Allergen Elimination Starts Again

Wife and I began the allergen elimination diet in hopes of toning down our fibromyalgia symptoms. Start date: 7-5-16
Current duration: 2.5 weeks
Effectiveness: mild
Things we are avoiding: corn, gluten, soy, dairy, nitrates, caffeine, nightshade plants, & sugar (limited).

I've done this before and had great results, became pain free once even. But, I've never had the stamina to test all of the categories before returning to my normal way of eating. With Wife, I think I can do this. Mostly.

Two weeks in, my leg pain went from a 8 to a 5/6. Then, I walked down four flights of stairs. Three days later and I believe my legs are starting to forgive me about that. Otherwise, I've not had a break in pain and Wife reports no relief yet. The expectation is for phase I (the nothing phase) to take 3 to 4 weeks. I pray that it only takes 3-4 weeks to have significant pain relief. Otherwise, I don't know what we'll do. It's hard to test a food if there's not a reduction in symptoms.

Today, I found this modified allergen elimination diet. It intrigues me. I've come too far to go backwards but if I need to start from scratch, I might try this one next time.

Onward, upward in this fibromyalgia journey.

fibro cue in the hands?

The sample for this study was tiny but it doesn't stop the discovery from being fascinating. I hope someone works fast to attempt replication with a larger sample size. 

Fibromyalgia Mystery Finally Solved!

Researchers Find Main Source of Pain in Blood Vessels

Added by Rebecca Savastio on June 20, 2013.
Saved under Health, Rebecca Savastio, U.S.
Tags: top

Researchers have found the main source of pain in Fibromyalgia patients, and contrary to what many believe, it does not stem from the brain. The findings mark the end of a decades-old mystery about the disease, which many doctors believed was conjured in patients’ imaginations. The mystery of Fibromyalgia has left millions of sufferers searching for hope in pain medications. Up until recently, many physicians thought that the disease was “imaginary” or psychological, but scientists have now revealed that the main source of pain stems from a most unlikely place- excess blood vessels in the hand.
The discovery may lead to new treatments and perhaps even a total cure in the future, bringing relief to as many as 5 million Americans thought to have the disease. To solve the Fibromyalgia mystery, researchers zeroed in on the skin from the hand of one patient who had a lack of the sensory nerve fibers, causing a reduced reaction to pain. They then took skin samples from the hands of Fibromyalgia patients and were surprised to find an extremely excessive amount of a particular type of nerve fiber called arteriole-venule (AV) shunts.
Up until this point scientists had thought that these fibers were only responsible for regulating blood flow, and did not play any role in pain sensation, but now they’ve discovered that there is a direct link between these nerves and the widespread body pain that Fibromyalgia sufferers feel.
The breakthrough also could solve the lingering question of why many sufferers have extremely painful hands as well as other “tender points” throughout the body, and why cold weather seems to aggravate the symptoms. In addition to feeling widespread deep tissue pain, many Fibromyalgia patients also suffer from debilitating fatigue.
Neuroscientist Dr. Frank L. Rice explained: “We previously thought that these nerve endings were only involved in regulating blood flow at a subconscious level, yet here we had evidences that the blood vessel endings could also contribute to our conscious sense of touch… and also pain,” Rice said. “This mismanaged blood flow could be the source of muscular pain and achiness, and the sense of fatigue which are thought to be due to a build-up of lactic acid and low levels of inflammation fibromyalgia patients. This, in turn, could contribute to the hyperactivity in the brain.”
Current treatments for the disease have not brought complete relief to the millions of sufferers. Therapies include narcotic pain medicines; anti-seizure drugs, anti-depressants and even simple advice such as “get more sleep and exercise regularly.” Now that the cause of Fibromyalgia has been pinpointed, patients are looking forward to an eventual cure. Other expressed frustration about how much they had suffered already:
“When are they ever going to figure out that things are never “all in your head?” said one commenter. “Whenever something doesn’t fit in their tiny little understanding, they belittle the patient and tell them they are crazy. People have suffered through this since they were invented. Prescribing SSRIs for everything is not the answer any more than a lobotomy or hysterectomy was.”
The announcement has the potential to unlock better future treatments and undoubtedly has patients all over the world rejoicing that the mystery of Fibromyalgia has finally been solved.
By: Rebecca Savastio
http://guardianlv.com/2013/06/fibromyalgia-mystery-finally-solved/

You can read more at http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=18169&B1=ARTSHARE if you so desire. 
 

preliminary decisions, preliminary actions (part 1)

Today, I've had 4 Tylenol, 1 Trammadol, 1 BC Powder, used Watkin's linament and still I have pain. Things leaving my diet: dairy, gluten, yeast, wheat, sugar, & aspartame. Dairy because I've talked to a couple of people with theories on why it would exasperate pain. I never reintroduced it when doing my experiment last year so I have no clue how it affects me. Maybe I'll find out this time around. It was hard to conceptualize removing dairy in this heat until I remembered soy cream. Cool and refreshing.

Sugar- well, I can't say anything more than I plan to limit this category. That should have been obvious when I mentioned soy (ice) cream. lol. Sugar raises yeast levels and yeast was part of the block of things that raised my pain last year.

Gluten, yeast, and wheat were the block of items that increased my pain last year. Once I dropped the diet, they didn't seem to elevate the pain the way I thought they would but in the artificial setting, yes. Perhaps removing them again will help my pain levels drop and become more controllable.

Aspartame- eh. It's said to be bad for us in so many ways. It was also one of the first things I heard was linked to pain. I tried removing it without removing other things once and it didn't make a difference so I don't know how much of a trigger it is. But, as with all things, if other pain triggers were in my diet while this pain trigger was removed, I'd still feel pain and not recognize aspartame as a trigger.

These guidelines were in my head as I went grocery shopping this afternoon. Nitrates allow the possibility of frozen meals. No dairy or gluten seemed to remove that possibility. I have to remember how to eat again. I remember fruit (and corn chips) being my save so I made a large fruit salad today: mango, pineapple, apples, oranges, and grapes. I hope not to consume so many chips this time. Chips are one of my major diet weaknesses. I thought my allowances would allow for a variety in chip type since chips are made from potatoes and I'm okay with nightshades this time around. Nope. Dairy is oh so prominent. If I keep looking, I might find some options but it didn't work out for me today. Plain is an option. Plain is not my favorite. I paid too much for a brown rice chip for work. We'll see how that tastes.

Despite mentally trying to (plan to) live under these new guidelines, I've already screwed up. I bought ingredients so I can make spaghetti forgetting my spaghetti is "good" in that it is whole wheat but not appropriate in that it is not gluten free. * sigh* There's 3 days of gluten and wheat for me but it also gave me the realization that I need to prepare a Whole Foods list for when I'm in Memphis next weekend. Except I also need to curb my spending. We'll see what happens. I'm doing a little more meal preparation now that I'm teaching myself to eat vegetables. Oh. I hadn't told you that. I made potato and leek soup two weeks ago as part of my try a new vegetable initiative. I bought the Food Lovers Weight Lost System but failed because it wants me to eat vegetables (green, purple, orange) twice a day. Proior to receiving the material, I thought I could get away with using fruit as my slow carb. Strawberries are about the only slow carb fruit I eat apparently. New goal: Eat at least 4 servings of slow carb veggies each week. If I can build up a tolerance for those foods, perhaps I can give Robert Ferguson's system another try one day. I do like the concept and seem to lose 2lbs a week using his week 1 guidelines (minus slow carbs) so I'm giving up my right to a refund and looking at what good I can get out of the info. Next up to make myself: yams. I've had them. I mostly don't like them. I like how a local restaurant, Royal Reeds, makes them. Maybe I can make something tasty too?

Some joys of having nitrates, nightshade plants, and caffeine in my diet this time around:
1. I can eat Nathan's hot dogs. They are SO good on the grill. And I bought some pecan roasted beef sausages that look divine. I can't wait to try them.
2. I can drink wine. It tends to contain nitrates so I had to abstain the first time around.
3. I can eat french fries.
4. I can have salsa with my tortilla chips.
5. Oh Lord, I hope there are more....

Here's my new beginning on controlling my food intake to control my pain level. I'm looking for someone to experience this with me. Are you down?

if the diet resumes...

Let's say I'm tired of the pain and ready to stop eating again. Maybe I won't eliminate ALL of the foods I eliminated the first time around. Perhaps I can eat something besides what I prepare myself. The webmd suggested categories to remove are (1) aspartame, (2)nitrates, MSG, and other additives, (3) sugar, fructose, and simple carbs, (4) caffeine, (5) yeast and gluten, (6) dairy, and (7) nightshade plants (tomatoes, potatoes, egg plant, & peppers). Fibro sisters & other folks with chronic pain, which of these things have you noticed contributing to your pain? What do you recommend that I ditch? Let's say that I remove 3-4 of these categories-- the winners would be ______? Yeast & gluten are a definite as I remember them spiking the pain when I was doing the experimental and control groups last year. What else? Feedback appreciated.

thoughts between consciousness and sleep

I feel like I'm dying. I ache all over; it's bad enough that it wakes me up while I'm asleep. Until it's time to wake up. It took me 90 minutes to get up this morning (i.e., 90 minutes after my alarm first went off. I don't even remember those first 10 beeps or whatever). During the day, I mostly want to sleep. During that time just before waking when I have "deep" thoughts, it's occurred to me that I'd quit my job if I could afford to because I feel like shyt. More realistic, I'd take a week off if I wasn't supposed to go to GA this week. It'd look bad for me to take today and tomorrow off because I'm sick, then go to GA for 3 days. I'm thinking of asking my doctor to put me on short term medical leave if I don't feel better soon but there are several important things going on at work that I can't walk away from. This is one reason I want a simpler job. I'm treating myself like crap to get the work done but in the end, there's only me. This is the kind of shyt that got me sick in the first place. I wish I could do it all over. I wish I could have this job but not put it first so maybe then I wouldn't be so sick.

off to get dressed now....

whining

Why are the fibro monsters attacking me? I don't understand. I was being good and following the anti-pain webmd diet when suddenly, my calf muscle went mad during my morning stretch and I spent the next 4 hours unable to stand on my right leg. For weeks now, I've been sleeping like 15 hours at a time 'cause my body thinks it's about time for it to pass out. Surely I am doing too much now but I have so many things to do; what else am I to do? SO MUCH to do at work, things piling up and adding themselves to my to do list including the pending audit. A leisurely 7 hour drive to GA on Wednesday to see my old college mates. Getting things together for next month's art show, applying for the same job at 3 different locations, and why not add being social to the top of this mountain? My fingers, wrists, thighs, back, feet, elbows, and calf muscles hurt and I'm SLEEPY. I'm not used to being here anymore. I don't have time for this ish. I feel close to incompetent and like the mean mama to myself. Let this all pass soon.I hate fibro most for the things it takes from me. You evil bitch, fibromyalgia.

fibro monster

I feel a little guilty. I didn't go to work this morning. My muscle did something wicked during my morning stretch today, causing one of those blinding pains where I literally don't know what to do because it hurts so bad. From there, I couldn't walk. Not much of an issue initially. I hopped from my bed to my computer chair, somehow took a muscle relaxer, and sat with my heating pad for a hour. It didn't solve the issue. I called in and did about 2 hours of work by phone. Then I preceded to sleep the day away.

I just don't know how it sounds when I call in for fibro stuff. I don't think it makes sense to people. My boss strongly encouraged me to go the doctor if it hurt so bad I couldn't walk. My sentiment is why; doctors can't do much for fibromyalgia patients anyway. I just need to wait it out. Do my fibro sisters feel the same way-- why bother going to the doctor when they don't really know how to make you better?

I'm better now though not great. I'm sensitive all over. I soaked in epson salt but wasn't sure I would be able to deal with the sensations the water caused. I did. I'm not sure it helped. I had pain all over when I got out but took Trammadol and a muscle relaxer to make me feel better. It worked. I'm sleepy again. I plan to go in tomorrow limping or not, assuming I can stand. I can currently stand but feel increased pain within 5 minutes of standing so prefer to stay off of my legs as much as possible. The worse thing about today is I missed a really important meeting. If I hadn't slept though my lunch time alarm, I could have gotten ready in time to be at that 30 minute meeting. I guess I just worry about my image at work in general. I think my House Manager might understand a little more because her son has sickle cell but still fibromyalgia makes sense to so few.

Good night.

welcome back, whites!

Sometimes, I make these aha! decisions about this anti-pain diet I'm accepting. It's the same kind of aha! that resulted in my tongue piercing and has influenced other decisions in my life. It's when I just know. Today, what I knew is that I'm ready to start eating bread again. I didn't want to wait until Friday. Since I knew that and my co-workers were going to McDonalds, I ordered a chicken biscuit for breakfast. Yum, even after debreading the chicken.

Later, I realized that my biscuit was made from white flour and that simple carbs are a different category from yeast and gluten. puzzlement. Can I reintroduce one without the other? After considering that here and there for a couple of hours and rereading the article at webmd, I decided that it'll be most practical for me to reintroduce sugar (yea!), simple carbs, fructose, yeast, and gluten at once (which means I didn't have to debread my chicken this morning). If it turns out to be a high pain category, maybe I'll try to break them out later. For now, I can eat bread. Yum. Oven baked biscuits that were purchased months ago tomorrow for my first meal. And again I say yum. This works well for me, too, because I had a Pepsi yesterday. I heard a client offering them while I was roaming the men's area. "Did you say I can have a Pepsi?" I hollered back. "Yep. They're in the dining room," replied the voice (God?). I hurried through the checks I was completing and joined in the Pepsi refreshment. Pepsi after 3 months clean-- ahhhhh. Tomorrow, I'm calling people to encourage them to make a monetary donation to Workers Interfaith Network. Pizza (Achilles heel 1) will be there for volunteers. I've long said that I'm going to eat some pizza once I got here even though it has cheese. Oh how I love pizza, oh how I look forward to having it just once. Once. I don't know that I'm going to spend that on national chain pizza with simple toppings. Memphis Pizza Cafe has been calling my name.

I'm happier about the bread than the ice cream (sugar). Before, I was debating which of those categories I would reintroduce next. Yeast and gluten won. Now, I guess they get to be friends (or joint villains).

A piece of my brain did question whether it is wise to bump up the reintroduction seeing that I'm having residual symptoms from Friday. aha won. I'll notice if new issues appear verses the slow movements still mandated from achy, enjoyed muscles.

I'm happy. For a while now, I've had moments where I've realized that I am well-pleased with my life; I am happy in my soul. Oddly, I think this joy appeared after the breakup. I remember going, "I'm happy, even single" (though I didn't say that Directly after the break up). It holds true. I keep having those moments. I'm not sure the reason(s)-- being around women so much lately (book club, the brief drumming period, the stone)? not trying to make/encourage/will someone to love me that doesn't? being in town more often instead of doing the split memphis/nashville lifestyle? taking more control of cleaning my apartment? reading? more yoga? hell if i know. But I'm happy and thought I should tell the world. Fibromyalgia sucks. I hate it, in part, because of the ways in which it threatens to steal my life. But it cannot take my joy.

EDIT: Perhaps I am happy because I am moving towards the highest me, the highest vision. I am (mostly) living true to myself in all areas of life. I am being the me that I would like to be. How can one not be pleased by that?

acupuncture #1

Today, I tried acupuncture thanks to the nifty groupon coupon that came to my inbox a few weeks ago. IT SUCKED! I went in feeling pretty good and hopeful to stop the torture of tendinitis. I left limping. I screamed when I got in my car. Apparently, my back didn't want anything (i.e., the seat) to touch it. It sporadically felt like needles were sticking me in various location; I was amazed by how much effort it took to hit the brakes. Sensibility would tell me to never try acupuncture again. Something else, a deeper reason?, says go back. The practitioner told me up front that she recommends weekly sessions the first 3-4 weeks and then a tapering. $60 a pop, I can't afford that! There's a place around the block from my job that has pay what you can acupuncture that I think I'll try. Maybe. I hurt really bad right now. I can stop eating those foods and feel 80% better. Will acupuncture increase my energy, something that still lags? The practitioner looked at my "really pale" tongue and said I have energy issues (I could have told her that!) and that herbs could really help me but she can't recommend mixing anything with my current med list. I wonder how else my non-fibro medical issues effected today's session. She didn't try to sell me another session when I left today, as she had the two people that left(happy) when I was siting in the waiting room. I *do* wonder what that means.

Currently: I'm eating soy ice cream, licking my wounds, and thinking about bed.

Gratitude: I'm thankful for my privilege that allowed me to spend $35 to try something new (acupuncture). I'm thankful for the Meristem book club (I returned last night). I'm thankful for Cindi's consideration. I'm thankful for having Beth to look to for advice, wisdom, and life's stories. I'm thankful for my dad that likes to have long phone conversations with me. I'm thankful for my sister Shundra who lets me know when she finds new, good food.

another transfer: oops i did it again

oops i did it again
Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I screwed up again. Being aspartame free before doing the full fibromyalgia diet has helped me accidentally consume things that are aspartame free but not free of other forbidden things. Tonight, I had a Coke. It's aspartame free but has fructose corn syurp; oops. That's my admission.

Gratitude: I'm thankful that my mom cares so much. I'm thankful for my sister Beth. I'm thankful that the fibro support group is coming up. I'm thankful that I have the flexibility to work a half day when I don't feel well. I'm thankful for the 14ish clients that are still there striving to stay clean and sober.

even migraines make pizza seem good

even migraines make pizza seem good
Monday, February 22, 2010

Conversation with self on the way to Target after work:

“ I want a slice of pizza, any pizza will do.”

do dah, do do do dah

“BREAD. I WANT BREAD. Maybe I can go to Whole Foods tomorrow and get some of that gluten-free bread Beth posted about. I hope that bread is yeast free. I'll see if she replied to my facebook comment when I get home.”

ahhh

“PIZZA”

ummmmm

“You will not quit this diet after 5 days. You will not.”

* * *

I really want some pizza ya'll. On top of that, I have a migraine so I'm nauseous. The migraine greeted me early this morning. Getting ready for my doctor's appointment, I noticed I had a headache. I took a sinus pill and a Tylenol 500 not being sure the cause of the headache. 8:10am, purse on my shoulder, umbrella in my hand, all ready to leave-- I ran to the bathroom and regurgitated the water and juice consumed earlier that morning. I managed to cook oats and eggs before my appointment but felt too nauseous to eat at the time. I wisely decided to put them on hold and see how I felt after the doctor. I basically pass my apartment on my way to work from his office, so I figured I could spare the extra few minutes passing through would cost. I went to the doctor and let him make a mold of my feet. Yea! Special, custom-made foot insoles are on their way back to me. The process was like having a paper machete of one's foot made. Then I came back and ate my eggs before leaving for work. I wavered between whether or not I should go to work this morning and the yes finally won with the stipulation that I could stop at Walgreens on the way to buy some cooling stripes to put on my forehead. All day, people asked if I had a huge band aid on my forehead; no.

Day 6, I don't feel better. I'm closer to feeling like crap but thankfully not due to the fibromyalgia as far as I'm aware. Today I decided that I probably shouldn't be eating tuna because it is made with vegetable broth which is made with things like tomatoes that I can't have.

Life in the larger scheme of things: I finally took a step to find out how much mail order meds will cost with my new insurance provider. I entered my meds in an online form and have to wait for someone to get back to me. Their system is so odd to me; the previous company had a flat rate: $10 for generics, $20 or $70 for name-brand. Made sense to me.

My pharmacist told me to drink lots of fluid, avoid eye stimulation, and get some rest to get rid of this non-relenting migraine so I guess I'll get on with all of that. Ciao.