January's meeting

Well, it was second time lucky at the Hudson office.
Thanks to Sian for organising a great meeting, thanks to Hudson for allowing us to use their office and thanks to the State Tower for not having a fire whilst we were there.

Kelly started things off with a talk about exercise, nutrition and all the things we can do to keep ourselves fit and healthy. All good stuff with or without the Endo. The overriding message was that a healthy & balanced diet combined with some regular exercise is good for all of us. The more processed the food or the more fizzy the drink = bad stuff!! And as for the exercise, well what ever you can manage to fit in to your day. You don't have to be slogging it out at the gym all day. Start with the simple stuff like getting off the bus a stop early, take the stairs instead of the lift. Heard any of that before?

Next up was Emma from Equilibrium massage therapy. Emma talked to us about the benefits of massage, again not just for Endo, but for general relaxation and well being. Natasha was the lucky recipient of some of Emma's moves as she showed us what we or a friend/partner could safely do to help ease symptoms of abdo & back pain and cramping. Looked like good stuff to me. I'm a sucker for a massage and will happily rave on about how relaxed and fabulous I feel after one. My top tip is to get a facial and usually while the mask or whatever is working it's anti-aging magic, the therapist will do you a head, neck and shoulder massage. Bargin! All for the price of a fabulous facial.

Last up was Jeannie. Jeannie is an acupuncturist and she talked to us about how acupuncture works in Chinese medicine and how it and other aspects of Chinese medicine can help us with our Endo symptoms amongst other things. Sian and I had a needle (completely painless, honest) stuck in our ear. It is supposed to help with stress and tension. Well, all I can say is "wow'!! Jeannie said to take the needle out after three or four days. Over a week later and mine is still in and I don't want to be parted from it. The few days that followed the meeting would normally have had me crawling the walls and brewing a good stress ulcer. Instead, I was switching between mildly irritated to cool as cucumber.
Jeannie gave us all a recipe for Chinese chicken soup - I'll type it up and add it on at a later date (along with the Christmas cupcake recipe that I promised a long while back!). I for one am game to give it a go as my chi needs a bit of a rark up. Natasha has already tried it and I think is working on a new and improved version .... .....

I find the holistic approach to looking after yourself, treating symptoms and managing disease fascinating. Being a bit of a scientist by profession (I am a pharmacy technician) and spending all day in the world of drugs and conventional medicine, you'd be forgiven for expecting me to be a bit sceptical. But no, I always think it's worth giving it a go. Sometimes it may not work out, but if it does, then marvellous. Surely it has to be better than max-ing out on painkillers, steroids, hormones and the like.
The idea of a balanced diet and less chemicals is not a new one and one I whole heartedly subscribe to. I know I feel a lot better in body and mind when I am eating well.
I had accupuncture several years ago performed by a conventionally trained physiotherapist in a UK public hospital. It worked wonders. There is one health service that can see a place for nationally funded complimentary therapies. I wonder if New Zealand will ever follow.


Contact details:
Emma Main, equilibrium massage therapy, 04 9703662 / 021 1344300 for workplace and on-site bookings or 04 4730110 for clinic bookings at Beautique, 224A Tinakori Road

Jeannie Redman, City Osteopaths, Level 4, 166Featherston Street 04 4991439

I'm also going to plug a friend's website The Naked Trainer It's all about getting started, giving it a go and setting achievable goals. it's free to use, so why not have a look and see how you go?

Thanks to those who brought a gluten free treat to the evening. I think we are hoping that that will be the way forward for food. Any suggestions or comments, please let us know.

Take care and see you next time,
Annie

First meeting of 2009

Endometriosis Wellington Support Group will be having it's first meeting of 2009 on 21st January at Hudson office, in the State Insurance Tower, 1 Willis St.

As before, please come to level 6 reception for 5.30. The lifts stop bringing you to level 6 after then but if you do miss the cut off someone will come down and get you, so just wait for us by the lifts.

We are delighted to be able to introduce Kelly Rastovich as a guest speaker. Kelly is a trained fitness instructor, and can offer tips on diet, exercise and fitness.

We are expecting that there will be a lot of questions for Kelly, so please do have a think about any before you come.

We will be catering for the event so if you haven't let us know that you are coming please do so at wellingtonendometriosis@windowslive.com

We look forward to seeing you all there,

Best Wishes.

Wellington Endometriosis Support Group