Nightshades

[hw7342]

Anyone had any luck with reduction in symptoms after eliminating nightshades? Particularly joint pain? I get pomphylox eczema on my hands and when i touch tomatoes and potatoes my hands go nuts. I remember this happening a few years ago too before i got pomphylox eczema. I figured it might be worth trying eliminating nightshades... Already gluten and dairy free but have not felt any difference from this although my antibodies have come down by a third....

[puncturedbicycle]

Sorry, I know this doesn't answer your question but have you thought about a nickel-free diet? There is some correlation apparently.

I've been super-sleuthing on behalf of my partner, who seems to have this kind of thing (dishydrosis) on his hands. Dx is just eczema and doc's only suggestion is high-dose steroids natch. (This doc is better than the one before, who literally said he could do nothing. Er, thanks?) It is terrifically sore and peely and seems to flare when he handles onions or perspires. I know he already has the usual form of nickel sensitivity (rash under watch etc), so it makes sense to me.

So now he only has this on his hands and sometimes in armpits but used to have it on his back. It was greatly improved w cutting out coffee and dairy, and he had regular acupuncture and massage to rid him of accumulated lactic acid in his muscles (who knows? but it did work). When I met him he couldn't sleep through the night and I once caught him scratching his back w a hanger. He had scars for years.

From what I've read a nickel-free diet can help if you're already eating food w a high nickel content (common in India apparently) but a NZ site says it may not help (I assume for regional dietary reasons).

[hw7342 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

not at all, thank you for responding. I am allergic to pretty much everything in my ears so it is entirely possible. I had no idea that Nickel was in foods but i guess it is by contamination. Thank you, that is something else for me to look in to. I will not give up; i have to keep trying things. I don't want to be this debilitated forever. My sympathies to your partner, i have had standard eczema and then this dishydrotic one and its on another level to be honest.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to hw7342]

Yes, it is just so sore, I really feel for you. I have psoriasis, and it is a minor annoyance compared to what you have. For the first time he's had to take off his wedding ring this week and I keep joking about him working late and coming home without his ring but honestly, his poor finger.

I believe the nickel content in food varies from place to place (and of course a lot of food is imported so that adds another layer to it all) so a diet is only a guideline. In India apparently it's a thing because of the largely vegetarian diet; the locally grown veg are full of nickel (due to the soil) as well as the staples (lentils etc, which are also high in nickel), thus the recommended nickel-free diet. Perhaps the more varied your diet is the harder it is to reduce the nickel in it if that makes sense.

I thought this was interesting: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Misscshell24]

I am newly diagnosed with hashi's and have finger joint pain. I'm new to trying to figure out what helps. I have just gone gluten free. My doc recommended going off soy, too, have you had any luck going off soy?

If that doesn't help my doc then suggested going off dairy and monitoring nightshades. I am a vegetarian as well, so doesn't leave much left to eat, but will manage.

[hw7342 in reply to Misscshell24]

Hiya, I stopped soy with gluten and dairy 3 or 4 months ago. So nightshades are definitely next on my list. Is your doctor a functional medicine one? Let us know how you get on...

[Misscshell24 in reply to hw7342]

Ah, thought I may have been onto something with the soy, but you've already stopped it. I had no finger joint pain yesterday, for the first time in months, can't figure out what I did differently as it is back today.

Yes, my doc is a functional medicine doc. Very pleased with her so far, only been twice and awaiting more test results for a proper treatment plan, but she seems very on top of things.

Good luck with getting to the bottom of the nightshades/diets.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Misscshell24]

Misscshell24 apologies if you've already looked at this but do you know if your b12 and d are good? When my d was low my hands were very sore and weak and I had trouble gripping anything heavyish, like a full kettle. B12 seems responsible for my sore feet, but it can affect hands so I thought I'd mention it.

[Misscshell24 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Interesting! I had not heard of those being low causing hand and foot pain, I have both pains. I just started seeing a new functional med doc and after seeing my d and b12 levels, which all other docs said were normal, she said was low and gave me much higher dose supplements for them. I've been taking them for a few days. Maybe that's it then. I was doing an experiment with soy to see if that's it. I've only been off gluten since the new doc said to a few days ago as well, so an experiment might not be reliable for me to do with soy now anyways since it's all new. I'll keep up with the supplements and see if that helps. Thank you

[hw7342 in reply to Misscshell24]

Let us know how you get on...

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Misscshell24]

No worries, good luck Misscshell24.

You probably know this already but you can do an elimination diet, which is harder in the short-term but quicker allover and results are pretty solid, good for people who have acute symptoms. You eat nothing but wild salmon (you can add salt but nothing else) and glass-bottled water for a week, then add in small amounts of each of the potentially problematic foods one at a time so see if anything prompts a symptom. My friend's nhs rheumatologist advised her to try it and she found out that wheat aggravates her RA.

[Misscshell24 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Thank you. I'm a vegetarian, and after much research and debate I've decided to switch to a gluten-free plant-based diet. Seems that has the best science, studies, and research behind its health benefits. Feeling hopeful and excited about it.

[humanbean]

I get pompholyx eczema too, although I generally refer to it as dyshidrosis.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyshi...

The picture on the above page is absolutely typical of what mine looks like.

I haven't got any specific suggestions for treatment. All I know for certain that causes a major flare up in me is severe stress and chronic pain. However, I have managed to reduce my flare ups quite dramatically over the last 2 or 3 years. I can only assume that the reason is because I have done my best to optimise my nutrients, and I have been treating my thyroid. Not much help for you though, sorry...

There is one thing that I think helped but I have no proof... I started supplementing (rather nervously) with vitamin A. Most vitamin A supplements aren't made of actual vitamin A they are made of a precursor called beta-carotene. The beta-carotene is supposed to convert to vitamin A in the body, but apparently people with hypothyroidism can't convert it very well.

So I started supplementing with retinyl palmitate, which is "real" vitamin A. I think it gave my health a definite boost. The only problem I have now, is knowing when to stop or whether to stop. I've never had it tested.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatm...

[hw7342 in reply to humanbean]

Interesting Humanbean... yes mine looks exactly the same as that pic too. Its more the joint pain that i wondered about thinking if nightshades upsets my hands maybe it upsets my insides too. I had not heard about the Vitamin A and hypo so thank you. Its all worth a shot. My dyshidrotic eczema has only come on with my thyroid worsening in the last year or two... but my labs have been optimal for last few weeks maybe it is a waiting game... thanks for the info.

[milupa]

Hi -

I can absolutely tell the difference!

I have been strictly gluten free, 80/20 paleo for ten years now. I can eat sheep and goat cheese and some cow's cheeses if they are raw and fermented. All this has helped with gut and digestion issues.

I cut out nightshades about a year ago. I had bad, open skin sores around both thumb nails which disappeared within a week and return if I eat raw tomatoes. I also had constant joint and muscle pains (diagnosed as fibromyalgia 15 years ago) which got much better without nightshades but return as soon as I eat cooked, concentrated tomatoes or potatoes.

Paleo AIP bloggers helped with recipes and research behind the theory.

[hw7342 in reply to milupa]

wow this is very interesting to hear, thank you. I have started nightshade free today so i shall see how it goes.

[milupa in reply to hw7342]

Hi again - good luck, I hope it works for you!

If you need more info and replacement ideas: AIP Autoimmune Protocol websites have all the answers.

The 'nomato' sauce is a staple in my kitchen.

[hw7342 in reply to milupa]

thank you love

[hw7342 in reply to milupa]

One more question milupa... do you get the same reaction with every nightshade i.e. chilli as well?

[milupa]

hw7342 -

that's an interesting topic and probably different for everyone. I was very strict for a few months and then reintroduced one food at a time. I can tell a difference based on ripeness (green chillies or peppers: bad reaction, red chillies or red peppers max once a week seem to be ok). Quality matters: a few organic unadulterated potatoes, very rarely: ok. Grown for chipmaking: strong reaction.

Hope you find out what works for you!