I'm going with yes ;-)

Yeah. Can you help inflam with diet? Depends who you are. Mom can for her osteo-arthritis. I tried. I can't. But I wouldn't get a blood test unless an MD recommends it, an dnot for that money! (And is he an MD or is he a chemist? Big difference there IMHO!)

As for elimination curing gastritis---depends. What caused it? yeah. That's where I get in trouble. I keep asking these darn questions!

As for why you get inflammation? You have FM. Might be why. While FM itself is not inflammatory, it causes it in some people. (I am citing my rheumy who has it, and exlained why NSAIDs help some FMers and not all.) The neuromuscular crapola at the heart of FM means our muscles are over-stressed, basically---not functioning properly---so when we do use them, we create more stress---and our body sometimes reacts with inflammation, same as with a muscle strain in a "normal". Only we live with a certain level of that kind of "stress" all the time. The body's inflammatory resopnse is normal but not always helful, and so some of us need anti-inflammation meds.

During my intiial FM years, my inflam response was horrible. Vioxx saved my butt---stopped it, kept it stopped, and when I got off the Vioxx, it did not return till after my 2011 accident. So I think the inflam response can vary pretty wildly in one person let alone across the FM spectrum.

Sorry to write a thesis, but I know a lot of people insist that if you have inflam it is not FM, and that's like saying if you have a cough it's not a cold. Well, you might get cold symptoms differently or have a differnt strain of cold. See? I hope so, b/c I just confused myself....

I will say that processed foods and high-sugar foods are horrible for inflam, but that's in anyone, not just FM. And we're all pretty careful of that kind of thing.

Short answer: Yeah, it's looney. I gotta get some lsepe.

This sounds vaguely like what fibro clinics in my area do. If you can afford it and you are looking to avoid toxins in general, I might think about it. But if you are looking to avoid inflammation related to fibromyalgia, I personally wouldn't waste my money.

It sounds interesting.

Go for it if you want to spend the money and believe it will works

I did this because my hubby wanted me to. Blood work, urine, and hair test.

I even got most the vit & supplements. Ate organic for 4 weeks.. Very expensive.

No help at all. Only made me sick taking so many pills. Total waste. .

Thank you all for your input and Leo thanks for the explanation. Like you, I have to know why. Things just don't happen. There is always a mechanism of action, if I had $700 to spare.... $700 is a bit of money...and, I am not taking mystery supplements. I am glad to eat more of or less of or none of some food, but supplements I fear.

I'm wondering if a doctor can do all those lab tests for chemical imbalances? I'd then get all your results printed and do your own research on the levels. I was told by one doc that my B12 was fine, then another doctor (current) phoned me on a Sunday to tell me my B12 was dangerously low and could be the result of my pain. I was put on injections...which helped with energy levels but not the pain.

One new thing I'm doing is having a physical therapist come out and doing lymphatic drainage. I don't know if it's working but it is relieving some stress. I got her to do my stomach too. I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but I've been feeling so crappy since starting this. I am full of toxins so I believe they are coming out now. I'm also wanting to go back to my regular massage therapist and get deep tissue massage done as my sciatic nerve is acting way up and in a lot of pain.

We have to really start listening to our bodies. I know I've neglected mine with overeating, binge eating, wrong foods, bad crash diets (years), ingesting chemicals, etc. I've eliminated all whole grains and multi grains from my diet and it has helped tremendously with IBS issues. I normally have a stomach like a rock but lately it's been bad. Not sure if it was from the massage or not, so eliminated it just to be sure.

Other things we need to be aware of is how much sleep we get, is it a deep sleep? What can we do to get a better rest...higher thread count, darker sheet sets, memory foam mattress and pillow, take out TV, clear under the bed of items, dust etc.

Next, concentrate on reducing stress. Eliminate or reduce things that are bothering you. Solve it, and if you can't...file it! Do regular deep breathing exercises, stretching and meditation.

I've been reading up on fluoride and it's harmful effects. I will eventually go fluoride free as well as make my own cleaning supplies, laundry and soap, etc. Toxins can come from all kinds of cleaning products, furniture, environment etc.

P.S. I am allergic to formaldehyde which is in sesame seeds, canned and jarred cherries, and numerous other foods. It's also in wall board, laminate flooring, particle board furniture etc. I've been trying to get all natural wood for my home.

Here's a cheap and easy way to "detox" your system. Water, cut up some lemons, limes, cucumbers, drop in some mint leaves, a 1/2 cup of concentrated, organic cherry or blueberry juice. I then use some of this water in my smoothie mix for breakfast. :)

I've also been going on you tube and finding all kinds of free videos on how to do lymphatic drainage and myofascial pain release techniques on yourself. Maybe a friend could come and you could do this on each other?

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Katieangel, I have always heard that fibro is NOT an immflamatory condition. Could you post a link to that info? Thx.

Carrie and Katie, thank you for your excellent input. Let me respond to your points.

I think this chemist's point is that he does things that doctors don't know about. Nsounds silly, but I guess that's the point.

Lots/most people with fibro have b12 deficiencies. I think it is because our digestion is messed up and we can't absorb it like we should. I had the same low b12 and now take sublingual pills. They help with the energy, not the pain.

I had deep tissue massage for a while and they made me feel better but the improvement is short term. Definitely worthwhile if you can keep it up.

I know nothing about lymphatic drainage nor about negative effects of fluoride. Do you have a link to a good explanation? I will also take a look on Youtube.

Try stretching for your sciatic nerve. Check out spineuniverse.com and an inversion table. I love my inversion table. It relieves the pressure on the nerves.

I sleep very well and do meditation/ breathing exercises.

Katie, I will check into disbyiosis. Is this something that doctors can check?

I eat dairy, gluten, and additive free. not easy but fortunately I like to cook, i like food so that I'm easily pleased with fruits and vegetables, and I prefer to eat what I cook. Having eliminated gluten from my diet, I eliminated my lifelong constipation. Soy (edamame) works a little bit as a laxative, which in my case makes it attractive. Eating it does not cause all over body pain, which is what happens with gluten. I have not noticed any problems with eggs.

The anti inflammatory helps tremendously. I didn't take it yesterday and noticed some difference but not too bad. Today took 1/2 pill at noon. I am going to try to simply take less.

Katie, there is a nutrition data websitentgatblists the inflammatory factor of foods. Is that credible or is it nonsense? Are green juices in the morning worth doing?

Falling asleep. More tomorrow

I haven't read the other posts Emily, but I don't think it's a crazy idea. Here's why; allergens can cause inflammation, food can be cause for allergic reaction. Inflammation can cause stomach upset or gastritis (I get it with certain things).
My functional medicine doctor, when testing for certain things for me, had me do a preliminary food allergies test and wanted me to do a toxicity test to test for heavy metal poisoning. I have read about this in my fibromyalgia book as well.

If you read about inflammation (as I had to because of my narrowing of my coronary arteries); it is the cause of most diseases. Systemic inflammation wreaks havoc with our systems and our food source is one of them....especially as you probably have written, that our bodies are not meant to absorb all the processed foods on the market today.

I once went to a naturalpath and nurse practicioner she was both. and had all these blood tests and crap and then was put on over 100 dollars worth of suppliments out of pocket of course. I proceeded to start throwing up so I illiminated pill by pill and they all made me sick so I went back to my regular doc and he did the same type of tests and the reason I was throwing up is that my body had too much of the suppliments that I was given so it was all a big waste. Just my two cents hope it helps you in some way.

See with fibro & cfs it is unclear where it came from, so there is snake oil everywhere, from diets & supplements to god knows what. BUT one thing to take as a warning bell is the fact that both fibro & cfs do NOT have inflamation, none at all....Ive had my share of test on it because I felt as there should be yet my many tests, from different labs/doctors all came back markers clear of inflamation ( I do trust the Mayo Clinic! )
Its sad that we have to deal with what we have to deal with & the test after test that just drain our wallets is the only way to get answers.
Now there is a chance that along with your fibro you could have another issue or more. You can do an elimination diet & that does not cost other than buy this but dont buy that! How do you do with dairy or glutten? And as a no brainer, sugar & all those fake sweeteners as well as caffine will just 'feed' the fibro, not calm it.
Best of luck to you & your pocket book!
Wishing you better health,
coco

Justcoco that's my understanding of the science as well. It's my feeling that certain types of practitioners cling to the outdated and disproven inflammation theory because they wouldn't have anything to offer (sell you) otherwise.

Dr. Oz' site: "Fixing the gut can sometimes completely relieve pain and inflammation in the muscles and joints."

Uh, who wrote this crap? If you are saying that certain foods cause allergies and those allergies can cause systemic inflammation, and that systemic inflammation can ultimately cause muscle pain. OK, mayyyyyyybe. But that seems far from a direct link there. Leo, help me out here. And, completely, oh come on. You can't make a statement like that. There are too many things going on in our bodies to have a one size fits all solution. I believe you have to address each symptom and it's underlying cause. That's what functional medicine is supposed to do.

I agree with what Leo says about myofascial pain syndrome. Leo, do you think that it's our sympathetic nervous system not shutting off or is revved at a constant higher level causing the muscles to tense??

A month or 2 back, We talked about the ANS (autonomic nervous system) versus CNS (central nervous system) problem of Fibromyalgia. I need to go back and read that. I do believe, however, that if our system is constantly "on alert" via our nervous system not shutting down OR basically being in a state of fight, it wreaks havoc on our digestive system releasing acid constantly into the system...the reason for my Gerd anyway. I'm sorry, I don't believe it has anything to do with myofascial pain. Unless, there's a link with a lactic acid build-up, not inflammation and not an autoimmune disease.
There's my .02 cents ....which will be completely useless soon when the government stops using pennies...lol.