, of you could win by entering the weekly draws and there is also a late draw which is still current and ends 31.12.22 (so if you can find a promtional pack, quick go enter yourself) 

ON the 28th February, i got an email whilst at work as per below:

I was pretty in shock and wasnt sure if it was fake as due to lack of internet it had not downloaded properly and looked a bit scammy. Anyway i clicked on the link to add my details and it all looked fine. i had to upload the copies to receipts and barcode of chocolate bars, so i was super glad i had kept them all! how awful if i had won and not bought the actual item.

Sometime later, i received an email to confirm my win and since then i have been planning on what to do with it. The Route 66 was temporarily off the plate as a few days before it was confirmed, my son was given his start date for the Navy, this meant he may not get any leave before the end date of the prize to be taken which is December 2023. 

So the next plan was for my Fiance Tony and I to go to Canada in an RV Camper and tour the Candadian Rockies, so next June thats what we will be doing and its perfectly timed as next June, its my 50th birthday so how better to enjoy it. So excited. 

So please follow this blog to see the planning of the trip, the actual trip, and hopefully will be adding a vlog of it all if i can figure it out how to do it.

So to all of you who want to win that dream prize, i advise you to keep going, go enter and just remember, "you cannot win it if you aint in it"

Visit my Instagram now

0 Links

Baking Banana Bread The Easy Way

I have not really made the best effort to bake for a long time. I used to love it when I had more time and the kids were small, but now they are all grown up and half moved out and I work full time I just don't get the enjoyment or relaxation I used to out of it.

Whilst in lockdown I realised all those bananas i was ordering to keep us healthy each week were going off and getting wasted and I had no idea why! so I decided I needed to do something with them, we had tried bananas and custard one night after dinner, which kind of worked but realised I needed a cake, desperately.

I was going through my Facebook feed one afternoon and saw on my slow cooking group  a brilliant receipe for the normal oven. This was a super quick and easy to prepare receipe and i like easy, so decided to bake it. I had about 5 bananas that were pretty ripe and the rest of the ingredients in my cupboards and it was amazing the whole family enjoyed it.

Here is the recipe below and honestly its just delicious so do give it a try.

Banana Bread Ingredients

100g butter

2 Eggs

125g Caster Sugar

225g self raising flour ( I use supreme sponge)

2 tbsp of milk

2 drops of almond essence

3 medium ripe bananas

Golden syrup to pour on top if you wish

Method

Throw all these ingredients into your mixing bowl but do sieve the flour to make it lighter. I use a kitchen aid mixer so I just set it on high for a few minutes till I can see its all mixed together. Then I pour it into a silicon loaf tin and put on a baking tray then put into a heated oven on 190 for a fab oven. I put some oven heatproof paper over the top for first 30 minutes to keep from burning then leave it for another 30 minutes and voila you have one delicious banana cake  - put on a cooling tray for 15 mind or so and drizzle some golden syrup over the top before you serve.

Banana Bread

Enjoying Snowdonia in the Spring - Snow in North wales

Enjoying Snowdonia in the Spring


We are very lucky to live in such a beautiful area, enjoying lakes, mountains and beautiful beaches all year round. This easter holidays we have gone on some amazing walks and the picture below is one my son took while walking up to Llyn Idwal (lake Idwal) in Snowdonia, its beautiful whatever the weather as you can see below, the snow and brrrr cold

This is the view of Cwm Idwal in the Glyderau mountains of Snowdonia. It is named after Prince Idwal Foel, a grandson of Rhodri Mawr, one of the ancient Kings of Wales - funnily enough if you zoom in on this photo you can actually see Anglesey right in the background and probably my house if you have extra zoom! 

here are some more pictures of the day, it was fab, a nice hot cuppa tea from our flasks helped keep us warm.

We often take walks up to the lake, here are some Autumn photos

This summer we hope to get past the huge lake and go right up and over the mounain, with a picnic. i was lucky enough to win some amazing walking boots from mountain warehouse

After spending 4 hours in the deep snow, rain and walking, my feet came home dry and confortable, such amazing boots, am very pleased with them.


We also have an idea to attempt Ben Nevis at some point, we enjoy Snowdonia and have walked up Snowdon quite a few times over the years, think we are ready for a challenge.
 
This is a photo of us a few years ago enjoying the summit of Snowdon and beautiful views

My Under active Thyroid hypothyroidism - Giving up on Levothyroxene and trying out Natural Dessicated Thyroid

My Under active Thyroid hypothyroidism - Giving up on Levothyroxene and trying out Natural Dessicated Thyroid

I am sure there are plenty of us out there who have been feeling lethargic, achy and just downright depressed? i know that I was, luckily my mum had already been diagnosed with an under active thyroid and was on levothyroxene so when I saw my doctor, my mum had asked me to get my thyroid checked, they said it was normal, so I went on my way still feeling down, tired, achy etc. 6 month later I went back, had some more bloods done and finally my TSH level was borderline, so my doctor started me off on 25mg of levothyoxene, i came home with some leaflets explaining my thyroid (not that I understood any of it) I started taking my pills everyday which was quite a feat as my memory is atrocious lol anyway 3 months later felt bad again, went for more blood and was put up to 50mg, always trusting my doctor was right i didnt question anything and just took my pills.
   Roll on 3 years later, i was feeling awful but had started to google my symptoms, I found websites such as http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ which had lots of resources from a different treatment instead of leveothyroxene (T4) to vitamins that should be taken and checking iron, vit d and vit b12 levels to make sure they are optimal. I found out that levo (T4 is actually a storage hormone, our body's are meant to convert the T4 into t3 but it doesnt always work that way and nowadays most labs will not test your T3 so you wont have any idea its not working. My labs only test T4 and TSH so i couldnt find out. I alo found other like minded people all in the same boat as me that were suffering the same symptoms but doctors were telling them they had chronic fatigue, depression etc 

     I was feeling lousy at this point, tired at 4pm, heavy weight on me, couldnt do anything, couldnt remember things, lost my words, couldnt plan, found it hard to sleep, couldnt wake up etc so the doctor did my bloods, told me i may have chronic fatigue! I just assumed i needed a higher dose of levo. I received my bloods back and my iron was pretty low, ferritin being 11 - so my doctor prescribed iron pills to be taken daily. i had a print out of my blood and brought them home to study (1st rule of getting yourself better, get a copy of your bloods) I was told my thryoid levels were fine but i didnt feel FINE.

 my natural Dessicated thryoid tablets called Thiroyd from Greater Pharma in Thailand this is made from desiccated porcine (pig) thyroid glands which contain Thyroxine (T4), T3, T2, T1 and Calcitonin.

    In the meantime, I had been a bit adventurous and ordered myself some NDT natural Dessicated Thryoid, its been around for a long time, way before thyroxene was made and given out to us. i had read up on google and joined some great online support groups, this being my favourite https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOUKandEurope/  there are groups for every country so if you are not europe or the uk please search for FTPO on facebook and join one. I realised I could take my health into my own hands and that the doctor just did not have the information and enough training to see my fatigue etc was connected to my thyroid. the day I got home from the doctors I stopped levothyroxone and started taking my NDT, i started with 1 grain, I split it into half and took one in the morning and one in the afternoon, i realised i needed to make sure my iron, b12 and vit d were at optimal levels, not in doctors ranges when they say they are fine as their ranges are huge, you can be right at the bottom of the range and they will say you are normal!? anyway i checked my b12 and realised it was 266, optimal is at least 800-900, in countries such as Japan they treat you as low as 500 but here in the uk, as long as you are above 150 they dont think you need help, yet the symptoms of low b12 are lack of energy, lack of motorskills, brainfog etc so quite scary and everyone should get this checked if they fill tired, confused etc. So i went online and ordered myself some B12 pills, i made sure they had Methylcobalamin in instead of Cyanocobalamin as they are a better form of b12 and easier/quicker to absorb. I also started taking my iron pills along with a vitamin c pill to help absorb. Another thing i learnt was that if you have a thyroid problem you are more likely to suffer from low stomach acid this in turn stops you absorbing vitamins very well, so even if like me you eat alot of greens and red meat, you still wont be absorbing all the goodness you need. Something to help that is apple cider vinegar a spoonful in a glass of water a day will really help absorbtion levels.I now take 1 pill every day, luckily b12 is water soluble so you cannot overdose on them. i will get to 800 and lower my doseage. Also adrenals and cortisol play an important role in taking NDT, we have all probably stressed out levels out, a 24 hour saliva test only available privately should help give you those results so you can work on them

these are the vitamin b12 pills that i am taking visit amazon to buy

   By day 3 on NDT I realised at 8pm that I hadnt felt my usual fatigue and was feeling rather fab! yeah!! wow its a miracle i thought. by 10 day i was feeling a little tired again, so i upped my dose to 1 and a half grains, spilt into 1 in the morning and half in the afternoon, i felt better immediately. This carried on and i upped again to 2 grains on day 21. i continued this way and ended up on 3 grains but felt a little achy, tired again and a slightly fast heartbeat so have gone back down to 2 and a half grains where i will stay for a while. i may be at my optimal level but i may also be suffering from my low iron which is taking its time to come up, last bloods i was 23. i have since ordered some better iron pills, easier on the digestion, stomach etc less constipation. They are called Bluebonnet Chelated iron and are very popular.  
   So I am now on day 95, still on 2 and a half grains, just had my first thyroid bloods done at my doctors, i had warned him that my TSH maybe surpressed as I had stopped levo and started on NDT, he didnt really think it was a good idea but asked me how i felt, i said i felt amazing! so much better, i gave him a list of symptoms i had on levo and i showed him how much better they were, most have gone completely. He was very supportive, even tried to prescribe NDT to me himself but couldnt find it on his system, i know a few people that get if off the NHS - the american Armour and Nature Thyroid can both be prescribed if you find a doctor in the know, along with the synthetic version of T3 which can also be of benefit, as long as you can find the doctor that has an open mind. 

my results were 
T4 - 11 (new range of 7-17) 
T3 - 6.4 (3.5-6.5)
TSH - 0.15

I was very happy with those, all in range and my tsh supressed, the lowest its been, the last result on levo was 1.9 

Here is the chart I showed my doctor, showing all the symptoms I had on levo and how they have improved:

levo	NDT after 70 days
Hard to sleep, awake till 3am	Sleep before midnight usually
Miserable/depressed	happy
Hated waking up, felt so tired, 11am ish	Wake up like a lark by 8.30am
Woke up with anxiety	Wake up happy ready for the day
Exhausted in chair by 4pm, felt like heavy lead	No exhaustion, keep going till bed time
Couldn’t lose weight/lost some with lots of excerise but couldn’t lose the last stone. Body fat at 40%	Losing it by the pound a week without exercise, body fat down to 37%, no diet or exercise needed
Forgetful, couldn’t think of words	Having normal conversations again
Couldn’t plan ahead, dreaded planning or thought of planning	Planned my friends 40th, my own party and others
Hated leaving the house	Love going out and want to be out
Skin all dry	Skin so much softer
Periods really heavy and painful	Still heavy but less painful
Psychotic rages, angry at a drop of a hat,	Happy, chilled and haven’t flipped since NDT
No sexdrive	Its back!!
Aches and pains	No aches and pains
Bleak outlook	Positive outlook
Bloated a lot – stomach sticking out, wind causing problems	No  bloating, tummy has gone down, less wind
Cold extremities, feet and hands freezing	Warm warm warm! Temp is 37.1 in mouth all day – yeah!
Restless legs syndrome	Legs have been fine, no restlessness as yet
Some Blurred vision	Eyesight fine

So 95 days and I feel good, i still have my ups and downs, but my temperature is a steady 37.1 and i feel so much warmer, i wake up when my alarm goes off, i go to sleep alot earlier, i dont flag half way through the day and i want to go out and do things whereas i hated leaving the house on levo. i feel levo turned me into a psychotic fat zombie, now i feel good, have even lost 7lbs not doing a silly diet or any keepfit dvd's. I am happy and would never touch levothyroxene again.

I hope that my story can help others find their way, maybe question your doctor a littl, visit some groups, find support from others in the same boat and give you some hope that there is a better way and you maybe able to get that normal life you are craving! 

some handy tips 

1. get a print out of your bloods - or write them down with ranges
2. get iron, b12 and vit d tested, optimal levels are ferritin 80, b12 800 and vit d 50, if lower then supplement, they all have symptoms similar to hyperthyroidism, lethargic, brainfog etc
3. ask you doctor for t3 or NDT if levo isnt working for you, worth a try
4. if you are really not feeling well on levo and nothing has worked so far, ask to be referred to an endo at your local hospital, if that hasnt worked, think about trying NDT
5. dont be afraid to try something new, if you have been ill for 20 years on levo, then try NDT
6. when starting NDT raise slow and take it easy, some signs of being lethargic, achy etc can come back but sometimes its because you are on too high a dose, don't be agfraid to drop down a grain to see if you feel better
7. if you have been prescribed NDT by a doctor, be careful that he doesnt leave you on too low a dose, you need to raise by half a grain every 2 weeks ish.
8. remember that you are not alone, millions of people suffer this condition every day, there is hope ok x
9. if you have haven not been able to get iron, b12 and vit d tested, tell doc, you are tired, lethargic, confused and cannot remember things, that should speed it along
10. if the doctor says you are depressed, dont listen to him you know that you are only depressed because you are too tired and panicky to actually accomplish anything!
11. no you havent got chronic fatigue and yes its your thyroid - even if the doc does not agree lol

please visit the below links for more info

Dosing NDT - http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101/
Stop the Thryroid Madness - http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/
Uk and Europe Thyroid support group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOUKandEurope/?ref=bookmarks
Getting your ducks in a row http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ducks-in-a-row/
NDT not working, try these http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/mistakes-patients-make/
which brand of NDT, compare here http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/armour-vs-other-brands/
adrenals and cortisol http://www.tiredthyroid.com/hc.html
adrenal stress test http://www.smartnutrition.co.uk/health-tests/adrenal-stress-test/
more adrenal help http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info/
private adrenal and thyroid tests http://www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testing/genova.html
levothyroxene side affects http://www.nhs.uk/medicine-guides/pages/MedicineSideEffects.aspx?condition=Thyroid+problems&medicine=Levothyroxine+sodium&preparation=Levothyroxine+sodium+100microgram+tablets
B12 info, which is best http://www.dadamo.com/B2blogs/blogs/index.php/2004/02/07/cyanocobalamin-versus-methylcobalamin?blog=27 
stop the thyroid madness facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StoptheThyroidMadness?fref=nf


Handy FTPO groups

1. FTPO Thyroid Topics - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOThyroid/
2. FTPO Adrenals - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOAdrenals/
3. FTPO T3 - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOT3Discussion/
4. FTPO Without a Thyroid - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOWithoutAThyroid/
5. FTPO Gluten & Gut Issues - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOGluten/
6. FTPO Hypo Children - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOCHILDRENS/
7. FTPO Sex Hormones -https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOSexHormonesRealGroup/
8. FTPO Canada - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOCanada/
9. FTPO UK & Europe - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOUKandEurope/
10. FTPO Australia - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOAustralia/
11. FTPO Chat - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOofficialCHATGROUP/
12. FTPO Spanish - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOSpanish/
13. FTPO Lyme Disease - https://www.facebook.com/groups/FTPOLymeDisease/

a really good book to buy is Stop the Thyroid Madness: A Patient Revolution Against Decades of Inferior Treatment, its a great read with lots of handy tips

Disclaimer - I am not a doctor, this story is my own personal mission to get myself well, please do not take anything i have said as FACT and please if you are going down the NDT route, read up, explore and read again.