Since Your Fibro Diagnosis. What Diet... - Fibromyalgia Acti...
Since Your Fibro Diagnosis. What Dietary Changes Have You Made? What Is The Main Food Stuff's You Have Eliminated From Your Diet?
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I am allergic to Lactose but only discovered this after my Fibro diagnosis. Lactose gives me the obligatory stomach issues but also breathing problems and leg cramps due to oxygen deficiency.
There's trends in Medecin, beleive it or not. There's a drug now not usually prescribed called CARBOCISTEINE (MUCODYNE), that can help. Obviously there's individual responses. But worth trying, considering there's hidden milk in bread, food like mash potatoes, dried milk in so many things. They can affect like you say both gut linking and breathing. The argument know someone who took it worked so well I'm suffering any reason I CANT try it Doctor is not a lie. And repeated Montly, after 3 goes, S/he will be againts a wall.
I hope you see a respiratory specialist once a year at least, or for specialist advice. Antihistamines in a polluted world is unfortunately becoming a must. Unless there's herbal, ect alternative. I hope that's food for thought. Medecine don't take time or spend unnecessary money noweverdays.
All the best.
Blessings.
Thank you so much for that it is very interesting and I will undertake a bit of research. I see my Thoracic Specialist every 3 months and have a breath test every other month just to be on the safe side, but I do try and avoid all processed foodstuffs wherever possible because of hidden lactose. I have found it in my medicines as well and had to have them changed. I also carry several inhalers and a anti-allergen pen around with me in case of an emergency.
All my hopes and dreams for you
Ken
I have cut out alcohol completely and reduce the amount of gluten in my diet.
I am working towards cutting out all of the above whilst slowly changing over to stone age diet. Gluten and alcohol out already but still working on eradicating dairy and sugar. Cut down on them both though. Need to try harder! Jax 😴
Thank you that is greatly appreciated
I've cut down on all listed above to as little as possible. I struggle most with cutting out sugar as I always have a blood sugar dip in the afternoon and caffeine as I love proper coffee and used to rely on caffeine to combat the fatigue when I was still working but it made me feel worse in the long run.
I can imagine that is just so genuinely difficult to do? I could not live without my sugar. Coffee I can manage without as I prefer my tea. I do love my weekly junk food treat as well x
I'm allowed 2 or 3 proper coffees a week in the morning and my downfall is fizzy jelly sweets, oh and puddings with custard
Our junk food treat is Friday pizza, we have started making it ourselves though so it's healthier
I have cut out salt almost completely. Well, if there's salt in food then I eat it. But, I don't cook with it and I don't put it on food,I've also started using reduced salt products. Interesting comment Ken about leg cramps. I get that a lot. I have always suffered sinus from dairy products, but never put the two together. Have to try cut that out too 😀
Hi MaximumRide, My personal opinion is that you do need salt, but should use only Himalayan Salt which has all the minerals in it.
I have that my friend, many places sell it quite cheap these days
I'll tell you what I found out, ordinary salt, table salt contains a lot of minute glass particals that when digested damage organs, ie your heart, blood vessels etc, in effect shredding and damaging your heart, muscles well just about everything.If you think about it, its just like sand. Sea salt doesnt have the glass. so I never touch ordinary table salt anymore, it literally rips you to shreds.
I really try not to have the ordinary salt that you buy from supermarkets as the quality is so poor. I also always remember a TV chef saying that he thought cooking oil from the supermarkets was unfit for human consumption? I never heard of him getting sued so maybe?
Er i heard that too, personally I reckon processed foods and there again even fresh can be bad cos prob the stuff they spray it with is giving people cancer. Listen we just as well do our best and then resolve ourselves to ' we will live til we die' cos realistically what can we do? A bit of proper old fashioned home cooked food is whats called for... Just make sure you wash the cabbage 3 times to try to get some of the pesticides off lol
I love my home cooked food also. Not really sure about washing vegetables? The pesticide are designed to be water proof so they stay on when they are planted in the fields, so I am not really sure if they can be washed off at home? Tough one that is?
My daughter suffers terrible sinus, really is very ill at times and cannot lift her head. I am curious cos all the drs do is give her a steroid spray and antibiotics. Can u tell me how you associated a reaction to dairy products, what made you link the two? Because curiously she was intolerant to milk as a baby and had to have soya instead.
I have cut out alcohol and caffeine completely and switched to decaf coffee
Hi
Silly me didn't look properly should have been other sorry.
Trace xxx
I'm now vegetarian and eat loads more fruit and veggies - hasn't made any difference at all sadly.
i am trying hard to cut out cake, biscuits, crisp, puddings, I have done really well actually, BUT I have not lost any weight. WHY? xx
I cut out gluten dairy alcohol I have a reflux problem as well food get stuck in my pipe when I eat and when swallow I feel it going down ad at times pain so bad while it goes down
I get that too and reflux that comes up and gets into my lungs. I often have to get up in the night to clear them.
Does your food ever get totally stuck and will not go down so you end up coughing and heaving until it comes back up?
I cup very thin slices off the meat and then cut between the tines of the fork to make sure it goes down. but there are times when even that doesnt work, i mean what the heck can you do when even mashed potato can get stuck.?
That happens me all the time, it has become a joke in my house
There is a medical condition called GORD (GERD in the US) that I was diagnosed with and it can make you wheeze along with your asthma, I have put a link below:
nhs.uk/Conditions/Gastroeso...
Take care
Ken x
I cut out all boxed, bottled, bagged and frozen foods. I also do not eat out, cut my meat consumption to almost 0.
I also cut chemicals out of my life; cleaning supplies, health and beauty.
Did all that effort make any difference?
Well thats a lot of cutting out, has it made a difference though is the question?
It did at first but now it feels like it was prior to stopping all of this. My asthma, pain levels and stomach issues are just as bad as ever!
Potatoes are part of the nightshade family. This includes white, red, yellow and blue-skinned potato varieties. Sweet potatoes and yams are not nightshades, however, according to The Weston A. Price Foundation. If you have sensitivity to members of the nightshade family, You need to avoid foods made from potatoes, such as potato salad, french fries and mashed potatoes. Also, be sure to read ingredient lists on all processed foods to avoid potatoes and potato starch.
See a direct link between sugar and pain ..... but still struggle with treats with afternoon tea
I have cut sugar and caffeine down and do not drink alcohol or eat any junk food, I am also vegetarian. No difference to pain levels they are through the roof but I am sure things would be a lot worse if I had not altered my diet.
I hardly eat junk food. I eats lots of friut and vegatables. I have cut diown on alcohol but still have a drink when I feel like it. I have tried to cut down in chocolate and sweets but I must admit I still,have the odd bar.
I gave up caffeine as was advised to due to stomach problems.Gave up drinking when I was put on morphine.Also cut out high fibre foods,such as broccoli, cabbage and only have root veg mainly.Stomach problems have eased but still have horrendous pain.Have an incredible sweet tooth though😘
I have never been a junk food eater and I don't have sugar in my tea or coffee and never have it on cereal so no change there I've never been a big alcohol drinker but enjoy the occasional glass of wine with a meal, I suppose the only change I've really made is I've gone from semi skimmed milk to skimmed milk x
Thank you that is greatly appreciated x
I have eliminated dairy ( I now have soya milk which I like better than cows milk now) and wheat and gluten. Tesco do a good range of "Free from" foods now which makes it a little easier. The trouble is they are twice as expensive as normal foods. I cannot do without my filter coffee but I only have 2 or 3 cups a day and I do enjoy a couple of glasses of wine at the weekend.
Since being diagnosed I have become vegan as I slowly found out that lactose, gluten, caffeine, alcohol and preservatives made my symptoms worse. The change in diet has actually reduced the inflammation in my hands and feet. Even as a vegan, I keep clear of junk food, fried food and night shade vegetables as they irritate my stomach.
Whats night shade vegetables?
Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and eggplant (as well as tobacco) all belong to the same botanical family, commonly known as the nightshades. The Latin name for this family of plants is Solanaceae, because all of them produce an alkaloid compound called solanine.
Some people have a sensitivity to nightshade plants and are unable to digest them fully. If you have a sensitivity, you may experience diarrhea, gas, bloating, nausea, painful joints, headaches and depression from consuming nightshades.
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Cutting out added sugars in drinks, less junk food and healthy easy meals. Has relieved my iBs symptoms! Cut down on booze. I need my caffeine though! Cut it out and was miserable!
I have tried allsorts but dairy as I have a love for milk eggs ect.. I cant lose no weight as I'm up 5 out of seven nights a week so hence milk drinks.
I am of for my bloods again as feeling sick headache eye ache pain is worse....
I cut out lactose and wheat. Lactose for the same reason as Ken which I found out by trial and error and wheat to stop my ibs symptoms again for the same reaso. It really does seem to make a difference. Lactose gives me stomach cramps as soon as I have some and wheat to stop bloating, stomach pain and it seems to have stopped the Candida outbreaks showing on my arms I was having too! Strangely I can't tolerate alcohol since having fibromyalgia makes me feel too hot and headaches which I'm a bit gutted about as I've started with insomnia out of the blue 3 months ago too .
I have cut out alcohol, not that I drank much any way but I have noticed that my much loved tomatoes has an effect. Refusing to cut them out and will suffer the consequences......until I come to my senses and then will probably cut them out
Thank you that is greatly appreciated
Snap on both. I have never liked drinking because all alcohol just makes me feel ill, even before fibro and fibro feels a lot like being peed.Foggy headed, slurred speech, ect, ect I always get someone trying to convince me to have a drink ,They cant understand why i wont.
Someone once spiked my drink with vodka, so much for not being able to taste it, I didnt need to,i could smell it.
Its stupid, if you don't want a drink why can people not understand that. I can have fun without the aid of alcohol
I am not a fan of alcohol either, I much sooner have a nice mug of tea! x
I've changed my diet quite a lot to lose weight and therfore help my health problems gentle hugs to all rosie xx
I haven't actually consciously stopped drinking alcohol because of fibro, it has just happened. I have had ME for longer than fibro and have found that I can't drink alcohol anymore because my body just can't process it. I also struggle with coffee. I try to cut out junk food in order to eat healthily but unfortunately I find there are occasions when I just need quick comfort food. I did try and cut wheat out of my diet briefly but unfortunately I very quickly found that it bunged me up (sorry it's not nice to talk about but it did) so I put it back in my diet and now that side of things has improved.
In fact my GP has told me that there is not scientific evidence to prove that diet has an affect on these things so the best thing to do is eat as healthy and varied a diet as possible. She says particularly if you have problems like ME or fibro and your system is therefore low, you should only cut foods out if you have had tests that confirm you have a problem with something, eg coeliac. Otherwise just eat healthily.
I have a pretty healthy diet regarding eating MASSES of fruit, salad stuffs. I've been diary free for about twenty years (much to my doctors disapproval). I do have the occasional dessert but this is just about once a month or maybe even longer. I do however drink a lot of coffee and I have two bottles of red wine per week. I have now decided to completely cut out the alcahol all together and change to decaf coffee and herbal teas.....
I have also been taking magnesium, turmeric, B12, glucosamine and chindroitin and 5HTP. Not been taking them long enough to notice any significant changes in my aches and pains yet but I'm sticking with them.....
Tumeric is supposed to be a natural anti-inflammatory. As one of the markers for ME (and presumably fibro as it is related) is raised internal inflammation levels then the theory is that it is good for us. I have been trying to add it and cinnamon which is also supposed to have the same affect to as much of my diet as possible. Like you I don''t think I have been doing it long enough or in large enough medically therapeutic doses to notice yet, but fingers crossed. Anything we can do to help.
Thank you so much for this it is genuinely appreciated. I saw a wonderful documentary about turmeric a couple of years ago and its alleged cancer prevention properties.
Oh I didn't realise that. I knew tomatoes were supposed to have similar anti-cancer properties, or maybe it's just for certain types of cancer.
I definitely believe there is much more to the health properties of food than some people realise. There is far more to it than just eating healthily for losing weight. The science behind it all is very interesting but I don't pretend to be any sort of an expert. Like the tumeric and cinnamon, I know the theory is they act as anti-inflammotories but I have no idea what sort of dosage is necessary to have any therapeutic effect. Must look into it.
I was advised to cut gluten out by my rheumatologist. I've noticed that it affects my pain. Although all my tests came back normal I also become deficient of various things if having a diet with gluten in. So, although its hard I stick to a gluten free diet.
I was diagnosed with Fibro about 5 months after being diagnosed with a serious Heart Arrhythmia & had already changed my diet/lifestyle. So no alcohol, no caffeine, cut down my sugar intake, reduced how much bread I eat, stopped eating any pastries & I've always been very careful with dairy & generally started eating much healthier foods (like Kale, Seeds, Advacado, Apricot Kernals, Coconut Milk etc). I have always had to be careful with what I eat anyway, as I also have IBS & some food intolerance's due to Allergies! Anyway, my point in writing this is that even though I've changed my diet & have always been careful with what I eat, it has made NO difference to my Fibro at all! If anything, it's getting worse as I get older. One thing I'm glad about though... That chocolate isn't a cure for Fibro because I am allergic to chocolate!
I have never liked coffee or taken sugar. I don't like junk food. I have tried gluten free but no difference so I stopped wasting my money. Never cut out lactose but will try that.
I am 68 and was diagnosed about 6 years ago. I always want to ask the question could fibromyalgia develop because of past lifestyle?
Nothing physical ever phased me. I have been known to cut a few trees down, mixed tons of cement while different work was being done to our house. I used to move furniture around when I got tired of looking at a room. I always painted and decorated the house myself.
I remember my female friends used to think I was crazy and now I often think maybe they were right. I used to just love this kind of work.
I'd love to hear from other sufferers.
None of my friends who lived a more sedantory lifestyle have developed fibromyalgia.I now cannot even change a duvet covers !
Appreciate the site thank you.
Thank you that is greatly appreciated
Well you may have something there, i was an antique dealer dealing in fireplace furniture as its known. It was nothing for me to lift a slab of marble, move a grate around my shop. Stay up pricing to 2am . Have 6 or seven people waiting to be served and doing the books myself, selling making decisions, ordering, measuring, customers driving me crazy, but always smiling and staying patient. Im 5' nuffin was approx 8-9 stone then, had two kids to look after, cook, clean, all the usual as well. I did well, but worked my guts out. Till one day I thought I cant do this any more and sold the shop. I must be the only person in the world who shut because I was too successful ! But it was killing me slowly. I dealt with top interior designers to the HRH, worked for Prince Charles, Fergies step mum, King of Brunei. Loads of them and I turned and walked away. I now have Osteo and Fibro for my efforts. The irony is, I now have more stress than I can deal with, ha,ha, lost my house, cant work, bla,blah,blah. It didnt olve a thing ! But you know what? I dont care cos now my kids are grown up. I have a grandson thats worth more to me than all the tea in China & all the posh twits that I bent over backwards to please. A smile and a cuddle from him lights up my world, dissolves all my stress, extinguishes all my pain and what bigger riches or reward than being able to have the time to see him as one of the 'wise men' in his school nativity this year? Money couldnt buy it, could it! All you need in your diet is time to stop and smell the roses, time to count what you have instead of what you have not and time to say I love you, often!
I don't touch alcohol, sugar or junk food. The one thing I would miss is my cups of tea, and my food is all fresh, I have eaten like this for many years x
I have cut back on dairy. caffiene, gluten,sugar and junk foods. Of all the groups I find Gluten the worst, I can manage a smallish amount of Artisan breads, but supermarket breads cakes and pastries really get the gut going.
Gluten, wheat, nightshades, caffeine, MSG, sugar, sweeteners
Thank you that is greatly appreciated
Forgot to add dairy to list
Most of the following I have had to eliminate from my diet before I was diagnosed. I am on a wheat, dairy, gluten free diet. I cannot drink any alcohol or coffee. I cannot eat fruit or some green salad bits. I also have to abstain from eating any type of pork. I am a pleasure (not) to take out for a meal or to cook for.!!
Eliminated all artificial sweeteners and eating as natural a diet as possible (most of the time). Make my own bread to ensure all the rubbish that goes in commercially produced bread is eliminated. I found a significant reduction in IBS symptoms in particular and general reduction in other fibro symptoms. Already cut out lactose as I'm intolerant.
Alcohol and caffeine are on my banned list because of bad reactions.
I have Osteoarthiritis & Fibro but though I havent made any concious changes to my diet, some changes have been forced upon me, ie. I get terrible acid reflux & know full well if i eat pastry, fried egg, tomatoes, all the usual, I will suffer for it after. Also it causes IBS and so again if I eat certain food or ven sometimes i can eat a thing one day and Im fine next time I could eat the same thing and be ill. So dietary changes? not really, but eat what I enjoy and then suffer like a fool!
I beleive in living when alive, and food is a big part. I'm I N reality chronically allergic, lactose and gluten sensitive not intolerant, with IBS. RESULT: enough painkillers to topple a small elephant, 6 antihistamines a day, anti dhirea and immunosupressants latter... I can eat anything. No problem. I rather die younger.
However, don't overdo on artificial colourings and additives.
Happy compilation.
I think they only give them cos they cant think of anything else! I feel so sorry for her its really awful for her
I cut out all artificial sweeteners in February and almost all sugar in July. That means sugary snack foods and food containing extra sugar ( why do they put so much sugar in foods that don't need it?). Maybe in September, I began to cut out processed white carbs and snack foods( microwave popcorn, junk salty snacks). Since Mid July- I am 15 pounds thinner. I don't miss sugar- I occasionally eat not very sweet sweets- like a bit of very dark chocolate or a regular cookie that has lower sugar/ carbs( gingerbread ones from IKEA). Regular sweets are way too sweet now. I miss chips( crisps to you guys) and sometimes eat them- maybe every 2 weeks. That said - while the pre diabetes seems to be coming under control- my aches and pains do not and I am seeing my doctor about gastritis soon.
Thank you for that x
Hi - I've posted before and I stay on the low fodmap because of my IBS. Sometimes I eat high fodmap and they have no effect. I think, depending on how you're feeling, your body manages. I've just about cut out all dairy, wheat, vegetables and fruit that are high fodmap. My urge for sugar does make me cheat periodically!! I avoid all processed food like the plague. Supermarkets have a lot to answer for! Ive invested in a nutribullet and make some lovely smoothies with kale, spinach, ginger, red grapes, avocado, organic coconut flakes, nutmeg, coconut oil or the butter topped up with coconut milk and filtered water. Lovely!! My concoctions do make me feel better. I'm also a vegetarian and used to eat fish but I wonder/know about the effects of intensive farming - another greedy tactic used by the supermarkets. You may have guessed my opinion of supermarkets is ********!!!!!! Dr Myhill suggests a supplement and mineral regime for CFS which Im about to embark on. I also suffer with depression and believe fish oils cam be beneficial. But the crux is always about ethically sourced products. I genuinely believe our food is polluted by greed which is corruptive in all manner of ways. I hope you all find relief in whatever you do to relieve your symptoms- it's different strokes for different folks. I see Dr Myhill suggests a plethora of blood tests that are hugely expensive, as are all types of alternative therapies. Trying to live on a low income excludes many of us who could certainly benefit from further investigations. Good luck!!!
Omitting,sugar,dairy.lactose,and i am soo much improved.
I have cut out alcohol completely, taken caffeine down to only 1. Coffee 2 . Teas .only brown sugar no refined or processed foods , I only use butter now no polyunsaturated fats. No diet products or drinks.
I do still love chocolate, can eat a whole celery bag in one sitting can't get enough of the stuff.
Chris.
Thank you, that sounds very healthy! I get through about 20 mugs of tea a day, I think I am addicted to the stuff? I cannot have butter due to my lactose allergy but i have olive spread but Julie does not like it x
I like olive spread I also love olives , I do try to be healthy , love lots of fruit ,as well . Used to by a 1 kg jar of coffee a week in my 20s 30 s and drink most of it on my own , always would have a double shot of expressio and teabags well 180 box of yourkishire gold a week to kettle was never cold , now really boring decaf is now in cubboard. , was looking at baiyleys in supermarket yesterday £12. I love bayleys in hot chocolate or on ice cream. Might be very naughty at Xmas . 🙃
Not too keen on Bayleys I find the taste too strong. My favourite is a weekly treat of a cappuccino whilst out. I cannot have more than one a week because of my breathing issues. I always have Waitrose gold tea bags they are my weakness! x
I didn't give these up recently but I eat no meat or poultry and do not drink alcohol - maybe once a year, I drink a few ounces of hard cider if a unique opportunity presents. I just stopped drinking years ago when I realized I did not enjoy it. In more recent years, I found relatively small amts gave me dizzy spells or migraines( or it may be the same thing)
things i've given up: Dairy and acidic fruits, fizzy drinks although once in a while i crave to drink fizzy and i do, then have to drink gripe water to feel better, i have also given up white bread, things that contain oats too i get more IBS problems when i eat them
No alcohol. Low fat diet and there are several types of fruit and veg that i have to avoid after midday. Or i suffer for it all night.
Thanks sue, I do not drink alcohol either. I am allergic to some fruits I cannot have red fruits or bananas.
Take care my friend
Ken x
Was talking to a friend of mine yesterday, and she was saying that they are now also advising parents with hyperactive children to go gluten free
That is very interesting thank you so much for sharing that. There appears to be far more reactions to food stuffs these days than when I was a child? I do not know if more children are having reactions to food or we are just more able to pick up on these things nowadays?
I think they think it is related to the amount of processed foods there are around nowadays. I don't remember any from when we were children.
But research as always is changing depending on what they are looking for. also a lot of children are being recognised as having autism or ADHD, or anything on the spectrum whereas when we were little it's more likely that they were dismissed just as very badly behaved.
I mainly drink skimmed milk, occasionally semi-skilled. full cream milk upsets my stomach.
I don't add salt to anything. I tend to avoid high salt cont food. Salt appears to worsen my fibro and arthritis - as does soda-water based soft fizzy drinks.
Thank you my friend for sharing that. As you know I only have Lactose free milk as I have issues with diary as well. I have never noticed any slat related issue but I will have to check how go on days when I have more salty types of food, thank you.
All my hopes and dreams for you
Ken x x
Have cut out alcohol (not that I drank much anyway) - I found it really made me feel worse - like hangover x 100. Whether this is from the meds (gabapentin - although its supposed to be okay), and I also take naproxen and I was worried about side effects with that. I also cut down on sugar quite a bit - I've noticed a bit less inflammation when I eat less sugary foods. Nothing else though - I live on caffeine and doubt I'd function very well without it...
Nobody has ever told me to change and I have been suffering for twenty + years
I think sometimes it can be trial and error as to whether or not there are dietary issues involved. I only put two and two together with my lactose allergy because I was having so many problems after having dairy products.
I want to genuinely and sincerely wish you all the best of luck.
All my hopes and dreams for you
Ken
I very rarely drink alcohol (maybe once or twice a year) and I am slowly removing cow's milk products from my diet - at the moment I am using goats milk but only until I find a cheaper source of ricemilk.
I have been reading about how we stop the ability to process milk in our diets after we reach the age of 5. Milk is also known to contain mucus and pus (ugh!) even though it gets filtered many times to remove it, so it is that content that makes a reaction within our bodies to form more mucus and sinus problems etc follow.....interesting stuff!
Good luck with cleaning up your diets everyone, I know it's not easy! x
I also do not have potatoes at home (only sweet potatoes) and will eat them oaccassionally as a treat when I am dining out. I feel better for cutting them out as much as possible. I bake my own soda bread using rye and soya flour instead of the usual white 'dead' flour. I have less blaoting, less leg pain and I am hoping that the removal of dairy from my diet will help to lessen the days that I lose to 'fibro-fog' and malaise. Hope this all helps
I have always thought of drinking milk or having any kind of dairy as a little unnatural. As in nature we are weaned off milk by a certain age and are supposed to go on to consuming other food stuffs. I am not a scientist but it makes you wonder if this is why so many people (myself included) have issues with dairy products?
I want to genuinely and sincerely wish you all the best of luck with your dietary changes.
All my hopes and dreams for you
Ken x
i find juicing with veg and fruits is really helping. i am not in much pain now, im sleeping better and the fog and cfs is starting to lift. i have cut out ALL processed food, stopped smoking and do not drink alcohol anymore. i drink 2 lts of water every day on top of the juices' and smoothies i make everyday, i am also actually starting to loose weight (im hypothyroid too so weight is a millstone i drag about).. juicing and healthy eating has. has gotten me back on my feet after being long term sick, off work and disabled. i also try to walk a little every day or when i can. i am determined not to let this nonsense beat me. ... i checked Jason Vale's 'super juice me' and have not looked back. all i know is that its helping me and i will hopefully be back at work after easter.
Anything with refined white flour, pork and seafood