Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
I'm starting a new thread about diet and fibromyalgia.
I've been in the medical wilderness for about a year and a half. I had to change PCPs a few years ago and the new PCP seems to have been working on the theory that my symptoms were hysteria or that I was drug seeking, I wasn't sure which. Yesterday I went to see my old PCP who had been my internist for 20 some years. It was such a relief to see him again. He remembered tests I had 30 years ago and my whole history, which the new PCP somehow considered irrelevant. So, my old internist's belief is I have mild "achy lupus" and of course, fibromyalgia. He is an internist who has a great reputation in New York City. I had to pay out of pocket to see him. He took more blood work than I've ever seen being done on a human being, and I will have to wait two weeks to get the results.
Before I started going to this really great internist, I literally found a book on food allergies in my office at a publishing company. The book recommended going on a fast for four days and then reintroducing foods one at a time, and writing down your reactions to each food. I did the four day fast and, lo and behold, I felt much better. I don't think I was patient enough to go through the potential food allergens methodically enough to find the one or ones that caused me pain, but it did open me up to the possibility that food issues could exacerbate my symptoms.
Years later I did another elimination diet after a short trip to Europe. I realized that I felt good there and though there must be something different in what I was eating there. Instead of fasting, I eliminated all common allergens for four days. I don't remember exactly what I was eating on the four day elimination diet, but now the most exclusive elimination diet is nothing but lamb and pears. Better than a complete fast. I woke up one morning feeling great. I was in the process of reintroducing food one by one. When I drank my customary morning orange juice for the first time, it felt as if I had just had a drink of liquid pain. (Eliminating the food makes the reaction stronger, but more evident when it is reintroduced.) Suddenly, a good part of my pain as it related to citrus made perfect sense. I'd been in Europe for a five months about seven years before this, and I felt good the whole time. I also seemed to feel better on the weekends. In Europe, I never drank orange juice in the morning. In the States, I used to buy a carton of orange juice on the weekend which would last the five days I worked and would be gone by Saturday. And this relationship between citrus and my pain has held up all these many years later.
However, its my understanding that this is very individual. I may have a problem with citrus and someone else might have a problem other food allergens. And perhaps for some people food is not an issue. As time went on I found certain herbal supplements caused me gastrointestinal distress. Sometimes it was easy to find the offender, and sometimes it has taken awhile.
I found this older, but comprehensive and technical article about diet and rheumatoid arthritis and foods might cause increase symptoms. It proposes in the article that this applies to other inflammatory diseases. Inflammation, is still one of the theories of fibro. One thing I found particularly interesting for me was that milk and gluten might have to be eliminated for longer than other foods:
http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/11/1039.full
I also found another webpage that seems to be a good intro on how to do an elimination diet:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/elimination-diet
This is something you can do on your own if money is an issue. For me an elimination diet of four days was enough to show me that I needed to pay attention to foods. But 30 years later, it is a work in progress. Since I have had more problems this last year and a half than I had for many years before, I'm gearing myself up for trying another elimination diet and perhaps this time I'll eliminate milk and gluten for a longer period. If money wasn't an issue, I'd be doing this soon, but at the moment I'm on the pasta and cheese low-cost-diet.
After my trip into the city, I'm particularly exhausted, so I'm hoping this long post makes sense to anyone who happens upon it.
I've been in the medical wilderness for about a year and a half. I had to change PCPs a few years ago and the new PCP seems to have been working on the theory that my symptoms were hysteria or that I was drug seeking, I wasn't sure which. Yesterday I went to see my old PCP who had been my internist for 20 some years. It was such a relief to see him again. He remembered tests I had 30 years ago and my whole history, which the new PCP somehow considered irrelevant. So, my old internist's belief is I have mild "achy lupus" and of course, fibromyalgia. He is an internist who has a great reputation in New York City. I had to pay out of pocket to see him. He took more blood work than I've ever seen being done on a human being, and I will have to wait two weeks to get the results.
Before I started going to this really great internist, I literally found a book on food allergies in my office at a publishing company. The book recommended going on a fast for four days and then reintroducing foods one at a time, and writing down your reactions to each food. I did the four day fast and, lo and behold, I felt much better. I don't think I was patient enough to go through the potential food allergens methodically enough to find the one or ones that caused me pain, but it did open me up to the possibility that food issues could exacerbate my symptoms.
Years later I did another elimination diet after a short trip to Europe. I realized that I felt good there and though there must be something different in what I was eating there. Instead of fasting, I eliminated all common allergens for four days. I don't remember exactly what I was eating on the four day elimination diet, but now the most exclusive elimination diet is nothing but lamb and pears. Better than a complete fast. I woke up one morning feeling great. I was in the process of reintroducing food one by one. When I drank my customary morning orange juice for the first time, it felt as if I had just had a drink of liquid pain. (Eliminating the food makes the reaction stronger, but more evident when it is reintroduced.) Suddenly, a good part of my pain as it related to citrus made perfect sense. I'd been in Europe for a five months about seven years before this, and I felt good the whole time. I also seemed to feel better on the weekends. In Europe, I never drank orange juice in the morning. In the States, I used to buy a carton of orange juice on the weekend which would last the five days I worked and would be gone by Saturday. And this relationship between citrus and my pain has held up all these many years later.
However, its my understanding that this is very individual. I may have a problem with citrus and someone else might have a problem other food allergens. And perhaps for some people food is not an issue. As time went on I found certain herbal supplements caused me gastrointestinal distress. Sometimes it was easy to find the offender, and sometimes it has taken awhile.
I found this older, but comprehensive and technical article about diet and rheumatoid arthritis and foods might cause increase symptoms. It proposes in the article that this applies to other inflammatory diseases. Inflammation, is still one of the theories of fibro. One thing I found particularly interesting for me was that milk and gluten might have to be eliminated for longer than other foods:
http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/38/11/1039.full
I also found another webpage that seems to be a good intro on how to do an elimination diet:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/elimination-diet
This is something you can do on your own if money is an issue. For me an elimination diet of four days was enough to show me that I needed to pay attention to foods. But 30 years later, it is a work in progress. Since I have had more problems this last year and a half than I had for many years before, I'm gearing myself up for trying another elimination diet and perhaps this time I'll eliminate milk and gluten for a longer period. If money wasn't an issue, I'd be doing this soon, but at the moment I'm on the pasta and cheese low-cost-diet.
After my trip into the city, I'm particularly exhausted, so I'm hoping this long post makes sense to anyone who happens upon it.
I avoid processed foods, sugary foods (unless home-made so I can control it anyway), and that has always helped. Gluten and other food allergens never affect me---I did try the elimination diets back in the 1990s----and cutting dairy made my calcium plummet without changing my symptoms. I do note however, thesee things can change with *TIME*. Food sensitivities come and go as we age---babies can have issues with something that never bothers them again, or you can hit menoapuse and discover tomatoes hate you, like Mom did---it's highly individual as Ann said.
Always keep it in mind isn't the worst motto on this!
Eliminating processed foods and moving to locally-sourced food has made a difference in my overall health, but I've never had a dietary change make any difference in my pain.
Having said all of that, elimination diets cost nothing and if you do find you're sensitive to something it's totally worth it.