27 January 2011

Painful Cake Decorating

When I use the word painful, I am not talking about my inability to decorate cakes, I instead am referring to actual, physical pain. Yesterday my wonderful friend Brian was to pick up a cake from me for his work. Brian is vegan and wanted to be able to enjoy his co-workers' birthdays by singing the familiar birthday tune and also devouring a slice of sugary goodness. Anyone who works in an office knows the joys of co-worker birthdays; that five minutes away from the hustle and bustle, the free soda and slice of cake. I made a delightful chocolate cake and heavenly peanut butter frosting. I had already baked the cake and made frosting roses when I was hit (not literally) by a truck. Those of you who know me well know that my lady bits (mainly my ovaries) are trying to kill me. That is why I fondly call my womanly time "shark week."

I was attacked with an ovarian cyst that drop kicked me to the floor and left me there paralyzed in pain for a good hour. The purpose of this post is not for sympathy but for advice. I have a doctor's appointment in a few weeks but I was curious if any of you have ovarian cysts and how to you handle them? I have heard that cutting back on soy or caffeine helps to prevent them from forming, but what do you do in the midst of the pain? I tried white flour oil, deep breathing and even vicodin but the pain is still unbearable. Does a hot bath help? Please if you have any advice I am open to anything. Thanks for reading this extremely personal post and here is what the cake looked like when I had enough energy to stand up.


my hands were shaking like crazy so it looked pretty crappy.

10 comments:

  1. Well, that cake looks gorgeous despite your pain! I've never had an ovarian cyst, so I've got no advice (although Vicadan would be my first choice!). I've never even had so much as a cramp. I'm so sorry you to go through that.

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  2. jeez, that sounds awful! i don't have any pain relief advice, but i hope your doc can help you feel better. the cake looks great to me!

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  3. i've never commented on your blog before but, i had an ovarian cyst burst before....i know firsthand how excruciating they can be. unfortunately, the pain for me is paralyzing too and nothing really helps. maybe try a different type of painkiller. i know vicodin and lortab are in a different class of opiates than percocet and darvocet. maybe a different one will work better for you. and a heating pad.hot water bottle type thing sometimes helps me. if you can find a natural one stuffed with lavender, even better. i hope they stop bothering you. best of luck!

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  4. Oh my goodness, I am so sorry that you're going through that. I really don't have any advice because I've never been through that but it sounds like Lauren gave great advice. I hope what she says helps you. Your cake looks beautiful..I know I for sure wouldn't have finished frosting it if I was in as much pain as you. You're so strong! I know you'll be fine..keep us updated.

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  5. I am so sorry that it keeps happening! I had decent luck with Tylenol with Codiene (sp). None of the pain killers really made it go away, but some made it tolerable. I also always had an ice pack on hand. O kept one of those old fashioned "hangover" ice bags, with the top that opens to put the ice in, in my purse, office and freezer.

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  6. did you make the cake from the photo?

    /guiding-lights-emotion.blogspot.com/

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  7. I had polycystic ovary syndrome for years (along with a host of other gyn issues), and when I was in pain, I just took two or three vicodin and let them knock me out. When I woke up, the worst of the pain was usually over. I finally had to have a total hysterectomy. Now I'm uterus and ovary free. And pain free.

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  8. it's not crappy !
    and i wish you get better from that major pain.

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  9. The cake is beautiful! Sorry what you're trying right now isn't working. You probably have PCOS (I do and there's so much more to it than just the excruciating cysts) and the doc can help you with it. Preventing is the main thing. Taking flax and chia daily helps flush the hormones that are causing trouble out of your system (http://strawberryhedgehog.com/2010/11/02/ch-ch-ch-chia-chia-juice/). Castor oil packs also help, I am supposed to do them daily but I am lazy and weekly is good enough for me if I stay up on it. (http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/dietarytherapy/a/CastorOilPack.htm). Contrast showers help me, too, and there is more info here: http://www.incyst.com/

    Maybe we can work on being good together :c)

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  10. Wow, if that's "pretty crappy" then you don't want to see my decorating attempts! Seriously, I'm amazed by the back story since that cake looks incredible.

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